Frequently Asked Questions
Dictionaries
Is there an official committee which regulates the English language, like the Académie française
does for French? |
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No, there never has been any group or body with this
authority, and it is not the purpose of the Oxford English Dictionary Department
to act in this way. There was considerable interest in the standardization of English in the 17th
and 18th centuries, which among other things resulted in the publication of
Samuel Johnson's famous dictionary in 1755. However, despite the support of
writers such as Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift, efforts to 'improve' the language
or to establish an English Academy were unsuccessful. English is now used in so many countries, and in so many contexts, that it
is doubtful whether anyone would take much notice of an 'Academy' even if one
existed, though there are organizations dedicated to maintaining or improving
standards of English usage, such as the Plain English Campaign, which tries to encourage the use
of clear English rather than jargon especially in commercial, legal, and offical
publications, and the Queen's
English Society, which aims to counteract the perceived
misuse and debasement of English.
Other questions in this section: What is a dictionary?
What are people referring to when they talk about the 'Oxford Dictionary'?
Are dictionaries always in alphabetical order?
Are dictionaries really necessary?
Are lexicographers good spellers?
Are other languages besides English recorded in huge multi-volume dictionaries?
Do dictionary-makers ever make mistakes?
Do you include words used on the Internet?
How can I access OED Online?
How do you decide if a new word should go in an Oxford dictionary?
How do you decide what to include in a dictionary?
How do you know what a word means?
How has computer technology affected dictionary-making?
How have dictionaries changed over the years?
How will a dictionary look in 2050?
How will revision affect the size of the OED?
Is there an official committee which regulates the English language?
What skills and talents does a lexicographer need?
When will the Third Edition of the OED be published?
Will you put the word I have invented into the dictionary?
If, after browsing the FAQs, you still can't find the answer to your question then submit your query to the AskOxford Language Query team.
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