There's a lot going on in the world this month. Heads of state are exchanging visits; China is finally getting a foot inside the WTO's door; and Wimbledon is hosting yet another prim-and-proper tennis championship. But for English-speakers who have their priorities straight, the big event of early July has nothing to do with politics, finance or sports. Don't all rush to the bookstore, but last week saw the publication of the Microsoft Encarta College Dictionary, billed correctly as the first all-new college dictionary in three decades and also, less persuasively, as "the First Dictionary for the Internet Age."
Some English-speakers, of course, may not feel too excited. Oxford and Apple fans aside, these are probably the same people who never consult a dictionary of any kind and think it doesn't matter a hoot if they spell calendar "calender" or write "suddle" when they mean subtle. However, these linguistic free spirits must share the planet -- and often much closer quarters, such as an office or classroom -- with a whole other breed: those annoying people for whom words are infinitely interesting and who want to use them well -- and make sure others do, too. To the latter, the appearance of any new dictionary is a noteworthy event. This is not to say that the MECD will please them all -- far from it -- but they do recognize that its publication brings into focus several issues of potential interest to all users of the language.
First, the fanfare with which the new book is being introduced suggests that the turf war that has raged for some years now in Desk-Dictionary Land is escalating. The MECD, which draws on the computer database of Microsoft's controversial full-size World English Dictionary (book and CD-ROM), is challenging the college and office market currently dominated by such venerable predecessors as the American Heritage, Webster's New World, Random House and Merriam-Webster college dictionaries. The MECD "will start the Third World War of dictionaries," predicted its U.S. editor last month, and it's a safe bet she's right. Picking the best desk dictionary will now require more serious comparison shopping than ever, especially given the new features being touted by the latest arrival: an up-to-the-minute word base; entries for commonly misspelled words, clearly flagged as errors (you can actually look up "calender"); usage notes; and literary links.