Lexicography Dictionary Criticism - Essay Example

Running Head: LEXICOGRAPHY DICTIONARY CRITICISM Lexicography Dictionary Criticism Introduction The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (COED) is the most popular dictionary of its kind for its clear, concise definitions as well as for its comprehensive and authoritative coverage of vocabulary. Nevertheless, as everything has a room for improvement, hence COED is also in the process of perfection and enhancement and in 1999, it's new much improved 10th edition was published. Rather than being a direct revision of the 9th edition, the 10th edition is based on the larger New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998), whose compilation had involved a re-analysis of much of the core vocabulary. Compare to COED 9th edition (COED9), the new OCDE 10th edition (COED10) has 300 new entries, along with 240,000 previously existing words, phrases and definitions, to ensure unparalleled coverage of today's English Language that focuses on fast-changing areas of language such as leisure, business, religion, society, science, new technology, fashion, and youth culture. Except new entries, there are many others features which are different in the new 10th edition compared to COED 9th edition. The next coming sections highlight few of them. 1. Definition Defining words in a dictionary is a tricky proposition, and in many ways, defining is "seen as the crucial task of the lexicographer" (Jackson, 2002, p.179). There are some well established styles of defining different words or phrases and lexicographers must take into account the various ways the lexeme can be interpreted because a lexical unit can be polysemous, homonyms or homographs. Regarding to definition, although both editions have adopted similar approaches to define a word or term yet they too have few differences. For example as a random sample, if we consider the ploysemous, 'babe', then according to COED9, babe /'berb/ n. 1. literary a baby. 2. an innocent or helpless person (babes and sucklings; babes in the wood). 3. N.Amer. slang often offens. a young woman (often as a form of address). (Middle English: imitative of child's ba, ba) Hence the COD9 utilizes both geographical and more specifically the context based approach to define a word and hence it appeals a broader English speaking audience. The division of this polysemous lexeme into geographical usage is particularly helpful for a speaker to make a clear distinction, which is important when either engaged in writing or conversation about a particular context. Both editions provide such a sense division around various English speaking contexts. The COED10 also provides a "characterization of the meaning of the lexeme; it does not give an exhaustive explanation of all possible referents" (Jackson, 2002, p.93). Following random example taken from COED10 elaborates this aspect. offside adj. & adv (in games such as football) occupying a position on the field where playing the ball not allowed, generally through being between the and the opponents goal. n 1 the fact of bring offside (usu. the off side) chiefly Brit. the side of a vehicle furthered from the kerb. Compare with NEARSIDE > the right of a horse. In the above definition, as was the case with other random samples, the definiendum is related to its super ordinate concept (for either sport or vehicle, a position). Another common tactic relied upon in COED9 and COED10 was to add a typifying definition to a synonym one-basically describing what is 'typical' of the referent. An important distinction between COED9 and COED10 is that contrary to COED9, COED10 has employed the concept of fourth definition which explains the use 'of which a word or send of word is put, usually in the grammar of the language' (Jackson. 2002. p. 95). Following random sample taken from COED10 signifies this feature. widow n 1. A woman who has lost her husband bydeath and has not married again. > Humorous a woman whose husband is often awayparticipating in a specified sport or activity: a golf widow. 2. Printing a last word or short last line of a paragraph falling at the top of a page or column. V. (be widowed) become a widow or widower. -ORIGIN OE widewe, from an Indo-Eur root meaning # 'be empty'. 2. Pronunciation The phonology and orthography are also very important features of a dictionary. From a lexicographical perspective, a dictionary should not only help convey the meaning of the lexeme, but also how to effectively communicate that lexeme-especially through speech. Related to phonology there are two essential issues: how it is represented in the dictionary in written form, and the model used for pronunciation and how much variation between contexts (Jackson, 2002, p.102). Although both the COED9 and COED10 use the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA); yet a significant change has been observed in this edition. Compared to COED9, in which the reminders of IPA symbols are given at the bottom of the page, the COED10 lacks the ordinary words and their pronunciation transcriptions. According to COED10 (1999, p.xiv), "it is assumed those native speakers of English do not, as a rule, have problems with the pronunciation of such words." Contrary to statement given in COED9 related to the reduction of long vowels in dictionaries, the COED10 has introduced an additional line of vowels, tabled in Preface and termed as 'triphthongs'. Regardless of theses distinctions, both editions stick to the same phonetic symbols for vowels (short vowels, long vowels and diphthongs) for transcribing British pronunciation. Although there has been an additional formation of vowel known as triphthongs which reflects a phonetic symbol change and the occurrence of this vowel positively expands the change in written and spoken format of words like fire and sour, yet on the larger extend the aim of the Concise Oxford Dictionary was to reduce the number of long-vowels. 3. Sense Division An important difference between the COED10 versus COED9 in relation to definitions lie in the explicit use of research and analysis deriving from the New Oxford Dictionary of English (NOED). It has been observed that each entry in COD10 is built around the core sense or senses of the word in current English, as based on rigorous analysis of large amounts of real, modern evidence available in computerized form. A major advance is the addition of sub senses; adding fuller meaning and perspective on the lexeme being defined as compared to the COD9. Overall, the COD10 definitions are "sharp and crisp, and the new open layout makes finding individual senses, sections, and entries much easier than ever before" (COD10, 1999, p. vii). The following example taken from both editions clearly explain the approaches as adopted by both COED9 and COED10. Considering the entry "babble", fist taken from COED9, babble /'bab()1/ v. & n. v. 1. intr. a talk in an inarticulate or incoherent manner. b. chatters excessively or irreverently. c. (of a stream etc.) murmur, trickle. 2. tr. Repeat foolishly; divulge through chatter. n. 1. an incoherent speech. b. foolish, idle, or childish talk. 2. the murmur of voices, water, etc. 3. Background disturbance caused by interference from conversations on other telephone lines. babblement n. [Middle English, from Middle Low German babbelen, or imitative] Compared with the entry for the same word in COED10, babble v. 1 talk rapidly and continuously in a foolish, excited, or in incomprehensible way. reveal something secret. 2 [usu. as adj. babbling] (of a stream) make a continuous murmur as the water flows over stones. n. the sound of babbling. foolish, excited, or confused talk. - DERIVATIVES babblement n. - ORIGEN ME: from Mid. Low Ger. babbelen, or an independent Engl. Formation, based on the repeated syllable ba, typical of a child's early speech. Both COED10 and COED9 differ not only in sense division but also both have different style of presentation. Although both editions has a clear and concise language, yet COED10 has less cluttered and more accessible approach compared to COED9. While the differences would seem to be subtle between definitions in the COED9 and COED10, the influence of the NODE is apparent and helpful. Conclusion It is a widely accepted fact that far from being simply being pages filled with the definition of words, dictionaries provide a window into how we understand the world through language, and like languages. "Anyone who has ever read or written a review of a particular dictionary will know that generally agreed criteria and standards for the assessment of quality and performance are still rare, if they can be said to exist at all" (Jackson, 2002, p.173), and same supposedly simple act applies here too. Looking primarily at internal criteria, the above analysis has argued that the changes in COED10 in terms of definition and pronunciation have been valuable. It is easy to take for granted the supposed simplicity of a dictionary, but comparison of both COD9 and COED10 reveals that there are many important elements that go into making a successful and good dictionary. Compare to COED9, the COED10 aims at being even more concise, and this approach is clearly reflected in the presentation being more compact, including fewer words in a longer presentational format, especially in terms of areas such as technical information. Overall both dictionaries achieve their aims by providing accurate definitions of the central vocabulary, which is true to modern usage and illustrated by real quotations. The Concise editions produce their work in a more concise format, and by implementing more presentational techniques to optimize vocabulary coverage and at the same time keeping within the bounds of a dictionary. Bibliography (I have utilized all your upload work hence I leave this part blank for you) Read More