Deny A. KwaryDeny A. Kwary

Internal Structures of Internal Structures of Dictionary Entries Dictionary Entries

Internal Structures of Dictionary Entries

(1)Orthography; (2)Pronunciations; (3)Grammar; (4)Definitions; (5)Examples;(6)Phrases; (7)Usage; and(8)Etymology (word histories)

(1) OrthographyThe set of norms that regulate spelling

conventions.The headwords or the lemmata in a dictionary.Some questions about orthography:

Should inflections be included as the lemmata?Should old spelling be included as the lemmata?Which dialects should be included as the

lemmata?Which dialect should be represented as the

standard?

(2) PronunciationsMany dictionaries offer a guide to

pronunciation of the headwords, especially dictionaries of languages such as English, where the relationship between orthography and phonetics is not entirely regular.

Two major questions that the lexicographer must address: which accent to represent, and which transcription system to use.

(3) Grammar How detail should the grammar information

be?Word-class indication (part of speech). Indication of whether a verb is ‘transitive’

or ‘intransitive’.Etc.

(4) Definitions Full sentences or Phrases?

Bad DebtA debt that will not be paid.

Bad DebtA bad debt is a debt that will not be paid.

Definitions in full sentences are “no doubt a sophisticated outgrowth” (Cowie 1999: 169).

The full sentence structure in writing definitions (Sinclair 1991)

FIRST PART SECOND PART

Operator

Co-text (1)

TopicCo-text (2)

Operator

Comment

a house isa building in which people live

when artistsexhibit

they show their work in public

a pure substance isnot mixed with anything else

ifsomething happened

oftenit happens many times or much of the time

(5) ExamplesIn scholarly historical dictionaries such as OED,

examples of words in use are cited from literature, with date, author, and other bibliographical details.

Nowadays, with the easy availability of machine-readable corpus evidence, such examples are usually chosen from authentic texts rather than invented by the lexicographer, but still careful selection is needed to avoid the risk of giving examples that are taken from eccentric or high-flown literary usage.

(6) PhrasesDictionaries differ as to how much material they

offer about phrases and how they present the phrases.

Phrases are usually included towards the end of an entry, or in separate paragraphs.

Examples of phrases: Noun phrases, Verb phrases, Adjective phrases, and Adverbial phrases.

Idioms and other fixed expressions are sometimes also included in general dictionaries.

(7) UsageThe guidance from a dictionary on matters of

‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ usage.Dictionaries can be either be prescriptive or

descriptive.Prescriptive lexicography: Based on normative

attitudes as to how a language or language variety should be used rather than the facts observed about its usage.

Descriptive lexicography: Based on the observed facts about a language or language variety rather than attitudes on how it should be used.

(8) EtymologyBilingual dictionaries and dictionaries for

foreign learners do not normally say anything about etymologies, word histories, or obsolete senses.

However, most larger dictionaries for native speakers see it as an essential part of the lexicographical task to explain not only the meaning but also the history and semantic development of each word, or at least of the main root words.

An example of a dictionary entry from Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 4th ed., 2003

orthography grammar

grammar

grammardefinition

example

phrase

An example of a dictionary entry from Longman Exams Dictionary (2006)

orthographygrammar

example

usage

definitionpronunciation

cross reference

lexical relation

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