Reviewed by Don R. McCreary, University of Georgia

This collection of nineteen papers, which provides a fascinating insider’s perspective on contemporary European lexicographic research, has much to offer those interested in modern electronic dictionaries. These papers were selected from those presented at the 12th International Symposium on Lexicography at the University of Copenhagen in 2004.

The papers discuss topics from pronunciation to etymology to grammar. Four of the nineteen papers were written in German, and the other fifteen are in English. The contributors analyze English, English as a foreign language, and German monolingual dictionaries as well as bilingual dictionaries in Afrikaans-English, Danish-English, Latvian-English, Polish-English, German-Danish, and German-Icelandic. The papers on bilingual lexicography are noteworthy for their promotion of electronic-based dictionaries, such as personal digital assistants (PDA), CDs, handheld, and Internet-based dictionaries.

Overall, these papers clarify the modern lexicographers’ intention to put user-friendliness first, especially in bilingual dictionaries, by concentrating on pragmatic functional equivalence rather than seeking an all-purpose translation equivalent.