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Statement: Dictionary CommitteeHome » Dictionary » Statement
WESPA DICTIONARY
COMMITTEE (DC)
KEY POINTS TO NOTE RE
NEXT WORDLIST UPDATE
Darryl Francis A copy of the latest WESPA Wordlist Proposals is also available as a downloadable document by clicking the link below: 19 May 2009 WESPA Document History 1 Introduction The earlier wordlist consultation document was distributed widely, and comments invited. There was a significant volume of feedback, although substantially less that the email volumes in February-March this year, before the consultation document had been published. The timetable stated for the consultation process was: 2 Publication & Adoption Dates The consultation document advised that (a) the new wordlist is currently scheduled for publication in 2011 second quarter, and (b) adoption by WESPA of the new wordlist sometime in 2012 would not be unreasonable. Consultation feedback was generally supportive of these dates. ITEMS FOR CONSULTATION For ease of reference back to the original consultation document, the original paragraph numbers have been retained. 6 Source Dictionaries The DC proposes the following dictionaries are used as source dictionaries: 6.1.1 Collins English Dictionary (10th edition, 2009) The DC proposes not using the following dictionaries as source dictionaries: 6.1.3 Shorter Oxford Dictionary The combination of Collins and Chambers will result in several thousand new words being added to the wordlist. The DC believes this will ensure that the new wordlist has a high degree of “up-to-date-ness”. 7 Nominated Regional Words The DC proposes dismissing the option whereby Scrabble organisations would be invited to nominate additional words for inclusion in the new wordlist. 8 Word Selection 8.1 Usual Criteria In examining source dictionaries for new root words and their inflected forms, the usual criteria are to be applied regarding validity – namely: not capitalised, not hyphenated, no longer than 15 letters. As with the current wordlist, words from non-foreign phrases would be considered as root words. Corresponding inflected forms will be allowed, depending on the part of speech of the word concerned within a specific phrase. 8.2 Word Length Dictionary Committee Proposal: In effect, only Collins English Dictionary would be examined for root words of 10-15 letters; corresponding inflected forms would be allowed. Root words of 10-15 letters in other source dictionaries would not be allowed. 9 Deletion of Obsolete Words Dictionary Committee Proposal: This will enable the new wordlist to be fully adopted by WESPA for Tournament and Club players, and also be acceptable to the more social player and youth/school Scrabble scenes where obsolete spellings may be detrimental to acceptance of the official wordlist. Once the new wordlist is published, it is proposed that WESPA confirms that all words in the wordlist (whether asterisked or not) are valid for all games and tournaments played within the auspices of WESPA and its member national associations. It will be up to individuals, informal groups, schools etc, beyond the scope of WESPA to bar the use of asterisked words if they so wish. 10 Tidying Up Inconsistencies Dictionary Committee Proposal: The DC does not propose to tidy up the following type of inconsistency: Other Issues 11 Wordlist Format Layout and format will be considered further by the DC, in conjunction with Collins and WESPA, later in the project. 12 Spinoff Books 13 Dictionary Committee Proposals The Dictionary Committee proposals are summarised here: Dates: Source dictionaries: Nominated words: Word lengths of words from source dictionaries: Obsolete words: Inconsistencies: Format: 3 April 2009
Updating the Scrabble Wordlist
Dictionary Committee Proposals
Date & Version 19 May 2009; v1.01
1April 2009 Start of consultation
29 April 2009 End of consultation
6 May 2009 Initial proposal from DC to WESPA Committee
20 May 2009 Agreed final proposal, between DC and WESPA Committee
22 May 2009 Publication of final proposal on WESPA website & email lists
It was possible for the DC to prepare this proposal by 20 May 2009. The main reason for this was that, at the end of the consultation period, the Dictionary Committee (DC) had not received formal responses from several national associations, They were asked subsequently to submit comments, and a number of these have now been provided. Responses have still not been received from some associations.
6.1.2 Chambers Dictionary (11th edition, 2008)
6.1.4 North American Wordlist
An updated North American wordlist has been hinted at for 2012. If the contents of this updated wordlist can be identified in time for inclusion in the new (WESPA) wordlist, then its contents will be added to the new wordlist. In practice, this means that new content in the North American wordlist will need to be finalised and available to the DC by late 2010. The DC will strive for the next update to be inclusive of a TWL update . The North American authorities are being asked to provide an updated view about the timing of any new TWL.
6.2 Other Dictionaries, including:
• Concise Oxford Dictionary
• Macquarie Dictionary
• Oxford Dictionary of English
• Oxford English Dictionary
• Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
Only the following criteria for word length to be used:
• Root words of length 2-9 letters to be allowed, plus corresponding inflected forms of any length, all source dictionaries.
• Root words of length 10-15 letters to be allowed, plus corresponding inflected forms of any length, Collins English Dictionary only.
• If a new North American wordlist is available, all words in it will be admitted to the new WESPA wordlist, regardless of the criteria above.
Following discussions with Collins, the DC is now proposing that:
• No obsolete words or spellings will be deleted;
• Obsolete spellings will be marked with a symbol, eg an asterisk,in the new wordlist with an explanation at the front of the book, and possibly at the foot of each page;
• Obsolete words other than obsolete spellings will remain in the wordlist and will not be marked with an asterisk.
The DC proposes that the following types of inconsistency in the current wordlist should be addressed:
• Many Maori and New Zealand words do not have an –S plural. These missing plurals will be added, using local NZ expertise.
• Comparatives and superlatives of some bisyllabic adjectives (particularly those ending in –Y) are missing from the current wordlist primarily because of a different approach to such forms within TWL imported wordlist; additional comparatives and superlatives will be included where these fit within the ground rules used previously for OSW content.
• Inflected forms derived from UK and US spellings differ. For example, the current wordlist has 149 words with the sequence COLOR, but only 109 words with the sequence COLOUR. (The DC has undertaken Lexpert analysis of the variations in –OUR/-OR and –ER/-RE spellings. The DC view is that these spelling variations cannot be easily addressed without introducing the possibility of invalid words.)
Though not part of the project to update the wordlist, DC consideration will also be given during the project to spinoff books likely to be based on the new wordlist - eg a corresponding dictionary (with definitions) and a lists book.
SUMMARY
• Publication date 2011
• Adoption for use 2012
• Latest editions of Collins and Chambers dictionaries
• New North American wordlist, if available in time
• No words to be nominated to the DC by regional organisations or individuals
• Root words of length 2-9 letters to be allowed, plus corresponding inflected forms of any length, all source dictionaries
• Root words of length 10-15 letters to be allowed, plus corresponding inflected forms of any length, Collins English Dictionary only
• Words from non-foreign phrases to be considered as root words (as per current criteria)
• As appropriate to allow words from any new North American wordlist
• Delete no obsolete words; mark obsolete spellings with a symbol
• Inconsistencies in the current wordlist (ie Maori/NZ plurals, missing comparatives and superlatives) to be addressed by addition of the appropriate words
• For later consideration by DC with Collins and WESPA.
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Scrabble Wordlist Consultation Document
Obsolete Words Review Document
FINANCIAL
ARRANGEMENTS OVERVIEW
CURRENT
WORD LIST – A REMINDER
HISTORY
OF OFFICIAL WORD LISTS
The
WESPA Dictionary Committee consists of
Darryl
Francis (
Dylan
Early (
Jeff
Grant (
Barry
Harridge (
Allan
Simmons (
Mattel
has recognized that WESPA has the right to determine the content of any new official
wordlist. The Committee has explored various options for publication of the next
wordlist - these include approaching Collins, other publishers and WESPA itself
publishing a new wordlist. The Committee concluded that the most pragmatic option
was to approach Mattel’s licensed publisher, Collins, for the next update of the
official wordlist. It has been agreed with Mattel and Collins that WESPA can
determine the content of the wordlist, including sourcing words from dictionaries
other than Collins.
It
was on this basis that WESPA approached Collins as its preferred publisher and
then entered into discussion and negotiation for publication of the next
wordlist
Details
of the proposed deal have been discussed by Committee and aspects have been
much debated before agreement to proceed.
Collins
was advised of the agreement on February 9th 2009 and will proceed
to draft a contract for WESPA representatives to sign. Until the contract is
signed, the actual detail of amounts must remain commercially confidential but
a broad outline is covered below.
FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
OVERVIEW
WESPA
has considered both a royalty based arrangement and a fixed fee based
arrangement as payments by Collins for being allowed to publish WESPA’s
official word list update. Following discussion with DC members, who have
relayed Collins preferences, it has been decided to proceed on a fixed fee
basis. The negotiation has included making significant provision for WESPA to
fund the project effort by
Due
to commercial restrictions and the fact that WESPA is not a legal entity to
sign commercial contracts, the actual contract will be through
It
is anticipated, based on experience of numerous OSW updates and the more recent
CSW production, that the project will require several hundred hours work by two
or three WESPA DC members or coopted resource over two years to deliver an
updated wordlist in 2011 for adoption from 2012 (five years after the last
publication was accepted by WESPA). It is expected that the effort profile will
be heavier as the project progresses with a peak in late 2010.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
There has been a
suggestion that payments to DC members will somehow create a conflict of
interest, or may give the impression of an apparent conflict of interest.
The
payment by Collins is in effect to WESPA for the privilege of publishing its
word list. The agreement to distribute this payment to DC members and others is
an internal WESPA Committee arrangement. Collins has declared no interest in
the word list content but will provide the WESPA DC with access to their
dictionary files for identification of new words from that source. Other
sources may or may not be used depending on options still to be considered
through a consultation phase of the project.
THE CURRENT WORD
LIST - A REMINDER
The
current Collins wordlist is not based on a single dictionary. It is based on a
Collins dictionary (7th edition, 2005), a Chambers dictionary (1998 edition)
and the current Northern American wordlist. The North American wordlist itself has
an historical basis of words culled from several different dictionaries - four
publishers and a range of differently dated editions although most recently
updated based on Websters Collegiate. Any updated list could be driven by a
single word source or a similar, or even expanded, mixture of source
dictionaries.
NO
decisions have been made by the DC on new words. There are various options – or
combinations of options – that could be taken. The DC could decide to admit new
(and valid) words appearing in the latest Collins dictionary. We could take the
same approach with the editions of Chambers published since 1998. Given the
pedigree of the current wordlist, these would not seem to be unreasonable
approaches. The DC may also wish to consider words from a small range of other
mainstream English-language dictionaries (eg The Shorter Oxford). Another
suggestion that the DC has made previously is to solicit suggestions for new
words from Scrabble organisations around the world, reflecting local varieties
of English. All such words would be rigorously reviewed by the DC, and would
need to be confirmed in a major English-language dictionary before being added
to the new wordlist. From various comments made so far, this does not appear to
be a widely supported approach.
As
part of its initial project work, the DC will be publishing communications on
various Scrabble email lists, inviting respondents to comment on the options
for selecting new words, and seeking suggestions for alternative approaches.
The DC wants to identify different views which individuals and Scrabble
organisations may have. Obviously, there are a range of different views, some
quite strongly held. The DC will be soliciting these views, weighing them,
making recommendations to the WESPA Committee, modifying them where
appropriate, and then implementing them. It is inevitable that, whatever
decisions are made finally, they will not satisfy everyone, but the DC has an
interest in a way forward that is backed by most tournament players.
There
have been concerns that members of the WESPA DC are not lexicographers and
therefore shouldn’t be selecting words for updating a word list. Lexicography is the craft of compiling,
writing and editing dictionaries, with the associated activities of identifying
new words, their meanings, changed meanings of existing words, determining
etymologies, writing definitions, providing usage information, and so on. None
of this is what the DC will be doing. It will only be doing similar activities
to those that we’ve done for over 20 years in the compilation of previous
wordlists based on Chambers and Collins a lot of which is centred around
ensuring compliancy with base rules for Scrabble and all pre-existing official
word lists and determining correct inflections.
ANY DELETIONS ?
As
with previous updates of official word list there may or may not be deletions.
Deletions can arise because of words being dropped from the source dictionary(ies) or a
revision of official word list policy. No decisions have been made by the DC on
deletions. Repeat – no decisions have been taken. The DC commissioned some work
last year to look at different groups of obsolete words which could be deleted,
in order to test out the validity of the deletion criteria, the ease with which
potential deletions could be identified in the current wordlist, and to
identify the approximate numbers of words that might be deleted under each of
the various approaches. If the DC thinks it worthwhile pursuing a revision of
inclusion policy then there will consultation through WESPA membership, through
national organisations currently outside of WESPA, and other respondents and
straw polls. Recommendations will be
made by the DC to the WESPA Committee before being implemented. It is
inevitable that whatever decisions are finally made, they will not satisfy
everyone and that can be seen by the range of views and opinions on the uk-scrabble
and world-scrabble lists.
The DC expects to start this communications process over the next couple of
months (March-April 2009). Everyone will get a chance to make their views
known. However, the DC is not proposing to seek votes, or to be led by those
who shout the loudest. We shall listen to reasoned points of view, make
recommendations to the WESPA Committee, and implement the agreements reached.
For
the duration of the project, the DC will provide progress reports to the WESPA
Committee. It is for the Committee to decide whether they wish these to be
distributed to a wider audience. It is expected that the regular updates will
be via the WESPA website.
BRIEF HISTORY OF
OFFICIAL WORD LISTS
1988 Chambers Official
Scrabble Words – edition 1
1989 Chambers OSW(2)
An update to correct the errors from the 1988 edition and to
introduce a consistent approach to comparatives and superlatives of two
syllables ending in Y, or –IE.
Undertaken by a central project team with funding by
Chambers.
1994 Chambers OSW(3)
A
project team created to scour the pages of a new 1993 Chambers and identify all
new root words for a central project team to apply ground rules for
inflections. Representatives from
1998 Chambers OSW(4)
As above but with the latest 1998 Chambers.
2000 Chambers
OSWinternational
(amalgamation of OSW(4) and the then current North America
TWL)
An
exercise undertaken by Chambers with no input from UK OSW project team.
2003 Chambers OSWi(2) – never printed
Darryl
and Allan involved in consultancy to assess all updates generated for OSWI from
the latest 2003 Chambers dictionary. Some auto-generation of
changes provided by Chambers. This work abandoned when Mattel announced
a switch to Collins
2005 Collins CSW 2005
(not accepted)
Darryl
and Allan involved 2004-05, prior to
2007 Collins CSW 2007
Darryl
and Allan involved in a correction project in 2006, driven by Collins, to make
the CSW book acceptable to, and endorsable by WESPA