The first dictionary was published in 1984. At that time the focus lay on lexicography especially on English as an international language. Nowadays nearly every three month new dictionaries appear. They are mainly published from publishing houses in Great Britain. This is due to the dominance which British lexicography won in the 1960s. When the first Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English appeared in 1978 British lexicography had finally won dominance to American lexicography. In 1987 the second edition of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and the Collins COBUILD Dictionary of the English language appeared. These works were completely different to the ones before. According to Sidney I. Landau these works were “in many respects a daring departure from the customary practices of lexicography, and particularly of ESL lexicography” . They offered a new look at what the user needed. The aim of this paper is to take a closer look on these dictionaries to check whether they are working with authentic language material to explain words and how easy or difficult it is for a user to understand the explained issues.
In grammars the different features of a language are considered systematically. Spoken and written language material is described. Nowadays the grammarians are working together with Universities or at least base their entries on large databases that include millions of texts taken out of various forms of writing and communication situations. This system is meant to help to provide the use of authentic language material that is familiar to the grammar user. In the analysed grammars invented examples are avoided with the aim to offer the user a better access to the explained issue.
The aim of this paper is to analyse the used example solutions by keeping an eye on whether they are really authentic and easy to understand or not better than the invented ones that were often used in former times.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Short introduction of the grammars analysed in this paper
1.1 The Collins COBUILD English Grammar
1.2 The Oxford English Grammar
1.3 The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English
1.4 The Longman English Grammar
1.5 Englische Grammatik heute
2. The importance of real examples
3. Real examples in use
3.1 Usage in the Collins COBUILD English Grammar
3.2 Usage in the Oxford English Grammar
3.3 Usage in the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English
3.4 Usage in the Longman English Grammar
3.5 Usage in the Englische Grammatik heute
4. The example solutions in grammars
5. Dictionaries
5.1 What is a dictionary?
5.2 The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
5.3 The Collins COBUILD English language dictionary
5.4 The American Everyday Dictionary
5.5 Comparison of the dictionary-entries
Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the usage and effectiveness of authentic language material in modern English grammars and dictionaries. The primary research goal is to determine whether real-world examples better facilitate user understanding compared to traditional, invented examples, and how these materials are structured to support learners.
- Analysis of authentic vs. invented example material in reference works.
- Evaluation of dictionary and grammar entries based on clarity and usability.
- Examination of the pedagogical role of linguistic databases in lexicography.
- Assessment of contextualisation in language learning materials.
- Comparison of diverse structural approaches in reference books for non-native learners.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Usage in the Collins COBUILD English Grammar
These examples are used to explain that prepositional phrases beginning with `of´ can be used to say that something belongs to or is associated with someone or something.
All examples are real ones, which means that COBUILD is in fact a trademark of William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, that NO. 28 was the town house of Sir Winston Churchill and that Joyce could have been the daughter of the village cobbler etc... But are they honestly easier to understand?
Example one is definitely surreptitious advertising, nevertheless easy to understand. Example two relates to a different context. It is isolated from number one and as we will later see all the other sentences, too. However Winston Churchill was an important and known head of state and for these reason learners should at least know who he is. The problem with this sentence is that nobody knows which street is meant and which town. This information is too specific and therefore this real example is no longer representative but a bit too authentic. Sentence number three is really irritating. By hearing the name Joyce one could think of the famous Irish author James Joyce but while reading on one gets to know that Joyce is the name of a girl as it “was the daughter of the village cobbler”. Surely this example describes a family situation in real life but nobody knows who the village cobbler is and why it is important that Joyce is his daughter. Foreign learners would not even understand the word cobbler and as a result would not understand the sentence. The same applies for sentence number seven. It is relatively easy to understand but nobody knows who Ellen is, which magazine she is reading and where she is reading. Problems could occur when reading the word “aimlessly” as this might not be a known word for every user but is important to understand the mood of the sentence. This real example is no good solution to help learners as they get irritated by it.
To summarize these examples are not contextualised they are standing isolated from each other and are too authentic to offer learners easy access. The grammatical phenomenon is explained with minimum space but they are neither clear and unambiguous nor representative.
Chapter Summary
1. Short introduction of the grammars analysed in this paper: This chapter provides a brief overview of the selected grammars, including their scope, target audience, and sources of linguistic data.
2. The importance of real examples: This section discusses why modern reference books prioritize authentic language data over invented examples to improve learning outcomes.
3. Real examples in use: This chapter offers a detailed critical analysis of how specific grammars implement real-world examples and the subsequent challenges for the user.
4. The example solutions in grammars: This chapter evaluates various strategies for illustrating grammatical phenomena, ranging from isolated sentences to indicated contexts.
5. Dictionaries: This part explores the definitions and functions of modern dictionaries, specifically those designed for non-native learners, and compares different entry structures.
Keywords
Lexicography, Corpus Linguistics, Authentic Material, Grammar Reference, Pedagogical Dictionary, ESL, Language Acquisition, Contextualisation, Linguistic Databases, Syntax, Morphology, Collins COBUILD, Longman, Oxford English Grammar, Dictionary Entry.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this paper?
The paper examines how modern English grammars and dictionaries utilize authentic versus invented examples to explain linguistic concepts to learners.
Which types of reference works are analyzed?
The study analyzes major English grammars and dictionaries, including works from Collins COBUILD, Oxford, Longman, and the American Everyday Dictionary.
What is the primary goal of the author?
The aim is to check if real-world examples, derived from large corpora, actually provide better access to grammatical and lexical knowledge for the user than traditional methods.
What scientific method is employed?
The author performs a comparative, qualitative analysis of selected entries in reference books, evaluating them against criteria such as clarity, representativeness, and ease of use.
What does the main body address?
It evaluates the practical implementation of examples in various reference books and suggests that while authenticity is crucial, it often poses challenges regarding context and clarity.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Lexicography, corpus linguistics, ESL, language acquisition, and pedagogical reference material are the defining terms.
Why is the "American Everyday Dictionary" included in the analysis?
It serves as an older reference point to contrast with newer dictionaries, helping to visualize how the standards for dictionary entries have evolved over time.
What is the author's conclusion regarding "authentic examples"?
The author concludes that while authentic examples are generally superior, they often suffer from a lack of context, making them potentially confusing or irrelevant if not carefully selected.
- Citation du texte
- Sina Bröcker (Auteur), 2003, Language material in grammars and dictionaries: Authentic or thematically related?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/71923
