Time to say goodbye to a good old friend.
"sigh"
Posted on 08/29/2010 5:09:06 PM PDT by Stoat
It was first published 126 years ago and is respected the world over.
But the Oxford English Dictionary will never appear in print again, its owners have announced.
Instead, the 80 lexicographers who have been working on the third edition for the past 21 years have been told the fruits of their labour will exist solely online.
The OED has been available on the internet for the past ten years and receives two million hits a month from subscribers who pay £205 a year, plus VAT, to access it.
Oxford University Press says the dominance of the internet means the latest update to the definitive record of the English language - currently 28 per cent complete - will never be published in print.
'The print dictionary market is just disappearing - it is falling away by tens of per cent a year,' said Nigel Portwood, 44, chief executive of OUP.
'Our primary purpose - and this takes a bit of adjusting to - is not profit, it is the dissemination of knowledge,' he said.
'Print is still pretty important round here but, wherever possible, if there is an opportunity, we are moving out of it.'
The printed dictionary has a shelf life of another 30 years, he predicts.
The third edition is only expected to be completed by 2037. The OUP has already stopped producing illustrated reference books because of the growing popularity of the Wikipedia website.
R
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Oxford English Dictionary 'will not be printed again' - Telegraph
(edit)
“The print dictionary market is just disappearing, it is falling away by tens of per cent a year,” Nigel Portwood, the chief executive of OUP, told the Sunday Times. Asked if he thought the third edition would be printed, he said: “I don’t think so.”
(edit) Mr Portwood said printed dictionaries had a shelf life of about another 30 years, with the pace of change increased by the popularity of e-books and devices such as the Apple iPad and Amazon’s Kindle. Simon Winchester, author of ‘The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’, said the switch towards online formats was “prescient”. He said: “Until six months ago I was clinging to the idea that printed books would likely last for ever. Since the arrival of the iPad I am now wholly convinced otherwise. “The printed book is about to vanish at extraordinary speed. I have two complete OEDs, but never consult them – I use the online OED five or six times daily. The same with many of my reference books – and soon with most. “Books are about to vanish; reading is about to expand as a pastime; these are inescapable realities.”
(edit)
Say it ain’t so!!!!!!
The rest of paper publications will eventually follow, outside of niche items.
The rest of paper publications will eventually follow, outside of niche items.
ping
Talk about faith in th electronic medium.
Glad I have my compact edition...and the magnifying glass!!
Time to say goodbye to a good old friend.
"sigh"
I remember her telling me, half the words are spelled wrong.
When I was a kid, my Granddaddy had an Encyclopedia Britannica. My Father had a cheap off brand one called the New Standard Encyclopedia. It wasn’t that bad but no where near Britannica. I always wanted one but they were just too expensive.
Recently I bought two complete ones dating from the 90’s and another one from the 60’s for less than $30. People basically just wanting to get rid of them. I still find it easier looking things up in them than the internet.
Great book about the history of the writing of the Oxford Dictionary. The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester.
Then younger generations will never know the absolute pleasure of spending an hour or two browsing through a bookstore or library and curling up on a comfy sofa or chair with a good printed book. I feel so very sorry for them.
Are you the manager of the FR Tech Ping List? I’m thinking that the Tech Ping list members might be interested in this thread :-)
Books are like gasses, they expand to fill the available space.
The younger generation can take off on a motorcycle with every book they own along to choose from.
Every book they collect, they can increase the font size and read without special glasses when they get to be in their 50s.
From my point of view, they get the better end of the deal.
This means we can look forward to a generation which thinks Octopi is plural for Octopus.
If you go to the next local book sale, likely you can find a set of encyclopedia that can be had for free.
http://www.booksalefinder.com/
Remember when “gay” meant being happy?
Family was a dad, mom & kids.
Women were carrying a baby, now it's a fetus.
Illegal immigrant is now undocumented citizen.
....
He who controls the language, controls the debate.
Saul Alinski.
That is why they want to discontinue the printing. They want to hide the evidence of the real meaning of words .
What was that movie where books were banned or words in papers were changed? Should have been named after the liberals.
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