rewards for lexicographical research

[Rudolph C Troike]

        Steve Kl.'s account of theoretical linguists vs lexicographers
runs the risk of creating a false stereotypic dichotomy. I have no doubt
about his personal feelings, and have seen good doctoral students leave
their studies for similar reasons of disillusionment with linguistic
theory (or a particular brand thereof). And there is no doubt a polar
tendency that separates many theoretical linguists from various fields of
application, not just lexicography, such as translation or language
teaching, or even research on varieties of English and etymology.
        But Larry Horn's enthusiastic and often helpful and enlightening
comments demonstrate that there are lots of people out there (and on this
list) who don't dichotomize the world this way, and who take equal delight
and interest in practical problems of lexicography (and other things as
well, including language teaching or civil rights) and in theoretical
or even empirical research and analysis. Disparaging theory crucially
overlooks the fact that much of the research currently underway in
developing systems for voice recognition (pace Mark Mandel) and automated
translation (anciently MT) are very pragmatically oriented toward issues
of lexical annotation.
        Of course Steve's comments could be taken in the spirit that one
does not have to have a degree in horticulture to be a gardener, or a
farmer, and in the old story once told me by a farmer which re-interprets
BS, MS, and PhD, but even farmers are finding more common cause with plant
science nowadays, and the disparities are declining. There is an
increasing difference, on the other hand, between gardening as a hobby and
successful farming. Lexicography can be practiced as a hobby, or at
different levels of professional involvement and theoretical interest. I
assume that it is not to be defined merely by how definitions can be
written to fit into commercial dictionaries of specified numbers of pages,
though there is certainly an admirable art in that.

        Rudy