The problem with the dictionary
Of course, “ain’t” is a word. I found it in the dictionary! — random 7-year old.
In Friday’s post, I said that a dictionary is the most important writing resource. True, but beware. As mentioned in a much earlier post, the English language is descriptive, as opposed to prescriptive (like French). This why I suggested picking a dictionary and sticking with it. Dictionary editors and publishers, for the English language, are forever updating their dictionaries based on current common language usage.
By using the same dictionary, even through successive editions, you maintain the same consistency throughout your writing. Especially if you work for the same client for a number of writing projects, all of the related documentation will use the same definitions and spelling.
This is also where a consistent personal style guide plays a role. Once you’ve made some decisions about how you’re going to write, you can choose to override the dictionary. If the dictionary ever changes, you can choose to update your style guide and all your documentation, or you can choose to ignore the change.
Are there any words (definition or usage) in your dictionary that you ignore?
Tags: dictionary, resource, style, usage
