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Has Google Made Dictionaries Obsolete?

by Caleb Johnson on September 9, 2009 at 06:30 AM

Try hard to remember the last time you picked up a dictionary. (You know, that big, old dusty book with gold-leaf on the cover.) For those who've grown up in the 'Age of Google,' it might be hard to recall. Because, with a few keystrokes and a click of a button, a search engine can retrieve the definition of any word, not only in the English language, but many others, too.

According to The Wall Street Journal, dictionaries, which are essentially massive databases, have been eclipsed by Google's ability to provide a quick definition, spelling, and examples of word usage in nanoseconds. Often, the definition appears just by reading the two-sentence summaries on the search results page, no visit to an online dictionary necessary. However, the Journal isn't calling for the burning of all print dictionaries -- they're still useful if you're looking for obscure usages and etymologies.

The real beef here is with dictionaries, period. Unclear or outdated definitions, and a dearth of example sentences plague both print and online versions. For some reason, despite the freedom the Web offers, lexicographers haven't figured out how to make online dictionaries dynamic and up-to-date databases. Until someone figures out how to use them, we'll just have to consult the 'Google-nary' for our language needs. [From: The Wall Street Journal]

Tags: dictionary, google, language, search, web

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