Here is the dictionary with the most universal ambition. What of the Oxford? It began appearing only in 1884. They were written to demonstrate some sort of French, American, German exceptionalism.
There is a single theme running through all three. Or the Grimm brothers’ Deutsches Wörterbuch – not their fairy tales – which began appearing in 1858 and was central to the idea of a unified Germany. Very different from the banal bit of Americana which today’s Webster’s represents. Webster’s was the intellectual backup to the Americans’ Enlightenment-style founding documents – the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Or the Webster’s of 1828, designed as a brilliant enlightenment tool. For years, it was central to the international role of French as the diplomatic language. The great French Dictionnaire of the 17th century was written to create an elite language of power centred in Paris. What can a dictionary do? Think of what they have done in their modern form. Well, this is the most grandiose yet confused subject floating about out there. Why today do we need a dictionary focused on how people live together? Try to live together? Fail to live together? Discover they can live together. It all depends on the purpose of the dictionary. John Ralston Saul is the author of The Doubter’s Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense, is president emeritus of PEN International and is the co-chair of the ICC.Ī dictionary is a political statement. For more information, go to Getty Images/iStockphoto Join nearly 50 speakers from 15 countries in Toronto from Sept.
Thousands of people from around the world attend our annual gathering in order to work their way to a new discourse, and to develop a language we can all share. This first iteration of the 6 Degrees Dictionary will be presented for consideration and conversation at 6 Degrees Toronto, a global forum on how to build inclusive societies. We start with 12 words, the currency of so much disagreement and misunderstanding, and recast them to provoke and inspire. The 6 Degrees Dictionary, a new project of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, offers a user’s guide to inclusion. Why does poor thinking persist? Because those words and ideas remain unchallenged. Where does fresh thinking come from? Often enough, from familiar words and the ideas behind them made new. Language should communicate, not manipulate
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