资源描述：
《The Oxford Dictionary Of Quotations.pdf》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在学术论文-天天文库。
1、TheOxfordDictionaryofQuotationsPrefaceWhatisa“quotation”?Itisasayingorpieceofwritingthatstrikespeopleassotrueormemorablethattheyquoteit(oralludetoit)inspeechorwriting.Oftentheywillquoteitdirectly,introducingitwithaphraselike“As——says”butequallyoftentheywillassumethatthereaderorlisteneralreadyknowsth
2、equotation,andtheywillsimplyalludetoitwithoutmentioningitssource(asintheheadline“Arosèisarosèisarosè,”referringobliquelytoalinebyGertrudeStein).Thisdictionaryhasbeencompiledfromextensiveevidenceofthequotationsthatareactuallyusedinthisway.Thedictionaryincludesthecommonestquotationswhichwerefoundinaco
3、llectionofmorethan200,000citationsassembledbycombingbooks,magazines,andnewspapers.Forexample,ourcollectionscontainedmorethanthirtyexampleseachforEdwardHeath’s“unacceptablefaceofcapitalism”andMarshalMcLuhan’s“Themediumisthemessage,”soboththesequotationshadtobeincluded.Asaresult,thisbookisnot—likemany
4、quotationsdictionaries—asubjectiveanthologyoftheeditor’sfavouritequotations,butanobjectiveselectionofthequotationswhicharemostwidelyknownandused.Popularityandfamiliarityarethemaincriteriaforinclusion,althoughnoreaderislikelytobefamiliarwithallthequotationsinthisdictionary.Thebookcanbeusedforreferenc
5、eorforbrowsing:totracethesourceofaparticularquotationortofindanappropriatesayingforaspecialneed.Thequotationsaredrawnfromnovels,plays,poems,essays,speeches,filmsradioandtelevisionbroadcasts,songs,advertisements,andevenbooktitles.Itisdifficulttodrawthelinebetweenquotationsandsimilarsayingslikeproverb
6、s,catch-phrases,andidioms.Forexample,somequotations(like“Theoperaain’tovertillthefatladysings”)becomeproverbial.Theseareusuallyincludediftheycanbetracedtoaparticularoriginator.However,wehavegenerallyomittedphraseslike“agonizingreappraisal”whicharecoveredadequatelyintheOxfordEnglishDictionary.Catch-p
7、hrasesareincludedifthereisevidencethattheyarewidelyrememberedorused.Wehavetakencaretoverifyallthequotationsinoriginalorauthoritativesources—somethingwhichfewotherquotationsdictionarieshavetriedtodo.We
