Tasks and Exercises

1. Pay attention to some widely used abbreviations:

AHD American Heritage Dictionary

ALD (OALD) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English

CCED Collins Cobuild English Dictionary

COD Concise Oxford Dictionary

LASDE Longman Active Study Dictionary of English

LDAE Longman Dictionary of American English

LDOCE Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

POD Pocket Oxford Dictionary

SOD The Shorter Oxford Dictionary on Historical Principles

W₃ (Webster’s Third) Webster’s Third New International Dictionary

2. Compare the dictionary entries in synchronic and diachronic dictionaries (SOD, COD, oald).

3. Characterize the dictionaries you work with according to the model:

• the type of the dictionary;

• the size of the dictionary;

• the structure of the dictionary;

• the nature of the word list;

• the arrangement of the entries;

• the arrangement of derivatives;

• the arrangement of compounds;

• the arrangement of phrasal verbs;

• the arrangement of idioms;

• the arrangement of abbreviations;

• the arrangement of the meanings of the word;

• the information supplied about the word:

• pronunciation [International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or phonetic respelling];

• part-of-speech notation;

• etymology;

• ‘subject field’ labels (astronomy, botany, chemistry, etc.);

• style labels ((formal, informal, etc.);

• usage labels and pragmatics (taboo, rude, derogatory, etc.);

• temporal labels (archaic, obsolete, etc.);

• regional variants (American, British, etc.);

• the language in which the information about the words is given;

• information about synonyms and antonyms.

Questions

• What are the relations between lexicography and lexicology?

• What information do encyclopedic dictionaries include? What is the difference between linguistic and encyclopedic dictionaries?

• By what criteria can linguistic dictionaries be classified?

• What are the main types of dictionaries? Characterize each type.

• What specialized dictionaries do you know?

• What is meant by a glossary?

• What are the characteristic features of learner’s dictionaries?

• What dictionaries (encyclopedic and linguistic) do you use?

• What are the main problems of lexicography?

• What lexicological problems have a direct influence on the work of a lexicographer?

• How is one to know what plan has been followed by the dictionary compilers in selecting the words, arranging the meanings, etc.? What is the role of the preface?

• What are the main dictionary publishers in the United Kingdom and the United States of America?

• What are the outstanding names in the history of British and American lexicography?

• Why do students need guidance in the use of dictionaries?

• What is the role of dictionaries in language teaching and language learning?

Recommended Reading

Арнольд И.В. Лексикология современного английского языка: Учебник для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз./ На англ.яз. М., 1986.

Берков В.П. Двуязычная лексикография: Учебник. С.-Петербург, 1996.

Гинзбург Р.З., Хидекель С.С., Князева Г.Ю. и др. Лексикология английского языка: Учебник для ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. / На англ. яз. М., 1979.

Дубичинский В.В. Теоретическая и практическая лексикография. Вена; Харьков, 1999.

Лещева л.м. Слова в английском языке: курс лексикологии современного английского языка: Учебник / На англ. яз. Мн., 2001.

Ступин Л.П. Лексикография английского языка: Учеб. пособие для студентов ин-тов и фак. иностр. яз. М., 1985.

Суша Т.Н. Лингвистические основы лексикографии: Учеб. пособие / На англ. яз. Мн., 1999.

Crystal D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Printed in Italy, 1995.

Ilson R. British and American Lexicography. In: Lexicography. An Emerging International Profession / Ed. by R.Ilson. London, 1986.