Lector is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses.
Academic
The title ''lector'' may be applied to
lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...
s and
readers at some universities. There is also the title ''lector jubilate'', which is an equivalent of
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
. In language teaching at universities in
Britain, a foreign native speaker of a
Slavic language is often called a ''lektor'' or ''lector''. In Dutch higher education the title lector is used for the leader of a research group at a university of applied science. The lector has a comparable set of tasks as (higher ranked) full professors at a (research) university, albeit at an applied rather than a fundamental scientific level.
Ecclesiastical
A religious
reader
A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to:
Computing and technology
* Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader
* Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application
* A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
is sometimes referred to as a ''lector''. The lector proclaims the Scripture readings used in the Liturgy from the official
liturgical book (
lectionary
A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, an ...
).
Television
In
Polish, ''lektor'' is also used to mean "off-screen reader" or "voice-over artist". A ''lektor'' is a (usually male) reader who provides the Polish
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...
on foreign-language programmes and films where the
voice-over translation technique is used. This is the standard
localization technique on Polish television and (as an option) on many DVDs; full
dubbing is generally reserved for children's material.
Cigar production
Historically, lectors (known as ''lectores'' in Cuba)
or readers in a
cigar factory entertained workers by reading books or newspapers aloud, often left-wing publications, paid for by unions or by workers pooling their money. In the United States, the custom was common in the cigar factories of
Ybor City in
Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
but was discontinued after the
Tampa cigar makers' strike of 1931.
The practice apparently originated in Cuba, and is still known there today, where there were about 200 ''lectores'' as of 2010.
20 Jobs That Have Disappeared
, By Miranda Marquit, Main Street, thestreet.com, May 3, 2010.UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
is considering designating the profession a form of "intangible cultural heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. I ...
".
See also
*Proctor
Proctor (a variant of '' procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:
* In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawy ...
References
{{Lutheran Divine Service
Latin words and phrases