Day of dictionaries and encyclopedias was celebrated at the scientific library of KBSU

As part of the All-Russian Day of Dictionaries and Encyclopedias — 2022, the Scientific Library of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov organized an exhibition-tour of dictionaries and encyclopedias called “Dictionaries contain a treasure trove of languages ​​and cultures of the Universe!” in order to expand knowledge about dictionaries and encyclopedias, to demonstrate their diversity and the purpose of each.

Teachers and students of KBSU, as well as schoolchildren and teachers of MKOU «Gymnasium No. 29» named after V.Zh. Khuzhokov were pleasantly surprised by the variety of dictionaries, reference dictionaries and encyclopedias in all branches of knowledge that the KBSU scientific library has. It is impressive that the KBSU scientific library stock contains not only modern editions of dictionaries, but also dictionaries published in the 16th century.

Director of the KBSU Scientific Library Aimani Gerieva expressed her gratitude to the guests for their interest in the exhibition, noting the important role of dictionaries in the life of a modern person:

«A dictionary is a necessary part of the education system and all its social, informational and cultural institutions. In the boundless flow of information that is bombarding us from all sides, the dictionary is perhaps one of the few reliable reference points. Given the current development of digital culture, a dictionary is also an organic part of modernity, which can be in every smartphone, helping a literate and cultured person to navigate everyday life and historical reality».

About the great Russian lexicographer, writer, folklorist, scientist and doctor — Vladimir Ivanovich Dal, the author of the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Nadezhda Chaika Evgenievna, Director of the Scientific and Educational Center of Russian Culture of the KBSU, spoke:

«The main brainchild of Dal was the work to which he devoted almost his entire life — Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language. He began to collect incomprehensible words in the future dictionary when he was a midshipman of the Black Sea Fleet. Dal closely communicated with peasants, soldiers, sailors. He wrote down common expressions, proverbs and sayings. When the dictionary was prepared to the letter «P», the author resigned to finish work with the dictionary.

Since 1859 he settled in Moscow, where he finished work on the dictionary. The book contains about 200 thousand words and 30 thousand sayings, riddles and sayings necessary to explain the meaning of the given words. The first parts of the published dictionary brought the author the Konstantinovsky medal from the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, in 1868 he was elected an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and when the dictionary came out in full, he was awarded the Lomonosov Prize.

Dictionaries existed even before Dahl, but he created a unique dictionary, representing not only the present composition of the language, but also the ways of its lexical enrichment. Dahl’s Dictionary is a book of word production, not just word description. It includes not only what is said, but also what is said in Russian. Dahl cites all possible words from a given root, taking into account not the facts of their use, but the very possibility of their formation. This dictionary is not so much for reference use, but to awaken the taste and creativity of the language».

The visitors of the exhibition thanked the employees of the KBSU Scientific Library for an interesting and informative story about the dictionaries presented in the exposition.