[Buddha-l] An Encyclopaedic Tibetan-English Dictionary

[Stephen Hodge]

Steven Rhodes wrote:

> I was wondering if any of the Tibetan-reading "members" of this list can 
> shed some light on the still-born nature of this dictionary.
I was involved in this dictionary project at an earlier stage, doing general 
editing work, so I know something of what has been going on.  There are 
number of possible reasons for the delay.  There was considerable tension 
and conflict between the translating team and the project director --  
arrogance and a clash of personalities.  The project director was unfamiliar 
with and unwilling to take advantage of expert advice about the computing 
aspect of the project.  He also seemed to have no great understanding of the 
realities and desiderata involved in such a major lexicographical work. 
There was also no help or input from the person responsible for Tibetan 
language studies at SOAS !!  When I left the project, I specifically asked 
that my nme not be associated with the eventual publication as I felt that 
the work fell short of bst professional standards -- though it will be of 
great use to many.

There was also an grossly over-optimistic idea that the whole work could be 
largely finished in a couple of years !  In attempt to speed things up, the 
project director unwisely employed the services of a non-native English 
speaker (Danish, I think) to translate much of the second volume.  The work 
of this person was quite inadequate, necessitating, in my view, a complete 
re-translation of that portion.  Apart from the poor English, there was also 
no liaison between this person and the main translation team, so the method 
of translating was quite different -- none of the head words were actually 
translated, but just the definitions !

There were also problems with the initial funding and its use -- some 
persons have suggested more than mere incompetence, though I am not familiar 
with the details of these claims.

There were also difficulties in dealing with the Chinese copyright holders 
who basically wanted something (a translation of the dictionary) for 
nothing.  I believe that some arranged was finally reached, hence the 
publication of the first volume.

The last I heard was that one individual with some help from the project 
director, not very well qualified in Tibetan or Buddhist literature had been 
working for a number of years correcting and formatting the text.  But I 
suspect that the hold-up has primarily been caused by the earlier blunder 
involving the second volume.

I also wonder whether the project has passed its useful sell-by-date with 
the several digital dictionaries now available such as the Ranjung Yeshe 
effort, the Virginia Uni project etc.

> Does anyone know which embers to stir to get this project completed?
Try contacting the Dept of Religious Studies at SOAS -- perhaps Dr Ulrich 
Pagel -- they should know how to contact the person responsible.  But 
myself, I prefer to use the original, although the Tibetan text of the 
English version has been much improved in the interim.

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge