ITP Nelson Canadian Dictionary of the English Language

Sarah Robertson is the trade, scholarly, and reference editor of the
Canadian Book Review Annual.

Adapted from The American Heritage High School Dictionary, third
edition, The ITP Nelson Canadian Dictionary features more than 150,000
entries (some 10,000 of which cover people and places); thousands of
photographs, maps, and drawings; a thumb index; and charts and tables.

The entries include standard features, from syllabication to
etymologies, and, where applicable, synonym discussions, usage notes,
and word histories. Users will encounter new vocabulary (infomercial,
photo radar, zero tolerance) and words and phrases that are
distinctively Canadian (Ski-Doo, last spike, muskeg). The dictionary’s
spelling preferences reflect the Canadian hybridization of British and
American preferences (colour, analyze).

Included in the front matter are a guide to the dictionary; a
capitalization, punctuation, and style guide; and a gracefully written
introduction that shows “how the development of ... Canadian English
... mirrors our development as a nation.” The appendices feature a
dictionary of Indo-European roots and a cornucopia of information
“about Canadian symbols, provinces and territories, geography, and
time zones; about how our government and courts work; and about how
Canada has evolved constitutionally.”

The trade and school versions of the dictionary are identical save for
their covers and the added feature in the latter of 16 pages of
full-color world maps.

Assembled by a team headed by Peter A. Reich, chair of the Department
of Linguistics at the University of Toronto, this erudite and superbly
produced volume is an essential reference for home and school libraries.