[Lexicog] stereotypes, taboos, and lexicography

[Amsler, Robert]

I think there is a line that you should be aware of--namely whether the
dictionary being produced is intended for a general audience which includes
school-age children or only for adults. While publishers may produce
dictionaries explicitly for children, there is a general assumption that
"general" dictionaries will be accessed by everyone, including children.
This creates a dilemma. I mean, how would you feel if the FIRST encounter a
child had with profanity or vulgarity or racist terminology was through a
dictionary? If their first usage of such a term was because they learned it
from a dictionary? For many publications there is a presumption that the
readers will be adults, but books unlike television, movies, music and
videogames are thrown into the general circulation category virtually
unmarked these days.

I don't offer a solution here, but in an age of customizable products, it
might be reasonable to consider a general dictionary (for adults) being
published in a varation appropriate for young children which didn't contain
all the expressions that adults could be expected to handle, but which
younger children could not be expected to understand the sensitivity over
their use without adult instruction. I rather like that solution since it is
far worse to relegate children to only having access to "children's books"
when their curiosity and ability to read can vary greatly.

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