ENGLISH 1

Lucilla Lopriore
DICTIONARIES
DICTIONARIES
Assumptions:
• Language is about words.
• The dictionary is the collection of the words of the
language.
• The dictionary has authority in matters of
language usage of all kinds.
• A set of semantically isolated words.

But! Different dictionaries may use the same

words to define a headword and in terms of
their organisation and structure they differ in many
ways.
How are dictionaries organised?
1. FRONT MATTER , 2. APPENDIXES, 3. MAIN BODY

1. FRONT MATTER: what does it contain?

• Editorial staff,
• Instructions on the use of the dictionary,
• Keys to interpret the pronunciation symbols
• & the abbreviations,
• Essays on aspect of the English language.
2. APPENDIXES: What do they contain?

• Abbreviations
• Foreign words & phrases (lexical)
• Information:
Tables of weights & measures;
List of personal names
Names of counties or states
Musical terms
New words etc.
 3. MAIN BODY: What does it contain?
- Alphabetical list of headwords (also multi-word
lexemes, eg phrasal or prepositional verbs; fixed
expressions or compounds).
- In the case of lexemes, the citation form (base form of
the verb or the singular form of the noun) is used
- Some dictionaries include prefixes (re-, un-),
suffixes (-ment, -able) and combining forms for
neo-classical words (geo-, tele-, ..).
3. Main Body: DICTIONARY ENTRIES
What else do they contain?
Spelling & Meaning
SPELLING: to distinguish homonyms &
homographs
Ex. check LIMP, how many homographs?
- Dictionaries often assign different meanings
to homograph or to polysemy.
- They might refer to senses (polysemy) and
subsenses.
Ex. Check the word LOAN, how many senses &
subsenses?
 MEANING
DEFINITION: a description of the meaning of
each sense & subsense of a lexeme.
Definitions derive from the observation of the
uses of words in context.
Definitions are the central part of dictionary
entries.
We often go to a dictionary to have a given
word defined.
= A view of the dictionary as authorities.
DERIVED WORDS
Dictionary treatment of derived words:
- Prefixation: separate entries
- Suffixation: under the headword they are derived
from (RUN-ONS), eg friendless a run-on under friend,
friendly is treated separately.
- Not all information is definitional, there might be:
Grammar, syntax, inflections, examples (in italics),
restrictions on usage, style markers, etymology [in
square brackets]
EX. look at the entry for SEE, note down all the info that
is not definitional.
WHY DICTIONARIES?
• First list of words: glossaries of Anglo-saxon priests for Latin.
• A list of difficult Latin words & English equivalents. Expansion
of glossaries = need for arrangements of entries.
• Alphabetisation (8th cent.glossary) : aim?
• Before 15th cent. = non need for dictionaries.
• 1440: Promptorium parvulorum (12.000)
• Dictionarium = collection of words
• 1598 John Florio’s A worlde of wordes
• 1604: 1st sample of monolingual dictionary: R. Cawdrey’s A
Table Alphabeticall
• Dictionaries of hard words.
• 1702 J.Kersey’s New English Dictionary: aim? (common
words/comprehensiveness).
• 1721/1730 N. Bailey’s Etymology & comprehensiveness.
 Samuel Johnson
• 1747 - The Plan of a dictionary of the English language:
Aims?
Fix the English language, the spelling, preserve & improve
Innovation?
Use of citations from English literature = usage
• 1755 – Dictionary of the English Language
Aims?
Secure language from corruption, but…..language is the work
of man.
PROVIDE AN AUTHORITY on STANDARDS OF USAGE
• 18th cent. Attitudes towards language: an Academy? (Defoe,
Addison, Swift..)
Noah WEBSTER:
1828 American Dictionary of the English language
1890 Merriam Company : INTERNATIONAL
1961 Gove’s Webster Third: textual evidence =
ACCURACY-CLEARNESS-COMPREHENSIVENESS

• 1836 Richardson’s New Dictionary of the English

language
• Aim: historical
• 1895: Collecting excerpts
• “To present in alphabetical series the words that have
formed the English vocabulary..to the present day” =
• common words, constant need for updating
Why dictionaries?

1) Supply unsophisticated readers with explanations

of unfamiliar words (Cawdrey);
2) Provide a record of the history of English words
and of their etymology (Bailey’s & Johnson’s);
3) Interpret the culture & civilization of today
(Webster Third);
4) Modern dictionaries have 3 functions: they
a. represent a piece of linguistic description;
b. are manuals for users;
c. set a standard for linguistic usage.
 Function of dictionaries:
provide meanings, but ..is it always so?
• Dictionary definitions are provisional as the meanings of
ordinary words are indeterminate & fuzzy.
• Dictionary definitions can’t provide a complete semantic
analysis of a lexeme.
• Phenomenon and means are both language.
• Homonymy & Polysemy
• Derivative dictionaries: risks
• Defining policies: definitions should be substitutable
 Key Skills for effective dictionary use
• Recognising features of dictionary layout, such as use of alphabetical
order, headwords, grammar and pronunciation information,
definitions, etc.
• Understanding the way dictionary entries are coded – particularly the
use of abbreviations such as adj (adjective), sth (something), ScotE
(Scottish English), etc.
• Discriminating between the different meanings of a word, especially a
word with many polysemes such as course or fair, or words that are
homonyms such as bill, bat and shed or homographs such as windy,
live and lead.
 Key Skills for effective dictionary use
• Cross-checking (when using a bilingual dictionary) that the translation
equivalent that is offered is the best choice for the meaning that is
required. For example, a French learner wishing to express
‘abbracciare’ in English may find several different equivalents in their
dictionary: 1 embrace. 2 hug. 3 kiss. 4 include. Only by checking
‘backwards’ (e.g. by looking up the entry for kiss) will they discover
that some of the English words may have a more restricted meaning
and may not be appropriate for their purpose.
• Using synonyms, antonyms and other information to narrow the
choice of best word for the meaning intended.
• Inferring the spelling of an unfamiliar word from only having heard it,
in order to check its meaning in the dictionary.
What else do dictionaries tell us?

Besides meaning, appropriate use of a word,

situational contexts, grammatical issues, usage of
lexemes, spelling, pronunciation and etymology.
• Grammatical words (rules)
• Word-class: inflectional information, syntactic
relations, transitive vs intransitive, countable vs
uncountable, attributive vs predicative adjectives,
irregular inflections of words.
• Usage: geographical and temporal varieties.
• Social context: formality vs informality.
• Domain: field of discourse.
• Quotations: examples
Dictionary: an alphabetical listing of words with
descriptive information about them, intended to
be used for reference purposes.
Types of dictionaries (Ch.11)

• Commercial products: see samples given

• General purpose dictionaries: aim to give a
comprehensive coverage of the vocabulary and are
compiled according to the lexicographers’ tradition.
• Specialist dictionaries:specialist information or special
group of users.
Ctrl. Exercises pp172-173
 Learners’ dictionaries (ch.12)
Learners’ dictionaries need to take account of the
limited linguistic resources of their users.
1. BILINGUAL DICTIONARIES
2. CONCISE ENGLISH DICTIONARY/ADVANCED
3. MONOLINGUAL LEARNERS’ DICTIONARIES
They provide detailed information about usage which
is irrelevant for native speakers and which may be
contained in a bilingual dictionary.
They take into account that learners encode (writing)
and decode (reading).
 Learners’ dictionaries: what do they contain?
Compare info given by Concise dictionaries &
Learners’ dictionaries:
• Pronunciation
• Syntax
• Definitions & examples

Use samples from the book & look at the exercises

pp.189-190.
Who uses a dictionary for what?
(ch. 13)
• Questionnaire: purposes & contexts of use.
• Why & How do learners use learners’ dictionaries?
• Views of the dictionaries:
a. control on the existence of a word in English;
b. ‘proper’ word in English;
c. guidance on the use of words.
 Advantages & disadvantages
of alphabetical arrangement
• Lexical & semantic relationships
• Lexical field analysis
• Relationship of generality:
• Hyponimy
• Superordinate
• Collective
• Generic
NON ALPHABETICAL DICTIONARIES
• 1852 ROGET’S THESAURUS of ENGLISH WORDS &
PHRASES
• Words grouped into fields: An alternative
arrangement of words to the alphabetical oredring,
according to the ideas they express.
• Aim: to provide a reference work to help people in
composing written texts (lack of vocabulary as one of
teh difficulties).
• Classification schemes of universal concepts.
Roget’s Classes of Categories:
Abstract relations; Space; Matter; Intellect; Volition;
Affections
 LONGMAN LEXICON of
CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH
1981 T. McArthur

• Lexical fields followed by alphabetical lists

• 14 broad fields, relevant do contemporary world
• Each word has a full dictionary type entry with definitions, examples,
grammar info, stylistic and register constraints.
• Difficulty: when a lexeme has more than one sense and these senses
belong to different fields.