2012-11-07 Macmillan Dictionary to go digital after publisher announces final...

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Macmillan Dictionary to go digital after publisher announces final print editions
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Paper version of reference work to be phased out as Macmillan Education follows in footsteps of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Alison Flood
Wed 7 Nov 2012 04.04 EST
24
Macmillan is following in the footsteps of the Encyclopaedia Britannica by announcing the final print editions of its English dictionaries.

From next year, Macmillan Education's range of monolingual dictionaries for English learners will no longer appear as physical books, and will only be available online. The publisher launched the Macmillan English Dictionary in 2002, but editor-in-chief Michael Rundell now believes the online medium is "ideal" for dictionaries.

"The traditional book format is very limiting for any kind of reference work," he said. "Books are out of date as soon as they're printed, and the space constraints they impose often compromise our goals of clarity and completeness. There is so much more we can do for our users in digital media."

An English dictionary and thesaurus, as well as a topical blog, are provided by Macmillan Dictionary online, along with the crowdsourced "open dictionary". Hosting the dictionary online "means we can add new words and phrases on a regular basis, reflecting the ever-changing role of English as the lingua franca of science, business, academia and social media", Rundell said.

Print dictionaries are traditionally updated every four to five years, he added, but language will have developed in the interim. "Think of all the new vocabulary that came with the global financial crisis, for example [when we got to know about subprime mortgages, credit default swaps, and quantitative easing], or the linguistic consequences of the social networking revolution [words like unfollow, defriend, and Twittersphere]: Facebook and Twitter were just starting up when the last [printed] edition of the Macmillan Dictionary appeared in 2007, and had yet to make an impact on the language. Nowadays we can add new words on a regular basis – the latest batch includes outlier, soft power, smirting, and mumpreneur – and this has huge advantages for our users."

Earlier this year, the Encyclopaedia Britannica said it would not publish any more print editions. The publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary have also implied that its third edition, due out about a decade from now, is unlikely to appear in print.

"Our research tells us that most people today get their reference information via their computer, tablet, or phone, and the message is clear and unambiguous: the future of the dictionary is digital," said Stephen Bullon, Macmillan Education's publisher for dictionaries.

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Macmillan Dictionary to close after 14 years of online excellence


Macmillan Education Ltd announces its decision to close the Macmillan English Dictionary, Macmillan English Thesaurus and Macmillan Dictionary Blog websites on Friday 30th June.


Since its digital debut in 2009, Macmillan English Dictionary (MEDO) has served as an indispensable tool for language learners, writers and researchers, offering comprehensive definitions, thesaurus entries and language insights. However, after careful consideration Macmillan Education has concluded that it is no longer sustainable to keep the Macmillan English Dictionary and Thesaurus up-to-date and reflective of our values of accessibility, diversity and inclusion.


The team at Macmillan Education Ltd would like to express our deep gratitude to our loyal users, contributors and partners who have supported us throughout this journey. We are immensely proud of the dictionary's impact on the language community and sincerely thank everyone who has contributed to its success.


We would also like to thank our dedicated team of lexicographers, developers and support staff who have worked hard to maintain and enhance the dictionary. Their dedication and passion for language have been the bedrock of the dictionary’s success.