Arabic-L:LING:Dictionaries discussion

[Dilworth Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Sat 26 Aug 2006
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject:Dictionaries discussion

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1)
Date: 26 Aug 2006
From:Raven at em.uni-frankfurt.de
Subject:Dictionaries discussion

Indeed, I do not hesitate to confirm that the Hoogland dictionaries  
of Modern Standard Arabic are now the best in the world. But these  
dictionaries will never pay, since Dutch has only 21 millions of  
speakers. How could they be created, whereas there is no such thing  
in English?
One factor was a group of competent persons who were eager to do the  
job. Maybe it mattered too that Holland and Belgium are small, which  
facilitated contacts.
The other factor was heavy state subventioning. Is the Anglosaxon  
world to deeply sunk into capitalism to make such projects possible?  
Researchers do not dare to even think of ?unrewarding? long-time  
projects, and subventions for such a revolting thing as Arabic, ...  
God forbid.

As to Wehr, did it ever strike anyone that Wehr ordered his secretary  
to simply include all lemmas from a hundred years old German  
anthology of classical (yes, old!) Arabic texts into his first German  
edition? Only the most extravagant and specialist meanings were left  
out. I am referring to the Glossary of R. Brünnow & A. Fischer,  
Arabische Chrestomathie aus Prosaschriftstellern, many printings; now  
by Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden.

-- 
Dr. Wim Raven, Orientalisches Seminar, J.W. Goethe-Universitaet,  
Frankfurt, Germany.

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End of Arabic-L:  26 Aug 2006