Dictionaries and Lexicography

With a succinct history of English;How to Define? To prescribe or describe?Designing courses?

RD HOBBS, EDDEmail: dr.rdhobbs@gmail.com

Early influences on Old English• The Angles and Saxons

• The Danes - Danish

• The Vikings – Nordic dialects

• The Roman Conquest until 300 A.D.

(Hogg, 1992)

Middle English: 1066-1266• Norman Conquest

• Year 1066• French speaking dominance

• French Landed Gentry & Nobles

• French Bishops and Archbishops, clergy

• 200 years of French speaking kings

• French firmly flourishing as the PRESTIGE language in England

• French as the European lingua franca, esp. nobility (Mitchell, 1991)

Middle English to Modern English

• Latin was the language of the church until King Henry VIII founded the Church of England

• French was the language of the English government until the 17th or 18th century

• Latin and French continued to be the Prestige Languages in England, especially the erudite Aristocracy (Barber, 1993)

The Result (Crystal, 1991)

• 75% of English is from French, which is Latin-based

• The grammar is Germanic minus the synthetic qualities

• English is an analytic Indo-European language

Scriptorium: place for creating the OED• The OED =Oxford English

Dictionary• The world’s

most extensive etymological [historical] dictionary [in any language]

• Written circa 1900 by James A.H. Murray

• Used actual quotations throughout the ages

(Murray, 1977)

Comparative Linguistic Analysis Terms• Diachronic

Analysis of a word, lexeme, language, or languages across time – over a period of hundreds of years, for instance(Zgusta, 1971)

• Synchronic

Comparison of word, words, lexeme, or lexemes within a language or across languages

SYNCHRONICALLY

Syn = ?Chron = ?

The Father of Modern Lexicography (Landau, 1989)

• Ladislav Zgusta Appointed by UNESCO

• Wrote Manual of Lexicography (1971)

• To assist lexicographers of unrecorded languages

• Escaped from behind the Iron Curtain to the University of Illinois

UNESCO & DSNA• United Nations Education, Science, and Culture Organization – Zgusta appointed as official lexicographer

• Dictionary Society of North America – Zgusta was chairman

(Zgusta, 1980)

Dictionaries Set Standards• Central issue in literature concerning dictionaries is “the normative validity of the dictionary” (p. 58)

• High status of the dictionary [compare: the Bible]

• Standardization process function of dictionaries

(Gallardo, 1980)

Society and Individual• Dictionary• Dialect• Dialogue• Discourse• Didactic

• Lexicon• Idiolect• Monologue• Monograph• Soliloquy

Terminology and Connotations• Elocution – style…• Diction – mode…• Enunciation – expression…• Articulation of speech• Articulation between schools

• Morphotactics• Lexicotactics [-statistics]

• phonotactics

The Art of Writing a Definition that Does Not

Define (Kuhn, 1980)When correctly

defining,Do NOT:1. Add irrelevant glosses2. Use “of-phrase” preceded by

definition3. Over-define: define simple

phrases, not whole phrases

Successful Communication1. Intention2. Knowledge3. Code

(Sager, Dungworth, McDonald, 1980)

English for Special Purposes

• “The borderline between the natural language and artificial language can be said to lie at the point where natural language loses the ability to be its own meta-language”

(Sager et al, 1980, p. 42)

Transmitting a new code – ESP

English for Special Purposes1. Deixis – point, proclaim, demonstrate

2. Gloss, paraphrase3. Use another code to

elucidate a new code4. Inference

(Sager, Dungworth, and McDonald, 1980; Bergenholtz and Tarp, 1995)

The ESP Glossary (Geeaerts, 1987)

“The basic intention of encyclopedic, terminological dictionaries is the diffusion of scientific to technical expert knowledge: they make expert knowledge available to a wider audience of laymen, professionals from neighbouring disciplines, or experts-to-be (such as students)” (p. 6).

ELT = English Language TeachingESP = English

for Special Purposes:

• EBE• EST• EAP• EOP

(Hutchinson and Waters, 1987)

English for:

• Business & Economics

• Science & Technology

• Academic Purposes

• Occupational Purposes

3 Approaches to Course Design

• Language-Centered

• Skills-Centered

• Learner-Centered

(Hutchinson and Waters, 1987)

Analysis of CommunicationFactors of

communicative success:

• Psychological or appropriateness

• Semantic/semiotic or precision

• Technical • Economy

(Sager, Dungworth, McDonald, 1980)

3 Stage Coding Process:

1. Expression-Form level

2. Expression-Code or grammar

3. Phonetic or Graphic substance

Semiotic Functions of Words• Symbols of

extralinguistic world

• Symptoms of the speakers attitude

• Signals that affect the hearer’s attitude

Translated by Zgusta (1971) from Sprachtheorie, 1934, by Karl Buhler

Polysemy and Homonymy

• Polysemy: specialized sense, specialized context, unified subject, specialized text, multiple meanings

• Homonymy: 3 types – Homograph, Homophone, or both homophonic and homographic

(Zgusta, 1971)

Canonical Form [of the headword]

• Definien• Definienda• Lemma • Lemmata• Lexeme• Lexemes• Meaning, nuance, seme - semantics(Zgusta, 1971)

Hyponomy and Hyperonymy

• Hyponym is represented by “tree”• Hyperonyms are the limbs, leaves,

and trunk

(the example is from the author, the esoteric terminology is from Zgusta, 1971)

Tree

limbs leaves trunk

2 types of Lexicography• Onomasiologica

l

An onomasiological lexicographic product is what we normally refer to as a thesaurus, which may be arranged alphabetically or conceptually

• Semasiological

A semasiological lexicographic product is what we normally refer to as a dictionary arranged alphabetically

(Zgusta, 1971)

Stylistic Markers (Brown, 1993) Usage Labels (Landau, 1989)• Humorous, Poetic• Agricultural,

Scientific• Seismological• Technical,

Zoological• Mathematics,

geometry• Political• Linguistics• Horticulture• Euphemistic• Vulgar,

derogatory• Colloquial,

slang• Musical and what

else?

The Gloss (Zgusta, 1971; Hullen, 1989)

• Heterogenous category• Descriptive or explanatory note within an entry

• Impossible to make a distinction between the object language, metalanguage, and language of description

• The lexicographer should anticipate user understanding of ambiguous formulations

The Nest: a paradigmatic arrangement

“A nest is a group of entries which is conflated into one; the conflation is effected almost always by the typographical presentation as a run-on and very frequently by the abbreviation of the entry-words” (Zgusta, 1971).

3 Views: Lexicographical Methodology1. Massive corpus of

collocations, then specific meaning – Firth’s view

2. List all meanings, then supply collocations – Joos’s view

3. Give core meaning, then choose collocational examples – Ivir’s view

(Ivir, 1988)

Contrasting Dictionaries• Prescriptivist• Descriptivist Four types of

definitions: 1) Functional – use; 2) Concrete – description

or attributes; 3) Relational – an

analogy [like a…]4) 4)Combinatorial

definition (Krebs, 1988)

• Mono-• Bi-lingual

“Lexicography is a craft” (Landau, 1989)

• Lexicography is a “practical work to put together a book that people can understand”

(p. 121)• The dictionary is a reflection of social values

(p. 305)• Substitutibility and “priority of essence” are ingredients in good defining practices

(pp. 124-125)

Dictator prescriptivist or Tally Clerk descriptivist? Analysis or whim?

(Delbridge and Peters, 1988)

Defining Considerations3 Aspects of

Meaning:

[Landau quoting Zgusta]

• Designatum• Connotation• Range of

Applicaton

(Landau, 1989)

[Landau’s] Principles of defining:

• All specialized words explained

• No difficult words

• Definition corresponding to part of speech

• Avoid circularity

• Headword cannot be used in definition

Dictionary User Requirements (Svensen, 1993)

Mono- Mono- Bi-lingual

Native Target ForeignBarnhart, 1962 Barnhart, 1980

Bejoint, 1981Bejoint, 1989

Hartmann, 1983, 1987

Meaning Meaning MeaningSpelling Grammar GrammarPronunciation Synonyms Use in

Context

Synonyms Spelling SpellingUsage Notes Pronunciati

onSynonyms

Etymology

Language variety

Pronunciation

Etymology

Etymology

Acronyms• This is a test!

• What is an overused acronym in the English language that parents and teachers do NOT want to hear?

• What is the most hated acronym of the moral majority?

• What acronym represents the “depth” of pejoration?

Etymology: example of pejoration

• For • Unlawful • Carnal• Knowledge• This acronym was the abbreviation written in the police arrest journals in London in the 17th or 18th

centuries used to describe the lawless prurient practices of ‘pissed’ pub patrons probing passive preys in pitch poor alleys patrolled by prudish peeping precinct police(Barber, 1993)

“pissed” in British English slang means “drunk”Pejoration is an acceptable word becoming unacceptable.

Stopping Vulgar Language

• Student may not be aware of the impact of a particular word or phrase

• Movies & Music make BAD WORDS seem OK

• Calmly inform the student• Be kind and caring• Explain the damage to reputation of student, teacher, school, city

• Give the student alternative words; ask for student input

Summary• A history of English• Fundamentals of Lexicography• English Language Teaching• English for Special Purposes• Specialized Glossaries• Vocabulary for discussing specific related concepts

• Prescriptivism vs. Descriptivism

• Reducing the use of vulgar & inappropriate language

References #1• Barber, C. (1993). The English Language; A

historical introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Barnhart, C. (1980). What makes a dictionary authoritative? In Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics; Linguistics and Language Pedagogy: The state of the art, pp. 33-42. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

• Bejoint, H. (1989). Codedness and lexicography. In Lexicographers and their Works, 1-4. Great Britain: University of Exeter.

• Bergenholtz, H., & Tarp, S. (1995). Manual of Specialized Lexicography; The preparation of specialized dictionaries. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

• Brown, L. (1993). The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on historical principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

• Buhler, K. (1934). Sprachtheorie. Quoted in Zgusta (1971).

References #2• Crystal, D., ed. (1991). The Cambridge

Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Delbridge, A., & Peters, P. (1988). Dictator, gatekeeper, tallyclerk, or harmless drudge? In Lexicographical and Linguistic Studies; Essays in honor of G.W. Turner, pp. 33-41. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.

• Gallardo, A. (1980). Dictionaries and the standardization process. In Theory and Method in Lexicography: Western and non-western perspectives, pp. 59-69. South Carolina: Hornbeam Press.

• Geearts, D. (1987). Types of semantic information in dictionaries. In A Spectrum of Lexicography; Papers from Aila Brussels 1984, pp. 1-10. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

• Hartmann, R. (1987). Dictionaries of English: The user’s perspective. In Dictionaries of English: Prospects for the record of our language, pp. 121-135. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Hogg, R., ed. (1992). The Cambridge History of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References #3• Hullen, W. (1989). In the beginning was the

gloss; Remarks on the historical emergence of lexicographical paradigms. In Lexicographers and their Works, pp. 100-115. Great Britain: University of Exeter.

• Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes; A learning-centered approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Ivir, V. (1988). Collocations in dictionaries: Monolingual and bilingual. In Lexicographical and Linguistic Studies; Essays in honor of G.W. Turner, pp. 43-50. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.

• Krebs, W. (1988). Horses for courses: The design of smaller dictionaries for particular users. In Lexicographical and Linguistic Studies; Essays in honor of G.W. Turner, pp. 51-64. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.

• Kuhn, S. (1980). The art of writing a definition that does not define. In Theory and Method in Lexicography: Western and non-western perspectives. , pp. 115-121. South Carolina: Hornbeam Press.

• Landau, S. (1989). Dictionaries; The art and craft of lexicography. New York: Scribner Press.

References #4• Mitchell, B. (1991). An Invitation to Old

English and Anglo Saxon England. Oxford: Blackwell.

• Murray, K. (1995). Caught in the Web of Words; James A.H. Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

• Sager, J., Dungworth, D., & McDonald, P. (1980). English Special Languages; Principles and practice in science and technology. Wiesbaden: Oscar Brandstetter Verlag KG.

• Svensen, B. (1993). Practical Lexicography; Principles and methods of dictionary-making. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Zgusta, L. (1971). Manual of Lexicography. Paris: Mouton.

• Zgusta, L., ed. (1980). Theory and Method in Lexicography: Western and non-western perspectives. South Carolina: Hornbeam Press.

RD HobbsEmail: dr.rdhobbs@gmail.com