Johannes Silveti “Inglise-eesti sõnaraamat”: kolme väljaande võrdlus
“An English-Estonian dictionary” by Johannes Silvet: Comparison of three editions

Summary/Abstract: “An English-Estonian Dictionary” by Johannes Silvet (1895–1979) is the best-known English-Estonian dictionary. The aim of the study was to establish the similarities and differences on the English side of three editions of the dictionary on the basis of four segments (checked–chimneypot, heap–hedgehog, pressure–primitive and turquoise–Tzigany). The entry count was carried out according to the guidelines provided by Sydney I. Landau (with some modifications). Comparison of the four segments showed a 2.8 per cent growth in the second and 25 per cent growth in the third edition. The number of discarded entries was low in both the second and the third editions. In the case of the second edition one can claim that one part of the additions and ommissions were made due to ideological considerations. The first three editions of the English-Estonian dictionary by Silvet reveal a cumulative character in the sense that new material is added to the previous material. The problem of the third edition is that although the dictionary has grown to a considerable degree in comparison with the second edition, it has become outdated. There are two possible solutions – whether to radically revise the dictionary or compile a new dictionary from scratch.

• Details
• Contents