After the digital revolution: dictionary preferences of English majors at a European university

Abstract

The present contribution reports on a recent survey of dictionary-consulting habits and preferences of university students majoring in English at a European university. Amongst the information sought is the choice between digital online dictionaries and traditional print dictionaries, as well as a number of other issues of interest to lexicographers and educators. It was found that online dictionaries have all but replaced the traditional paper dictionary, suggesting that the digital revolution in lexicography hailed by Lew and De Schryver (2014) is complete. A positive finding is that students prefer dictionaries that are highly rated by experts. The paper concludes with a number of pedagogical suggestions.