The Wordtree (review)

344Reviews The Wordtree. Henry G. Burger, comp. Merriam, Kansas: The Wordtree, 1984. 381 pages. $149.00. This dictionary was written to give readers a printed lexical data base connecting verbs or "ideas," as the author calls them, in a hierarchy exemplifying "world knowledge." This work is quite revolutionary for a dictionary but in line with much research being pursued in computational linguistics— though when presented in book form it is certainly more difficult to follow the connections of this "word-finding system" than it would be if a computerized version were available. Specifically difficult for the reader will be the abbreviations, especially in the hierarchy section. The hierarchy section is a compilation of transitive verbs ("actemes" is the author's term) arranged according to their complexity. To get into the hierarchy section, one must find the word in the alphabetical index that will give the basic components of the meaning and a number at which one can find the word in the hierarchy section: ABNEGATE = REMISE & UNREQUEST 11785- " SPURNED OB = COLDTURKEY " IMMETHODIZE = DEREQUISITION Figure 1 . An example of an entry in the alphabetical section. The alphabetical, section is much easier to follow, with few abbreviations and a clear listing of meanings-to-words giving connections of the keyword to its more complex processes. The hierarchy section, however, is the recommended place to find the wording or synonyms of an "imprecisely-worded idea." There begins the slew of abbreviations. It is very true that if the coded information had been written out, it might not have been financially possible to publish this book, but certainly a decoder guide for the hierarchy section with thirty-two "points" indicates that the hierarchy's information may not easily be accessed. Much better would be a computerized version where one could follow the words on their paths to the hierarchy section and then have the codings Reviews345 spelled out for readability of entries. ***** DEMAND (1 1785) ABNEGATE -'-'-'-'-'-'-.-.-.-.-.-.-. 12086.TO OVERDEMAND = * & EXCEED (160). 12087.TO REQUISITION = * & METHODIZE (5051). HELEN. 12088--. TO COLDTURKEY = SPURN (11306--) & ~>. # ABRUPT, COLD-TURKEY. @ ADDICTING PV, SUDDEN HALT. > COLDTURKEYED; . 12089.TO QUEST = PURSUE (11408) & *. < CURIOSITY, INQUISITIVENESS , OUTREACH, PARSIFAL. # BOL, BONE, SEARCH FOR, SEEK, SEEK OUT, STRIVE FOR. @ PHYSICAL SEARCH. Figure 2. An example of an entry from the hierarchy section. 346Reviews Certainly there is an abundance of information in this dictionary, but I lost interest when confronted with the abbreviations. I could get an idea of the suggested meanings and connections—but let's face it, I am (as are most others) a reader of "traditional" dictionaries, and though we must teach ourselves the meanings of abbreviations and other markings to understand certain features, we do not need to do that to read definitions. That is what is required to read the meat of the entries in the hierarchy section of The Wordtree. The only other premise that may be disturbing is the verbalization of nouns (and other parts of speech). Burger explains that he is taking transitive verbs and halving them into the "immediately-preceding process" and "the additional action"—his example being that to HOLD something and to STAY it is to FASTEN it. Further, to GROUND something and to FASTEN it is to STAKE it. But the explanations of meanings by transitive verbs cannot stay that simple. Under HUG one finds "to leotard"; under OVERFLY "to Zeppelin"; under LOVE, "to Valentine." This is a novel way of connecting concepts, but it is also easier to do when one verbalizes nouns rather than describing verbs with other verbs. It sets an entirely new approach to explaining meanings, but in a way that disregards the English language as we use it, suggesting a child-like way of expressing meaning by "making up" words. In the promotional leaflet, Burger provides this example: TO FASTEN is essentially to HOLD something and thereby to STAY it. To define the same verb, FASTEN, Oxford Unabridged Dictionary [The Oxford English Dictionary, 1933, Oxford University Press, J. A. H. Murray, ed.] uses 2,960 words. Excellent for doctoral dissertations! But how long would it take the busy Word Executive to digest them down to the two-word basic definition appearing in The Wordtree? First, the reader would have...