Ethnocentrism and the English Dictionary

Ethnocentrism and the English Dictionary PDF

Author: Phil Benson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2002-01-08

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1134599595

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This unique work challenges the assumption that dictionaries act as objective records of our language, and instead argues that the English dictionary is a fundamentally ethnocentric work. Using theoretical, historical and empirical analyses, Phil Benson shows how English dictionaries have filtered knowledge through predominantly Anglo-American perspectives. The book includes a major case study of the most recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary and its treatment of China.

Dictionary Visions, Research and Practice

Dictionary Visions, Research and Practice PDF

Author: Henrik Gottlieb

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2007-12-12

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 9027291195

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This book is about dictionaries and dictionary making. In six thematic sections it presents nineteen contributions covering a wide field within lexicography: Online Lexicography, Dictionary Structure, Phraseology in Dictionaries, LSP Lexicography, Dictionaries and the User, plus Etymology, History and Culture in Lexicography. Some chapters focus on theoretical aspects, others report on dictionary work in the making, and still others compare and analyze existing dictionaries. Common to all authors, however, is the concern for the dictionary user. Trivial as it may seem, the fact that dictionaries are meant to fulfill the needs of specific user groups has only recently achieved widespread recognition in the lexicographical literature. This volume shows the many ramifications of this functional approach to lexicography by presenting twenty-two authors representing the state of the art in eleven countries: Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, The Netherlands, Poland, South Africa and Spain.

Encyclopedic Learners' Dictionaries

Encyclopedic Learners' Dictionaries PDF

Author: Martin Stark

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-03-30

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 3110916843

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This book describes and evaluates the usefulness of a recently developed lexicographical hybrid: the encyclopedic learner's dictionary (ELD). It attemps to answer three key questions: i) What are ELDs?, ii) How useful are they?, and iii) How can they be designed to serve their users most effectively? The first chapter analyses the ELD from a typological perspective. First, the elements combined to create this new branch of lexicographical typology are examined. Next, two encyclopedic learners' dictionaries are dissected and compared: The "Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture" and the "Oxford Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary". Each ELD is compared with its non-encyclopedic parent dictionary, and a checklist of ELD-specific design features is drawn up. The second chapter focuses on the user perspective in lexicographical research. First, a critical survey of previous user-based studies is provided. Next, the questionnaire-based methodology used in the investigation is described. Fourty informants completed the questionnaire and an attempt is made to correlate user characteristics with dictionary use and with attitudes towards the inclusion of encyclopedic information in learners' dictionaries. In the third chapter each design feature found in the ELDs is described in depth and the informants' evaluations of its usefulness are supplied. In this manner, the typological focus of the first chapter and the user perspective of the second chapter are synthesized in a user-informed analysis and evaluation of ELD components. Finally, the implications of this research for the future production of ELDs are presented as a checklist of recommendations, and suggestions for future lexicographical research are made.

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