1、6. Planning the Dictionary In this chapter, we discuss what the dictionary will contain. 6.1 Preliminaries 6.2 Types of lexical item 6.3 The constituent parts of a dictionary 6.4 Building the headword list 6.5 Organizing the headword list 6.6 Types of entry6.1 Preliminaries Some basic terms and conc

2、epts Headword list is a list of the words that are the headwords of entries in the dictionary. Lemma denotes a word belonging to a particular word class. e.g. the two lemmas of play: play (noun); play (verb) Lexical units (LU) are the various senses a lemma has. LUs are the core building blocks of d

3、ictionary entries.6.2 Types of lexical item A lexical item is any word, abbreviation, partial word, or phrase which can figure in a dictionary (often as the headword of an entry) as the target of some form of lexicographic description, most commonly a definition or a translation. 6.2.1 Single items

4、1. Single items: simple words, various kinds of abbreviation, and partial words. lexical words simple words (common words) grammatical words( function) alphabetisms e.g. BBCSingle items abbreviations and acronyms e.g. NATO contractions contractions e.g. dont bound affixes e.g. im-, -ment partial wor

5、ds productive affixes e.g. ex-,anti- combining forms e.g. flat-lifted6.2.2 Multiword expressions Multiword expressions( MWEs) The term covers all the different types of phrases that have some degree of idiomatic meaning or behavior. MWEs are a central part of the vocabulary of most languages, and ne

6、ed to be accounted for in the dictionary. They are particularly important for learners dictionaries. The lexicographers rule is “ its meaning is more than the sum of its parts”. 6.2.2.1 Fixed and semi-fixed phrasesTransparent collocations: e.g. to risk ones lifeFixed phrases: e.g. ham and eggsSimile

7、s: e.g. white as snow Catch phrases: e.g. horses for coursesProverbs: e.g. too many cooks( spoil the broth).Quotations: e.g. an eye for an eyeGreetings: e.g. good morningPhatic phrases: e.g. have a nice day 6.2.2.2 Other phrasal idiomsThese are the most difficult MWEs to handle in lexicography.Every

8、 idiom has at least one.Some have several. No idiom has them all.a.The wording is never entirely fixed. e.g. hit and/or miss, it was a s dream b.There are syntactic restrictions upon the idioms behavior, in that it undergoes only limited grammatical transformations. e.g. Its raining cats and dogs. C

9、ats and dogs are being rained. c.The idiom shows morpho-syntactic flexibility, allowing inflections, agreement of possessives, and so on. e.g. Joe is getting too big for his boots. / She had got too big for her boots./ People who are too big for their boots. 6.2.2.3 CompoundsCompounds of interest to

10、 lexicographers belong mainly to three word classes: nouns, adjectives, and verbs. A few properties shared by idiomatic compoundsIts fixed in form.It participates in semantic relationship with single words. ( e.g. sky blue and red are cohyponyms of color)Its meaning is more than the sum of its parts

11、.These three types of compound are listed below. Lexicographer must learn to recognize them in the corpus.a.Figurative compounds e.g. civil servant , lame duckb. Semi-figurative compounds e.g. high school , blind drunkc. Functional compounds e.g. police dog , house agent6.2.2.4 Phrasal verbs A phras

12、al verb is a multiword expression consisting of a verb plus one or more particle(s). The particle may function either as a preposition or as an adverb, or both.Semantics (the kind of meaning phrasal verbs carry) literal meaning figurative or metaphorical meaning Syntax (how phrasal verbs interact wi

13、th the rest of the language) verb + adverbial particle (intransitive unit) e.g. get up early verb + adverbial particle (transitive unit) e.g. hold over the decision verb + prepositional particle (transitive unit) e.g. see through ones evil plan verb + adverbial + prepositional ( transitive unit) e.g

14、. look forward to a party6.2.2.5 Support verb constructions We restrict it to the so-called light verbs which carry less meaning in such constructions than in many other contexts. e.g. make, take, have, give, and do A few of us took a walk through the village walked through the village He took from

15、his pocket a blue handkerchief. ( a full lexical meaning remove)6.3 The constituent parts of a dictionaryA good dictionary reflects the type of people who will be using it and what they will be using it for. Knowing these facts helps us decide what goes into the dictionary and how the material shoul

16、d be structured. Most dictionaries have two major components: the A-Z entries and all the other non-linier material which we can broadly categorize as front matter and back matter1. Front and back matter The content of these sections varies a great deal depending on the perceived needs of users. Fro

17、nt matterA forward and acknowledgementsIntroduction to dictionaryAn explanation of abbreviations, labels, and codes in the textHow to use the dictionary( conventions of the dictionary layout)Back matter( end matter)Lists of verb tables, numbers, weights and measures, chemical elements, Roman numerals, etc.Maps, diagrams, and other materials geared to the needs of target user6.3 The constituent parts of a dictionary2. The A-Z entries The core of the dictionary is of course the great body of entries holding details