Katherine Patricia Mary Barber (September 8, 1959April 24, 2021) was a British-born Canadian

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

and founding Editor-in-Chief of the ''

Canadian Oxford Dictionary The ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary'' is a dictionary of Canadian English. First published by Oxford University Press Canada in 1998, it became a well-known reference for Canadian English. The second edition, published in 2004, contains about 300 ...

''. To promote the dictionary she often spoke publicly about Canadian words on radio and television, picking up the moniker "The Word Lady."

Biography

Katherine Patricia Mary Barber was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, on September 8, 1959. Both her parents were Canadian; her father Gordon was serving with the Royal Air Force at the time. In 1967, the family moved to Winnipeg, where her father took an administrative job with the dental school at the University of Manitoba. Katherine's mother Patricia (née Clarke) taught English at the local high school. She received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

in 1980 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

in 1990. From 1984 to 1991, she was a lecturer in the School of Translation and Interpretation at the University of Ottawa. In 1991 Barber was hired by Oxford University Press Canada to compile the country’s first comprehensive dictionary. Barber led a comprehensive search for " Canadianisms," looking not only through literature and newspapers but also advertisements, magazines and paperback romances. The first edition of the ''

'' included around 2,000 unique Canadian words and phrases. For recognition of the dictionary, Barber was awarded the Editor of the Year Libris Award from the Canadian Booksellers Association. Barber made a number of radio and television appearances to promote the dictionary, which led to a regular word history segment on

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Toronto's ''

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'', from 1996 to 2001. From 1989 to 1991, she was a research associate with the Bilingual Canadian Dictionary project at the

. She was Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Dictionaries for

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(OUP) in Canada from 1991 to 2008, when OUP closed the Canadian dictionary department. Starting in 2008, she was the sole proprietor of Tours en l'air Ballet Holidays, which organized ballet-themed trips to North American and European destinations. Barber died on April 24, 2021, in Toronto from brain cancer. Barber was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Hartney, Manitoba.

Other publications

* Katherine Barber (2006) ''Six Words You Never Knew Had Something to Do with Pigs and Other Fascinating Facts About the Language from Canada's Word Lady,'' Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. . * Katherine Barber (2007) ''Only in Canada You Say: A Treasury of Canadian Language,'' Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. .

References

External links

Tabaret Magazine (University of Ottawa)
– "Canadian English: A Real Mouthful" (Canadian food words).
Katherine Barber's Word of the Week

Tours en l'air Ballet Holidays and Ballet Appreciation website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Katherine 1959 births 2021 deaths Canadian lexicographers Deaths from brain cancer in Canada People from Ely, Cambridgeshire University of Ottawa alumni University of Winnipeg alumni Women lexicographers Women linguists