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A scan of a mimeographed copy of ownik telekomunikacyjny (projekt). Cz I, London, 1943.
Source publication
The terminological boom at the turn of the 18th and 19th century gave rise to the development of the modern terminological dictionary. Despite the lack of statehood due to Partitions and resulting persecution at that time, Polish scholars undertook terminological work within existing scholarly institutions, pursuing tasks such as standardisation of...
Context in source publication
Citations
The ongoing debates on the academic status and scope of (meta)lexicography prove that the
discipline is undergoing rapid changes. Some scholars voice their doubts about the feasibility of a
theory of lexicography, while others have indicated that the development of such a theory is possible
within metalexicography, thus qualifying it as a theoretical pillar of lexicography. Still others claim to
have already developed a theory. Similar discussions have permeated terminography and its ‘theoretical’
branch, i.e. metaterminography. Therefore, in an attempt to answer some pressing questions regarding
the standing of terminography, this paper ventures to define and characterise terminography
and metaterminography, as well as discuss some of their fundamental notions. It also aims to present
some theoretical considerations that can contribute to a growing body of studies that might one day
result in the drafting of a comprehensive and universal theory of terminography.
This paper measures dictionaries made by Polish Americans against the development of the Polish–English and English–Polish lexicographic tradition. Of twenty nine monoscopal and biscopal glossaries and dictionaries published between 1788 and 1947, four may be treated as milestones: Erazm Rykaczewski's (1849–1851), Władysław Kierst and Oskar Callier's (1895), Władysław Kierst's (1926–1928), and Jan Stanisławski's (1929). Unsurprisingly, they came to be widely republished in English-speaking countries, primarily the United States of America, for the sake of Polish-speaking immigrants. One might therefore wonder whether there was any pressing need for new dictionaries. There must have been, assuming that supply follows demand, because as many as eight Polish–English and English–Polish dictionaries were compiled by Polish Americans and published by the mid-twentieth century. The scant attention accorded this topic suggests a chronological approach to these dictionaries is in order, firstly, to blow the dust from the tomes; secondly, to establish their filial relationships; and, lastly, to evaluate their significance for the bilingual dictionary market.
