December 2001 newsletter

The presence of the South African word aardvark at the very start of many dictionaries of English neatly illustrates how soon a lexicographer must make decisions about varieties of World English and how they are to be covered. The word appears, of course, in the First Edition of the OED, which has always cast its net over varieties of English spoken beyond its British base, a task which has grown commensurately with the growth of English as a global language. As far as South African English is concerned, we are very lucky to have a world authority 'in-house' in the form of our Director, Penny Silva, who describes some of the challenges of recording South African usage in her article. Global considerations also inform our work on the pronunciation of words, as Gill Evans explains. Finally, Tania Styles reveals something of the intricacies of revising the OED's etymologies; her choice of examples from the world of food will, I hope, leave everyone hungry for more.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing editor of OED News, Bernadette Paton. In the three years since she took over as editor, Bernie has expertly piloted this publication through various changes, while continuing to bring us a stream of polished and entertaining articles. I shall do my best to maintain the standard!

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