We’re talking about dictionaries today. Dictionaries: Handy tools, not sources of controversy, right? We can discuss dictionary options without someone being horribly offended, right? Right?
Now, behave y’all’s selves, ok? Dictionaries.
I assume most of you own a dictionary. We own several actual* dictionaries, but I usually use Dictionary.com and long for the days when I was enrolled in college and could access the Oxford English Dictionary online for free ($295 a year is too expensive for a subscription to a “book” I can’t fondle, no matter how sexy etymology might be…and etymology is exceptionally sexy, if you were wondering). One of my fondest literary fantasies is to have an actual copy of the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary. I thought I was something of a freak for wanting this, until the day Captain Science said to me, with longing in his voice, “I wish we had that giant dictionary with all the words in it.” Oh, my son! You really are my son, aren’t you?
Our actual dictionaries are all of the youth variety, and can I just be the first to say that the people who edit youth dictionaries must think that children are either a) really stupid or b) only reading Captain Underpants, because half the words Captain Science needs aren’t in there and the other half have such simplified or limited definitions that it’s rarely the specific meaning of the word that he needs. I end up looking the word up on Dictionary.com and having him choose the definition that seems to fit the context. Yes, I know we should just buy a grown-up dictionary, but refer to the above “I want the unabridged OED” and you’ll understand why nothing else will do.
On the Well-Trained Mind forums, a discussion arose over whether or not there is a method** to finding a word in the dictionary when you don’t know how to spell it. In that same thread, one homeschooling parent says she solved this problem by purchasing an Allographs dictionary, which, according to the product description is:
is a unique sound-based dictionary in which words containing a particular sound are listed under each of the spelling alternatives for that sound. It contains over 3,000 words. Words are set out in alphabetical order down and across the page. Students can see at a glance which sound is easy or difficult to spell. [...] With practice, students can easily “look up sounds to spell.” This is in contrast to a conventional dictionary where you have to know the spelling before you can look up a word. This means the Dictionary not only links to a useful set of exercises, but allows students to be able to check their own spelling during creative writing.
Captain Science is a fairly natural speller. With the notable exception of continuing to spell “because” as “beacuse” in his writing (if you ask him to spell it aloud, he spells it correctly), he can spell just about any word that he’s heard used in context and most that he hasn’t. He doesn’t have a difficult time figuring out the spelling of a word (using the method I describe below) to find the definition. I can’t imagine buying the Allographs Dictionary as an alternative to a standard dictionary, but I imagine it could be an exceptionally helpful tool for a child for whom spelling doesn’t come as easily and I also think it could help a child without spelling difficulties find different ways to look at language and how others perceive it. As someone who absolutely loves language, I’m inclined to say that whatever it takes to guide a child towards the correct and passionate usage of language is a positive thing, so I think that the Allographs Dictionary might find a home on my shelf at some point.
What are your thoughts on this? Does it make the dictionary more accessible for children who have spelling difficulty? Is it a shortcut (and if so, a helpful or hurtful one?) or just an alternative way of looking at language?
*I’m using this word to mean “as opposed to virtual.”
**My answer was that I think there is a method and that “both phonics and an understanding of vocabulary roots play a role in that method. When my son doesn’t know how to spell a word he’s looking up, he identifies possibly spellings and then likely spellings. For instance, “f” sound could be spelled “f” or “ph,” but if he knows the word he’s looking up was in a conversation about sound/music, the likely spelling is “ph” (root “phon”) so he’ll start there. He knows a word starting with an “s” sound is most likely to start with an actual s, but if he doesn’t find it there, he nows c is the next likely place.”
