What is the most likely performed action of a person who stumbles over a yet to him unknown or unfamiliar word? It is neither the internet nor the television (which holds plenty of information and is without a doubt the most important source in requiring recent news) but the dictionary he will seek his information in.
In the time of globalization, the influence and significance of communicating with humans of different speaking languages is raising. Language is first of all a means of communication and it is no exaggeration if one is proclaiming that knowing more than the native tongue and being at least bilingual has become a normalcy.
If we want to understand and communicate with people of other nations, we ultimately have to learn their language and vice versa. Dictionaries provide the basic information if it is about learning something of different languages. The importance of the dictionary becomes evident by the fact that over 90 % of households in Britain possess at least one dictionary, therefore making it far more popular than the Bible, which was to be found in about 80 % of households in England in 1983, according to the Bible Society. 1
The dictionary being referred to in this term paper is one particular type of dictionary, namely the monolingual dictionary for the adult native speaker of English. The aim of this work is to outline the history as well as the structure of a common dictionary. How is it arranged, what content and information does it provide and what purposes does it fulfil? These and other questions will be subjects of concern.
Besides dictionaries, other helpful sources exist in attaining a language’s vocabulary, phrases and synonyms. One of these excellent sources is a thesaurus, which will be the subject of the second half in this term paper. Stress is being put on the history as well as the structure and content of a thesaurus.
Table of Contents
0. Introduction
1.) Concise overview of the historical development of dictionaries
2.) General purposes of dictionaries
2.1.) Organization of a dictionary in detail
2.2.) Dictionary information
3.) What is a Thesaurus?
4.) History of the Roget’s Thesaurus
5.) Construction and content of Roget’s Thesaurus
6.) Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the history, structure, and functional differences between standard monolingual dictionaries and Roget’s Thesaurus, exploring how these distinct reference works organize and provide access to linguistic knowledge.
- Historical evolution of the English dictionary
- Structural organization and macrostructure of lexicons
- The concept of semasiology versus onomasiology
- Detailed analysis of Roget’s Thesaurus classification system
Excerpt from the Book
2.1) Organization of a dictionary in detail
There are many types of dictionaries, for example monolingual, bilingual, biographical, specialized dictionaries, sub-field dictionaries and so on. For the reasons of convenience, only the monolingual English-English dictionary will be of concern in the upcoming examination. The art or craft itself of writing dictionaries is called lexicography.
A lexicographic dictionary provides lexically relevant information in the form of words. These words are arranged in a succession of independent articles, a macrostructure. Thus, the entries can be found via a consistently search procedure, called an algorithm. The alphabetical order is such a typical dictionary algorithm. This alphabetical order is based on the written form of the lexically relevant unit and not on the meaning of a word. So it is going from name to notion. This procedure is known as semasiology.
As mentioned afore, a lexicon provides information of lexical units. These lexical units are represented in the dictionary by the word, the later also synonymously referred to as lexeme. But besides single word entries, others entries can be found as well. There is, for example, the unit of bound morphemes (a morpheme is the smallest meaningful element of a language that cannot be reduced into smaller units) which is located ‘below’ the word. They help to form inflections, derivatives and compounds such as: dis-, pre-, -ness, -ed or –ing. The second possible entry is the ‘above’ the word, such as blends, compounds or idioms. An example for blending would be smog. (smoke + fog = smog) An idiomatic expression would be “it ain’t over till the fat lady sings”, and a representative for a compound would be bedroom. (composed of the two independent morphemes bed + room)
Summary of Chapters
0. Introduction: Outlines the significance of dictionaries in a globalized society and sets the objective to compare their structure with that of a thesaurus.
1.) Concise overview of the historical development of dictionaries: Traces the evolution of lexicography from early Latin glossaries to the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary.
2.) General purposes of dictionaries: Discusses the primary function of lexicons as tools for storing and retrieving linguistic information via alphabetical ordering.
2.1.) Organization of a dictionary in detail: Explores the macrostructure, lexicographical algorithms, and the categorization of lexical units including morphemes and compounds.
2.2.) Dictionary information: Details the specific data provided in dictionary entries, such as etymology, syntactic categorization, inflection, and paradigmatic relationships.
3.) What is a Thesaurus?: Defines the thesaurus as a unique reference work that organizes words by semantic relationships rather than alphabetical definition.
4.) History of the Roget’s Thesaurus: Recounts the origin and development of Peter Mark Roget’s project to classify verbal concepts.
5.) Construction and content of Roget’s Thesaurus: Analyzes the onomasiological structure of the thesaurus and its hierarchical division into six classes.
6.) Conclusion: Reflects on the depth of lexicographical research and reaffirms the role of language as a connective force between cultures.
Keywords
Lexicography, Dictionary, Thesaurus, Semasiology, Onomasiology, Macrostructure, Etymology, Morphemes, Lexemes, Synonyms, Antonyms, Collocations, Roget, Linguistics, Language.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper explores the structural and functional differences between monolingual English dictionaries and the thesaurus, specifically focusing on the historical and logical organization of these reference books.
What are the central themes discussed?
The central themes include the historical development of reference works, the structural requirements of lexicography, and the shift from name-to-notion (dictionary) to notion-to-name (thesaurus) approaches.
What is the main objective of the research?
The objective is to outline how common dictionaries are arranged and what information they provide, contrasted with how Roget’s Thesaurus classifies vocabulary through a hierarchical system.
Which scientific method is applied?
The author uses a comparative analysis method, drawing upon existing lexicographical literature and dictionaries to explain the structural principles of these two types of reference tools.
What is covered in the main body?
The main body covers the history of dictionary evolution, technical aspects of dictionary organization, the specific structure of dictionary entries, and a deep dive into the hierarchical class system of Roget’s Thesaurus.
What defines the core terminology of the work?
The work is defined by terms like 'lexicography', 'semasiology', 'onomasiology', 'macrostructure', and 'lexical units', which are essential for understanding how language is codified.
How does a dictionary differ from a thesaurus according to the author?
A dictionary is organized alphabetically (semasiological approach) and provides definitions, while a thesaurus is organized conceptually (onomasiological approach) to group words by meaning.
What is the significance of the onomasiological arrangement in Roget’s Thesaurus?
This arrangement allows the reader to start with a concept or 'notion' and discover words related to it, facilitating the enrichment of writing beyond simple definition lookups.
How does the author characterize the 'macrostructure' of a lexicon?
The author defines the macrostructure as the system of alphabetical ordering that prevents a dictionary from being an unsorted, non-functional wordlist.
- Quote paper
- Eva Steinbrecher (Author), Anke Böttcher (Author), 2005, Comparison between a Dictionary and Roget’s Thesaurus, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/135247
