Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru – The University of Wales Dictionary, Part I

Although the size of the Dictionary team itself was relatively small, its members were diligent and persistent, and their hard work paid off. Eight members of the editorial staff, a part-time typist, an Editorial Board with past and present professors of Welsh, and a legion of volunteer contributors and proofreaders all worked together to make the project a reality. Their accomplishment seems all the more impressive when you consider that the Dictionary staff have also been responsible for typesetting the GPC since the end of part 36, using computers and in-house software. One of the greatest difficulties of the task, explains Mr. Hawke, was appropriately tailoring the software to the needs of the project and the idiosyncrasies of the Welsh language, as they rushed to complete the Dictionary.

Other difficulties of the project, he says,

have sprung either from unrealistic expectations from those in authority who cannot comprehend the amount of effort involved in producing a historical dictionary, or from the difficulties inherent in our raw material: the sparsity of data, particularly when dealing with common words such as prepositions which many readers neglected in favour of rarer or more 'interesting' words and the difficulties of distributing the various meanings of certain words where the exact import of the original is often in doubt.

When you consider these stumbling blocks, and the sheer magnitude of the project, it is even more amazing that the staff intends to produce both a concise (without citations) online version of the GPC, as well as possibly creating a CD-ROM of the entire Dictionary. In this regard, Mr. Hawke notes, "we have a lot to learn!" That may be true, but based on the excellent work done on this project so far, the hardworking staff of the Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru will be able to meet these challenges with experience and heart; and numerous people will benefit from their labors. Moreover, the GPC will contribute immeasurably to the preservation of the Welsh language itself.

To visit the GPC website, go to:
http://www.cymru.ac.uk/geiriadur/index.h...

Tune in next month to read more about the scope and significance of the University of Wales Dictionary.

*Photos courtesy of the GPC staff and Mr. Andrew Hawke.

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