Lector is
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
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 tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money.
The document evidencing the deb ...
, such as , , and . 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 (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...
.
In the teaching of modern languages at universities in the United Kingdom, a native speaker who assists with language skills would be called a lector, and if a female she may be called a lectrice.
In Dutch higher education the title ''lector'' is used for the leader of a research group (''lectoraat'') at a
university of applied sciences
A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional education and grants academic de ...
. The title is officially translated to ''professor'' in English. 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 is sometimes referred to as a ''lector''. The lector proclaims the Scripture readings used in the Liturgy from the official
liturgical book
A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services.
Christianity Roman Rite
In the Roman Rite of ...
(
lectionary
A lectionary () is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaism, Jewish worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evangeliary, ...
).
Television
In
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
, ''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 used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
on foreign-language programmes and films where the
voice-over translation
Voice-over translation is an audiovisual translation technique in which, unlike in Dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing, actor voices are recorded over the original audio track which can be heard in the background.
This method of translation is most oft ...
technique is used. This is the standard
localization technique on Polish television and (as an option) on many DVDs; full
dubbing
Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...
is generally reserved for children's material.
Cigar factory lectors
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
Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mai ...
in
Tampa
Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...
but was discontinued after the
Ybor City cigar makers' strike of 1931
The Ybor cigar makers' strike of 1931 took place in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, starting on November 26 and ended in December. Some strikers were jailed, "Lectors" were banned and there was a lockout. Following legal intervention, some workers re ...
.
The practice apparently originated in Cuba.
20 Jobs That Have Disappeared
, By Miranda Marquit, Main Street, thestreet.com, May 3, 2010. ''Lectores'' were introduced in 1865 to educate and relieve boredom among cigar workers. ''Lectores'', and their reading material, are chosen by the workers of the cigar factory. ''Lectores'' often take on extra-official roles and formerly acted as "spurs to dissent". , UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
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. In ...
".Montecristo
Montecristo, also Monte Cristo (, ) and formerly Oglasa (), is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the comune, municipality of Portoferraio in the province of Livorno, Italy. The isl ...
'' brand of cigars derives its name for the fondness that cigar makers had for listening to ''The Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...
''.
See also
*Proctor
Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, 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 historica ...
References
{{Lutheran Divine Service
Latin words and phrases