rewards for lexicographical research

[Frank Abate]

Joanne D said:

>>
I hope I'm not jumping ahead of things by asking this question -- I
think a panel on the status of lexicographical work vis-a-vis other
types of scholarly research would be terrificially interesting -- but I'll
plunge in anyway:  how much of this lack of recognition accorded
to lexicographical work by promotion and tenure committees has to
do with its lack of trendiness?  In my experience, most people who
do lexicography aren't very theoretically inclined.  Is this type of
data-intensive work regarded as a sort of mechanical and
unimaginative gathering of nuts and berries?  Excuse me if this
question is naive.

Joanne
<<

No, not at all naive.  I don't think the nature of lexo work is widely
understood.

Sidney Landau (somewhere in his "Art and Craft of Lexicography" book) speaks
of lexo work requiring diligence and patience, but not genius.  I think this
is essentially correct.  There is a lot of technique involved in doing it
right, and one needs to be an apprentice for years to acquire the requisite
skills.  But beyond that, lexo work is a matter of moving a mountain of dirt
from one place to another, one shovelful at a time.

Another way to describe lexo work, specifically the drafting of defs, is as
a form of technical writing.

And yes, I agree that most of the practicing lexos I know are not
theoretically inclined.  There are, of course, exceptions (Patrick Hanks,
e.g.), and some very good linguists are in the business.  But to meet the
deadlines, one must stop dealing with theory, choose one or two, and get on
with shoveling the dirt.

To illustrate the non-theoretical bent of lexos, look at a list of past
papers given at DSNA meetings, and of contents in the DSNA journal
"Dictionaries", and compare that to what one sees in "American Speech" and
"Language" (LSA journal).

On the other hand, Euralex is very interested in theory, but I think that is
a reflection of its membership having far more academics (I believe) than
DSNA, and there being a large percentage of Euralex folks who are bilingual
lexos.  Again, look at a list of Euralex papers past.

Frank Abate