Information about Dictionaries
What is a dictionary?
A dictionary is a large collection of words listed in an alphabetic order (as far as the language in question possesses an alphabetic and syllabic writing system) . Before a definition of the term in question is given, it is first illustrated in phonological writing in order to provide an information on its pronunciation and then classified in order to its class of word.
Bilingual dictionaries do not only define the lexical entries but also translate them into a foreign language. Monolingual dictionaries often work with little descriptions, examples and images in order to transfer the meaning of a word. Some of them also provide usage guidance, grammatical information and etymological sources. Dictionaries are normally printed and published in the form of a book. Nowadays a quantity of dictionaries is also found on the Internet, or on hardware programs.
What is a lexicon?
The term lexicon comes from Greek expression λεξικόν meaning vocabulary.
What is an encyclopaedia?
An encyclopaedia is a kind of dictionary that contains information on nearly all subjects and disciplines of human knowledge. The word itself comes from the Classical Greek expression γκύκλιος παιδεία (pron. enkyklos paideia), and can be translated by general knowledge.
It has developed from the dictionary in the 18th century. Whereas a dictionary focuses on the linguistic categories of words (f. ex. their definition and analysis), encyclopaedias provide the reader with explanations concerning a field of knowledge. Encyclopaedias aim at the distribution of knowledge and understanding.
How is a dictionary, as a book, structured?
A dictionary is structured like any other book. It has got a cover page which indicates the metadata (title, dates of publication, publishing company, edition), an introduction that includes an index and several explanations, a main part where the reader finds words and terms in an alphabetic order (each entry has its individual structure) and an appendix that can be very individual. Some appendixes contain for example irregular verb tables, language study pages, maps, geographical and historical information or some tips on how to write professional correspondence.
What does the table of contents look like?
The table of contents indicates the different parts and pages of the dictionary. The pages of the initial part are often marked by Greek or Roman figures whereas the main part, the word catalogue of the dictionary consists of usual numbers. Eventual language study pages or texts about historical en geographical information form distinct subcategories within the appendix. Each subcategory is indicated by a number or a letter whereas the page number of the different parts of the alphabetic dictionary itself is not indicated in the table of contents.
What are the parts of the book intended for?
The introduction provides the reader with key professional skills concerning the work with the dictionary. The reader gets used to several techniques on dealing with lexical entries. He gets useful information on how the dictionary and each single entry is structured (f.ex.: words in alphabetic order, phonological transcription, information on genus and number, explanation, eventual translation into another language). The reader gets also informed about supplementary chapters and cross- references. In general he gets informed about how to use the dictionary.
The main part of the dictionary is intended for the work with (foreign) language material. It contains (hopefully) all terms that the learner needs in an alphabetic order.
The appendix contains useful supplementary information about the target language and country (f.ex.: language regularities and irregularities and special features about the country, its regions and its government).
Are there different kinds of dictionaries?
Yes, there are even many different kinds of dictionaries.
A so called Semasiological Dictionary (also reader’s dictionary or decoding dictionary) is a dictionary that is structured in an alphabetic order. The learner can search directly for a word in order to look up its meaning.
An Onomasiological Dictionary (or writer’s dictionary, encoding dictionary) is used, when the learner already knows the meaning of a word, but when he has to look for the correct form (spelling).
Furthermore there is a huge quantity of different dictionaries from which I would like to list the most interesting ones:
- Monolingual dictionaries
- Bilingual dictionaries
- Specialised dictionaries
- Learner’s dictionaries
- Collocation dictionaries
- Etymological dictionaries
- Name dictionaries
- Idiomatic dictionaries
- Crossword dictionaries
- Pronunciation dictionaries
- Data dictionaries
- Maximising dictionaries
- Minimising dictionaries
- Pictorial dictionaries
- Character dictionaries
- Running dictionaries
- Technical dictionaries
- Pseudo dictionaries, dictionary of unusual words
- Dictionaries that explain the meaning of different registers, f. ex. dictionary of “slang”
- Vocabulary notebooks
- Dictionaries of synonyms
- Literary dictionaries
- Dictionaries of famous authors, kings or politicians
- Dictionaries of symbols
→ Lexicons and encyclopaedias also contain hypertexts which are presented in an alphabetic
order, but these texts are rather about specific information on topics and objects
whereas dictionaries are primarily about the definition of words in a linguistic sense of
term.
There is no answer to the question which dictionary represents the best one. In fact, the choice of a specific dictionary depends on the learner’s personal needs. Each of theses dictionaries can be very helpful in order to satisfy the learner’s linguistic needs. The choice really depends on the learner’s interests, his specific work and his personal educational objective.
What is Text Linguistics?
Text linguistic is a special branch of the linguistic discipline that deals with texts and their communicative function. Today text linguistics does not only describe the grammar and the coherent structure of a text, but also explores how texts are embedded in linguistic contexts and situations of exchange.
What is Applied Text Linguistics?
Applied text linguistics means to make use of theoretical text linguistics skills. The activity of making a website and publishing a learner’s portfolio in order to enable other students to profit from it, creates an communicative event and can therefore be defined an example of applied text linguistics.
The construction of dictionaries and encyclopaedias can also be defined as an example of applied text linguistic. The entries of dictionaries and encyclopaedias are most commonly found embedded in linguistic contexts.
posted by Melanie Zahn @ 1:47 AM
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