The University of Kansas issued the following news release:
John M. Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster Inc., will visit the University of Kansas this week to discuss the evolution of dictionary making and the challenges presented by contemporary culture.
His talk, "Dictionaries and Democracy: 200 Years of Dictionary Making in America, 1806-2006," will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union. The lecture will be followed by a discussion relating to the creation and updating of a dictionary. The event is sponsored by Oread Books and is free and open to the public.
Morse's visit is part of a year-long series of special programs to mark the bicentennial of America's first dictionary: Noah Webster's A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1806. Webster saw a great future for "Americanizing" a dictionary of the English language -- one that would reflect the unique culture, vocabulary and experiences of the American people.
After Webster's death in 1843, brothers George and Charles Merriam revised Webster's colossal 1828 two-volume work An American Dictionary of the English Language by reducing it to one volume and, most importantly, bringing its price down from $20 to $6, making it accessible to more people.
Today the goal of creating a dictionary for all American people requires acknowledging the importance of the Internet in supplying language information. Digital information exchange has become a major two-way arena of communication for Merriam-Webster, in which users talk back and express their needs to their Language Research Service through thousands of e-mail inquiries each month. For the first time in the history of lexicography, it has become possible to have immediate interaction with users, which in turn influences the decisions in updating and changing the reference works that the company produces.Contact: Lisa Eitner, 785/864-4431.
Lisa Eitner, 785/864-4431.
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