Rotary Club learns definition of giving

The power of more than 32,000 English words is now literally in the hands of Warren County third-graders after the Noon Rotary Club completed its distribution of some 500 free dictionaries in public, private and church schools, according to club president Levoy Knowles.

‘The ability to read, write and speak with confidence and competence, having a solid footing in the language, is essential to success in every worthwhile endeavor in life,’ Knowles said as the third consecutive year of the civic club’s dictionary project rolled to completion at West Elementary School. ‘This 500-page dictionary is truly a treasure chest of word power,’ he said.

‘Our state and community have made great progress in improving quality in early education programs. We’re also pushed for equality of educational opportunity, with better resources and higher expectations for all,’ continued Knowles, CEO of Ben Lomand Rural Telephone Cooperative and Ben Lomand Communications. ‘In giving one of these dictionaries to every third-grader in Warren County, we are working to support these goals.’

The paperback is updated every year to include words newly emerging in the vocabulary, especially those relating to technology and popular culture.

Additional user aids include a simplified outline of the nine parts of speech, punctuation guide, tables of weights and measures, multiplication tables, maps of the world and basic national statistics, as well as the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. Etymologies and derivations are purposely left out of the dictionary for the sake of simplicity and ease of use.

‘If this book can spark even a little interest in words and how they relate to real life, then hopefully we can help a student ‘ or many students ‘ succeed,’ explained Noon Rotary community service chairman Danny Martin, vice president at Security Federal Savings Bank.

‘We want to help children see that words are their friends, their keys to success and happiness,’ Martin continued. ‘Unfortunately, some youngsters are intimidated by words they don’t immediately understand, and they come to view words as their enemy. This little dictionary can, we think, do a lot to turn that situation around.’

The cover of the dictionary, which is edited and printed entirely in the United States, offers readers exhortation from early 20th century Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein: ‘The limits of your language are the limits of your world.’