Lexicography Flashcards
What are the 4 roles of the lexicographer?
Décides if a word is current or deviant, appropriate or not, typical or abnormal for the variety of language being described
Acts as an arbitrator in the codification of language
Assists and enlightens students, teachers, scientists
Assisted by specialists in pronunciation, spelling, idioms, etymology, technical language
What is the lexicographer’s dilemma?
The lexicographer must choose between the automatic acceptance of every word (nullifying the dictionary’s role as language authority) or the deliberate selection of certain words (relinquishing the objectivity of the work).
What are 7 lexicographical difficulties?
How many words to define?
How much info per entry?
How detailed per entry?
What of dialects, regionalisms, slangs, official terms, neologisms, archaic terms?
Number of words?
Expectations of the public?
Éditorial constraints - how many volumes, cost?
Nomenclature
The totality of entries in a dictionary.
The formal architecture.
By segmenting, the reader can find the answers sought after.
Article
The block describing a given word
entry
The first word
Theme or subject of the article under which are found definitions and spellings
Spelling
One of the functions of a dictionary is to record the traditional/recognized spellings
Pronunciation
The word is spelled out of context in IPA in square brackets, following the head word.
Grammatical class
Noun, pronoun, verb, article, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection and sub-class
Etymology
The first recorded appearance of the word
Definition
The formula which suggests the semantic values of a word of expression
Series of paraphrases and synonyms/antonyms
Variations separated by numbers and dashes
Examples
Without examples a dictionary is incomplete
Cultural references, quotes, original examples
Stylistic labels and Usage indicators
Register, regionalisms, domains
