[Lexicog] Using old dictionaries

[Ronald Moe]

You cannot copyright the words of a language. So you can use the headwords
from a copyrighted dictionary. But you should fix spelling errors, add new
words, omit archaic words, etc. Otherwise the copyright owner of the old
dictionary might very well complain on moral principles if not legal ones.

 

You can copyright definitions, example sentences, and other descriptions. If
the older dictionary is still in print, you cannot use the descriptions
without permission.

 

There are very serious problems involved in merging two databases. The data
structure is often different. The data itself may follow different
principles (what to include, what labels to use, how to abbreviate it,
etc.). So you will very likely spend a huge amount of time regularizing the
data.

 

Dictionaries ought to be designed for a particular audience with their needs
in mind. So it is unlikely that an older dictionary will follow the same
design parameters as a newer one. You might want to use a different
definition style, include different kinds of information, etc. So all in
all, it is probably better to start from scratch. You might want to have a
copy of the older dictionary on hand to look up how they handled a
particular lexeme. (Most lexicographers do this.) But you will probably save
time in the long run and have a better, more consistent dictionary if you
start over. This is especially true if you are a better lexicographer than
those who produced the old one and if you work using better principles and
procedures. For instance the corpus method has radically improved the
accuracy of definitions and the helpfulness of example sentences. I would be
very hesitant to try to revise a pre-corpus method dictionary. I would
probably have to rewrite everything anyway. Better just to start over.

 

Ron Moe

 

  _____  

From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Gravina
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 4:46 AM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Lexicog] Using old dictionaries

 

  

I've had a couple of queries from people I'm advising about using previously
published dictionaries. These concern African languages where there is a
published work which is old but still in print. In both cases there are
mother tongue speakers who wish to use the old dictionary as a basis for a
new dictionary, which may also be published.

 

Firstly, what are the copyright issues? How much revision or enhancement is
necessary for the new dictionary to be a different work?

 

Secondly, is this a good way of making a new dictionary? The older works may
contain a fair number of inaccuracies or be based on a restricted set of
texts. Would it be better to start from scratch?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

Richard Gravina



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