Finding quotations II

As described in the previous blog on BASIC ENGLISH PHRASES FOR LIBRARY STAFF, a student is wondering how to find a needed quotation in the many books of quotations that are in the collection of the Thammasat University Library.  We may remind him:

What is the purpose of the quotation? As we see, books of quotations have different material. Some are meant to be amusing. Others have information stated by individuals from the philosopher Machiavelli to the physicist Albert Einstein. There are also books of quotations by business leaders such as Warren Buffett or political leaders. What will the quote be used for?

The student may say:

I need a quote about the subject of food to introduce a chapter in my dissertation about the sociology of food.

Our answer:

Most books of quotations are organized by theme, so if we look alphabetically by subject matter, we should soon find many different quotations about food.

The student may add:

What if I sort of remember the quote, or maybe who said it, but I cannot be sure?

Our reply:

Identifying a quote based on a slight idea of what is in it and who said it has become easier with internet searches. We can just Google the words we recall or the person who said it, and see if anything appears.

The student may wish to know:

Why can’t I just locate the quote online? Why do I need to look in books of quotations?

The answer:

Some websites are helpful in identifying quotes, such as Wikiquote.

But in a serious academic research paper or thesis, it is not possible to quote from Wikiquotes since it can be edited by anyone who reads the website, as its homepage states:

Wikiquote is a free online compendium of sourced quotations from notable people and creative works in every language, translations of non-English quotes, and links to Wikipedia for further information. Visit the help page or experiment in the sandbox to learn how you can edit nearly any page right now; or go to the Log in to start contributing to Wikiquote.

Ideally, we would check quotes that are in books of quotations with original sources. If the full books are in the collection of the TU Library, this is easy to do. If the quotations are old, but the full texts are not in the TU Library, we may find the books on Archive.org. If they are newer, they might be on Google Books.

If the student wonders:

Why is the quotation I need not in the book of quotations I looked at?

We might say:

That depends on why the book was compiled. For example, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, Eighth Edition, according to the Oxford University Press website, describes the book as follows:

• For over 70 years, the nation’s favourite guide to the wit and wisdom of past and present
• Unrivalled authority at your fingertips: all quotations extensively researched and verified
• Over 20,000 quotations for all occasions covering over 3,700 authors, from Ancient Egypt to the 21st century
• Over 700 quotations and over 200 authors new to this edition
• Comprehensive keyword index to trace that half-remembered line
• Enhanced cross-referencing, explanatory notes, and author descriptions
• New links to hear the original speakers of quotations
• The ultimate answer to the question ‘Who said that?’ (and when, and why)

Its purpose is to offer familiar sayings or statements that are well-known and useful to most English language readers. The quotation we are looking for may be something rarer. If we try to Google what we are looking for, we may improve our chances of locating a printed version of what we need, that will also tell us about where and when the book was published. The Oxford University Press description continues:

The first edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations was published in 1941 and for over 70 years this bestselling book has remained unrivalled in its coverage of quotations past and present. The eighth edition is a vast treasury of wit and wisdom spanning the centuries and providing the ultimate answer to the question, ‘Who said that?’ Find that half-remembered line in a browser’s paradise of over 20,000 quotations, comprehensively indexed for ready reference. Lord Byron may have taken the view: ‘I think it great affectation not to quote oneself’, but for the less self-centred the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations provides a quote for every occasion from the greatest minds of history and from undistinguished characters known only for one happy line.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)