A Mistake That Taught You an Important Lesson
Chapter 1: Basic concepts and terms This chapter answers the following questions: What is a dictionary? What are the different types of dictionaries? How can we describe a dictionary? What are the elements of a dictionary? What are the different kinds of information dictionaries provide? What is a dictionary? This is the first question one encounters when learning about dictionary skills or reading any book on lexicography (the art of compiling dictionaries). Defining the term “dictionary” is important to distinguish it from other reference books, which may look similar, like encyclopedias.
Etymologically, the word “dictionary” comes from the Middle Latin word “dictionarium,” which means “collection of words and phrases”. This definition relates to the basic function of dictionaries which is listing the words of a language or a particular field of knowledge. This simple fact is the basis of all the definitions proposed for a dictionary. A dictionary is a book used as a reference source which contains lists of words arranged alphabetically or thematically, with explanations of their meanings (semantic information in monolingual dictionaries) or with their equivalents (in bi-, tri-, or multilingual dictionaries).
They may also include more information related to orthography (spelling, alternate spellings), morphology (syllabification, word inflections, derivative forms, morphological paradigm), phonology (pronunciation, stress pattern), etymology (word history and origin), syntax (part of speech, verb type, noun type, etc), pragmatics (usage, frequency of use, style, context), and other semantic information (related words such as synonyms, antonyms). A dictionary may variously be referred to as: word book, lexicon, thesaurus, vocabulary, glossary, and concordance.
However, each one of these is slightly different in scope. For example, a thesaurus (also from Latin, and which means a treasury or a storehouse) presents synonyms and antonyms; a glossary usually gives a list of terms confined to a particular domain of knowledge with definitions. What distinguishes a dictionary from these different types is that none of them provides all the different kinds of linguistic information a dictionary provides. Use thesaurus in a Sentence See images of thesaurus Search thesaurus on the Web Types of dictionaries: Dictionaries vary in coverage, size, and scope.
They can be classified on the basis of different criteria. Knowing the types of dictionaries available is very important to decide which ones to buy or use. The following criteria are used to classify dictionaries: 1) Number of languages: Monolingual dictionaries are written in one language only. Each word is followed by its meaning or various meanings and probably other information related to pronunciation, grammar, or word history. Bilingual dictionaries are written in two languages. Each word is followed by its equivalent or possible equivalents in another language.
Bilingual dictionaries could be uni- or mono-directional; that is, they go in one direction only, from English to Arabic or vise versa. They could also be bidirectional; that is, the dictionary is divided into two parts; the first part is from Language 1 to Language 2, and the second one is from Language 2 to Language 1. Trilingual dictionaries are written in three languages. Multilingual language are written in more than two languages. 2) Age of the users: School dictionaries are intended for school students and they are graded according to children’s age: elementary, middle, and high school students.
They are simplified versions of adult references. They may also be referred to as “children’s dictionaries” if they are intended for very young children. Adult dictionaries, on the other hand, are intended for adults and these are the ones that translators use and they include a variety of dictionary types such as college dictionaries, current language dictionaries, and unabridged dictionaries. 3) Size of the dictionary: This has to do with how fully a dictionary covers the lexicon of a particular language. The number of words is a measure of its relative size compared with other dictionaries in the same language.
According to this criteria, dictionaries can be classified into the following. a) Unabridged dictionaries which are believed to include all the words of the English language (400,000 to 600,000 words). They give full coverage to the lexicon in general use and to specialized lexicon, with examples and all other information any dictionary could give. In other words, they provide complete and authoritative linguistic information. They are impractical for desk use because of their size and expense, but they are available in libraries and are important reference sources.
Examples: Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (NID3), and Oxford English dictionary (OED) which has 20 volumes. Semi-unabridged dictionaries are those which include about 315,000 words such as the Random House Dictionary. b) College dictionaries include from 150,000 to 170,000 words (almost 200,000 words). Examples: The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, The Random House College Dictionary, Webster’s New World Dictionary of American English. They are called college dictionaries because they are often used by college students. c) Desk dictionaries include from 60,000 to 100,000 words.
Examples: The American heritage dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. They are called desk dictionaries because they are often kept on desks for frequent reference. College and desk dictionaries are often abridged versions of larger dictionaries. Some publishing houses use the term college to refer to both college dictionaries and desk dictionaries. Some other houses use the term concise to refer to desk dictionaries; e. g. Concise Oxford Dictionary, Longman Concise English Dictionary. d) Pocket size dictionaries, which include from 40,000 to 60,000 words; e. g. Pocket Oxford Dictionary. 4) Scope of coverage by subject:
Subject-field dictionaries are confined to a special subject, such as law or medicine. Special-purpose dictionaries are limited to one aspect of language: collocations, slang, pronunciation, etymology, synonyms, usage, offensive and taboo words, spelling, dialect, neologisms, etc. A functional classification of dictionaries: For the purpose of the present course, which ultimately aims at training students to use dictionaries as professional translators, we will adopt the following classification that is based on the functions of dictionaries. Dictionaries are divided into two types: traditional and electronic dictionaries.
I. Traditional (or regular) dictionaries: Traditional dictionaries are printed dictionaries (paper /print dictionaries). They are divided into four main categories: linguistic, visual, picture, and encyclopedic dictionaries. 1) Linguistic dictionaries are dictionaries that are concerned with words and provide linguistic information and may contain some pictures or illustrations. They are further divided into four types: general, learner, children, and specialized dictionaries. a) General-purpose dictionaries deal with the common words of a language and are compiled by language experts. They may be mono- or bilingual.
They may be explanatory and help readers to understand a word meaning, its pronunciation, spelling, usage, etc. They may be translation dictionaries providing word equivalents. Explanatory and translation dictionaries may be unabridged, college, desk, concise, or pocket dictionaries. General-purpose dictionaries could also be production dictionaries (alternatively called activators) which are very useful in writing; they guide you as to which words or expressions to use to express similar or different ideas. They focus on use or meaning in context and on oral usage, rather than explaining their meanings.
The first production dictionary is: Longman Language Activator: The World’s First Production Dictionary (1993), Longman Essential Activator (intermediate level). The lexical information is organized around approximately 1000 key terms that serve as focal points for crucial sets of concepts. b) Learners’ dictionaries are aimed at students learning a language. Examples: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. c) Children dictionaries are very simplified versions specifically written for children. ) Specialized dictionaries are divided into two types: subject field dictionaries and special purpose dictionaries. Subject field dictionaries are limited to the vocabulary of specific scholarly areas or fields of knowledge such as medicine, law, religion, business and commerce, literature, military affairs and politics, etc. The rapid growth and development, and specifications in all the fields of knowledge has resulted in generating of new words or specialized terms for which the general dictionaries do not provide adequate information.
Therefore, it became necessary to compile subject dictionaries which are devoted completely to specific subject fields. As a result many subject dictionaries and glossaries in Humanities, Social Sciences and Science ; Technology are coming out day-by-day. They are compiled by the experts in the different subject fields. Special purpose dictionaries deal with different aspects of language such as collocations, slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, neologisms, abbreviations, language varieties and dialects, synonyms and antonyms, pronunciation, etymology, usage, grammar, word frequencies, etc. ) Visual dictionaries tend to be complete dictionaries and rely on illustrations and photos or pictures; e. g. Merriam-Webster’s Visual Dictionary Online. 3) Picture dictionaries are often organized by topic instead of being an alphabetic list of words. They include only a small corpus of words because they are often intended for children. They may be mono-, bi-, or multilingual. 4) Encyclopedic dictionaries has encyclopedic features; their concern is not the words of a language but rather with facts about things, objects, or people; e. . The Hutchinson Concise Encyclopedic Dictionary. II. Electronic dictionaries: An electronic dictionary is an electronic reference resource that contains a library of words and their meanings, spellings, and etymologies. They can be 1) portable (or handheld), battery-operated devices; 2) dictionary programs (on CDs) , or software running on PDAs or computers and which allow words or phrases to be input and translated; or 3) web based dictionaries accessible via the internet.
Electronic dictionaries are more convenient than paper dictionaries and much faster to search. Examples of some online dictionaries: AskOxford Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English, Cambridge Dictionaries Online Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Dictionary. com Dictionary. com Unabridged v. 1. 1 and American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Ed, Longman Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Merriam-Webster OnLine Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Oxford University Press Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Dictionaries
Traditional Dictionaries Electronic Dictionaries Portable devices CDs Online dictionaries Linguistic Visual Picture Encyclopedic General Learners’ Children Specialized Explanatory Production (Activators) Mono, college, desk, concise, pocket
Explanatory Production Translation Explanatory Translation (monolingual) (bilingual) unabridged college or pocket college or desk Terminology (religious, literary, political, scientific, medical, etc) (mono and bi) concise Collocation, slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, common errors, neologisms, abbreviations (mono) pocket Synonyms, antonyms, thesaurus, production dic or activators (mono) Pronunciation, etymologies, usage, grammar, word frequencies, (mono) College, concise, pocket monolingual college or pocket Exercise: Find the following words in your dictionary, if you can’t find them think of a reason to explain that: car cumdump goo gonzo coasthenia (psy) to smell to high heaven abarticulation (med) howitzer gun (mil) schlub action agent (mil) What type should you buy or use?
Dictionaries are used by native speakers, language learners, or translators. Native speakers use dictionaries to help them in writing or in understanding unfamiliar words or phrases. For this purpose they use adult (unabridged or college) monolingual dictionaries. Language learners need learners’ monolingual dictionaries, whether elementary, intermediate, or advanced dictionaries depending on their level of language proficiency. Translators, on the other hand, need both mono- and bilingual dictionaries. They are advised to choose the most recent editions of college or unabridged dictionaries, as the other types of dictionaries are limited in their vocabulary coverage.
They are also advised to have different types of specialized dictionaries of: idioms, collocations, phrasal verbs, usage, specialized terminology (religious, legal, political, medical, literary, military, psychological, scientific, etc). Elements of dictionaries: The elements of any dictionary can be discussed in terms of two levels: the macrostructure and microstructure. The macrostructure is concerned with dictionary features such as the front matter, the end or back matter, entry organization. The microstructure is limited to the structure of entries and the kinds of information they provide. We will discuss these two levels in detail in the following chapter on general monolingual dictionaries.
