Problems of Usage Labelling in English Lexicography

Lydia Namatende Sakwa

doi:10.5788/21-1-47

Abstract

Landau (1991: 217) stipulates that 'usage refers to any or all uses of language'. It is the study of good, correct, or standard uses of language as distinguished from bad, incorrect, and nonstandard uses of language. Usage may also include the study of any limitations on the method of use, whether geographic, social or temporal. Basically it alerts users that certain terms should not be uncritically employed in communication. This article discusses the treatment of usage in English lexicography. It analyses the labelling practices in six monolingual English dictionaries namely: the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD), the Macmillan English Dictionary (MED), the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (CIDE), the World Book Dictionary (WBD) and the New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (NSOED). Discrepancies in the contextual usage labelling in the dictionaries were established and are discussed.

Highlights

Comments on usage are included in dictionaries as a guide to speakers of a language in their decisions on how to use words appropriately
Some readers may interpret all dictionary data as if they were 'authoritative guides' (Abecassis 2008: 1) and/or 'sources of knowledge' (Tarp and Gouws 2008: 236) on how to spell, pronounce, interpret meaning or check usage, the question surrounding the appropriateness of usage labelling as found in most dictionaries has raised concern among many linguists (Ptaszynski 2010: 411)
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), the Macmillan English Dictionary (MED), and the Cambridge International Dictionary of English (CIDE) explain the types of labels they select but there is no explanation of the terms 'usage labels' or 'usage labelling'

Summary

Introduction

Comments on usage are included in dictionaries as a guide to speakers of a language in their decisions on how to use words appropriately. They may be unsure, for example, whether wireless is an old-fashioned (and British) word almost entirely replaced by radio, or whether to call a woman petite, slim or slender implies an approving attitude towards her in contrast to skinny, which suggests disapproval. This article intends to show the dilemma surrounding usage labels, which makes them confusing and sometimes misleading from the point of view of second language learners. The article attempts to guide future lexicographers to make more informed usage labelling decisions by expounding the inadequacies of usage labelling in English lexicography

Inconsistencies

Criteria for Usage Labelling

The Front Matter Information of Dictionaries

The Choice and Classification of Usage Labels

Definitions

Ambiguity

Dictionary Tone

Conclusion