Friday 3 July 2009

Position and Type face

Linguists talk about "standard" languages and "Standard Modern Greek" (in distinction to its dialects). With this in view, the following cover design is noteworthy.

The spine, as pictured above, suggests that "standard" qualifies the kind or size of dictionary of the given language. Indeed, the same company publishes a "Pocket Dictionary". However, the placing and text colour on the cover imply something different.
This, then, is a dictionary not of Greek or of 'Standard (Modern) Greek', but of "Dictionary Greek" in its "Standard" form. The vocabulary listed and glossed within is that of Greek as normally presented by the lexicographic tradition and quite apart from the language as she is spoken.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

haha!