Penguin Canadian Dictionary

Nora D.S. Robins is Collections Co-ordinator (Internal) of the
University of Calgary Libraries.

Paikeday has had considerable experience as a lexicographer specializing
in Canadian dictionaries. He worked on the Gage Canadian Dictionary
(1966) and on the Winston Dictionary of Canadian English (1969). He has
now put his efforts into this new labor of love.

The Penguin Canadian Dictionary (PCD) contains more than 75,000 entries
and definitions: contemporary words and phrases; technical vocabulary;
popular slang; and colloquial expressions. The database was begun in
1973 as a manual one, but Paikeday soon realized the potential of
electronic databases for lexicographical evidence of contemporary usage.
The database’s main components were the Toronto Globe & Mail
(particularly the on-line edition begun in 1977) and InfoGlobe on
CD-ROM. The PCD thus draws on the print media for evidence of
contemporary vocabulary and usage.

The PCD lists and defines words and idioms as well as phrases in which
words normally combine in idiomatic English (collocations). The words
are defined in their actual context of use, rather than in abstract
terms. The definitions are generally clear and useful.

The PCD has abandoned the phonetic system of symbols for a clearer
presentation of pronunciation (e.g., “famine”: FAM.un). For anyone
who reads English at an elementary level, the keyless pronunciation
system should be easy to use. A standardized spelling-based system is
used.

Both British and American spellings are given if there is a difference,
with the British spelling listed first (although the reason for this is
not explained).

The PCD is intended as an up-to-date source for students and the
public—a Canadian alternative to the mid-sized Webster’s Dictionary,
or a supplementary volume to the larger ones. It certainly has a place
in home, office, school, and library. The compiler sought to “bring
lexicography down to earth from the clouds of abstraction.” He has
succeeded admirably.