Who decides what's in the dictionary?
493,546 views|
Ilan Stavans |
TED-Ed
• May 2021
While the concept of a dictionary dates back to ancient civilizations, the first English dictionary wasn't published until 1604. In the centuries that followed, many more dictionaries were written by individual authors who chose what to include or exclude, with most quickly becoming outdated. One 19th century lexicon had a different fate. Ilan Stavans digs into the history of Webster's Dictionary. [Directed by Lisa LaBracio, narrated by Addison Anderson, music by Salil Bhayani].