When the Dictionary Doesn't Work

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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: October 27, 2000
Latest Update: July 23, 2003
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

When the Dictionary Doesn't Work:
Sample of an A Grade

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, July 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

When the Dictionary Doesn't Work

The dictionary doesn't work when the word is being used as a "term of art," that is, to signify an entire concept so that those discussing the concept can communicate more specifically, and, thus, more effectively. The definition of such a word requires discipline-specific information, and would be inappropriate in a traditional dictionary of words used by laymen on a quotidian basis. (Quotidian means "everyday, daily.")

On Monday, October 23, 2000, Tamisha Diaz (CSUDH) wrote:

The reason we couldn't find adversarialism in the dictionary is that it is not one of those words that has a simple meaning that is agreed upon by everyone. Adversarialism takes on different meanings depending on the context in which it has been placed. Adversarialim is a word which Fellman uses to describe an entire idea. He uses this word to describe an entire paradigm.

It is not the fault of the dictionary that the word wasn't included. It is our responsibility to seek out the meaning of words or ideas that we do not understand. When we find words that we do not understand, we should look for people who have the knowledge we are looking for and we sould look to different materials like encyclopedias and resources like the internet.

On Friday, October 27, 2000, jeanne responded:

Tamisha, this is an excellent response to the question. I would give this an A for the skill with which you translated the lectures and readings into your own words, and the thoroughness of your answer. I liked that you recognized the inappropriateness of putting technical and academic definitions into the quotidian dictionary. And I particularly liked your understanding of the many effective ways in which we could seek the academic definition: someone with expert knowledge, the encyclopedia, the Internet. Consider also texts, especially introductory texts or articles in the field.

Notice that when Lois Shawver includes an essay on Foucault for her professional colleagues, she includes a glossary of terms. Dictionary for the Study of the Works of Michel Foucault

Notice also that Emory University includes a Glossary of Key Terms in the Work of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak on its Postcolonial Studies Site.