The main problems of dictionary compiling.

The most important problems of lexicography are connected with: I) the selection of lexical units for inclusion; 2) the arrangement of the selected lexical units; 3) the setting of the entry; 4) the selection and arrangement of word-meanings; 5) the definition of meanings; 6) the illustrative material.

The selection of lexical units for inclusion. The choice of lexical units for inclusion is the first problem the lexicographer faces. It is ne­cessary to decide: a) what types of lexical units will be chosen for the inclusion; b) the number of these items; c) what to select and what to leave out in the dictionary; d) which form of the language, spoken or written or both, the dictionary is to reflect; e) whether the dictionary should contain obsolete units, technical terms, dialectisms, colloquial­isms, and some others.

The choice among different possible answers depends upon the type to which the dictionary will belong, the aim the compilers pursue, the prospective user of the dictionary, the size of the dictionary, the linguistic concepts of the dictionary-makers and some other considerations.

The arrangement of the selected lexical units. There are two modes of presentation of entries, the alphabetical order and the cluster-type, i.e. when the units entered are arranged in nests, based on this or that principle. For example, in synonym-books words are arranged in synonymic sets and its dominant member serves as the head-word of the entry.

Entries may be grouped in families of words of the same root as in case of, for example, some general explanatory and translation dictionaries. The basic units are given as main entries that appear in alphabetical order while the derivatives and the phrases which the word enters are given either as subentries or in the same entry as run-ons that are also alphabetized. The difference between subentries and run-ons is that the former do include definitions and usage labels, whereas run-on words are not defined as their meanings are clear from the main entry.

The setting of the entry. The most complicated type of entry is thai found in general explanatory dictionaries of the synchronic type. In such dictionaries the entry usually presents the following data: accepted spelling and pronunciation; grammatical characteristics including the indication of the part of speech of each entry word, whether nouns an countable or uncountable, the transitivity/intransitivity of verbs and irregular grammatical forms; definitions of meaning; modern currency; illustrative examples; derivatives; phraseology; etymology; sometimes synonyms and antonyms.

The selection and arrangement of word-meanings. There are at least three different ways in which the word meanings are arranged: А) in the historical order, i.e. in the sequence of their historical development; b) in the empirical or actual order, i.e. in conformity with their frequency of use, i.e. with the most common meaning first; c) in the logical order, i.e. according to their logical connection.

In many dictionaries meanings are generally organized by frequency of use, but sometimes the primary meaning comes first if this is considered essential to a correct understanding of derived meanings.

The definition of meanings. Meanings of words may be defined in different ways: a) by means of linguistic definitions that are only concerned with words as speech material. They are used in the majority of entries; b) by means of encyclopedic definitions that are concerned with things for which the words are names; c) by means of synonymous words and expressions; d) by means of cross-references.

The choice of this or that type of definition depends, as a rule, on the nature of the word, i.e. usually the part of speech the word belongs in. and on the aim of the dictionary and its size.

The illustrative material. The presentation of illustrative material depends on the type of the dictionary and on the aim the compilers set themselves. They can illustrate the first and the last known occurrences of the entry word, the successive changes in its meaning, as well as graphic and phonetic forms, the typical patterns and collocations; they place words in a context to clarify their meanings and usage.

Some dictionaries indicate the author, the work, the page, verse, or llne, and the precise date of the publication, some indicate only the author to give at least basic orientation about the time when the word occurs

Дата добавления: 2015-11-30