Canadian Oxford Dictionary

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Editor : Katherine Barber

Product Details

Binding : Hardcover
EAN : 9780195418163
Edition : Second Edition
Number of Pages : 1830
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 2004-06-30
Publisher : Oxford University Press

ASIN : 0195418166

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.ca Canadian Essential

When the Canadian Oxford Dictionary was first released in 1998, it was a publishing phenomenon. Quickly recognized as a landmark record of Canadian English, it stayed on bestseller lists for over a year and immediately became the standard dictionary reference across Canada. Updated since, it continues to track that hybrid beast known as Canadian English, defining thousands of regional and national idioms and tracking the distinctive usage that makes the Canadian version of the language neither British nor American.

Amazon.ca

The second edition of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary was launched with a fanfare of hype that is unusual for a utilitarian reference book. Its inclusion of distinctively Canadian entries (yes, two-four, hoser, double-double, and Wawa are all here) launched a thousand lighthearted radio clips. Its tremendous utility as a reference work, however, wasn't touted on the morning shows. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary has been the standard reference work on English as it is spoken and written in Canada since it was first published in 1998. It is the dictionary of choice for nearly every newspaper, broadcaster, magazine, and publishing house in the country. It's a mandatory purchase for any Canadian whose life or living is dependent on the written word, and belongs in every Canadian library.

This new edition adds a number of revisions--some large, some tiny. A new clutch of Canada-specific words has been introduced, and the biographies and geographical notes have been revised and expanded. These goodies are pleasing enough, but they don't explain why every Canadian who writes will need this dictionary: it's the single most essential document of Canadian English, a language that is neither British nor American. There is more to this distinction than colour versus color, or centre versus center--there are a thousand tiny inflections of spelling and usage, many of which are being eroded by International English, especially as it is enforced by Microsoft spell-checking routines. The dictionary's preferred usage toes the Canadian line, but in a passive way. In many cases, Americanisms are presented without comment as accepted variations, not intrusions.

Best of all, this is a dictionary of the living language. A good dictionary lags about five years behind street-level slang and races 40 years ahead of linguistic pedants, and the editors at Oxford University Press have found this sweet spot. Alongside the much-touted Canadian words, browsers will find hip-hop slang, computerese, political euphemisms, and marketing jargon. There may not be enough that's truly new to this edition to justify the purchase price for casual readers and writers who already own the first edition. But even writers who couldn't care less about nouns that end with "ice" and verbs that end with "ise" will find the Canadian Oxford Dictionary useful as a comprehensive guide to the English of the day--at least, as it is spoken in the north of North America. --Jack Illingworth

Customer Reviews

Absolutely essential (2008-09-24)

As a freelance writer and editor, I find it hard to believe that I ever got along without this dictionary. Buy it, add the Chicago Manual of Style and The Canadian Style, and you've got an answer to almost any spelling or style question. Oh, and buy The Elements of Style if you want to know how to write.

The Cadillac of Canadian Dictionairies (2004-02-10)

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary was written by five Canadian lexicographers and originally published in June 1998. Wordsmiths regard this work as the Cadillac of Canadian dictionaries and the foremost authority on current Canadian English. It encompasses 130,000 entries, including 2,000 Canadian words, 500 Canadian regionalisms, 1,200 Canadian place names, 800 Canadian biographies and 300 Aboriginal people and cultural entries.

The book is well bound, with an Oxford blue hardcover made of a synthetic material called Kivar 5 which has gold foil stamping, called blocking, emblazoned on the spine and is protected by an attractive removable dust cover. The paper is high quality 30-lb lightweight bone white stock called Rampart Opaque. This type of paper allows the dark black text done in Swift font to be more legible and pleasing to the eye. The pages are thumb indexed and have attractive blue speckling on the outside edges.

This dictionary is of such a high quality both in content and construction, that it should be considered a mandatory reference book in every Canadian home, classroom, library and office.

Two other fine Canadian dictionaries are the:

IP Nelson; andGage.

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