It pays to know a columnist and a chief sub editor: Ask OUP

It does pay to know the right people. This was made clearer on Monday, November 22 with a generous review of the latest Oxford dictionary by none other than the Daily Nation's chief sub editor Ng'ang'a Mbugua. Mr Mbugua, a writer and an award winning one at that, is also a columnist with the paper he chief subs. He has been very visible promoting self-publishing.

Here is his review:

Sukuma and Ugali find way into the dictionary

Should a dictionary be engrossing? Or as my former English teacher, Mrs Kabiru Kimemia, would ask: Ought a dictionary be engrossing?

Well, that is the question that came to mind when I got a copy of the latest edition of the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary which is now in its 8th edition.

Ideally, or so we were taught, one only picked up a dictionary when one encountered a difficult word. And a dictionary was not a book one lingered with.

A quick thumbing as one silently recited the alphabet (I used to start at I, J,K,L), searching for the first letter of the word, a quick slide of the index finger down the page as you looked for the word in bold and, finally, the eye resting with relief on the troublesome word.

Now, it would appear, a dictionary is not just something you consult in times of need, like one does a doctor.

The Oxford version now comes with an iwriter CD-ROM that helps one to write better essays, professional plans, and yes, book and film reviews among others. The iwriter has 14 different models for different types of writing, which means that all those young people who nurture a dream of becoming writers now have a companion and do not have to tough it out as we used to back in the day when all one had to rely on was the imagination and a ball-point pen.

And at the back of the book is so much information, including maps, pictures and drawings of all the things and places that one would need to know about from time to time — much like a compressed encyclopedia, only it is more fun.

Never in my life had I ever imagined that one could write a book review for a dictionary, especially in a country where reading is largely regarded as an endangered pastime. But this book is interesting in an intriguing way. It is not just a functional book. It is a wealth of information, and in a world where there are other media promising more fun, this particular one takes competition to the doorstep of the new media.

What’s more, I am told by the publisher, Oxford University Press, that there were two Kenyans who were involved in compiling it.

By the way, Ugali and Sukuma Wiki are now officially English words. So you need not italicise them from now on. Seriously.