A meaningful world of words

Usha Albuquerque

Lexicographers are professional linguists who research, write, compile and edit special books such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias or various other reference texts. They design and develop traditional and electronic dictionaries, and help plan the content of dictionaries designed for particular users, deciding what words to include in a dictionary and what words to leave out. They write, compile and edit dictionaries for both print and online publications. 

Role and responsibilities

A lexicographer works on dictionary entries that cover matters such as pronunciation, definition of grammatical terms, various languages, dialectical variation and etymology. A major responsibility of lexicographers is not just writing definitions but writing the right definitions for the right people.

Lexicographers may study the origin of a word or phrase and determine its correct spelling and pronunciation. They perform thorough research into what people are saying and how they are saying it. They compile this research into their findings which they can present for a new word or definition to be included within a dictionary. 

They study existing dictionaries to see how others have defined a particular word and how its meaning has changed over time. They also could be involved in creating and sourcing add-on material and marketing the whole package online, particularly through social media.

The work involves searching specialist databases comprising thousands of pieces of language from a range of sources, including literature, newspapers, online journals, blogs, discussion groups and transcripts of television and radio for evidence of meanings and usages of a word or phrase. The databases can also show how words are used, what the different meanings are for the same word and how they are combined to form new terms or phrases. 

Using these databases, lexicographers can measure how often a specific word is used. They can record how it’s used by a specific segment of the population — teenagers, for instance, or teachers, lawyers or doctors. 

Work profile

Lexicographers work on different types of dictionaries including bilingual, multilingual, educational, historical, biographical, geographical, special dictionaries, etc. The roles and responsibilities, therefore, vary with the type of dictionaries they work for. 

As a lexicographer you’ll typically need to:

• Research and identify new words that are in common usage for inclusion in the dictionary.
• Create new entries using accurate and succinct definitions.
• Accurately represent the various meanings of new and existing words.
• Assess which meaning of a word is the primary (most used) meaning and which meanings are secondary or less commonly used.
• Review and edit existing definitions.
• Check & proofread entries.
• Make sure that the style and format of words is in strict accordance with previously agreed protocols.
• Translate words and expressions in both directions (as a bilingual lexicographer). Bilingual lexicographers must possess skills in two different languages and preferably have a tramsalation background.
• Technical lexicography involves publishing technical language dictionaries for the legal sector.

As nearly all dictionaries are now online and encompass a broad range of related resources, the role is evolving to meet these changes. In these roles, you’re likely to be called a dictionary editor. As a dictionary editor on an online dictionary resource, you’ll also need to:

• Organise dictionary updates, coordinating the work of freelancers.
• Create or source add-on materials, such as blogs, slideshows, videos, quizzes, word games and thesauruses.
• Market the dictionary and its associated resources via social media.
• Get involved with web design and SEO (search-engine optimisation) to ensure that web traffic grows.
• Come up with ways to increase user engagement with the resource.

Getting in

There are no specific educational requirements for lexicographers. Most jobs in this field are for those with at least a bachelor’s / master’s degree, often with a major in linguistics or English or any other concerned language. To advance in this field, you should pursue advanced master’s degree or diploma in lexicography/ linguistics. An advanced degree in English, language translation, or a language other than English will be an added advantage for getting knowledge, experience and more flexibility with the usage of words. 

Job prospects

Most jobs for lexicographers are with publishing companies, colleges or universities.  They can work with senior editors, researchers, data entry clerks, subject matter experts or other lexicographers.  Some of these include:

• Cambridge University Press
• Collins
• Macmillan
• Merriam-Webster (US dictionary)
• Pearson/Longman.

While openings for lexicographers are limited, the demand is increasing with the development of digital technology particularly in areas of artificial intelligence, information sciences, and computer applications in natural language processing, machine learning, computer translations and other high-technology activities. Many software houses, universities and other research institutes are now more open to recruiting trained lexicographers for work that is often carried out by computer scientists or other related disciplines. 

The knowledge of an additional language is also useful in this field for work with social and welfare organisations  dealing with literacy, linguistic problems of ethnic minorities, and other development issues. 

A number of projects and institutes around the world are looking for linguists and multilingual experts and lexicographers to work with language consultants to document, analyse, and preserve languages (many of which are endangered), and also to conduct language surveys, and translate documents of cultural heritage.    

Some lexicographers move into research or follow an academic career. Academic research at PhD level can be in lexicography and related areas such as lexicology, lexical semantics and the history of the English at some universities.

So, if this looks like an interesting field of work, the best way to find out if this is the right career, try getting some work experience with a publishing company in a related area such as editing or proofreading which is valuable. This experience will give you an insight into the publishing sector, as well as helping you build up your knowledge, skills and contacts.  

Some publishing houses offer on the job training to beginners in this field for making online dictionaries and e-books. By this, one can acquire knowledge about various specialist software packages and databases used in lexicography.

Other useful activities include:

• Writing for or editing your university newspaper.
• Creating and writing your own blog.
• Take short courses in areas such as editing, proofreading, SEO, social media and lexicography.

So go ahead, find out if being completely submerged in a world of words is your dream career!

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Skills required 

Lexicographers must have the basic skills of a good writer. They must think clearly and be interested in the world. They must read a lot and know what's going on. They need a good fund of general information.

• Command over the language
• Excellent knowledge of grammatical and computational linguistics. English language lexicographers should have the ability to recognise subtle differences between meanings, how English is used in other English-speaking countries and the difficulties of learning English.
• Good computer knowledge, and the ability to use specialist database software for research purposes.
• Good research and analytical skills.
• Ability to work in a team and effective time management and organisational skills.
• Good critical thinking skills, 
• An eye for detail to spot errors. 

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Institute Watch

There are universities  that offer courses in lexicography and its related fields. Some institutes in India offering courses are:

• Deccan College, Pune 
• Punjabi University, Patiala
• University of Madras
• nBharathiar University, Coimbatore  
• Central University, Kerala