The creation of learner-centred dictionaries for endangered languages: a Rotuman example

Abstract

This article examines the creation of dictionaries for endangered languages (ELs). Though each dictionary is uniquely prepared for its users, all dictionaries should be based on sound principles of vocabulary learning, including the importance of lexical chunks, as emphasised by Michael Lewis in his Lexical Approach. Many of the decisions that a lexicographer needs to make when creating an EL dictionary are discussed here, with information about how each issue was handled in the creation of an online dictionary of Rotuman, which is an Oceanic language, the majority of whose members live in diasporic communities in English-speaking nations. This article argues for the necessity of training EL members in how to use their dictionary.