Dictionary User Research Articles

Varför Paris men inte Prag?

The article reports on a study of the treatment of names in the latest edition of The Swedish Academy Glossary (SAOL 14). Initially, we present the principles for inclusion of names in Swedish monolingual dictionaries in general. After that, we discuss the names included in SAOL 14, on the basis of names listed in previous editions, dictionary user emails regarding the names, and the results of a web questionnaire on the topic. Finally, we address the question how the editors could handle this subset of headwords in the next edition of the glossary.

Лемматизация как средство оптимизации макроструктуры электронного словаря

The paper is aimed at identifying the ways of the optimization of the process of user lemmatization in an electronic translation dictionary. The study is novel in that it is the first to analyze the procedure of lemmatization executed by the software of an electronic dictionary from the standpoint of the functional theory of lexicography. The paper provides a lexicographic analysis of a user’s operations and possible mistakes, including spelling, in the process of lemmatization when accessing the corpus of a translation dictionary. The author examines the solutions offered by the compilers of printed dictionaries and proves that an increase in the volume of a dictionary corpus complicates the lemmatization procedure and forces the compiler to rely on a user’s knowledge; analyzes the problems arising in the lexicographic situation when a user perceives information by ear and then creates a search query for an electronic dictionary; determines the role of context in the selection of a translation equivalent when consulting a dictionary; suggests using voice input, speech recognition and spellchecking as means to satisfy communicative and cognitive needs of a dictionary user. As a result, the study proves that automation of the lemmatization procedure and integration of context analysis tools into the electronic dictionary software (for example, spellcheckers used in text editors) increase the efficiency of a user’s consultation with an electronic dictionary.

Роль несобственно лексикографической ситуации в развитии функциональной теории лексикографии (на примере специализированных словарей в ситуации обучения военному английскому языку)

The research aims to identify the features of the military sublanguage in the system of the English language from the perspective of the functional theory of lexicography and determine the role of a user learning military English and a non-lexicographic situation created by him when compiling dictionaries. The paper reveals the tasks of theoretical lexicography under a non-lexicographic situation (the study of military English and military translation) and dwells on the needs of a specialized dictionary user that arise in such a situation. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that it is the first to determine the influence of a specific user type and a non-lexicographic situation he creates (the study of military English and military translation) on the process of compiling a military translation dictionary, including e-dictionaries. As a result, it was substantiated that the functional theory of lexicography should be developed through the analysis of corpora-related situations (including non-lexicographic situations linked to teaching a foreign language for specific purposes). The author proves the need to create e-dictionaries for military translation, whose corpora will be based on the texts that take into account students’ communication-oriented and cognitive-oriented needs.

The Future of Metalexicography: Reaching for the Mesosphere

In this research article, a quantified look is taken at the metalexicographic endeavours of the past half century, starting in 1971. It is argued that the year 2021 represents a tipping point, and for that reason, when illustrations are needed in the article, those are preferably taken from the work of Sue Atkins, who passed away in 2021. It analyses the formation of the various continental lexicography associations, as well as their conferences and linked proceedings, and ends with the current and future role of the global lexicographic alliance. In addition, a comparative bibliometric study is undertaken of the four main journals of our field. It is shown that the number of metalexi­cographic studies and the impact these have continued to grow, to the point where dedicated tools and databases are currently needed for the efficient examination and use of the now many thou­sands of conference papers, journal articles, and other publications. A brief section also deals with modern dictionary user research, which is, according to current thinking, subsumed under meta­lexicography. With and from this vast amount of data, the future direction of metalexicography is extrapolated. The undertaken research is thus very much data-driven, and refrains from thought experiments to arrive at that future. Keywords: lexicography, metalexicography, DSNA, Euralex, Australex, Afrilex, Asialex, Americalex-s, Elex, Globalex, conference proceedings, journal articles, Dictionaries: Journal of the DSNA, Lexicographica, Inter­national Journal of Lexicography, Lexikos, Lexicography: Journal of Asialex, bibliometrics, Google Scholar, dictionary use, Elexifinder

Podaci o markiranosti leksema u dvojezičkim rječnicima / Usage labels in bilingual dictionaries

The paper examines the issue of indicating lexeme markedness in bilingual dictionaries. Markedness goes beyond the denotative meaning of lexemes and is considered to be the information referring to the lexical knowledge that must be given to the dictionary user in order for their lexical selection to be adequate for the communicative situation they might find themselves in. This information comprises, for example, data on the stylistic, temporal, and regional markedness of lexical units. In the first part of the paper, a theoretical overview of markedness in lexicography is presented. In the empirical part, the lexicographic practice of markedness is investigated using the example of the lexemes from the semantic field TO DIE in the Croatian German dictionary by Jakić and Hurm (1999). Suggestions for labelling markedness in the Bosnian-German universal dictionary (BNJUR), which is in the process of being created, are proposed as well. The goals of this research are: (1) to determine the representation of pragmatic information at the macrostructural level in the Croatian-German dictionary by Jakić and Hurm (1999); (2) to determine the representation of pragmatic information in the dictionary articles in the form of usage labels and ways of presenting their lexicographic description. Here, it is also important to determine a) for which language elements the label is specified and b) for how many elements the specified label “is valid”; (3) to propose concrete solutions for improving the labelling of pragmatic information in BNJUR, keeping in mind the needs of its target users. The analysis indicated several shortcomings in lexicographic practice, ranging from listing equivalents that are marked differently in relation to the entry, not listing usage labels for marking in general, to ambiguities regarding what the usage labels refer to.

Expectations of the Latvian Dictionary Users on the Ideal Terminological Dictionary

    While studying the state of contemporary Latvian terminography, it has to be acknowledged that there is a lack of well-designed dictionaries with introductions that explain the principles and intentions of creating the dictionary; there are no references to the resources or other indicators that are important to the dictionary user. Before publishing any dictionary, lexicographers should be aware of the target users, but there is a lack of studies on the habits and needs of the users of the terminological dictionary. A continued study into the attitudes and habits of dictionary users is needed to make clear what the public expects from a terminological dictionary, and that is why a survey was conducted among 161 Latvian bachelor, master, and doctoral students with regard to dictionary use and culture. This empirical research presents a result of a preliminary study on the opinions, attitudes, and habits of Latvian dictionary users regarding the use of terminological dictionaries and their dictionary culture. The aim of the report is to present and discuss answers to one of the open questions in the survey: “In your opinion, what characteristics should the ideal terminological dictionary have?” By mentioning some of the statements to be drawn from the survey, it should be highlighted that the dictionary user in Latvia wants the dictionaries to have an introduction that explains everything that the user is looking for. Being aware that it is almost impossible to create an ideal dictionary, a number of aspects that are relevant to the user are reflected on in the report.

APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF MULTIMODALITY IN MODERN LEXICOGRAPHY

The search for the optimal and most comprehensible ways of lexical units semantization has been the key problem of lexicography and metalexicography for the dictionary user and remains the contemporary problem. Introduction of computer technology has radically changed the concept of the dictionary, solved many problems of the lexicographic genre, and expanded the capabilities of the dictionary user. Along with this, the abundance of lexicographic works, including electronic ones, dictionary platforms, that act as aggregators of several online dictionaries, an overabundance of reference information, disorient an inexperienced consumer. Due to this, the objective of this article is the typology of existing online dictionaries and information dictionary platforms based on the material of the German language, depending on their content and general purpose. The most accurate multi-aspect interpretation of a word comprises various features and connotations taken into account. Nevertheless, the reference nature requires a laconic description of the material, devoid of a formalized meta-language, and the ability to quickly find the necessary explanation. Regarding this, the analysis of the application of the principles of multimodality is conducted in the article to solve the problems of meaning representation in electronic dictionaries. Besides, the author underlines the significance of the multimodal meaning representation for the effective interpretation of foreign lexis in all variety of nuances, and, therefore, for the effectiveness of a foreign language lexis acquisition and overcoming translation difficulties.

Innoverende toegangsroetes in selfoonwoordeboeke

Innovative Access Structures in Mobile Dictionaries. The access structure of any dictionary is an important one. It provides the user with a means to obtain the required data or to extract valuable information. This dictionary structure mostly overlaps with other structures such as the macro-, micro- and mediostructure, which in turn creates different access routes a dictionary user can follow to try and satisfy his or her lexicographic needs. In printed dictionaries, the access structure can already be found on the cover, while in electronic or online dictionaries this structure is usually visible on the home or landing page (Du Plessis 2015: 51-52). Gouws and Prinsloo (2005: 64) differentiate between two types of access structures: the outer access structure, which relates to the access or search routes that lead a user to the lemma sign, and the inner access structure, which, among other things, involves the search routes and zones within a dictionary article. The traditional functions and uses of dictionary structures are adapted for the online and mobile medium in order to better satisfy user needs. The disadvantage of this, however, is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between different dictionary structures (Müller-Spitzer 2013: 368-369). Fortunately, e-dictionaries have the freedom to provide new and innovative ways for users to access lexicographic material. The goal of this article is to highlight and evaluate some of these innovative access routes, particularly in mobile dictionaries. This is done to determine which access routes deserve further investigation or should be considered as a standard practice in mobile and other e-dictionaries. Keywords: access routes, access structure, cellphone dictionaries, dictionary structures, electronic dictionaries, e-lexicography, inner access structure, mobile applications, mobile dictionaries, mobile lexicography, outer access structure, search routes, smart phones

On the need of usage information in dictionary definitions: EFL students of Polish primary schools in focus

Assuming that the information presented in dictionary definitions should indicate that language use depends on the pragmatic situation and the social relationship between speaker and hearer, dictionaries often use special conventions. It is particularly important from the point of view of the language learner that these conventions are not too complicated. Of course, the knowledge of the difference between the semantics of a word and its pragmatic meaning, especially when the dictionary user comes from a different culture, seems to be of prime importance. When consulting dictionaries, the learner of a foreign language needs clear instructions on the formal use of the language, as well as on the use that is not formal, in order to avoid the consequences of a wrong choice.

Mobile apps as language-learning tools

Abstract This contribution researches various translation dictionaries – mobile apps with Latvian that are available for free on the Google Play Store and sets out the experience of developing specialised translation dictionaries at Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS). The results encounter three different dictionary models that are compiled for the acquisition of Languages for Special Purposes (LSPs) to support vocabulary (term) learning, translation, reading, listening and writing skills during the foreign language-learning process. Dictionaries with grammatical information and rich, supportive data or encyclopaedic information added are more useful for understanding specific domain concepts and content, as well as for the translation practice. Thus, the dictionary user does not have to look for another application or other source to get this additional information. Each new app takes up some space on the user’s smart device; therefore, it is important to maximise the support provided by a single dictionary. The research provides insight into the range of dictionaries with Latvian available on the Google Play Store, gives a brief description, and explains the practical experience of VUAS when working on developing such dictionaries and applying them for language-learning purposes and specialised terminology courses for students. The study also provides an overview of challenges, problems and lexicographic and information technology solutions for mobile applications. The goal of the research is analysing and characterising those free-of-charge dictionaries in the form of mobile apps with Latvian as one of the translation languages. Surveys were used to gather and analyse research data. A survey of dictionary users and a survey of language learners using dictionary apps were carried out after the development of the specialised dictionaries.

Kulturell geprägte Wörter zwischen sprachlicher Äquivalenz und kultureller Kompetenz. Am Beispiel deutsch-italienischer Wörterbücher

Abstract Misunderstandings between speakers of different languages occur not only on a linguistic level but also on a cultural one. Consultation of a bilingual dictionary does not necessarily help in this case, as information on the cultural level is often missing. In this paper we will discuss how bilingual dictionaries can draw attention to cultural divergences so that the dictionary user acquires cultural knowledge and is able to build an intercultural competence. Examples from four bilingual dictionaries (German-Italian) are given to illustrate how culture-bound words are represented. For this purpose, a classification of culture-bound words is offered. Finally, the prerequisites and possibilities of an appropriate representation of culture-bound items in bilingual dictionaries will be proposed.

Selecting an Initial Lemma List in Specialized Lexicography: A Case Study in the Field of Graphic Engineering

Specialized lexicography in graphic engineering has never had a tool in dictionary format that facilitates knowledge acquisition for students and meets their specific lexicographic needs in a technical university context. This paper presents an initial lemma list for a Spanish dictionary in the field of graphic engineering. The Delphi method has been used to assure expert consensus in this area. In addition, two equally professional surveys have been conducted by an expert and endorsed by experts. The fundamental concepts are considered, either because of the difficulty they represent, or due to their importance within our field of knowledge for which engineering documents and technical standards with technical graphic elements have been employed. Students have taken part in the process, thereby allowing identification of convergences and divergences between both groups of participants. The paper concludes with, on the one hand, a final list of accepted concepts and, on the other, of additional uncertain concepts, which could satisfy dictionary user needs and constitute the beginning of a functional online dictionary.

An overview of digital lexicography and directions for its future : an interview with Gilles-Maurice de Schryver

In this contribution Rove Chishman and Bruna da Silva present questions to the President of the European Association for Lexicography , Gilles-Maurice de Schryver. In answering, G-M de Schryver calls a spade a spade: No, there is no theory of lexicography, but yes, there is a future for lexicographers. For that future to be bright, lexicographers will have to join hands with the Big Data companies, and accept that their invaluable input will be all but invisible to the users. Artificial Intelligence components will have to be used in earnest, so that ‘searches’ (not look-ups!) will instantly lead to context-sensitive answers. Browsing lexical data only starts from these answers and proceeds from there in two- (and why not three-) dimensional multimedia spaces. To achieve this, G-M de Schryver points to the most promising research ideas at present, as well as the top teams involved in digital dictionary user research. Keywords : EURALEX; eLex; digital lexicography; e-dictionaries; corpora; automation; crowdsourcing; Corpus Query Packages (CQPs); Dictionary Writing Systems (DWSs); artificial intelligence (AI); user-friendliness; mobile devices; augmented writing assistants; eye-tracking; digital user research.

Slovenian Legal Terminology and Its Presentation in the Dictionary of Legal Terminology

The article discusses Slovenian legal terminology. It first describes it from the perspective of its historical development and then focuses on the presentation of the Slovenian legal concept system in Pravni terminološki slovar (Dictionary of Legal Terminology, 2018), which contains Slovenian legal terminology after 1991. The article presents the design of the dictionary, which takes into account the dictionary user and normativity, as well as the entry structure.

Establishing the Citation Form for Inherent Complement Verbs in Igbo Dictionaries

Inherent Complement Verbs (ICVs) in Igbo are verbs that consist of CV roots which obligatorily co-exist with their meaning-specifying nominals. They consist of two morphemes of the type CV + Nominal and the two parts form a semantic unit. These verbs exist as such in the lexicon. Using the dictionaries of Williamson (1972), Igwe (1999) and Echeruo (2001) for data collection, the paper highlighted the problems created by these verbs in Igbo lexicography. It specifically addresses the problem of establishing the citation-form for ICVs and their arrangement in Igbo dictionaries. Findings reveal some significant facts that would help improve the production and quality of Igbo dictionaries. The use of the imperative, infinitive and other inflectional forms as headwords in the extant dictionaries demonstrates the lack of uniformity of citation form and the absence of an established citation-form in Igbo dictionaries. Group arrangement of ICVs in the dictionaries based on certain morpho-semantic criteria constitutes a major challenge for the lexicographer and the dictionary user. The choice of citation and arrangement in extant Igbo dictionaries makes quick accessibility and retrieval of information tedious and often times fruitless, so defeats the very purpose of a reference work which a dictionary is expected to fulfil. The paper concludes with useful suggestions for future Igbo lexicographers.

Visual Networks As a Means of Representing Collocational Information in Electronic Dictionaries

AbstractThe digital turn in lexicography has paved the way to new techniques for presenting information in dictionaries. This paper explores the potential of collocational networks (Phillips 1983, Williams 1998) as key lexicographical tools to represent information about lexical combinatorics. Collocational networks, which had initially been used as a means of identifying collocations in large corpora, must now be rethought in order to assist non-expert dictionary users in text production by allowing them to find the exact collocates they are looking for, as well as by offering the grammatical information needed to use collocations accurately. We advocate improving networks by incorporating information visualization techniques (Ware 2008, Pham 2012). Specifically, we suggest a number of measures which may be taken to both simplify access to the information provided by raw output from corpora —much of which may be noise for the dictionary user— and to enrich such collocational data by means of visually-explained relevant grammatical information.

Towards a Discourse Approach to Critical Lexicography

Abstract Ideology and power, the vital concerns of critical lexicography, are aspects of a dictionary that a lexicographer and a discerning dictionary user have to encounter in any serious lexicographical enterprise (Kachru 1995); however, critical lexicography as a theme did not receive much attention until Kachru and Kahane (1995). This term later appeared in Hornscheidt (2011) and Moon (2014). However, to date there has not been any systematic theoretical exemplification of what critical lexicography is and how critical lexicographical research is done. Additionally, the scope and function of critical lexicography is relatively limited when we consider the global context, since it fails to take into account theoretical and methodological inspirations from other disciplines such as Critical Discourse Studies and/or Postcolonial Studies, which would make it more theoretically robust and analytically explanatory. With this gap in mind, this paper proposes a discourse approach to Critical Lexicography, termed Critical Lexicographical Discourse Studies (CLDS), as a response to the call for lexicographers’ ‘social accountability’. Specifically, the article puts forward a definition of CLDS and its key concepts, denotes its ontological, epistemological and methodological orientations, delineates its principles, proposes a tentative analytic framework and demonstrates a simplified case study. The article argues that a discourse approach to critical lexicography opens up space to understand different meaning-making practices and contestation in lexicography. In doing so, this article contributes to the development of international (English) lexicography and the language(s) it represents.

Вопросы этимологии и роль энциклопедических сведений в лексикографическом описании заимствований в современном русском языке

ABSTRACTBased on case studies, the paper reveals some fundamental flaws in etymologies of loanwords in Modern Russian contained in the most authoritative lexicographic descriptions. Taking into account up-to-date lexicographic sources as well as the time, conditions and circumstances of loanwords entering the Russian lexicon, the article clarifies the etymology of the lexemes under survey and rejects previous doubtful or erroneous hypotheses. The article also discusses the issue of the so-called “literal” meanings of foreign language etymons and the use of the corresponding field label “bukv.” in the etymology fields of dictionary entries. Case studies show that due to the ambiguity of the concept “literal,” the “bukv.” label is used inconsistently, which can be misleading. In this connection, the paper suggests either abandoning the use of the label altogether or clearly defining its meaning in dictionary user guides.

The variables for drawing up the profile of dictionary users

Dictionary users should be the main considerations in creating dictionaries. A mistake in identifying the users can make a dictionary to be simply a display without much benefit. Nevertheless, only a small handful of references have discussed the variables to be considered in determining the dictionary user profiles. Consequently, a more concise and updated reference is needed to draw up a more thorough profile of dictionary users. This article starts with reviews of the references on how to determine the profiles of dictionary users, proposed by Bergenholtz and Tarp (Manual of specialised dictionaries, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1995), Atkins and Varantola (in: Atkins (ed) Lexicographica Series Maior 88: using dictionaries, Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tubingen, 1998), Denisov (in: Hartmann (ed) Lexicography: critical concepts, Routledge, London, 2003), Tarp (Lexikos 14:222–252, 2004), Bergenholtz and Nielsen (Terminology 12(2):281–303, 2006) and, Tarp (Lexicography in the borderland between knowledge and non-knowledge: general lexicographical theory with particular focus on learner’s lexicography, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 2008). A theory on market segmentation process from Kotler and Keller (Marketing management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2006) is also discussed to widen the perspective on determining the variables for dictionary user profiles. This study has found fourteen variables which are relevant for drawing up the profile of dictionary users.

Editorial

Editorial Edward Finegan THIS ISSUE OF DICTIONARIES OPENS WITH AN ARTICLE THAT contrasts the differing marketing practices in British and American dictionary publishing and how those practices both reflect and support quite different dictionary cultures. Lynne Murphy argues that more than commercial competitiveness distinguishes American and British dictionary cultures—and that US competitiveness isn’t couched merely as among dictionaries but as among potential dictionary buyers. Focusing on Oxford University Press and Merriam-Webster, Murphy sees the larger cultural differences as rooted “in differing attitudes to the roles for written authority in each culture.” In another article, Elizabeth Knowles describes a different kind of publishing phenomenon. She traces the development of the relatively recent publishing area of dictionary histories, beginning with Mary Wright’s biography of her husband, Joseph Wright, editor of the English Dialect Dictionary. Knowles discusses half a dozen other histories, including Elisabeth Murray’s portrait of her uncle, James Murray, and his role as editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and Peter Gilliver’s history of the making of the OED. In a refrain echoed elsewhere in this issue, Knowles observes “a trend towards seeing particular dictionaries in terms of their social and cultural importance.” In the third article, Anne Dykstra focuses his attention on the hypothesized link between Frisian and English posited by Joost Halbertsma and implemented in entries to his Lexicon Frisicum, completed and published by his son in 1872. Dykstra argues that Halbertsma could have done more in his dictionary to support his hypothesis but that, in the end, his lexicographical practice failed to be as persuasive as it might have been. [End Page vii] In the Reference Works in Progress section, Jack Bowers and Laurent Romary, both active participants in the refinement of the Text Encoding Initiative, describe the complexities of creating a dictionary of Mixtepec-Mixtec and amply illustrate their application of TEI to an under-resourced language. They map out how to accommodate unique combinations of features not familiar in descriptions of Indo-European languages and thus model the utility of TEI for other projects seeking to enrich language resources for indigenous languages of the Americas and elsewhere. This issue of Dictionaries contains reviews of six books, ranging from the highly popular to the deeply scholarly. Drawing on her own vast experience working with diverse dictionary publishers, Wendalyn Nichols reviews Kory Stamper’s Word by Word and finds it both fascinating and elegiac; “a singular delight” was discovering “how much [the book] captured of her own experience.” Orin Hargraves reviews Lynne Murphy’s The Prodigal Tongue, a popular treatment of British-American language differences, “chock-full of insight and solid research about matters … that show marked and rather complicated differences between the two language communities.” He writes that “no other writer on dialectal differences in English can match Murphy’s ability to helpfully place observations about usage in their linguistic, social, cultural, and historical context.” Hargraves also reviews Paul Baker’s American and British English, a more technical treatment based on analysis of the Brown family of corpora. The book’s “highly focused subject matter and somewhat problematic approach to it” will be of less interest to the lexicographer and general reader than those “undertaking examination of corpora for computational purposes,” Hargraves says. Three other reviews focus principally on historical aspects of lexicography. Elizabeth Knowles reviews the collection of “prefatory pieces to dictionaries published between the early seventeenth and the early nineteenth centuries,” edited by Rebecca Shapiro. While today’s dictionary user pays little attention to prefatory matter, Knowles writes that “Shapiro makes a strong case for matters having been different in the period covered by Fixing Babel.” In his review of The Place of Words, by Michael P. Fitzsimmons, Peter Sokolowski notes that dictionary users want practicality rather than theory: “they are seeking the authority of a dictionary … for answers to questions about words.” He characterizes The Place of Words as an [End Page viii] exploration “into the many intersections of politics and language” as related to the Académie Française and its dictionary during an “Age of Revolution.” The book’s story, Sokolowski says, is one that “resonates today with the popular view that the Académie’s...