Chapter 12 English_dictionaries_and_how_to_use_the

EnglishLexicologyEnglishDictionaryandHowtoUseThemDefiningDictionaryAbookdealingwiththeindividualwordsofalanguage(orcertainspecifiedclassesofthem),soastosetforththeirorthography,pronunciation,significationanduse,theirsynonyms,derivationandhistory,oratleastsomeofthesefacts;forconvenienceofreference,thewordsarearrangedinsomestatedorder,now,inmostlanguages,alphabetical;andinlargerdictionariestheinformationgivenisillustratedbyquotationsfromliterature.(OED)Areferencesourceinprintorelectronicformcontainingwordsusuallyalphabeticallyarrangedalongwithinformationabouttheirforms,pronunciations,functions,etymologies,meanings,andsyntacticalandidiomaticuses.(Merriam-Webster’s11thCollegiateDictionary)Abookthatgivesalistofwordsinalphabeticalorderandexplainstheirmeaningsinthesamelanguage,oranotherlanguage(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish)Areferencebookcontaininganalphabeticallistofwords,withinformationgivenforeachword,usuallyincludingmeaning,pronunciation,andetymology.(AmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage)Areferencebookthatconsistsofanalphabeticallylistofwordswiththeirmeaningandpartsofspeech,andoftenaguidetoacceptedpronunciationandsyllabification,irregularinflectionsofwords,derivedwordsofdifferentpartsofspeech,andetymologies.(CollinsDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage)Abookcontainingwordsofalanguagearrangedinanalphabeticallisting,togetherwithdefinitions,pronunciations,etymologies,andotherinformationabouttheiruses,formsandfunctions.(MacmillanContemporaryDictionary)Itisgenerallyconsideredthatthemeaningsandusesofwordsarefundamentalpartsofadictionary.CharacteristicsofDictionaries1）Dictionariesarereferencebooks,tobeexact,thereferencesourceinprintorelectronicform;2)Dictionariesarecompiledaccordingtothenatureofthevocabulary;3)Thechiefunitsofcompilingdictionariesareentries,thatis,words,includingmorphemes(affixes),andcombiningforms;4)Word-entriesinanydictionaryarearrangedinalphabeticalorder.TypesofDictionariesMonolingual单语词典andBilingualDictionaries双语词典Monolingualdictionariesarewritteninonelanguage.Thatistheheadwordorentriesaredefinedandillustratedinthesamelanguage.Themonolingualdictionaryisratheralatedevelopmentbecausetheearliestdictionarieswereallbilingual.Bilingualdictionariesinvolvetwolanguages.Themainentriesaregenerallydefinedorexplainedinthesamelanguagewithtranslations.Orrathertheheadwordsaredefinedinanotherlanguageorgiventheirforeignequivalents.LinguisticandEncyclopedicDictionariesLinguisticdictionariesaimatdefiningwordsandexplainingtheirusagesinthelanguage.Theyusuallycoversuchareasasspelling,pronunciation,meaning,grammaticalfunction,usageandetymology,etc.Thesedictionariescanbemonolingualandbilingual.Encyclopedicdictionariescanbefurtherdividedintoencyclopediaandencyclopedicdictionaries.Anencyclopediaisnotconcernedwiththelanguagepersebutprovidesencyclopedicinformationconcerningeachheadword.Therereaderscannotfindpronunciationormeaningsorusagesbutotherinformation.TheNewEncyclopaediaBritannica(in33volumes,publishedin1993)andTheEncyclopediaAmericana(in30volumes)areworldfamousEnglishencyclopedias.OtherencyclopediasareEncyclopediaofWorldLiteratureandTheColumbiaEncyclopedia.Inthe19thcenturyanewtypeofdictionariesappearedfirstinBritain,andlaterintheUnitedStates.Thistypeiscalledencyclopedicdictionary.Thesedictionariescombineelementsofencyclopediasanddictionaries.Bothencyclopeidasandencyclopedicdictionariescontainencyclopedicinformation.Buttheformerprovidesinformationarrangedunderafewgeneraltopics,thelatterprovidesinformationdistributedunderalargenumberofheadings.Thereforetheencyclopedicdictionarypresentsinformationmoreconciselythananencyclopediadoes.Unabridged,DeskandPocketDictionariesUnabridgeddictionaries.Asthenameindicates,anunabridgeddictionaryisanunshortenedone.theoretically,itisacompleterecordofallthewordsinuse(actuallynodictionarycancontainallthewordsinthelanguage).Butsuchadictionaryisthemostcompletedescriptionofwordsavailabletous.Itprovidesagreatquantityofbasicinformationaboutaword:itsorigin,meaning,pronunciation,cognates,usage,grammaticalfunction,spelling,hyphenation,capitalization,derivedforms,synonyms,andhomonyms.Manywordsthatarelistedinthedictionaryarenew,specializedormayhavefallenoutofuse.Thereforeitshouldbelargeinscopeandsize,containingatleast200,000headwords.ThebestknownunabridgeddictionaryisWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary.2,752pages460,000entries200,000usageexamples3,000pictorialillustrations1,000synonymsOtherFamousAmericanUnabridgedDictionariesDeskdictionariesDeskdictionariesaremedium-sizedonescontainingwordsrangingfrom50,000to150,000.astheyaredictionariesthatonefindsmostusedondesks,theyarecalleddeskdictionaries.Amongthebest-knownBritishdictionariesareTheConciseOxfordDictionary,11thEdition(Revised2008),OxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionary,7thEdition(2006),LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,4thEdition(2005),CollinsCOBUILDEnglishLanguageDictionary(1996).SomeofthemostknownAmericandeskdictionariesareWebster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,IndexedFourthEdition(1999),andWebster’sNewCo