Words of the World: A Global History of the Oxford English Dictionary

MostpeoplethinkoftheOxfordEnglishDictionary(OED)asadistinctlyBritishproduct.BeguninEnglandonehundredandfiftyyearsago,ittookoversixtyyearstocompleteandwhenitwasfinallyfinishedin1928theBritishPrimeMinisterheraldeditasa'nationaltreasure.'Thisbookshowsthatthedictionaryisnotas'British'asweallthought.Thelinguistandlexicographer,SarahOgilvie,combinesherinsiderknowledgeandexperiencewithimpeccableresearchtoshowratherthattheOEDisaninternationalproductinbothitscontentanditsmaking.Sheexaminesthepoliciesandpracticesofthevariouseditors,appliesqualitativeandquantitativeanalysis,andfindsnewOEDarchivalmaterialsintheformofletters,reportsandproofs.ShedemonstratesthattheOED,initsuseofreadersfromallovertheworldanditscoverageofWorldEnglish,wasinfactaglobaltext.