Dictionaries

Types and Usage

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 Introduction
• What is a dictionary?

• What are the different types of dictionaries?

• What are the elements of a dictionary?

• What are the different kinds of information

dictionaries provide?
 ? What’s a dictionary
A dictionary (also called a wordstock, word reference, wordbook,
lexicon, or vocabulary) is a collection of words in one or more specific
languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information,
definitions, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book
of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known
as a lexicon.

According to Nielsen (2008) a dictionary may be regarded as a

lexicographical product that is characterized by three significant
features:
(1) It has been prepared for one or more functions.
(2) It contains data that have been selected for the purpose of fulfilling
those functions.
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(3) Its lexicographic structures link and establish relationships between
the data so that they can meet the needs of users and fulfill the
 :Types of dictionaries

• Dictionaries vary in coverage, size, and scope. They

can be classified on the basis of different criteria.
Knowing the types of dictionaries available is very
important to decide which ones to buy or use. The
following criteria are used to classify dictionaries:
 :Number of languages

• Monolingual dictionaries are written in one language only. Each

word is followed by its meaning or various meanings and probably
other information related to pronunciation, grammar, or word history.

• Bilingual dictionaries are written in two languages. Each word is

followed by its equivalent or possible equivalents in another language.
Bilingual dictionaries could be uni- or mono-directional; that is, they
go in one direction only, from English to Arabic or vise versa.
• Trilingual dictionaries are written in three languages.

• Multilingual language are written in more than two languages.

:Size of the dictionary

• This has to do with how fully a dictionary covers

the lexicon of a particular language. The
number of words is a measure of its relative size
compared with other dictionaries in the same
language. According to this criteria, dictionaries
can be classified into the following.
Unabridged .1
dictionaries
• Unabridged dictionaries which are believed to include all the
words of the English language (400,000 to 600,000 words).

• Examples: Webster's Third New International Dictionary (NID3),

and Oxford English dictionary (OED) which has 20 volumes. Semi-
unabridged dictionaries are those which include about 315,000
words such as the Random House Dictionary.

2. Pocket size dictionaries

• Pocket size dictionaries, which include from 40,000 to 60,000
words;

• e.g. Pocket Oxford Dictionary.

College dictionaries .3
• College dictionaries include from 150,000 to
170,000 words (almost 200,000 words).

• Examples: The American Heritage Dictionary of the

English Language, The Random House College
Dictionary, Webster's New World Dictionary of
American English. They are called college
dictionaries because they are often used by college
students.
Desk dictionaries .4
• Desk dictionaries include from 60,000 to 100,000
words.

• Examples: The American heritage dictionary, Merriam-

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. They are called desk
dictionaries because they are often kept on desks for
frequent reference. College and desk dictionaries are
often abridged versions of larger dictionaries.

• e.g. Concise Oxford Dictionary, Longman Concise

English Dictionary.
:Mode of Presentation
Monolingual Dictionaries:
They may also vary as to the mode of presentation, e.g. English monolingual
dictionaries present words alphabetically, whereas most Arabic ones present words
in accordance with their tri-consonantal and Quadri-consonantal roots. Some
monolingual dictionaries are dedicated to special areas in the vocabulary of a
language, e.g. there are dictionaries of English idioms, proverbs, scientific usage,
etc.
Bilingual Dictionaries:
Arabic equivalents appear against each English word. If the dictionary is English-
Arabic, the English words are presented alphabetically, but if the dictionary is
Arabic-English, the Arabic words are listed according to their roots. , many
bilingual dictionaries on the market deal with specialized vocabularies by
presenting SL terminologies and their TL equivalents in areas such as political,10
medical, and legal discourses.
 :Scope of coverage by subject

• Subject-field dictionaries are confined to a special subject,

such as law or medicine.
• Special-purpose dictionaries are limited to one aspect of
language: collocations, slang, pronunciation, etymology,
synonyms, usage, offensive and taboo words, spelling,
dialect, etc.
Information in Monolingual Dictionaries
Monolingual dictionaries provide users with various kinds of information about lexical
items. For example, the average English monolingual desk dictionary like The Random
House College Dictionary or The Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary usually
furnishes the user with phonological, syntactic, semantic, and etymological information
about English words, among their other things.

First: (Phonological Information)

It consists of phonemic transcription that indicates the pronunciation of the word, its
syllable structure, and its stress pattern including both primary and secondary stress
assignment in multi-syllabic words. For example :
Narcotism ( nár k tì m ).

Second: ( Syntactic Information )

It indicates the part of speech of the word, that is, whether it is a noun, verb, adjective,
or adverb, and also shows whether a verb is transitive or intransitive. For example:
Excite ( transitive verb)
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Excitement (noun)
Thirdly: ( Semantic information )
It forms the core of what dictionary-makers do, as it revolves around the meanings of words in a
language. So, the dictionary lists the various senses of words, occasionally giving some pictures
of objects in the real world and some example sentences to illustrate rather abstract senses. It
may refer to synonyms and antonyms of a given word in the course of explaining what word
means. For example, The Random House College Dictionary lists the senses of the word
excess and also mentions its synonyms and antonyms.

Fourthly: Etymological information

It is the study of the history of words, their origins (Latin, French, .etc.), and how their form and
meaning have changed over time. By extension, the term "the etymology (of a word)" means the
origin of the particular word. When talking about place names, there is a specific term, toponymy.
The following English words have been acquired either directly from Arabic or else indirectly by
passing from Arabic into other languages and then into English. For example:
Some words used in English in talking about Arabic music: Baladi, Mawal, Mizmar,
Oud, Qanun, etc.
Arabic cuisine words part of the vocabulary of Middle Eastern cuisine is from
Turkish, not Arabic. The following words are from Arabic, although some of them have
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entered Western European languages via Turkish, like Baba ghanoush, Falafel,
Hummus, Kibbeh, Kabab, etc.
Each Translator Has Skills That Are Needed In His Job:
1. The translator must fully understand the sense or meaning of the original matter.
2. The translator should poses a perfect knowledge of both the source and target language.
3. The translator should avoid what is referred to as word-for-word renderings.
4. The translator is advised to use such forms of speech that are in common use on the part
of the receivers of the translated text.
5. The translator should choose and use his words in an appropriate way so as to produce
the correct tune.
6. The most obvious skill that translators need is the ability to read and write, and understand
a second language.
7. Translators must be able to receive ideas in one language and express them in another.
8. In addition to knowing a second language, translators need to know as much as possible
about many things as possible.
9.Translators also need a thorough knowledge of the “ tools of the trade” ( dictionaries,
encyclopedias, reference books, catalogs, bibliographies, etc. ) where to find them and
when to use them. 14