August 25, 2008

Grant Barrett on open source lexicography

If you have an interest in lexicography, dictionaries, wikis, and neologism, check out this two-year-old post (not outdated) at Grant Barrett's blog, The Lexicographer's Rules. It was linked to in Language Log post today. Crossworders frequently get into dustups about what words mean and whether clues offer accurate representations of answer words. Some look askance at citations from Wikipedia or other user-generated sites. Grant gives his take on "The Dictionary" versus entities like Wiktionary and Urban Dictionary, and his essay's a good read.

If you attended the ACPT this year, you will recognize Grant from his color commentary during the finals and from the awards luncheon.