Dictionaries of the national language of a country are an essential and quite frequently controversial part of social lift and learning.This is an account of how such dictionaries are made，how they are used，and the issues and problems that face their writers and editors.It is wide-ranging，scholarly，and readable.
The author gives a concise history of the general-prupose dictionary，describing both the main approaches to dictionary making and the main kinds of dictionary.After comparing the different lexicographical traditions of Great Britain and the USA，and considering the roles of dictionaries in those countries，he explores the linguistic problems in such matters as dixtinguishing meanings writing definitions，providing synonym，etc.The book ends with a discussion of current lexicographical trends.

王宗炎序
瀋家煊序
導讀
Preface to the Paperback Edition
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 Dictionaries and the Dictionary
1.1 Definitions
1.2 Tyes of dictionaries
2 The Lexicographical Scene of English-Speaking Countries
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The lexicographical scene of the USA
2.3 The lexicographical scene of Great Briain
2.4 Other English-speaking countries
2.5 New Trends and old traditions in English-language lexicography
3 The Historical Origins of the General-Purpose Dictionary
3.1 Pre-history： the first dictionaries
3.2 Monolingual dictionaries from the Renaissance to the twentieth century
4 General-Purpose Dictionaries and Society
4.1 The functions of the general-purpose dictionary
4.2 The popular image of the general-purpose dictionary
5 What are General-Purpose Dictionaries Really For?
6 The Linguistic Traditions of Lexicography
7 Whither Lexicography?
Bibliography
Index
文庫索引