Re: iCPD

Dear Ole,

Well, some initial thoughts.

Margaret Cone is working on the new PTS dictionary and should
certainly complete the next volume, if not the whole of it. This will
automatically be in a digital form and can then be revised and
expanded relatively easily. But the main problem with what she is
doing is that it is chiefly focussed on the canonical literature and
to a lesser extent the older commentaries. The great value of CPD for
me (apart from its greater thoroughness) has always been the fact
that it covers the later literature.

So I would incline to think more in terms of adding some of the later
texts. I think that would be more valuable, but perhaps not as
popular ! But on the other hand making a Pali dictionary is a
somewhat heroic task; so you should definitely do what you have the
inclination to do. The general idea of creating a 'dictionary in the
making' seems good.

I think I still have a file of the Index of the Mahaaniddesa
somewhere. I could probably convert that to Unicode without
difficulty, if it would be of use. Of course, that is perhaps not a
major canonical text but it does have a lot of less usual vocabulary.

Lance

>Dear Lance,
>
>Many thanks for your mail. I calculated five years ago that it would take
>about three hundred if not four hundred ears to complete the CPD, if we were
>to continue like in the old days. I have suggested to the University of
>Copenhagen that we continue the CPD by making dictionaries of selected
>texts, beginning with the Paatimokkha adding the vocabulary of each major
>canonical text to the vocabulary described in the CPD. This would make it
>possible to cover the total vocabulary of essential texts, from which it
>would be possible to extrapolate. This, I believe, will make the dictionary
>much more useful. In short, the idea is to make it a dictionary in the
>making, and one that can be corrected or improved upon continually. This is
>what I intend to do. One problem is, of course, that in the "modern world"
>making a dictionary is just about like digging your own grave. What do you
>think ?
>
>Best wishes,
>Ole
>_____