Lectures, Workshops, Tutorials, and Courses in Lexicography

presentations by

Orin Hargraves

Lexicography today is a multidisciplinary undertaking that combines centuries-old techniques of defining and sense division with cutting-edge tools derived from computational linguistics and artificial intelligence. It forms a significant part of applied linguistics and a continuous thread in the history of English; yet its practice and historical development have not received adequate attention in American colleges and universities, and even educated Americans may stumble over the word ‘lexicographer’ or wonder what such a person does.

Dictionaries are among the most used but least studied reference books in the American home and on the college student’s bookshelf. Six college dictionaries and numerous other larger and smaller works compete in the American dictionary market but most consumers lack the knowledge or tools to distinguish critically among them.

These presentations, by one of America’s leading independent lexicographers, are designed to fill a gap in the study of English, linguistics, and languages.

Lectures, Workshops, Tutorials, and Courses in Lexicography

The following presentations can be geared to undergraduates, graduate students, faculty members, or adult learners, according to your needs. Most of the topics are deliverable in at least two formats, as noted at the end of the entry by the following codes: C for course, L for lecture, T for tutorial, and W for workshop. Please inquire about presentations on specific topics in lexicography or ESL that are not noted in the following summaries.

The Art of Defining

An introduction to the principles of defining. Comparisons of definitions among various contemporary and historical dictionaries provide the basis for discovering and practicing the styles and forms of definition that are appropriate for different kinds of dictionaries. C, T, W

The Lexicographer and the Internet

An exploration of the many resources on the Internet available for lexicographic research, including corpora, specialist glossaries, and dictionary portals, as well as using the WWW itself as a corpus with concordancing software. C, T, W

Mastering British and American Differences

Of particular interest to TESOL professionals and nonnative speakers, this hands-on presentation provides a scheme for organizing differences between the world’s two major dialects of English and alerts participants to communication problems that may arise because of them. L, W

Modern English Dictionaries

A look at dictionaries on the market today and how they got to be what they are. Topics include the development of the American “college” dictionary, a comparison of modern British and American dictionaries, and the impact of information technology on dictionary making. L

Practical Lexicography

An intensive tour of the major areas of making a dictionary: identification of the range of coverage and intended audience, gathering of headwords, design of the entry, defining, editing, specialist consultation, and production. The approach is eclectic and includes traditional and largely unchanged practices in defining, as well as cutting-edge developments in database design. C

Production and Publication of Glossaries

A short, practical course aimed at enabling participants to create a specialist glossary, including all steps from identifying and gathering headwords to electronic publication. C,W

Using Corpora for Lexicographic Research

An introduction to the corpus (see sample below) and its use in the dictionary production. Topics include KWIC (key word in context), search strategies, use of frequency as a determiner for inclusion, formulating sense division of polysemes from corpus data, and the pitfalls arising from the use of skewed data in corpora. T, W

kindling is being stacked up around our houses!

more storms were stacked up over the Pacific, w

ow their students stacked up against national av

s to see how they stacked up to the recommended

tall with muscles stacked up, as if constructing

ear bombmaking is stacked up at 23 sites around

powder in Canada stacked up.

eled floppy disks stacked up somewhere.

ember seeing them stacked up like that when we w

ter Arizona State stacked up the line of scrimma

A lot of people stacked up on the toll-free hi

its young talent stacked up against its oversea

r so, Stevens was stacked up in a corner with a

ore storm systems stacked up on the coast.

and the paperwork stacked up between them and d

ar bomb making is stacked up at 23 sites around

etropolitan areas stacked up in terms of trade,

ow London ratings stacked up against New York.

these allegations stacked up against him, why ar

then the spoons, stacked up neatly one on top o

Output from a corpus showing keyword “stacked up” in context

Orin Hargraves

Orin Hargraves has worked in lexicography and reference publishing since 1990, establishing a reputation for accuracy, timeliness, integrity, and professionalism that has made him sought after by publishers in the US, the UK, and Europe. His clients include Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Heinle Thomson, Merriam-Webster, Microsoft Corporation, Oxford University Press, Addison-Wesley-Longman, Chambers-Harrap, HarperCollins, Langenscheidt KG (Munich), and Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore). He has extensive experience teaching English to speakers of other languages, including Chinese immigrants in the US, lycée students in Morocco, and refugees in London. He is the author of the primary text on differences between British and American English, Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions, from Oxford University Press.

For further information concerning scheduling and fee structure, please contact:

Orin Hargraves

5130 Band Hall Hill Road

Westminster, MD 21158

Telephone 410 346 6025

Email to Orin Hargraves