Abstract of Kory Stamper’s keynote

English-language lexicographers have used a system of practical lexicography that dates at least to the mid-1800s–one that relies entirely on printed materials and is bound by the space constraints of printed books. As information became digital, so, too, did dictionaries, but journeymen lexicographers found that the established system of practical lexicography had to adapt for a new age. Using Merriam-Webster as a case study, we will examine how the move from print to electronic has affected numerous aspects of practical lexicography (from corpus curation to proofreading) and touch on broader philosophical questions faced by lexicographers in the digital age.