Cassell's German & English Dictionary [antikvár]

FOREWORDA cordial welcome must be extended to the new edition of the familiarold 'Breul' which had recently shown some signs of advanced age.Completely revised by an English scholar with a thorough knowledgeof the German language, this dictionary can now once again take itstraditional place among the great dictionaries.Dictionaries arranged alphabetically will always remain indispensable,notwithstanding the fact that modern linguistics is increasingly con-cerned with the organic structure of language according to subject andsubstance. Nor can alphabetical dictionaries ever be superseded asauxiliaries in the task of interpreting one civilization and one nation toanother. For the greater part of the German people as well as for agrowing number of English-speaking peoples, the English and Ger-man languages are, more than ever before, the main pillars of the bridgeleading to mutual understanding. This bridge must be kept in constantrepair.To-day many fresh demands are made upon the compiler of a dic-tionary. It is no longer enough that he should be fully conversant withthe present-day standard of the language. He must not merely bringthe vocabulary up to date nor must he confine himself to the definitionof a word as such, but he has to take into account its meaning withina given context and its idiomatic variations. This aspect of the lan-guage as a living organism has particularly been borne in mind in thepresent dictionary, which should prove a veritable mine of informationfor English and German readers alike.Careful notice has also been taken of those subdivisions of speechwhich of recent years have claimed the attention of philologists, such asthe colloquialisms used within certain social groups (family, school,etc.), and the vernacular of professions and trades (nautical speech,printers' jargon, etc.). Serious attention has been given to the extentto which the standard language is continually being enriched by wordsand idioms assimilated from the various dialects. To all these concernsof modern linguistics Cassell's Dictionary has been responsive. Amplespace has been given to regional and vocational terms, familiar turns ofspeech, and even slang expressions.But the new 'Betteridge' does not only serve the everyday require-ments of ordinary speech; it is equally helpful to the translator grapplingwith serious literature, the learner and student of the language, themodern-language master, and the scientist. It is to be hoped that thisdictionary will find its way to the shelves of all those who in their variousways can be expected to benefit from its riches.GERHARD CORDES