Since the new edition of Collins English Dictionary (CED) two-and-a-half years ago, major revolutions have struck the countries we knew as the USSR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia; new states, such as Eritrea have arisen; heads of state have come and gone. This edition has therefore been published with the aim of giving the user the latest encyclopaedic coverage. Over 1000 entries have been updated to reflect recent political change. since 1991: new terms from the media like ethnic cleansing and Euro-sceptic or for the media, ratpack; from music, techno; from film, body double; and from technology, cache memory. The 200 special subject field areas are covered by Specialist Consultants.

All problems likely to be encountered by anyone who intends to prepare a literary concordance are discussed on a practical level, although there is substantial examination of more advanced concording techniques which the computer makes it possible to adopt. Although the emphasis is on works in English, the structural principles which are analysed in the book can be applied readily to works in other languages