This unique work challenges the assumption that dictionaries act as objective records of our language, and instead argues that the English dictionary is a fundamentally ethnocentric work. Using theoretical, historical and empirical analyses, Phil Benson shows how English dictionaries have filtered knowledge through predominantly Anglo-American perspectives. The book includes a major case study of the most recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and its treatment of China.

Phil Benson

Introduction 1. Dictionaries and theories of language 2. The semiotics of the dictionary 3. The centre-periphery metaphor in action 4. The monolingual English dictionary up to Johnson 5. From Johnson to the OED 6. The lexicography of English as an international language 7. China in the OED: the wordlist 8. China in the OED: associating words with China 9. China in the OED: definitions 10. China in the OED: quotations 11. Conclusion