How to get a word added to the dictionary - Ilan Stavans

Translator: Klavdija Černilogar Dwyer Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

“Dictionary:” noun, “a malevolent literary device

“Slovar”: samostalnik, “zlonamerna literarna naprava,

for cramping the growth of a language and making it hard and inelastic.”

ki omejuje rast jezika in ga naredi trdega in negibljivega”.

“Lexicographer:” noun, “a writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge.”

“Leksikograf”: samostalnik, “avtor slovarjev; neškodljiv garač“.

While the concept of a dictionary dates back to ancient civilizations,

Čeprav slovar kot koncept sega daleč v stare civilizacije,

the first English dictionary was published by Robert Cawdrey in 1604.

je prvi angleški slovar objavil Robert Cawdrey leta 1604.

In the centuries that followed,

V stoletjih, ki so sledila,

many more dictionaries were written by individual authors

so posamezni avtorji napisali še mnoge druge slovarje

who chose what to include or exclude.

in vanje vključili le, kar so sami hoteli.

They not only defined words, they openly showcased their creators’ opinions—

Definirali so besede, a so vsebovali tudi mnenja avtorjev,

like Ambrose Bierce’s definition of “dictionary”

denimo definicijo “slovarja”, ki jo je skoval Ambrose Bierce

and Samuel Johnson’s definition of “lexicographer.”

ali definicijo “leksikografa” v očeh Samuela Johnsona.

After their authors deaths, many of these dictionaries quickly became outdated.

Po smrti avtorjev je mnogo slovarjev kmalu zastaralo.

But one 19th century dictionary had a different fate.

A en slovar iz 19. stoletja je čakala drugačna usoda.

In 1828, American lawyer and author Noah Webster published

Leta 1828 je ameriški pravnik in avtor Noah Webster objavil

“An American Dictionary of the English Language” with a lofty goal:

“Ameriški slovar angleškega jezika” z velikopoteznim ciljem:

to give the United States its own version of the English language.

dati ZDA svojo verzijo angleškega jezika.

He believed that as a new nation,

Menil je, da ZDA kot nov narod

the United States needed its own distinct version of English

potrebujejo lastno različico angleščine,

to assert its independence from Britain.

da bi utrdile neodvisnost od Britanije.

In his dictionary, Webster sought to describe and officialize

V svojem slovarju je Webster želel opisati in uradno zajeti način,

the way Americans spoke.

na katerega govorijo Američani.

Most dictionaries in Webster’s time were prescriptive:

Večina slovarjev tistega časa je bilo opisnih:

they dictated how words should be used,

določali so, kako besede uporabljati,

rather than documenting the way people actually used language in daily life.

niso pa dokumentirali, kako ljudje jezik vsakodnevno uporabljajo.

When Webster broke this convention and included slang words in his dictionary,

Ko je Webster prekinil to tradicijo in v slovar vključil sleng,

critics accused him of polluting the English language.

so ga kritiki obdolžili, da onesnažuje angleški jezik.

But he argued that these words captured local variations of language—

A vztrajal je, da te besede zajamejo lokalne oblike jezika,

a vital part of what made American English unique.

kar je bistven del enkratnosti ameriške angleščine.

He also believed spelling rules were unnecessarily complex,

Menil je tudi, da so pravila črkovanja nepotrebno zapletena

and that we should write the way we speak as much as possible.

in da bi moral pisan jezik biti karseda podoben govorjenemu.

Still, Webster’s own opinions influenced the words he included

Websterjeva mnenja so vplivala tudi na to, katere besede je vključil

and the way he defined them.

in kako jih je definiral.

He excluded slang words from Black communities

Izključil je sleng črnskih skupnosti,

because he didn’t consider them proper.

ker je menil, da ni primeren.

And when he defined “woman,”

In ko je definiral “žensko”, je dodal,

he added that “women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible.”

da “so ženske mehke, blage, usmiljenja vredne in prilagodljive.”

By the time of his death, Noah Webster was a household name.

Ob svoji smrti je bil Noah Webster vsem znan.

Seeing a lucrative business opportunity,

Ker sta uvidela dobičkonosno poslovno priložnost,

brothers George and Charles Merriam bought the rights to Webster’s Dictionary.

sta brata George in Charles Merriam kupila pravice za Websterjev slovar.

Together with Webster’s son-in-law, the Merriams made a new, revised edition.

Skupaj z Websterjevim zetom sta Merriama uredila novo izdajo.

It was the beginning of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

To je bil začetek slovarja Merriam-Webster.

Today, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary begins to address

Dandanes Merriam-Webster začenja reševati

a contradiction in Webster’s goal:

protislovje Websterjevega cilja:

he wanted to represent an entire nation,

želel je zastopati celoten narod,

but he based his work on just one person’s opinion: his own.

a je svoje delo temeljil na mnenju ene same osebe: samega sebe.

Since Webster’s death, each new edition of the dictionary has been curated

Vsako novo izdajo po Webstrovi smrti

by a group of language experts rather than by a single authority.

ureja skupina jezikoslovcev, ne pa en sam odločevalec.

The current criteria for including a word in the dictionary

Trenutni kriteriji za vključitev besede zahtevajo,

are that it has “widespread, sustained, and meaningful use.”

da ima ta “vsesplošno, trajno in smiselno rabo”.

This clearly includes profanities,

To seveda vključuje kletvice,

which were sometimes excluded from dictionaries in the past.

ki so jih pretekli slovarji včasih izključili.

Racial slurs also meet the criteria for inclusion,

Rasistični izrazi tudi izpolnjujejo kriterije za vključitev,

but some argue that including them might legitimize them.

a nekateri menijo, da jih vključitev legitimira.

Dictionaries don’t just add new words—

Slovarji ne dodajajo le novih besed,

they also redefine old words to reflect changing attitudes and usage.

ampak tudi na novo določijo stare besede in tako odrazijo nove vidike in rabo.

One 1736 dictionary defined “wife” as “a married woman whose will,

Nek slovar iz leta 1736 je besedo “žena” definiral kot “poročena ženska,

in the judgment of the law, is subject to the will of her husband:

katere volja je po zakonu podložna volji njenega moža,

for which reason a wife is said to have no will.”

kar pomeni, da žena nima svoje volje”.

Today, “wife” is defined simply as “a female partner in a marriage.”

Danes je “žena” definirana samo kot “partner ženskega spola v zakonski zvezi”.

In 2019, Merriam-Webster’s word of the year was “they.”

Leta 2019 je bila beseda leta pri Merriam-Websterju “oni”.

The word has been in regular use for centuries,

Beseda je že stoletja v redni rabi,

but has only recently gained a new recognized meaning,

a je v zadnjem času dobila nov priznan pomen,

as a pronoun for one person whose gender identity is nonbinary.

kot zaimek za osebo, katere spolna identiteta je nebinarna.

The question of which words belong in the dictionary impacts all of us—

Vprašanje, katere besede spadajo v slovar, vpliva na vse nas:

when our words and definitions are represented, they’re affirmed;

ko so naše besede in definicije v njem, so potrjene;

if not, they— and we— are minimized.

kadar niso, so marginalizirane, in mi z njimi.

Today, lexicographers have expanded word sourcing

Leksikografi danes besede iščejo

to include the dictionary’s users: tracking which words are most searched,

tudi s pomočjo uporabnikov: sledijo najbolj iskanim besedam

and adding them to the dictionary.

in jih dodajajo v slovar.

So, who decides what’s in the dictionary?

Kdo torej odloča, kaj bo v slovarju?

More than ever before the answer is: we do.

Bolj kot kdajkoli prej, je odgovor: mi vsi.

All of us shape language every day.

Vsi mi vsak dan oblikujemo svoj jezik.

When we collectively embrace one word or redefine another,

Ko skupaj sprejmemo novo besedo ali na novo opredelimo kako drugo,

eventually, those words and meanings are reflected in our dictionaries.

slej ko prej te besede in pomeni postanejo del slovarjev.