Evaluating the Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage

1. Evaluating the Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage Matthew J. Brown February 20, 2001

2. Need for the DCEURegional Background • 5.8 million English speakers in 105,000 sq. mi. • 5 geopolitical territories & 12 independent nations. • Different settlement histories  different development of English.

3. Need for the DCEUThe Region Anguilla Antigua Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Br. Virgin Isles Cayman Isles Carriacou Dominica Fr Guiana Grenada Grenadines Guadaloupe Gullah Guyana Haiti Jamaica Martinique Montserrat Neth. Antilles Nevis Panama Puerto Rico Surinam Santo Domingo St. Kitts St. Lucia St. Vincent Tobago Turks and Caicos Trinidad US Virgin Isles Venezuela

4. Need for the DCEU Trinidad 1967 • Conference of the Caribbean Association of Headmasters and Headmistresses: • “Resolution 6: Whereas the general interchange of teachers among the Caribbean territories is increasing, Be it resolved that this Association request the appropriate department of the University of the West Indies to compile a list of lexical terms in each territory and to circulate these to schools for the guidance of teachers.”

5. AuthorityCoordinator and Editor: Richard Allsopp • Masters and PhD in English from UK Universities. • Thesis: Pronominal Forms in the Dialect of English Spoken in British Guiana. • 1st ever devoted to Caribbean Creole. • 1963: becomes UWI English Professor. • Editorial board of OED 2nd Ed. • Contributor to OED Online. • > 50 published papers.

6. AuthorityPublisher and Genealogy • Published by Oxford University Press • According to Katz OUP is one of the reputable dictionary publishers. • American Reference Books Annual (v. 28) • “…this volume is the first comprehensive inventory of that region’s distinctive language.” • Caribbean English not scholarly until after WWII.

7. Treatment • Accuracy and Currency • Difficult to assess due to unique quality. • Objectivity • No noticeable bias. • More headwords from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. • Most populous territories in region. • Style • Written for High School age and above.

8. Arrangement • Sequence • Terms are listed alphabetically. • Entries follow specific structure. • See “Structure of an Entry” in the Preface. • Indexing • None. • Extensive cross-referencing. • A territorial index would be helpful.

9. FormatPhysical Make-up • Hardcover • Binding is firm. • Layout • Two columns/page: easy to scan • Headwords, allonyms, phrases, and numbered glosses in bold. • Font Size • Headword is fine, entry is a bit small. • Paper • Too thin.

10. FormatIllustrations • End papers • Map of Caribbean & Rimlands. • Map of Africa w/locations of languages referenced. • Appendix 1 • “Layout of Steelband”. • Pictorial Questionnaire (not included) • Used during data collection. • Inclusion of pictures of particularly Caribbean items would have been useful.

11. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Vocabulary: 20,000 words & phrases. • Includes Variant spellings. • Ex: cat . a . pla (USVI); cat . a . palm (Dmca, Gren) • Headword is most common term for a gloss in the region. • Syllabication uses a centered period. • See example above

12. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Pronunciation uses IPA symbols with modifications to show tone patterns. • Variant pronunciations are separated by a ‘~’. • Ex. ce . ra . see* [’sirΛsi ~ ’sΛrsi ~ ’sΛrΛsi] • Tone-pattern shown using digits between slashes for some entries. • just now /1'2/ (Bdos) = soon • just now /2’1/ (Bdos) = a short while ago

13. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Allonyms • A different term that is equivalent to the headword. • Occurs in another territory. • Synonyms are similar terms. • Ex: zug upvb phr (Trin) [AF –Joc] || chang-chang (Gren) To cut (a man’s or boy’s) hair unevenly (as done by an untrained person). • Grammatical Information • Some need descriptive labels due to unique structure & usage. • Ex: is1 2. (ii) [Unstressed interrog, introducing an emphatic question] ’Is what wrong to he?’ one woman said to her neighbor…’Is where dey bring he from at all?’ - SNWIC:222

14. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Glosses • Clear and succinct. • Full Taxonomic Identification for flora and fauna. • Subject labels identify context of the gloss. • Ex: Z-pot [zεd-pot] (CarA) [Fishing Ind] A fishpot constructed in the shape of a Z, with one funnel at each end. • Some entries include brief quotations to show context.

15. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Etymologies • Provided wherever available. • Compiler states that they are often “evidence of possible linkages, not as proof of direct sources”. • Need preface to decipher abbreviations and symbols. • Ex: chaw [čρ:] vb (CarA) [AF-Cr] Chew; chew on (sth for a long time). a.Yo never see dog chaw razor. – Jmca (Prov) b. Since yuh mother didn’t uses to let you chew chewing gum, you chawing ’pon tha’ pork skin till just before evensong and service. – PeL (80.05.02, p.10, A. Clarke)[OED chaw v ‘a by-form of chew… used in Eng in 16C and now in Scand some E dialects..]

16. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Usage and Bias • Labels identify territorial use of an allonym. • Some terms include usage notes. • Levels of formalness. Main Levels • [F] = Formal • [IF] = Informal • [AF] = Anti-Formal • [X] = Erroneous or Disaproved Sub-Categories of AF • [AF-CR] = Creole • [AF-Joc] = Jocular • [AF-Derog] = Derogatory • [AF-Vul] = Vulgar

17. Dictionary Specific Evaluation • Encyclopedic Material • Generally is not encyclopedic • Area, population (1989-90 est.), and comment on each territory (usually year/month of independence.) • Taxonomic identification. • National bird, and national tree/flower of territories. • Some quotes reveal historical information. • Layout of steel band.

18. Summary • Recommend to academic libraries. • Recommend to public and high school libraries in communities with significant proportion of speakers of Caribbean English. • Publisher should make Web or CD-ROM version. • Already cross-referenced. • Could include audio examples of pronunciation.

19. Allsopp, R. (Ed.). (1996). Dictionary of Caribbean English usage. New York: Oxford University Press. Allsopp, R. (1997). Cataloguing the Caribbean. English Today, 51 (3), 37-38. Armstrong, E. (1996). [Review of the book The dictionary of Caribbean English usage]. The School Librarian, 44 (3), 127-128. Cassidy, F. G., et al. (Eds.) (1985). Dictionary of American regional English (Vols. 1-3). Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Consultants and advisers. (2001). Oxford, England. Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved February 17, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://dictionary.oed.com/public/inside/advisers.htm Fairchild, C. A. (2001). Dictionaries. In R. E. Bopp & L. C. Smith (Eds.) Reference and information services: An introduction (3rd ed., pp. 409-432). Katz, W. A. (1997). Introduction to reference work: Volume 1. (7th ed.)New York: McGraw-Hill. Kay, E. (Ed.). (1970). Dictionary of Caribbean Biography 1970 (1st ed. Vol. 1). London: Melrose Press Ltd. Martin, M. S. (1997). [Review of the book The dictionary of Caribbean English usage]. Choice, 34 (9). 1473. Simpson, J.A., et al.. (Eds.). (1989). The Oxford English dictionary (2nd ed., Vols. 1-20). New York: Oxford University Press. Wilhelm, A. (1997). [Review of the book The dictionary of Caribbean English usage]. American Reference Books Annual, 28, 384. References