Deny A. Kwary Internal Structures of Dictionary Entries

(1)Orthography; (2)Pronunciations; (3)Grammar; (4)Definitions; (5)Examples; (6)Phrases; (7)Usage; and (8)Etymology (word histories)

(1) Orthography The set of norms that regulate spelling conventions. The headwords or the lemmata in a dictionary. Some questions about orthography: Should inflections be included as the lemmata? Should old spelling be included as the lemmata? Which dialects should be included as the lemmata? Which dialect should be represented as the standard?

(2) Pronunciations Many dictionaries offer a guide to pronunciation of the headwords, especially dictionaries of languages such as English, where the relationship between orthography and phonetics is not entirely regular. Two major questions that the lexicographer must address: which accent to represent, and which transcription system to use.

(3) Grammar How detail should the grammar information be? Word-class indication (part of speech). Indication of whether a verb is ‘transitive’ or ‘intransitive’. Etc.

(4) Definitions Full sentences or Phrases? Bad Debt A debt that will not be paid. Bad Debt A bad debt is a debt that will not be paid. Definitions in full sentences are “no doubt a sophisticated outgrowth” (Cowie 1999: 169).

The full sentence structure in writing definitions (Sinclair 1991) FIRST PARTSECOND PART OperatorCo-text (1)TopicCo-text (2)OperatorComment ahouseis a building in which people live whenartistsexhibit they show their work in public apuresubstanceis not mixed with anything else if something happened often it happens many times or much of the time

(5) Examples In scholarly historical dictionaries such as OED, examples of words in use are cited from literature, with date, author, and other bibliographical details. Nowadays, with the easy availability of machine-readable corpus evidence, such examples are usually chosen from authentic texts rather than invented by the lexicographer, but still careful selection is needed to avoid the risk of giving examples that are taken from eccentric or high- flown literary usage.

(6) Phrases Dictionaries differ as to how much material they offer about phrases and how they present the phrases. Phrases are usually included towards the end of an entry, or in separate paragraphs. Examples of phrases: Noun phrases, Verb phrases, Adjective phrases, and Adverbial phrases. Idioms and other fixed expressions are sometimes also included in general dictionaries.

(7) Usage The guidance from a dictionary on matters of ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ usage. Dictionaries can be either be prescriptive or descriptive. Prescriptive lexicography: Based on normative attitudes as to how a language or language variety should be used rather than the facts observed about its usage. Descriptive lexicography: Based on the observed facts about a language or language variety rather than attitudes on how it should be used.

(8) Etymology Bilingual dictionaries and dictionaries for foreign learners do not normally say anything about etymologies, word histories, or obsolete senses. However, most larger dictionaries for native speakers see it as an essential part of the lexicographical task to explain not only the meaning but also the history and semantic development of each word, or at least of the main root words.

An example of a dictionary entry from Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners 4th ed., 2003 orthographygrammar definition example phrase

An example of a dictionary entry from Longman Exams Dictionary (2006) orthography grammar example usage definition pronunciation cross reference lexical relation

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