Ginzburg-Lexicology

not only with the help of definitions and examples but also by means of showing their collocability (lexical and grammatical valency 1), especially their typical collocability.

§ 1 1 . Choice of Adequate One of the major problems in compiling Equivalents translation dictionaries and other bilingual

word-books is to provide adequate translation’ of vocabulary items or rather to choose an adequate equivalent in the target language.

According to Acad. L. V. Sčerba, translation dictionaries that do not give due attention to delimitation of word-meaning cannot ensure real mastery of foreign words. The compilation of such dictionaries must be based on systematic and detailed contrastive studies of the languages dealt with. Only this will enable the lexicographer to decide what parts of their vocabularies diverge and thus require special attention in translation.

Speaking of scientific methods in compiling translation dictionaries we pay a tribute to Prof. A. I. Smirnitsky and Prof. I. R. Galperin who following the principles of the Russian school of lexicographers (D. N. Ushakov, L. V. Sčerba, V. V. Vinogradov) made a valuable contribution to Soviet lexicography, particularly bilingual lexicography, and made useful innovations. The Russian-English Dictionary under Prof. Smirnitsky’s general direction and the New English-Russian Dictionary edited by Prof. I. R. Galperin differ from other word-books of their kind on account of wider and more profound information that is supplied both about the vocabulary items entered and their translations; more attention than usual is given to the way words are combined in speech, to their emotional and stylistic overtones, etc.

Conveying the meaning of a lexical unit in the target language is no easy task as the semantic structures of related words in different languages are never identical,2 which is observable in any pair of languages. The lack of isomorphism is not limited to the so-called “culture-bound words” only but also to most other lexical units.

The dictionary-maker is to give the most exact equivalent in the target language. Where there is no equivalent, to achieve maximum accuracy in rendering the meanings to be entered the compiler may either describe the meaning with an explanation, much similar to the definition of an explanatory dictionary but worded in the other language, or resort to transliteration. Very often enumeration of equivalents alone does not supply a complete picture of the semantic volume of this or that word, so a combination of different means of semantisation is necessary.

§ 12. Setting of the Entry Since different types of dictionaries differ in their aim, in the information they provide, in

their size, etc., they of necessity differ in the structure and content of the entry.

The most complicated type of entry is that found in explanatory dictionaries.

1See ‘Word-Groups’, § 2, p. 66.

2See ‘Semasiology’, § 26, p. 33.

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In explanatory dictionaries of the synchronic type the entry usually presents the following data: accepted spelling and pronunciation; grammatical characteristics including the indication of the part of speech of each entry word, the transitivity and intransitivity of verbs and irregular grammatical forms; definitions of meanings; modern currency; illustrative examples; derivatives; phraseology; etymology; sometimes also synonyms and antonyms.

By way of illustration we give the entry for the word arrive from COD. arrive’, v.i. Come to destination (lit. & fig.) or end of journey (at

Bath, in Paris, upon scene, at conclusion); (as Gallicism) establish one’s repute or position; (of things) be brought; (of time) come; (of events) come about. (f. OF ariver f. L. L. arribare f. L. ADripare come to shore (ripa)).

The compilers of a dictionary of the same type may choose a different setting of a typical entry: they may omit some of the items or add some others, choose a different order of their arrangement or a different mode of presenting the same information.

Compare, e.g., the entry for the same word arrive from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

ar·rive /ă-riv'/, v.i. [O. F. ariver, deriv. of L. ad to + ripa shore, bank]. 1. Obs. To come to the shore. 2. To reach a place; as, to arrive at home. 3. To gain an object; attain a state by effort, study, etc.; as, to arrive at a conclusion. 4. To come; — said of time. 5. To attain success or recognition.

Syn. Arrive, come. Arrive implies more definitely than come the attainment of a destination.

— v.t. Archaic. To reach; come to.

As we see in COD the pronunciation of the word is given without respelling, only with the help of the stress mark (which it is important for practical purposes to know is placed at the end of the stressed syllable); in WCD the word is transcribed in full in special phonetic notation; besides in this word-book syllabification is indicated both in the graphicand soundforms of the word. Etymology is placed at the end of the entry in COD and at the beginning in WCD.

The two entries also differ in other respects. E.g., WCD provides synonymy, obsolete and archaic meanings, whereas COD gives more attention to the use of prepositions; the number of illustrative phrases is greater in COD than in WCD; in COD the meanings are separated with semi-colons, while in WCD they are all numbered.

A typical entry in diachronic explanatory dictionaries will have some specific features. Apart from the chronological arrangement of meanings and illustrative quotations to present the historical sense development, the etymology of the word is accorded an exhaustive treatment, besides a distinguishing feature of such reference books is the dates accompanying each word, word-meaning and quotation that indicate the time of its first registration or, if the word or one of its meanings is obsolete, the time of its last registration.

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See, for example, the presentation of two meanings of the verb arrive in SOD (the sign + =obsolete, the dash — before the date indicates the time of the last publication):

arrive ...+3. To bring, convey — 1667. 4. intr. To come to the end of a journey, to some definite place, upon the scene. Const. at, in, upon, + into, + to. ME. transf. Of things 1651.

It should be noted in passing that the dates that are often interpreted as the time of the word’s (or one of its meaning’s) appearance or disappearance in the language are in fact their earliest known occurrences, since the still earlier records might not have been examined by the staff collecting the material for the dictionary and the word might be current in oral speech a long time before it came to occur in print.

In other types of dictionaries the content and structure of the entry will be altogether different. Compare, for instance, the four entries for arrive taken from a translation and a frequency dictionaries, from an etymological and pronouncing word-books:

The Dictionary edited by I. R. Galperin:

arrive [a'raiv] v 1. (at, in, upon) прибывать, приезжать; to~ in London прибыть в Лондон; the police ~d upon the scene на место происшествия прибыла полиция; to ~ punctually [tardily, in good time] прибыть точно [с опозданием, вовремя]; sold “to ~” ком.

к прибытию (условие сделки при продаже товара, находяще- гося в пути); 2. (at) 1) достигать (чего-л.), приходить (к чему-

л.); to ~ at understanding достигнуть взаимопонимания; to ~ at a decision принять решение; to ~ at a conclusion прийти к заклю-

чению. ..

The General Service List by M. West:

arrive, v 532 (1) Arrive home, in London Arrive at an age when ... 74%

(2)The parcel has arrived

The time has arrived when... 11% (3)Arrive at a conclusion... 12%

(The count is to be read as follows: In a count of 5 million running words the word arrive occurred 532 times. In 74% of these occurrences it had the first meaning, in 11% — the second, etc.).

Oxford Etymological Dictionary:

arrive [arэiv] + bring or come to shore, land XIII; come to the end of a journey, a goal, etc. XIV; + reach (a port, etc.) XVI; + come to pass XVII. — OF. ariver (mod. arriver arive, happen) = Pr. aribar, Sp. arribar: — Rom. *arripare come to land, f. ad AR+ripo shore (cf. RIVER). Formerly sometimes inflected+ arove, +ariven; cf. STRIVE.

Jones’ Dictionary:

arriv/e, -s, -ing, -ed; -al/s э'raiv, -z, iŋ, -d, -эl/z arrogan/ce, -cy, -t/ly ‘ærэgen/s [-roug-, -rug-], -si, -t/li

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ascertain, -s, -ing, -ed, -ment; -able æsэ'tein [-sэ:'t-], -z, -iŋ, -d, -mэnt; -

эbl

Sometimes the entries for the same word will look quite different in dictionaries of the same type. Thus the setting of the entry varies in different books of synonyms depending upon the practical needs of the intended users. Some word-books enumerate synonyms to each meaning of the head-word to help the user recall words close in meaning that may have been forgotten. Other word-books provide discriminating synonymies, i.e. they explain the difference in semantic structure, use and style, and show how each synonym is related to, yet differs from all the others in the same group.

Compare:

Admission, n. 1. Admittance, introduction, access, entrance, initiation, entrée. 2. Allowance, avowal, concession, acknowledgement, assent, acceptance. ’ (Soule R. A Dictionary of English Synonyms and Synonymous Expressions.)

ADMISSION, ADMITTANCE

ADMISSION, for being allowed to enter (usually a place), is the commonly used word, and it has today almost entirely displaced ADMITTANCE, which is now restricted to a few idiomatic uses, e.g. “No admittance except on business".

(Collins V. H. The Choice of Words. A Book of Synonyms with Explanations)

§ 13. Structure of the Dictionary When the selection of the dictionary entries, the contents and structure of the entries, their order

of arrangement etc. are decided upon, the lexicographer is to settle upon this or that structure of the dictionary.

In spite of the great variety of linguistic dictionaries their composition has many features in common. Nearly all of them may be roughly divided into three unequal parts.

Apart from the dictionary proper, that make up the bulk of the wordbook, every reference book contains some separate sections which are to help the user in handling it — an Introduction and Guide to the use’ of the dictionary. This prefatory matter usually explains all the peculiarities of the word-book, it also contains a key to pronunciation, the list of abbreviations used and the like.

It is very important that the user of a dictionary should read this prefatory matter for this will enable him to know what is to be found in the word-book and what is not, will help him locate words quickly and easily, and derive the full amount of information the dictionary affords.

Appended to the dictionary proper there is some supplementary material valuable for language learners and language teachers. This material may be divided into one of linguistic nature, pertaining to vocabulary, its development and use, and the other pertaining to matters distinctly encyclopaedic. In explanatory dictionaries the appendixes

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of the first kind usually include addenda or/and various word-lists: geographical names, foreign words and expressions, forenames, etc., record new meanings of words already entered and words that have come into existence since the compilation of the word-book. The educational material may include a list of colleges and universities, special signs and symbols used in various branches of science, tables of weights and measures, etc.

In translation dictionaries supplementary material is in some respects different from that in explanatory dictionaries, e.g. the Russian-English dictionary referred to above does not only include a list of geographical names, standard abbreviations pertaining to the public, political, economic and industrial life, but also contains the rules of English and Russian pronunciation as well as brief outlines of English and Russian grammar.

LEARNER'S DICTIONARIES AND SOME PROBLEMS

OF THEIR COMPILATION

Nowadays practical and theoretical learner’s § 14. Main CharacteristicFeatures lexicography is given great attention to, espe-

of Learner’s Dictionaries cially in our country. Lexicographers, linguists and methods specialists discuss such problems as the classification of learner’s dictionaries,1 the scope of the. word-list for learners at different stages of advancement, the principles of word selection, etc.

In the broad sense of the word the term l e a r n e r ’ s d i c t i o n a r - i e s might be applied to any word-book designed as an aid to various users, both native and foreign, studying a language from various angles. Thus, we might refer to this group of word-books such reference books as

Student’s Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon by H. Sweet, the numerous schoollevel or college-level dictionaries for native speakers, the numerous spell- ing-books, etc. By tradition the term is confined to dictionaries specially compiled to meet the demands of the learners for whom English is not their mother tongue. It is in this sense that we shall use the term further on.

These dictionaries differ essentially from ordinary academic dictionaries, on the one hand, and from word-books compiled specially for English and American schoolchildren and college students, on the other hand.

Though foreign language learners and children speaking the same language as their mother tongue have both imperfect command of English, it is obvious that the needs and problems of the two groups of dictionary users are altogether different. A foreign adult student of

1 See, e.g., the discussion “What should a learner’s dictionary be like?” on the pages of the magazine «Русский язык за рубежом», also «Вопросы учебной лексикографии» под ред. П. Н. Денисова и Л. А. Новикова, М., 1969.

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English even at a moderately advanced stage of learning will have pitfalls and needs of his own: among the other things he may have difficulties with the use of the most “simple” words (such as play, wipe), he may not know the names for commonest things in everyday life (such as oatmeal, towel, rug) and he will experience in this or that degree interference of his mother tongue.

On the one hand, we have users who for the most part have command of the language, who have fluent speech habits, since this language is their mother tongue; they need guidance as to which of the usage they come across is correct. On the other hand, we have users that have a limited vocabulary and no speech habits or very weak ones and who have stable speech habits in another language which is their native tongue and these native speech habits interfere with the foreign ones. That is why these users must be given thorough instruction in how the words are to be used and this instruction must be given against the background of the learners’ native language.

That is why the word-lists and the sort of directions for use for the benefit of the foreign adult learners of English must differ very widely (if not fundamentally) from those given to English or American schoolchildren.

Hence the word-books of this group are characterised by the following features:

1)by their strictly limited word-list, the selection of which is based on carefully thought over scientific principles;

2)the great attention given to the functioning of lexical units in speech;

3)a strong prescriptive, normative character;

4)by their compilation with the native linguistic background in view.

of which are: 1) the scope of the word-list and 2) the nature of the information afforded.

From the point of view of the scope (volume) of the word-list they fall into two groups. Those of the first group contain all lexical units that the prospective user may need, in the second group only the most essential and important words are selected. To the first group we can refer A. S. Hornby’s Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (50,000 lexical units) and M. West’s International Reader’s Dictionary (about 24,000 units); to the second group — A Grammar of English Words by H. Palmer (1,000 words), and The English-Russian Learner’s Dictionary by S. K. Folomkina and H. M. Weiser (3,500 units).

As to the information afforded by learner’s dictionaries lexicographers and methodologists seem to have agreed that there should be a whole series of them. There must be a group of dictionaries presenting different aspects of the vocabulary: showing mainly the semantic structure of words (explanatory), presenting the syntagmatic relations between words (dictionaries of collocations), providing information: about the word’s structure (derivational), supplying synonymous and antonymous words, etc.

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Another grouping of dictionaries reflects the practice of teaching different aspects of speech. The word-books having as their goal the ability to read scientific and technical literature in a foreign language will need a vast word-list ensuring adequate comprehension of written speech. Teaching oral speech habits requires a dictionary that contains a selected list of a c t i v e words explained from the point of view of their use.

Since learners of different linguistic background will have different pitfalls in mastering the same language, will need different directions for use, different restrictive remarks, each pair of languages requires its own dictionaries, dictionaries based on a contrastive study of the learner’s native tongue and the language to be learned.1

In this connection it must be said that Hornby’s dictionary, with all its merits and advantages, has an essential demerit — it does not take into account the user’s linguistic background, so it cannot foresee and prevent the possible language problems of this or that national group of English learners.

Not long ago Soviet lexicographers came to the opinion that separate reference books are called for teachers and learners. As far as dictionaries of English go, perhaps the first attempts at producing dictionaries for teachers are the reference books Adjectival Collocations and Verbal Collocations.

Those are the main types of dictionaries considered necessary to ensure the process of foreign language teaching. As to the present state of learner’s lexicography, it may be characterised as just coming into being, as the already existing dictionaries are few in number and they do not make a system, rather some separate links of a system.

As to the information they provide they may be divided into two groups: those giving equal attention to the word’s semantic characteristics and the way it is used in speech (these may be called learner’s dictionaries proper) and those concentrating on detailed treatment of the word’s lexical and grammatical valency (dictionaries of collocations).

To learner’s dictionaries proper issued in English-speaking countries we may refer, for example, The Progressive English Dictionary and An English Reader’s Dictionary by A. S. Hornby and E. С Parnwell designed for beginners, as well as Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English by A. S. Hornby and The New Horizon Ladder Dictionary of the English Language by J. R. Shaw with J. Shaw for more advanced students.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English by A. Hornby has achieved international recognition as a most valuable practical reference book to English as a foreign language. It contains 50,000 units and is compiled on the basis of COD to meet the needs of advanced foreign learners of English and language teachers. It aims among other things at giving detailed information about the grammatical and partly lexical valency of words.

1 We are now speaking about the nature of information, not the language it is couched in. Thus we may imagine several Anglo-Russian dictionaries, each designed for a separate group of learners with a different linguistic background.

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The New Horizon Ladder Dictionary includes 5000 of the most frequently used words in written English. It is called Ladder Dictionary because the words are divided in it into five levels or ladder rungs of approximately 1000 each, according to the frequency of their use (a figure in brackets attached to each word shows to which thousand the word belongs).

Compiled in our country is the English-Russian Dictionary of Most Commonly Used Words prepared by V. D. Arakin, H. M. Weiser and S. K. Folomkina under Prof. I. V. Rakhmanov’s direction. This is a vocabulary minimum of 3250 words, typical word-groups and phraseological units selected for active mastery in Soviet secondary school.

The Learner’s English-Russian Dictionary by S. Folomkina and H. Weiser does not, strictly speaking, belong to the group of dictionaries under consideration, as it is designed for use by English-speaking students of the Russian language, but is helpful as well when learning English. It contains about 3500 words.

The word-books given above differ in many respects: they are either monolingual or polylingual, they provide different information, they differ in the kind of the intended user (learners of the English language who have reached different stages in the course of their studies, adults or children of different linguistic background — English-speaking learners of Russian) and in aim (an aid to oral speech — the development of reading and writing skills) and in other features. However these dictionaries have some traits in common that distinguish them from the word-books considered in the preceding sections. They all aim at teaching how to speak, write, etc., while the tendency in modern English lexicography is not to prescribe as to usage, but to record what is actually used by speakers.

Dictionaries of collocation contain words which freely combine with the given head-word. The few reference books of this kind known to us belong to the pen of foreign compilers. For example, A. Reum’s Dictionary of English Style is designed for the Germans, Kenkyusha’s New Dictionary of English Collocations is intended for the Japanese, Adjectival Collocations in Modern English by T. S. Gorelik and Verbal Collocations in Modern English by R. Ginzburg, S. Khidekel, E. Mednikova and A. Sankin are designed for Russian school teachers and students of English.

Each of the two dictionaries of collocations prepared by Soviet linguists presents the collocability of 375 words that are used in Soviet school text-books. The presentation of the word’s grammatical and lexical valency is based on identical principles.

Compilers of learner’s dictionaries have to tackle the same cardinal problems as those of ordinary explanatory and translation diction-

aries, but they often solve them in their own way, besides they have some specific policies to settle on to meet the needs of language learners to whom the book will be addressed.

The common purpose of learner’s dictionaries is to give information on what is currently accepted usage, besides most compilers seek to choose

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the lexical units that foreign learners of English are likely to need. Therefore not only are obsolete, archaic and dialectal words excluded, but” also technical and scientific terms, substandard words and phrases, etc. Colloquial and slang words as well as foreign words of common occurrence in English are included only if they are of the sort likely to be met by students either in reading or in conversation. Moreover some of the common words may be omitted if they are not often encountered in books, newspapers, etc. or heard over the radio and in conversation.

Space is further saved by omitting certain derivatives and compounds the meaning of which can be easily inferred.

Alternative spellings and pronunciations are avoided, only the more accepted forms are listed.

Various criteria have been employed in choosing words for learner’s dictionaries. In the first place the selection of words is based on the frequency principle.

Frequency value, an important characteristic of lexical units, is closely connected with their other properties. That is why the word-counts enable the compiler to choose the most important, the most frequently used words.

However many methodologists and compilers of learner’s dictionaries have a tendency to exaggerate the significance of the frequency criterion. The research done in different countries (in our country and in France, for example) has shown that the frequency tables, helpful ‘as they are in the compilation of a vocabulary minimum, do not in themselves present the vocabulary minimum. While it is indisputable that every high-frequency word is useful, it is not every useful word that is frequent (e.g. carrots, fork, stamp, etc.). Consequently frequency cannot be the only point to be considered in selecting items for learner’s dictionaries as well as for other teaching materials. It must be complemented by some other principles, such as the words’ collocability, stylistic reference, derivational ability, semantic structure, etc.1

The order of arrangement of meanings followed § 17. Presentation of Meanings in learner’s dictionaries is usually empiric, that is beginning with the main meaning to minor ones. Besides the following principles of arrangement are considered proper for language learners: literal uses before figurative, general uses before special, common uses before rare and easily understandable uses before difficult. Each of these principles is subject to the limitation “other things being equal” and all are subject to the principle that that arrangement is best for any word which helps the learners most.

E.g. in Hornby’s entry for commit the first meaning is ‘perform’ (a crime, foolish act, etc.) and its primary meaning ‘entrust’ is given as its second meaning.

1 In the dictionary under Prof. I. V. Rakhmanov’s direction the choice of words is based upon three main principles: 1) combinability, 2) lack of stylistic limitations, 3) semantic value, and four additional principles: 1) word-building ability, 2) polysemy, 3) syntactical valency, 4) frequency.

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But this is not always the case. For instance, the first meaning of the word revolution given by Hornby is ‘act of revolving or journeying round’ and not ‘complete change, great reversal of conditions, esp. in methods of government’, which is more common nowadays. Thus the compilers preserve the historical order of meanings in this case.

In monolingual learner’s dictionaries the same types of definitions are used, as in ordinary monolingual explanatory word-books, but their proportion is different. Encyclopaedic definitions are usually used more rarely, the role of descriptive definitions is much greater.

Compare, for instance, the definition for coal taken from the Ladder Dictionary with that from COD given above.1

coal n. a black, hard substance that burns and gives off heat.

It would be wrong to think however that the definitions in learner’s dictionaries are always less complete than in the dictionaries designed for native users. More often than not these definitions are not so condensed in form and they are more complete in content, because the compilers have to make up for the user’s possible inadequacy in command of the language and lack of knowledge of some realia.

Compare, for example the two entries for prep given below:

COD II2 (abbr prep) preparation of lessons as part of school routine; OALD [U]3 (colloq abbr prep) (time given to) preparing lessons or writing

exercises, after normal school hours (esp at GB public or grammar schools): two hours’ prep; do one’s French prep;

In learner’s dictionaries cross-references are for the most part reduced to a minimum.

Compilers of learner’s dictionaries attach great importance to the language in which the definition is couched, the goal being to word them in the simplest terms that are consistent with accuracy. Some compilers see to it that the definitions are couched in language which is commoner and more familiar to the language learner than the words defined.

Some lexicographers select a special defining vocabulary held to be the commonest words in English or those first learnt by foreigners. For example, in the International Reader’s Dictionary the word-list of 24,000 items is defined within a vocabulary of 1490 words selected by M. West.

In some learner’s dictionaries pictorial material is widely used as a means of semantisation of the words listed. Pictures cannot only define the meanings of such nouns as dike, portico, domes, columns, brushes, etc., but sometimes also of adjectives, verbs and adverbs.

E.g. in Hornby’s dictionary, the definitions of the adjective concentrated, the verb clasp and the adverb abreast are illustrated with the pictures of concentrated circles, clasped hands, and boys walking three abreast.

1See ‘Fundamentals of English Lexicography’, § 9, p. 220.

2The parallel bars in COD = not US.

3U = uncountable

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