To start with, it is the very important to clarify the definition of the dictionary and the kinds of information provided in it. This is necessary in order to comprehend and illustrate the role of usage labels in every dictionary. Generally, for all the dictionaries the essential thing is to contain an appropriate description of the vocabulary of the standard language considering the facts of a particular language and changes occurring in it. In other words, each dictionary should provide a proper description of the language in question. It is common knowledge that there are many varieties of a language encountered within the same language. For instance, lawyers, children or engineers use different variants of one language. Due to this, there exist many types of dictionaries: children’s dictionaries, illustrated dictionaries, translation dictionaries, learning dictionaries, biographical dictionaries, quotation dictionaries, retrograde dictionaries, dictionaries of slang, curses and dialects, dictionaries of proper names and dictionaries of synonyms, rhyming dictionaries and technical dictionaries, electronic dictionaries, etc. As a result, these dictionaries provide the users with the usage information of the entries included in them by specifying their type which indicates a particular field of usage. The main focus in this research paper is general dictionaries, or to be more accurate general learners’ dictionaries, which are expected to furnish the users, who do not have a good command of language and are interested in a language in general, with the knowledge of words. Moving forward, one of the main characteristics of any dictionary is ‘‘the use of one and the same language for both the object and the means of description, th...
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...rner’s dictionaries which are a specific type of dictionaries. I. V. Fedorova (2004:1) considers learner’s lexicography as the most interesting and innovative branch. Taking into consideration this and focusing on usage labels, that are of great importance to users in general, it is crucial to understand that these labels to the learners of the foreign language are particularly essential as ‘‘these markers provide them with specific information on restrictions of the word usage thus preventing learners from making potential mistakes’’ (Fedorova 2004:1). So, as it was pointed out, the learner’s dictionaries carry a huge responsibility as they have to give to the second language learners all the necessary usage instructions in a comprehensible way. Additionally, this sometimes creates problems as there are no agreed criteria on usage labelling in English lexicography.
Landau, Sidney I., ed. The New International Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Naples: Trident International, 2002. Print.
2 Delbridge, A., Bernard, J. R. L., Blair, D., Peters, P., Butler, S., Eds., The Macquarie Dictionary, Second Ed., Macquarie: Macquarie, 1995, p. 826.
Guralnik, D. B. (1976). Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. United States of America: The World Publishing Company.
The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989.
This tip also refers back to drawing boxes around different words, and McPhee refers to thesauruses as “dangerous” (4). “It goes on to tell you the differences all the way down to line----how each listed word differs from all the others” (McPhee 4). Though I concede that dictionaries are the first option to utilize, I still insist that a thesaurus is took into consideration as a backup after the dictionary to insure the best word choice.
Agnes, M., & Guralnik, D. (2007). Webster's New World college dictionary (4th ed.). Cleveland, Ohio: Wiley.
Oxford English Dictionary , The . Ed. J.A. Simpson and ESC Weiner. 2 nd Edition. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1989.
Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, College Edition. The World Publishing Company, 1962 ed.
In Johnson’s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, Johnson argues the importance of preserving language. Other dialects had a produced their own dictionaries, such as the French and Italians. Various writers of the eighteenth century were alarmed at the fact that there was no standard for the English language, since there was no standard it could easily become extinct. Johnson explored many points, such as how and why languages change as well as how many words are formed.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, (1995), 9th ed, Oxford University Press Inc., New York.
Pearsall J (1999) The Concise Oxford Dictionary Tenth Edition page 286 by Oxford University Press in Oxford New York, America
The lexical approach to language learning has gained prominence during the recent years. Its proponents believe that learning lexis has a crucial role to play in the classroom. But, text books, the only source of language are unable to provide the ESL learners with sufficient exposure to lexis. Hence, there is every need in including materials containing lexis in the curriculum. The present study proposes news bulletins as such materials. The objectives of the present article are fivefold: firstly, it gives a brief introduction to the lexical approach. Secondly, it describes the concept of lexis and its importance in language learning. Thirdly, it describes the significance of using news bulletins to learn lexis. Lastly, it enumerates
2.Guralnik, David B. Webster’s New World Dictionary. The United States of America.World Publishing Company. 1980
Since general learner dictionaries may not provide enough information on semi-fixed expressions, learners' errors in this case are expected to increase, (Hunt, 1997:177). McCarthy (1990 in Hunt, 1997) maintains that when students produce errors like John rescued my life, those dictionaries' entries often do not state clearly that it is preferable to say or write John saved my life, to prevent learners from committing this error. However, it may be unreasonable to expect general learners' dictionaries to cover comprehensively many learners' errors. Such information may be better placed in specialized learners' dictionaries which focus on common errors for a special language group such as with Japanese learners or Arab learners. This would be effective especially when the error is due to literal translation. On the other hand, if certain learners' errors such as rescued my l...
8. Simpson, J. A., & Weiner, E. S. (1989). The Oxford English dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press ;.