Author: QDTEditorGG
Is AI Coming for Dictionaries? Erin McKean on Language, Lexicography, and the Real Cost of Automation
By QDTEditorGG
Dictionaries have been struggling financially for a long time, and some companies seem to think AI is the solutions to some of their problems, but not everyone is so sure. In a recent Grammar Girl interview, lexicographer and Wordnik founder Erin McKean shared her thoughts on how AI is influencing the world of dictionaries—and why some of its promises don’t quite add up. AI will have trouble replacing lexicographers Although some publishers may see AI as a replacement for human expertise, Erin is skeptical—and not just philosophically. She points out that AI systems are incredibly expensive to train, run, and…
Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why? NH: “Perfidious.” It’s just sounds so good. I managed to use it in my latest book and every time I read that line it makes me smile. “Insouciance” is a close runner up – though I don’t think I’ve ever actually used it in a sentence. GG: What’s a word you dislike? (either because it’s overused or misused) NH: “Gotten.” As an English girl who moved to the US when I was 14 and I just can’t get used to hearing people say “gotten” as a past tense for “got.” For a…
In honor of Thanksgiving, we bring you a buffet of posts and Grammar Girl episodes about Thanksgiving words. First, we have a segment about the origin of giving thanks, then a look at why the cornucopia represents abundance, and finally an analysis of the word “Thanksgiving” itself. A revolution in politeness: the linguistic history of ‘thank you’ By Valerie Fridland As we head towards American’s annual Thanksgiving holiday, a day set aside for being thankful, it seems reasonable to wonder how the idea of thanking and its requisite polite form of “thank you,” evolved. It turns out, the type of…