21
Sep
2009
Language Dictionaries
Language Dictionaries
While there are different types of dictionaries (compact, historical, etc), the most common is a general purpose dictionary. The dictionary will give definitions of the target language word in the same language (i.e. it will give the definition of an English word in English). Many dictionaries are special-purpose, designed to define terminology of a particular speech community or industry, otherwise known as jargon (or as Webster’s online dictionary defines it: the specialized vocabulary and idioms of those in the same profession, often implying unintelligibility).
The functions of the general purpose dictionary are to provide definitions, proper pronunciation, correct spelling and derivations. It will also indicate which part of speech the word belongs to (verb, noun, adjective, adverb, article, etc), and will give examples of common usage of the word.
Dictionaries will give the generally accepted pronunciation. There are at least 47 sounds in the English language which are represented in dictionaries by using accent marks above emphasized letters (there is usually an explanation of the system used at the front or back of the dictionary). The dictionary will usually use italics to indicate the syllable in a word to be stressed. If a word is marked ‘informal’, ‘colloquial’ or ’slang’ it should not be used in formal settings.
Bilingual Dictionaries
Bilingual dictionaries are specialised dictionaries that translate words or phrases from one language (source language) to another (target language). They can be unidirectional, where it translates only from the source language into the target language, or bidirectional, where it also translates from the target language into the source language. Often bilingual dictionaries will indicate grammatical features of the word to show how it is to be used, and contain features such as verb tables and usage guides.
The most difficult aspect of creating and using a bilingual dictionary is the existence of lexemes (words that cover more than one area of meaning). The difficulty is in translating a lexeme when a word in the target language does not have an exact match of the multiple meanings of the source language word. For example, in English the word table can mean a piece of furniture or a set of data arranged in rows and columns. In Spanish, the word for the first meaning is mesa, however the word for a set of data is cuadro.