English Author Dictionaries (the XVIth – the XXIst cc.)

Olga M. Karpova

Jan 2011 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

This book is devoted to the description of typical trends in development, formation and the present state of English Author Lexicography, the roots of which go back to concordances to the Bible and glossaries of the complete works of Chaucer (xvi c.). Part I, “Linguistic Dictionaries to English Writers,” presents lexicographic analysis of old and new concordances, indices, glossaries and lexicons of famous English writers with special reference to Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare, and Dickens. It presents a modern scene of author glossaries for unfamiliar words, terms and other groups of writers’ vocabulary (e.g. Shakespeare’s insults and his erotic language). The reader is offered a detailed review of author concordances, glossaries and lexicons on the Internet, along with criticism of printed dictionaries. Part II, “Encyclopedic Reference Works to English Writers,” deals with English author encyclopedic reference books, i.e. encyclopedias, guides and companions; dictionaries of characters and place names; quotations and proverbs, and Internet encyclopedic resources. The book also provides a comprehensive list of references on author lexicography and an Index of Dictionaries to the English Writers (xvi–xxi cc.), including 300 titles of linguistic and encyclopedic dictionaries, which is a reliable user guide in the world of English author lexicography.

About the author

Professor Olga Karpova, Doctor of Philology, is Vice-Rector for PR and Head of the English Department at Ivanovo State University, Russia (www.ivanovo.ac.ru), and Head of Lexicology and Lexicography, Section of the Russian Association of Applied Linguistics (www.nopril.ru). She has published 350 papers and 10 books on English lexicography, with special reference to English Learners, Author and Shakespeare Dictionaries. She has organized eight International Schools on Lexicography, supervised 22 PhD students working on their theses (on English LSP, historical, learner’s, author lexicography and work today in Russia— Ivanovo, Moscow, Yaroslavl Universities, and at foreign Universities in the USA, Italy, the UK, etc.).

Olga Karpova delivers special courses on English Authors Dictionaries (xvi–xxi cc.), English Historical Lexicography and Cyber-lexicography, and Electronic Dictionaries for students of senior courses of the English Department.

Prof. Karpova is a member of EURALEX with two Verbatim Awards (1993, 1997), the Historical Lexicography Society (UK), and the Russian Association of Applied Linguistics. She has completed two theses on English Writers Dictionaries (1978) and Shakespeare Lexicography (1991) at Leningrad University; worked at lexicographic centers in England (grant from the British Academy) and Norway (Norwegian Research Council); and given presentations on lexicography at international conferences in Russia, Finland, Italy, Denmark, and Canada. She has won awards from the Russian Ministry of Education, the Eugene Wüster Award from UNESCO, and the title “Woman of the Year 2010” from the local Government for advanced research and education in Russia.