English dictionary criticism in two lexicographical specialist journals

This article analyses different typologies of dictionary criticism, with special reference to reviews of British and American English dictionaries published in Dictionaries and in the International Journal of Lexicography between 1995 and 2015. The main aims are to assess reviewers’ roles and to see if (selected) reviews achieve their two basic communicative goals: to offer information about the dictionary reviewed and advice as to how appropriate it is to the intended/potential users’ needs, and to provide lexicographers with guidelines on how to improve their works. Research questions focus on whether reviewed dictionaries are described, analysed, and recommended (or otherwise) to the reader, and on whether reviews are based on a serious examination and judgment of the reviewed dictionary. Results point to the impartiality and trustworthiness of reviews written by specialists: other types of dictionary criticism unveil social, cultural and ideological factors affecting the dictionary- making process as well as the final product.