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Dictionaries and Usability

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When you think of user interfaces you generally think of screens, buttons, knobs and maybe some documentation on how to use these objects. But lets get away from that for a moment, if you don’t mind.

One of the oldest and most relevant user interfaces is the book. Books generally include page numbers, blocks of text and if you’re lucky, a built-in book marker. Generally you navigate a book in a consecutive manor via chapters or sections. What’s not to love about books?

Enter the dictionary

Webster and friends seem to have this notion that words need no relevance to a given subject. Your average book usually associate and gather paragraphs into a given chapter or section. It puts the sentences and words in a specific context. A sentence talking about love in one chapter may not have the same meaning when used in a different chapter.

In the case of dictionaries, contextualizing a word would benefit its usability and overall usage. If I had a dollar for every time I used a word out of context, I could be a venture capitalist. Grouping words that share a given context could benefit their use in speaking and writing. Our literature would be cleaner, concise and smart. Our verbal communication would make more sense and help communicate meaning effectively.

If it ain’t broke

I know, I know. Why fix the dictionary? So I ask, when was the last time you enjoyed readaing the dictionary? As far as usability for the dictionary, the process of actually reading it as both reference and literature is painful, if not unbearable. Also, the thesaurus is not much help in this regard. Words with the same meaning have equal chance of being used out of context.

The dictionary would be enjoyable if I could find words based on context and or subject. These subjects/contexts could include subject-matters, social situations, greetings, etc. Instead of it being a pile of word puke, it could be a tool that evolves with verbal and written communication. When someone uses the word “suck”, what is it communicating in a given context such as when someone fails a test or vacuuming a floor.

Conclusion

All in all dictionaries are nothing but tolerable. Words based on context would evolve our literature into something that all can understand and learn quickly. I’m not demoting the dictionary as relevant tool in and of itself, but its usefulness could be increased simply by grouping words into contexts. You’ll find that a lot of words overlap contexts. I’ll go as far as saying that the english syntax would be more succinct if it were all based on contexts. Viva la revolution for the dictionary!


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