英语词汇学教程课件第9章English-Lexicology-9上

1、English LexicologyLecture NineEnglish LexicologyLecture NineEnglish DictionariesDictionaries are very helpful in our daily life. A dictionary is commonly used as a reference work, consulted only on special occasions to find specific information. The words in a dictionary are usually arranged alphabe

2、tically, although there are exceptions, such as the thesaurus (usually a dictionary of synonyms, which may be arranged by meaning). English DictionariesDictionariOrganization of the EntryFor each lexical item, an entry usually contains four main types of information about the item: (a) its underlyin

3、g phonological representation, (b) the possible sequences of morphemes into which it enters, (c) its syntactic properties (such as noun, verb, and so on) and (d) its semantic representation. Organization of the EntryFor eDictionary entries often consist of six parts: (1) the headword or lemma, often

4、 in bold or some other special font; (2) its pronunciation, in some form of alphabetic notation; (3) its word class (part of speech); (4) its etymology (historical origin and derivation); (5) its definition; and (6) examples of its use. Dictionary entries often consiMost dictionaries follow this gen

5、eral structure, but there are variations. For example, etymological information may come at the end of the entry rather than near the beginning. Nowadays dictionaries are compiled for a wide range of different purposes. Therefore they vary, both in the information they contain and in the way the inf

6、ormation is presented. Besides, additional information may be included. Most dictionaries follow this 英语词汇学教程课件第9章English-Lexicology-9上HeadwordThe headword is the base form under which the word is entered and assigned its place. The number of headwords in the dictionary depends on the purpose, the a

7、udience and the size of the dictionary. This part will, of course, give you its spelling. HeadwordThe headword is the baThe information about spelling is a complex matter. There is much variation in the spelling of words. Compounds, like makeweight, make-work, and cold war, may be spelled solid, hyp

8、henated, or spaced. The dictionary will indicate one common variety, although there may be others. Some words like judgment or judgement have more than one standard spelling. The information about spellingPronunciationThe pronunciation in most dictionaries is indicated by the International Phonetic

9、Alphabet, although some use a modified one. The pronunciations listed in any dictionary need to be treated with caution because many words can have more than one kind of pronunciation. PronunciationThe pronunciationTo know the pronunciation symbols correctly, you will have to read their explanation

10、in the front part of the dictionary. The noun merchandise may end in /s/ as well as in /z/, and most dictionaries will show that variation. In addition to the consonants and vowels of the word, the pronunciation will show the stress and the syllable division. To know the pronunciation symbGrammatica

11、l InformationThe grammatical information given by dictionaries is limited to the part of speech for a word and the labels prefix, suffix, or combining form for bound forms like pre-, -er, or tele-. The parts of speech will be one of the primary word classes. Some indication of a subclass may be adde

12、d, for example count or mass noun, intransitive or transitive verb. Grammatical InformationThe graFollowing the label, the inflected forms of a noun, verb, or adjective are listed if they are in any way irregular or doubtful. The inflected forms commonly listed are the plural of nouns, the past tens

13、e and the participles of verbs, and the comparative and superlative of adjectives. In some dictionaries, an irregular form may appear as a separate headword, with cross reference.Following the label, the infleDifferent meanings of a word are closely associated with different lexical and syntactic pa

14、tterns. Many dictionaries record and exemplify the most important of these patterns. For example, in Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary (1987), most of the grammatical information is given, in an extra column beside the entry, in abbreviated form in capital letters with some symbols such as

15、 + and / .Different meanings of a word aLongman Dictionary of Contemporary English (1978) gives more descriptions of the behavior of words in the form of letters and numbers between square brackets. The letters give information about the way a word works in a sentence or about the position it can fi

16、ll. The numbers give information about the way the rest of a phrase or clause is made up in relation to the word being described. Longman Dictionary of ContempoEtymologyEtymology in the dictionary is a statement of the origin of the headword. It may include not only the earliest known form and the l

17、anguage in which this occurs (e.g. Old French) but also cognate forms in other language. EtymologyEtymology in the dictIn some dictionaries it comes before the definitions, in others, after. In describing etymologies, the dictionary makes use of a number of abbreviations and signs. These vary somewh

18、at from one dictionary to another but include abbreviations of language names like MD for Middle English and special signs like meaning derived from. In some dictionaries it comes DefinitionThe heart of a dictionary entry is the definition. The definition takes one or both of two forms: description

19、and synonymy. The description often uses a sentence but may need to include words that are less frequently used. DefinitionThe heart of a dictiSome dictionaries limit the vocabulary that they use in their descriptions. For example, all the definitions in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Lea

20、rners (2002) are written using a carefully chose list of under 2500 words. These are the most common and basic words in English. They are chosen on the basis of word-frequency information from hundreds of millions of words of English. Some dictionaries limit the voWith synonymy, a word or a set of w

21、ords of similar meaning is brought in, often giving slightly more specific senses. All the definitions are ultimately circular; but compilers try to avoid very small circles, such as defining sad as sorrowful, and then sorrowful as sad. With synonymy, a word or a setSince most words have more than o

22、ne meaning, the definitions are usually grouped together in some order. There are usually three kinds of order in which definitions are presented: historical order, frequency-determined order and logical order. Generally speaking, the introductory part to each dictionary will tell what arrangement i

23、ts editors have tried to follow.Since most words have more thaIn historical order, the sense known to have been first used in English is entered first. Divisions of subsenses are also in historical order with respect to one another. The Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster dictionaries

24、arrange their senses according to the dates when each sense first came into English. In historical order, the senseLogical order begins with the most general meaning and ends with the most specific. Entries containing more than one sense are arranged with the central and often most commonly sought m

25、eanings first. Senses and subsenses are grouped to show their relationships with each other. In frequency-determined order, the meanings which are most frequent or most central come before those that are less common or more peripheral.Logical order begins with the Most words have several different b

26、ut related senses. Dictionaries divide up their definitions into categories, one for each sense. The Oxford English Dictionary divides the senses of the noun work into 23 main categories, with up to seven or eight subcategories under each of the main ones. Most words have several differThe Random Ho

27、use College Dictionary has 13, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (new edition) has 15 categories and Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (seventh edition) has 14. All dictionaries will have similar if not identical categories of sense. But the order in which the senses are presented is

28、radically different, and has lead to serious misunderstandings on the part of dictionary users.The Random House College DictiExamplesTo supplement the definitions, the dictionaries may use examples containing the headword in question. Examples are often grouped under numbers referring back to defini

29、tions or senses to show how the word is used in context. They usually illustrate a typical usage. ExamplesTo supplement the defiIn the past, dictionaries used made-up examples, partly because there was not enough authentic text and partly because there was the assumption that made-up examples could

30、be tailored to the needs of the dictionary entry. However, now it is generally recognized that the naturalness provided by authentic examples is the most important in giving an accurate picture of language in use. In the past, dictionaries usedRelated Forms and Usage LabelsIn many entries there are

31、related forms of one kind or another. The entry may include various idioms, phrases or proverbs. For instance, the entry may include idioms using the headword. Derivatives that are formed from the headword and whose meanings are obvious will be listed. Synonyms and antonyms may be listed and disting

32、uished from one another in a short note. Related Forms and Usage LabelsUsage labels are often found among the definitions. They indicate that a words use is restricted in certain ways. Some words or meanings are used mainly by particular groups of people or in particular social contexts. Many defini

33、tions in the dictionary will give information about the kind of people who are likely to use a word or expression, and the type of social situation in which it is used. Usage labels are often found aStyle and attitude labels show that a word is most suitable for a particular occasion and can express

34、 a particular attitude. Regional labels show that a word is restricted to or characteristic of a particular geographical area, such as Australia, Canada, and the United States. Subject labels indicate that a word, or often one meaning of a word, is limited to a special subject matter, such as psycho

35、logy, chemistry, or linguistics. Style and attitude labels showFor example, there are three kinds of labels in Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002). Style and attitude labels include formal, humorous, impolite, informal, literary, offensive, old-fashioned, spoken, and very forma

36、l.Subject labels include business, computer, journalism, legal, linguistics, medical, science, and technical. Regional labels include Br E, Am E, mainly Am E, Australian, Canadian, Caribbean, East African, Indian, Irish, New Zealand, Scottish, South African, Welsh, and West African. For example, the

37、re are three kIllustrationsDictionaries may include pictorial illustrations. These illustrations provide a visual support for the definition of a word. They can help clarify the semantic description and distinguish the meaning differences among meanings of some words. Oxford ESL English-Chinese Dict

38、ionary (2008) contains over 1000 words illustrated for the user to see what they mean. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (seventh edition) has 2000 words illustrated. Many are in groups. IllustrationsDictionaries may 英语词汇学教程课件第9章English-Lexicology-9上Supplementary MatterIn addition to the usual voc

39、abulary entries, many dictionaries provide a wide variety of supplementary information, either in the body of the work, in special prefatory sections, or in appendixes. Topics that may be covered include abbreviations, punctuation, pronunciation, names of people and places, usage, special signs and

40、symbols, forms of address, irregular verbs, weights and measures, the history of English, grammar, academic writing, word formation, and so on. Supplementary MatterIn additioNo dictionary will include all of these or present them in quite the same way as another dictionary, but if you examine your d

41、ictionary carefully, you are likely to be surprised at the amount of information it gives in addition to vocabulary entries. No dictionary will include allOxford ESL English-Chinese Dictionary (2008) is rich in supplementary matter. In the body of this dictionary there are 32 study pages on topics o

42、f the environment, words that go together, phrasal verbs, word formation, U.S. education system, Canadian education system, U.S. government, Canadian government, writing an essay, interpreting graphs, letter writing, practice for the TOEIC and TOEFL tests, taking notes, writing a resume, and compute

43、rs. Oxford ESL English-Chinese DicAt the end of this dictionary there are appendices of irregular verbs, prefixes and suffixes, punctuation, map of North America, Provinces and States of Canada and the U.S., geographical names, key to study pages, and pronunciation. At the end of this dictionary CorporaCorpus work in English began in the 1960s with the development of the Survey of English Usage and the Brown University Corpus. By the 1990s lexicographers could draw on ma