Image credit: Rosmarie Voegtli (rvoegtli/Flickr)
If we think about dictionaries at all, we mostly tend to think about them in a fairy tale way—that is, they simply appear, whole and complete, in the fullness of their power, delivered by some mythical being, probably one with wings. But where do dictionaries come from? Who writes them? What words are worthy of inclusion? Who knows? Their very authority defies questioning. But that’s silly, isn’t it? Of course humans make dictionaries, and it’s no small task. Like other grand human activities, dictionary-making involves a lot of debate, controversy, and passionate argument. In this November 2023 essay from American Scholar, writer, editor, and language scholar David Skinner shares a dictionary story that is, well, f*ckin’ epic.
Read it here.
EXPLORE, REFLECT, SPEAK UP.
1. Skinner is writing about Philip Gove and his work, dictionaries in general, and the ways that dictionaries do (and don’t) treat words that are, let’s say, socially delicate. Skinner doesn’t really take an overt position on any of the topics that he writes about. Do you think he should have? Why or why not? Explain your response. Do you think Skinner portrays Gove fairly? Point to examples from the essay to support your response.
2. Skinner begins his essay by describing lexicographer Philip Gove in a personal way, relating details of his domestic style as well as how he ran the operations of his office. Are these details useful to you in understanding the essay as a whole? Why or why not? How does the personal information contribute to your understanding of Gove and his approach to the controversial and volatile word? Do you think Skinner could have omitted this personal information without affecting the impact of the essay? Why or why not?
3. LET’S TALK. work with a few classmates to catalog all of the meanings and usages that you know for the word “fuck.” Once you get a complete list, think about which ones are literal—that is, related to the actual act of copulation—and which ones are more metaphoric. Of the metaphoric ones, share and compare how similar or different all your definitions and interpretations are. (We’re guessing that despite the diverseness of your backgrounds and experiences, your colloquial uses of metaphorical “fuck” will be pretty similar. Why do you suppose that is?) If it helps you to be more comfortable with this task, remember that you are talking about a particular word in a systematic and academic way, the way that linguists, lexicographers, and other language scholars do; you are not cursing, insulting anyone, or blaspheming.
4. AND NOW WRITE. As Skinner notes, “many offensive terms can, at times, be bandied about casually and even used as in-group terms of affection.” He elaborates further that “a word’s meaning and appropriateness can vary greatly by situation.” Such terms are generally applied to members of groups characterized by gender, race, region of origin, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and more; most likely, you have heard one or more of those terms applied to you. Maybe you use such a term yourself in certain contexts, but you would be offended to hear it from other people in other places. Identify one such term, and look it up in three or four large dictionaries. (You can find these dictionaries in your school library or online; you may want to check with your instructor or a librarian for suggestions on which dictionaries they recommend.) Which dictionary provides the least judgmental definition of the term? Which one offers the best explanation of the complexity of the term’s use? Which is the most thorough in its descriptions? Which would be the most helpful to someone who was hearing or reading the term for the first time? Once you have evaluated the entries from your dictionaries, write an essay that reports on your findings and recommendations.
LetsTalkLibrary 