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Cambridge University Press
Humanities title

Samuel Johnson: Dictionary of the English Language on CD-ROM

Ann McDermott

This first electronic presentation of the greatest dictionary before the OED provides an extraordinary resource for anyone wanting ready access to a major foundation of the English language. Samuel Johnson produced his famous Dictionary in 1755 and issued a significantly revised Fourth Edition in 1773. Each Edition has previously been available only in expensive print facsimile. Now, a CD-ROM makes accessible these two main Editions alongside each other, fully transcribed and searchable, in addition to digitized images of all of the original printed pages. Fast retrieval software allows the user to search both Editions of the Dictionary for words, phrases, headwords, quotations, and source-authors. The Dictionary is not only the first great work of English lexicography but also a literary and historical resource of immense value, and this electronic edition has been prepared to the highest standards by a team of scholars at the University of Birmingham.

Chapter Contents

The CD-ROM contains: A complete transcription of the text of the First Edition of Johnson's Dictionary of 1755 (c. 40,000 entries), with full SGML coding and page breaks following the original. A complete transcription of the text of the Fourth Edition of Johnson's Dictionary of 1773 (c. 40,000 entries), with full SGML coding and page breaks following the original. Digitised images of the original printed pages of both First and Fourth Editions. A DynaText search and retrieval engine with user-friendly screen design. System requirements: The CD-ROM runs identically on PC Windows and Macintosh systems. All necessary search and display software and fonts are provided on the CD-ROM and do not need to be acquired separately. The following equipment is recommended: PC: 386 or later; Windows 3.1+; 8 Mb of RAM; double-speed CD-ROM drive. Macintosh: system 7 or later; 4 Mb of RAM; double-speed CD-ROM drive.

What has been said about Samuel Johnson: Dictionary of the English Language on CD-ROM

'... this CD-Rom is a gift from heaven'
John Naughton The Observer

Title Details

Format: CD-ROM
ISBN: 0521557658
Published: March 1996
; 245 x 169mm
UK Price: £195
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