Expanding the notion of addressing relations

Abstract

This paper offers a discussion of various aspects of the notion of addressing and addressing relations in dictionaries. Reference is made to the way in which these terms are defined and used in metalexicographic literature. It is shown how the metalexicographer Herbert Ernst Wiegand has introduced these terms and how he uses them in his meticulously designed general theory of lexicography. Maintaining the approach and interpretations used by Wiegand, it is emphasised that the notion of addressing could also be used in an expanded way to include more than only items as addressed entries and to accommodate non-condensed entries as participants in addressing relations. Using examples from existing dictionaries, the use of pictorial illustrations and article boxes to convey data directed at lemmatic and non-lemmatic entries is discussed to show their participation in lexicographic relations where a form and information related to that form are brought together. Some aspects of treatment relations in online dictionaries are identified to illustrate the need for a more comprehensive interpretation of addressing relations. Finally, suggestions are made for a distinction between different types of addressing.