Use Of Dictionaries Research Articles

The Use of Incidental Vocabulary Learning Strategies Among High and Low Proficiency Year 6 ESL Learners

Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLSs) are widely implemented in the learning of English as a second language (ESL). Hence, VLSs are helpful in aiding learners to develop their vocabulary effectively, not only in the classroom but also out-of-classroom, according to the learners' needs. This study aims to investigate the use of vocabulary learning strategies in incidental learning among high and low proficiency Year 6 ESL learners. The sample of this study are 30 Year 6 ESL learners from a primary government school in Bandar Baru Bangi. A mixed method was employed, and purposive sampling was used for this study. Data was collected through a 26-item questionnaire based on Schmitt’s Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire (VLSQ) and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that high proficiency learners “watch English media” the most and the “use of flashcards” as the least favoured. In contrast, low proficiency learners prefer “asking parents or family members for the meaning of words” and “reading English newspaper, magazines and books” the least. Although no significant differences were found in overall strategy use between high and low proficiency groups, metacognitive strategies were employed significantly more by high proficiency learners. Both high and low proficiency Year 6 ESL learners also perceive technology tools and multimedia as effective for incidental learning by using YouTube, social media platform, online games, use of sub-titles and digital dictionaries. Further research on a larger scale among primary school learners is recommended to inform teachers about the application of vocabulary learning strategies, particularly in incidental learning.

Anthropocentrism in Contemporary Chinese Dictionary: A Synergic Perspective of Critical Lexicographical Discourse Studies and Systemic Functional Linguistics

Abstract Critical Lexicographical Discourse Studies (CLDS) view the dictionary as a discourse and emphasize an ideological, ethico-political dimension to the lexicographical process. Combining CLDS with Systemic Functional Linguistics, this paper looks into how anthropocentrism is manifested linguistically in Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (Seventh Edition), the most influential authoritative general-purpose Chinese dictionary, by examining the transitivity and appraisal patterns in the definition texts concerning animals and plants. The analysis shows that animals and plants are seldom assigned agency in their own right and that the animals and plants are evaluated either positively or negatively according to whether they are useful to the human beings while their intrinsic value is ignored. In particular, animals are highlighted for their agricultural and medicinal use and plants for their medicinal and ornamental value. However, compared with its previous editions, the dictionary has shown an enhanced awareness of environmental protection by deleting the encyclopaedic information that describes the use of some rare animals’ meat, bones and fur. It is argued that, although modern general-purpose dictionaries are increasingly corpus-based and descriptive, their role in shaping social values and stances cannot be disregarded. Dictionary makers need to balance what words mean with what they can be said to mean or be allowed to mean (Moon, 2014). The study contributes to unmasking and denaturalizing the hidden ideology in colony texts such as the dictionary, enhances a critical use of dictionaries and helps develop the theory of critical lexicography and emerging ecolexicography.

Статистические данные о городе Сольвычегодске в XIX веке (по географическим сведениям)

The paper provides statistical (historical and geographical) information about the typical northern trading town of Solvychegodsk, founded on the site of old salt mines. The information relates to the life of the town in the XIX century. The following quantitative parameters are considered: population, industries, buildings, etc. Statistical data is provided based on the use of Geographical Lexicons and Dictionaries: Polunin, Maksimovich, Shchekatov, Semenov and statistical descriptions of Russian towns.

Learning (semi-)technical music words with mobile dictionary and/or machine-translation apps: performances and perceptions

This article examines the use of mobile dictionary and/or machine-translation (MT) apps to facilitate the learning of (semi-)technical music words. A total of 93 Chinese students were randomly assigned into three groups (31 each): the Dictionary Group, the MT Group, and the Dictionary + MT Group. They translated sentences containing the target semi-technical or technical words with the help of mobile dictionary or MT apps or both. It was found that the Dictionary Group had the best retention rates of semi-technical and technical words; the Dictionary + MT Group was in-between; and the MT Group had the worst retention rates. Analysis of dictionary look-up behaviors further showed that the Dictionary Group looked up twice as many (semi-)technical words as the Dictionary + MT Group. These findings are explained from the perspective of Cognitive Load Theory to show how the Dictionary Group had the best level of mental resources germane to vocabulary learning. Despite the inter-group differences of retention rates, perception surveys showed that the groups did not differ in their attitudes towards the dictionary or MT apps, suggesting that student performances and perceptions were misaligned. Based on the research findings, the article offers pedagogical implications for mobile-assisted learning of specialized words.

DICTIONARY-BASED DETERMINISTIC METHOD OF GENERATION OF TEXT CORPORA

This paper examines the problem of solving software engineering tasks in developing information systems for natural language processing. Generating corpora of text data is highlighted as a specific task of this problem. An analysis of the basic CorDeGen method was carried out, which is one of the corpus generation methods specially developed for this specific problem. This study shows that this method has a limited scope due to the use of “artificial” terms to fill the texts.The paper proposes a new modified DBCorDeGen method that solves this shortcoming thanks to the use of an additional dictionary of terms that is supplied to the input of the method. The DBCorDeGen method preserves most of the characteristic features of the basic method, which are important for its use in solving software engineering tasks: determinism, speed of operation (including the possibility of combining with parallel modification), the possibility of a priori description of the structure and properties of the generated corpus. The only disadvantage compared to the basic method is the increase in the number of input parameters, however, compared to other methods of generating corpora presented in the literature, it is relatively small, and due to it, the scope of application of corpora generated by this method significantly increases.As an experimental test of the proposed modified DBCorDeGen method, the task of sentiment analysis of the texts of the generated corpus is considered. The study shows that when using the basic CorDeGen method, it is impossible to obtain sentiment analysis results different from neutral polarity for all texts. When using the proposed method, it is possible to obtain different results using different dictionaries. Thus, it is confirmed that the proposed DBCorDeGen method has a larger scope than the basic method.

IMPROVING SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE LITERACY BY UTILIZING DIGITAL MULTILINGUAL THEMATIC DICTIONARY

This recent study examines the impact of the Digital Multilingual Thematic Dictionary in improving students’ literacy skills; ability to read and write which built from vocabulary. The findings of this research are expected to show a significant impact after the application of digital multilingual thematic dictionaries in improving students' literacy skills. Kurt Lewin’s Classroom Action Research (CAR) consist of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting was employed in this study. The subject of this study was sixth-grade students of SD N 3 Banjar Jawa in the first semester of 2023/2024, which involved one class with a total of 30 students. The instrument used in this current research were literacy skill tests which include pre-test and post-test questions. The results of this study were analyzed with quantitative descriptive using descriptive statistical analysis. The descriptive statistics analysis was carried out with the aim of knowing the mean, median, mode, and dispersion which includes range, standard deviation and variance. The result of this study was based on the improvement in each student score from pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2. The research finding showed that the use of the Digital Multilingual Thematic Dictionary significantly improves language literacy skills of sixth-grade students. Thus, it can be concluded that Digital Multilingual Thematic Dictionary can improve students’ language literacy skills.

Enhancing the English natural language processing dictionary using natural language processing++

<p><span lang="EN-US">Every natural language-based project requires the use of an English dictionary. But the current English dictionaries are not updated as the English language is constantly evolving. The English dictionary used for natural language processing (NLP) projects needs to be enhanced by adding more words and phrases. This helps in improving the accuracy of NLP applications such as machine translation, performance of text analysis, recognition, and part of speech (POS) tagging. Several approaches are proposed in this direction, this paper develops and demonstrates enhancement of the English dictionary using a more versatile and robust programming language known as NLP++, a plugin to distributed big data analytics platforms such as HPCC systems. The unique features of NLP++ language is the enabler for realization of the proposed approach. This paper also discusses key NLP techniques, dictionary refinements analysis using NLP and NLP++. The results show that the proposed approach using NLP++ has significantly improved the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the English dictionary.</span></p>

ASSESSING THE REPERCUSSIONS OF DICTIONARY FORMATS ON SCHOLARLY WRITING OUTCOMES: UNDERTAKING MIXED-METHOD APPROACH

The complexity of foreign vocabulary and the multifaceted meanings of word combinations often pose significant challenges to language learners, potentially deterring their motivation. Dictionaries, however, serve as pivotal tools in surmounting these obstacles. Extant research has extensively explored the intersection of language acquisition and dictionary utilization, revealing a marked preference among EFL students for online or electronic dictionaries over traditional paper formats. Despite the recognized importance of dictionary use in fostering language proficiency, there remains a notable paucity of research investigating the specific impact of different dictionary formats on learners' writing skills. This study adopted a quasi-experimental between-groups design, including a control group and two experimental groups, involving a cohort of 67 Chinese EFL graduates from an international college in China. Over a ten-week experimental period, participants in the experimental groups utilized digital and paper dictionaries as reference aids for abstract writing, whereas the control group was deprived of any dictionary usage. Following the experiment, a semi-structured interview was conducted to assess the benefits of dictionary use in abstract writing and to elicit learners' perceptions of digital versus print English dictionaries. The weekly abstract writing submissions from all three groups were collected and meticulously analyzed. The findings revealed that both digital and paper dictionaries significantly enhanced the abstract writing performance of the Chinese EFL graduates in the experimental groups. Notably, participants who used digital dictionaries demonstrated a substantial and statistically significant improvement in overall abstract writing quality and language usage compared to those in the print-dictionary group. Furthermore, the study reported that digital dictionaries were particularly favored by Chinese EFL graduates due to their numerous advantageous attributes, including their reliability and efficacy in identifying appropriate linguistic expressions and vocabulary. In conclusion, the empirical evidence underscores the efficacy of digital dictionaries in augmenting the writing skills of EFL learners, suggesting a potential pedagogical shift towards the integration of digital lexicographical resources in language education curricula.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0705/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Arabic Dictionary use and Vocabulary Mastery Among Government-Assisted Religious Schools (SABK) Students

Arabic Dictionary use and Vocabulary Mastery Among Government-Assisted Religious Schools (SABK) Students

Examining readers' use of machine translation through eye tracking

This study examined the use of Google Translate among 50 Japanese learners of English engaged in task-based reading. There was one novel word per paragraph, and the study analyzed the frequency at which the participants accessed machine translation (MT) as opposed to the use of other strategies (e.g., dictionary use). Using eye tracking, it also examined how learners viewed translated paragraphs on MT pages. Finally, the study analyzed the relationship between the MT usage data and reading outcomes (content and vocabulary recall). A sub-group of participants provided both bilingual dictionary and MT access more often used the dictionary than MT. However, participants that were not provided dictionary access tended to be overreliant on MT, using it for irrelevant passages and when clear context cues were present. Eye movement data revealed that most participants read the English text first before checking MT, but some participants rushed to access translations. Participants displayed various strategies when viewing MT. The study found that aiming to work out the meaning from the text first and then checking the translation to search relevant novel lexical items was associated with positive outcomes. Potential implications for L2 education are discussed.

Contract-based Testing Using the Ontology Approach

This article analyzes the use of contract testing to verify the compatibility of two components, specifically web servers that use an Application Programming Interface (API) for data transmission. Additionally, the article includes a comparison of APIs and contract tests and describes cases where the latter have an advantage. A contract structure for contract testing is described. The article contains a description of the ontological approach for comparing knowledge about the business systems of the provider, in the form of ontologies, with the software representation of the consumer system, stored in the form of classes. A structure of the object that supplements the contract by providing it with business logic level checks is developed. Basic predicates that form the basis of this method are proposed and described. The use of the mapping field allows for the use of thesauruses or dictionaries for automated replacement of concepts when using synonym words. An example is provided that demonstrates the operation of this approach, namely: a simplified representation of the provider system’s concepts, a simplified structure of the consumer system’s classes, an example of an API and a contract for it, an extension using the developed approach, and the result of test execution.

Developing illustrative “Can Do” descriptors for dictionary use by foreign language learners

In this paper, we discuss the development of “can do” descriptors for dictionary use in English language teaching. With the CEFR gaining prominence as a tool for language proficiency assessment and the proliferation of traditional and online dictionaries, there’s a renewed focus on defining dictionary skills within the CEFR framework. Through an extensive literature review, we compiled skill inventories showcasing learners’ abilities with dictionaries across tasks. Our “can do” questionnaire results highlight varying skill levels and reveal gaps between perceived and actual proficiency, emphasizing the importance of refining questionnaire items to align with real-world abilities.

Exploring Novel Adverse Events of Nefecon

BackgroundNefecon, the first innovative drug approved by both the US FDA and European EMA for IgA nephropathy, lacked comprehensive real-world assessments of its adverse events (AEs). MethodsWe leveraged post-marketing data of Nefecon from the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, employing disproportionate analysis to detect positive signals at the system organ class (SOCs) and preferred terms (PTs) levels. Duplicate AEs related to budesonide and those previously reported in studies were excluded through the use of the Medical Dictionary of Regulatory Activities. Our analysis encompassed time to onset (TTO), Weibull shape parameter (WSP) evaluation, cumulative incidence, clinical prioritization evaluation and subgroup analysis based on gender and age. ResultsA total of 1515 individuals with IgA nephropathy were included. Eight positive SOC signals and 23 positive PT signals were identified, including four PTs (asthenia, malaise, product dose omission issue, and anxiety) representing novel AEs newly identified in this study. None of the positive PTs were classified as high clinical priority, with only acne, hypertension, swelling face, and weight increased considered as moderate clinical priority events. The median time to TTO was 31 days. All WSP test results indicated an early failure type profile. Lastly, subgroup analysis provided further insights into the relative risk of specific AEs. ConclusionsNefecon demonstrates a favorable safety profile, with no high-priority clinical events identified. The identification of novel AEs and subgroup-specific high-risk events fills a gap in existing studies and offers valuable insights for early clinical vigilance.

Dictionaries as authorities? The problematic use of Chinese dictionaries by missionaries in the Rites Controversy

ABSTRACT In the seventeenth century, missionaries in China translated a vast array of Chinese works, including classics, official histories, and legal documents. Their translations have been analysed through several perspectives, yet their use of Chinese dictionaries has been largely overlooked. In the context of the Rites Controversy, between the Jesuits on one side and the Dominican and Franciscan friars on the other, precise references to authoritative Chinese dictionaries were made to corroborate their interpretation of Chinese rituals as either religious or secular. This article first describes why and how missionaries started from the early beginning of the mission in the 1580s to write their own bilingual dictionaries based on existing Western and Chinese dictionaries. Then, it considers how the same dictionaries became an important reference when the Rites Controversy erupted in the 1630s. Based on manuscript and printed documents written until 1670, three Chinese characters which became the focus of competing interpretations are discussed: miao as temple versus hall, ji as sacrifice versus offering, and sheng as prophet versus wise man. Besides the problem of biased translations on both sides, we shall show that there was a more fundamental reason which prevented the missionaries from settling their controversy using dictionaries.

Educational Analysis of Language Style Errors on Facebook Social Media: Captions and Comments on Islamic Content

One way to write comments and make posts in captions is to use languages commonly used on Facebook social media platforms in everyday life, such as Indonesian, local dialects, or English. The aim of this study is to describe the misuse of the Indonesian language on Facebook in Islamic content and to highlight the misunderstandings in the use of the Indonesian language on Facebook in Muslim content. This study employs a qualitative method, analyzing errors in caption language style and comments on Facebook's Islamic content, used as a communication medium to exchange thoughts among users. The results reveal errors in the use of Indonesian on Facebook in Islamic content, including spelling errors, improper dictionary use, and grammatical errors. Additionally, misunderstandings in the use of Indonesian on Facebook in Muslim content arise from variations in communication styles among users. To improve the quality of Indonesian language use in Islamic content on Facebook, it is necessary to undertake education that covers both language aspects and a deep understanding of Islamic values.

FRAME APPLICATIONS OF THE CONCEPT «STEPPE» IN KAZAKH FOLK LYRICS

This article deals with the analysis of the composition “Kara olen”, “Poems about heroes”, which are the part of the collection “Word of ancestors”. It is the first time when the concept of the Steppe in the work “The Word of Ancestors” was considered and taken for conceptual analysis from a linguistic point of view. Thepicture of the Steppe is revealed with the use of a rational approach to conceptual analysis of images.The main goal of the article is to define the expression of the concept steppein the language of Kazakh folk lyrics. Through the concept steppethe character, life of Kazakh people can be clearly seen. Using the method of allegory, the author was able to show the courage, steadfastness of the batyrs, love for their country, and a sense of patriotism for their homeland.The theoretical significanceof the study is determined by the formation of the Kazakh worldview of the concept “steppe” through a conceptual analysis of the language in the works “The word of ancestors”. The theoretical result of the work can be used as the secondarymaterials while studying such subjects as Cognitive Linguistics and Theory of Literature. In the course of the conceptual analysis, frame applications of the concept steppewere considered. With the use of the explanatory dictionary, the concept of "steppe" was defined. Having studied the continuity of the concept steppewith such notions as native land, bright hearth, nomad camp, Motherland, nature, legend, kui, world, etc., it was possible to explore the identity of Kazakh people, who were striving for freedom and independence even at that period of time due to their courageous character. As a result, through the manifestation of the concept steppein “Kara olen” and “Poems about Heroes”, social features of the folklore language were revealed.

Attitudes towards dictionary use: A case study of university students studying languages for business

AbstractDue to the spread of the communicative language teaching method language learners were often encouraged not to use a dictionary but rather infer the meaning of a word or phrase from its context. Proper dictionary use, however, is now seen as an important element of autonomous and life-long language learning. The present research used the quantitative research paradigm and a self-prepared questionnaire (n = 925) to investigate attitudes towards dictionary use in the case of university students studying languages for business. The study investigated participants' willingness to use and pay for dictionaries and their willingness to read usage guides in dictionaries. Our results show that participants typically use a dictionary if they do not know the meaning of a word or phrase, but are reluctant to buy a dictionary and are likewise unwilling to read the information guides in dictionaries. Our results also reveal that willingness to pay for dictionaries is positively influenced by willingness to use dictionaries, willingness to read usage guides in dictionaries and language learners' age.

Enhancing conceptualisations of information behaviour contexts through insights from research on e-dictionaries and e-lexicography

Introduction. Extensive conceptualisations of context in information behaviour research do not extend to all contexts revealed in the use of electronic (e)-dictionary and similar e-sources. Information behaviour emphasises users’ contexts and their situations. As intermediaries, examples of using e-dictionaries reveal additional contexts. E-dictionary research and lexicographical insight add additional conceptualisations of information behaviour contexts. Method. Conceptual paper drawing on literature reviews of research on e-dictionaries and conceptualisations of information behaviour contexts, and an exemplar approach to e-dictionary use. Analysis. The literature and dictionary use examples are analysed through an information behaviour lens with added lexicographic insight. Results. Conceptualisations of context in information behaviour research strongly focus on the user (e.g. the need, problem) and specific situations in such contexts, sometimes extending to temporality and spatiality. Information retrieval literature also notes the context of the person who created information and of an intermediary (person or system). Three contexts are evident from e-dictionary use and lexicography: user, information intermediary (dictionary), and word, phrase or text (information source). These contexts might influence information behaviour. Conclusion. The use of e-dictionaries and similar intermediaries, observed with lexicographic insight, can enhance conceptualisations of context in information behaviour, which is of value in the use of information sources and information evaluation.

DG Embeddings: The unsupervised definition embeddings learned from dictionary and glossary to gloss context words of Cloze task

For both humans and machines to acquire vocabulary, it is effective to learn words from context while using dictionaries as an auxiliary tool. It has been shown in previous linguistic studies that for humans, glossing either target words to be learned or words comprising context is an effective approach. For machines, however, previous NLP studies are mainly focused on the former. In this paper, we investigate the potentiality of context words-glossed setting. During pre-training BERT, to infuse context words with semantic features of glosses, we propose DG embeddings — the unsupervised definition embeddings learned from dictionaries and glossaries. To employ unsupervised learning is inspired by a real-world scenario of dictionary use called headword search. This can also prevent a technical duplicate from happening, as learning words from context is already based on auto-encoding models with self-supervised learning. BERT-base is used for evaluation, and we refer to BERT-base with DG embeddings as DG-BERT. According to our experimental results, compared to the vanilla BERT, DG-BERT shows the following strengths: faster pre-training convergence, noticeable improvements on various downstream tasks, a better grasp of figurative semantics, more accurate self-attention for collocation of phrases, and higher sensitivity to context words for target-word predictions in psycholinguistic diagnostics.

The Dictionary Use among Generation Z Students of English: A Survey Study

Dictionaries are indispensable tools for language learning. Today, every area of life has been changing rapidly with technology. In such a rapidly changing world, it is inevitable to witness changes in the dictionary behaviors of today’s generation. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the dictionary needs and habits of Generation Z students of English. In the study, the data was collected through an online survey, and the participants were university preparatory-class students of English. According to the results, Generation Z students of English prefer using electronic dictionaries rather than printed dictionaries since they believe that using electronic dictionaries saves time. Additionally, they think that dictionaries are beneficial and necessary because they help them improve their language skills while learning English. Further research on dictionary use can explore several avenues to deepen the understanding of how dictionaries are utilized, their impact on language learning, and ways to enhance their effectiveness.