Review: Fuertes-Olivera, Pedro A. and Henning Bergenholtz. eds. 2011. E-Lexicography: The Internet, Digital Initiatives and Lexicography. London/New York: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN: 978 14 411 2806

The internet is becoming an increasingly popular medium for publishing and consulting e-dictionaries (either free or not free of charge). The reason for its popularity is obviously due to the accessibility of this medium. Without much effort, users can e.g. easily find definitions of certain words by feeding a (simple) query like define word X to a search engine. It's clear that for users who want to quickly acquire a basic understanding of a word, an internet search engine is the best option.
The internet provides new possibilities for creating, structuring, managing and accessing e-dictionaries. It has turned from an informative web into an interactive, social web where everyone can contribute to the creation of new (dictionary) content. This evolution towards "lexicographic democratisation" (Gouws, p. 28), as well as the introduction of several new (web) technologies in the field of lexicography, is gradually changing the way online lexicographical products are created and used today. These changes trigger us to raise some fundamental questions pertaining to the domain: What will be the impact of these recent developments on the future of e-lexicography? What (new) areas need to be explored or prioritised? What (new) key issues need to be tackled? Etc.
These ideas form the background for E-Lexicography: The Internet, Digital Initiatives and Lexicography. The book is the result of an international symposium on e-lexicography, which was held at the University of Valladolid (14-16 June 2010). It features both theoretical reflections and practical work.