What is the point of the dictionary?
The Dictionary of Words in the Wild is a community collection of images of public textuality, specifically words outside of the usual print contexts. We are interested in words that are:
- In the public view
- In an interesting context where the location adds texture
- Visually provocative in some way
- Part of phrases that add another intersection of meaning
The idea for the Dictionary came from discussions at the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities when Geoffrey Rockwell was there in 2001-2, especially discussions around the deformance of textuality and transcoding. Thanks to all the Ivanhoe folk for the spicy lunch meetings.
How can it be used?
You can browse the dictionary, upload your own words, and try typing in a phrase that is returned as images. But, the Dictionary is also meant to be used by other net toys and tools, for which reason we have an API with instructions. Please contact us if you have an application for the Dictionary.
Copyright
Users should only upload images for which they have secured copyright. It is understood that by uploading users are assigning a non-exclusive license to the Dictionary to make the image available over the internet until such time as the user removes the image.
If you believe an image has been inappropriately uploaded to the Dictionary please e-mail Geoffrey Rockwell, georock -at- mcmaster -dot- ca.
Users
Currently anyone can get a free account to upload images. We reserve the right to delete inappropriate images or images whose copyright is contested. We reserve the right to delete accounts if they are misused. Please use your account in the spirit intended.
Credits
The Dictionary of Words in the Wild is an interactive media project led by Geoffrey Rockwell at McMaster University. Infrastructure support comes from the Text Analysis Portal for Research (TAPoR) project. Andrew MacDonald is responsible for the development and graphic design of the website. Thanks also to Lian Yan who helped with the Dictionary.