Oxford English Dictionary a Likely Victim of the Internet

Although Oxford University Press, publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, has not made any firm decision to end the print publication of what many consider an authoritative guide of the English language, the dictionary’s future is in limbo. Oxford University Press CEO Nigel Portwood doubts that a print version will be released in 2020 when the dictionary gets revised.

According to the Associated Press, “the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary (O.E.D.) receives 2 million hits a month from subscribers who pay $295 a year. The current printed edition, which exists in 20 volumes and was published in 1989, has sold about 30,000 sets in total.”

For now, though, the publisher isn’t making any firm decisions on whether to offer a print version or go completely digital. “At present, we’re not saying anything definite. … It’s something we continually revisit to see how cost-effective it might be.”