# The Dictionary's Greatest Value Is to the British Empire by Oxford University Press > “It is perhaps…in its exhibition of the language as a living and growing thing closely connected with the history of the nation, that it will yet have its greatest value for the British Empire and the whole English-speaking race.” > **— Oxford University Press**, *promotional pamphlet for the Oxford English Dictionary, 1916* ## Sources and Context - **Source record:** Charlotte Brewer, [“Patriotism,” *Examining the OED*](https://oed.hertford.ox.ac.uk/historical-background/oed1-intellectual-climate/patriotism/) (Hertford College, University of Oxford), quoting Oxford University Press's 1916 pamphlet (OUP 1916: 16), which extolled the dictionary's virtues as, among other things, “An Imperial Asset.” - **Exact wording as quoted by Brewer:** “It is perhaps…in its exhibition of the language as a living and growing thing closely connected with the history of the nation, that it will yet have its greatest value for the British Empire and the whole English-speaking race.” The ellipsis is Brewer's; the pamphlet itself has not been independently inspected, and the Reminder reproduces her quotation without further editing. - **Attribution:** The pamphlet was issued by Oxford University Press without an individual author, so the Press is the attributed author. - **Article use:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] and [[articles/war with empire/The Real No Kings Moment and Who Wrote the Super-intelligence Ban|The Real No Kings Moment]] treat the pamphlet as the publisher's own statement that its dictionary served imperial consolidation. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/War With Empire|War With Empire]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/war with empire/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] - **Article:** [[articles/war with empire/The Real No Kings Moment and Who Wrote the Super-intelligence Ban|The Real No Kings Moment and Who Wrote the Super-intelligence Ban]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Authorship of the West|Authorship of the West]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford English Dictionary]] - [[wiki/Semiotic Colonization|Semiotic Colonization]] - [[wiki/Linguistic Imperialism|Linguistic Imperialism]] - [[wiki/Lexicographic Succession|Lexicographic Succession]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “It is perhaps…in its exhibition of the language as a living and growing thing closely connected with the history of the nation, that it will yet have its greatest value for the British Empire and the whole English-speaking race.” — Oxford University Press, promotional pamphlet for the Oxford English Dictionary, 1916 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-oxford-university-press-dictionary-value-british-empire ```