Lexicography (17th century , from Greek " lexicos " about words .

and " graphia " writing )

, the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries.
Traditionally, lexicography . has been of two kinds: alphabetic lexicography , the
dominant form, of which the best known product is the dictionary proper; and thematic
lexicography , which arranges words by themes or topics usually accompanied by an index.
Nowadays, lexicon ≠ dictionary (lexicon = the set of all words and idioms of a language,
there is lexicon of separate author)
The task of the lexicologist is to make specific statements about the form , meaning , and
usage of the lexemes that appear as entries in the dictionary .
Dictionary is a generic name for a kind of reference book listing alphabetically words of
a language with their meanings and often with data regarding pronunciation , usage
and origin ; or one of these aspects .
The term dates back to the 16th century from Latin " dictionarium " , a collection of dictions
- sayings, words (a medieval book containing lists of words and phrases , however
organized ) .
Past Dictionaries (in the Middle Ages) were not alphabetically arranged.
The reason for translation dictionaries in the past was because people needed to speak
Latin/ Greek/Imbrue in international communication, therefore they needed to create
translation dictionaries to learn these languages.
In 1604, Robert Cawdrey published dictionary Table Alphabeticall, which was the first
single-language English dictionary ever published. It contained 'hard' words - i.e. those
unfamiliar to the general public.
In 1702, John Kersey compiled A New English Dictionary. It was a monolingual
dictionary, which mostly consisted of technical words, hard words, only few were common
words.
In 1721, Nathan Bailey published Universal Etymological English dictionary, where
indicated etymology of the words for the first time.
In 1755 Samuel Johnson published the first dictionary of English (A Dictionary of The
English Language), which is the comprehensive explanatory dictionary. It’s a sample for
all other dictionaries. He was called One Man Academy, because he did the job himself.
He was the first to provide examples (quotations) for the meanings of the words.
However, he wasn’t the first to compile dictionary of national language. The first attempt
was made by Italians in 1612. The Italian had a scholarly academy, so it was published
and compiled by the whole academy. French Academy published similar dictionary in 1694
(French). – second. Again the whole academy compiled it.
In 1857 the committees, which investigated words according to historical principle, were
established. (Unregistered Words committee and Literary Historical committee). Project
was carried by Oxford University. The most fruitful compiler in this field was James
Murray. He compiled The New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (NED) in
1884-1928, which later was recompiled in The Oxford English Dictionary (1933, 1989).
In the 30s was published The shorter Oxford English dictionary based on historical
principle (it was without quotations). It is the same as The New English dictionary by
Murray, but shorter.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary and The Pocket Oxford dictionary aren’t based on
historical principle, they are not the equivalents to The New English dictionary by Murray.
In 1928, Noah Webster published American Dictionary of the English language. It’s very
democratic. Samuel Johnson wanted to show which word is correct, while Webster wanted
to show which words are used by people.
TYPES OF DICTIONARIES:
According to the information about the item: linguistic and encyclopedic.
 Linguistic – wordbooks,
o they provide lexical units and their linguistic properties (pronunciation,
etymology, usage, meaning)
o meaning is not much detailed (its general). No terms, no proper names
o however, there are 2 traditions: British tradition – they don’t include things that
are outside of the problem of the lexicology (like terms, proper names etc.). BUT
American tradition uses terms, names, so you can find encyclopedic info. They
put Webster’s name on it, even if it’s not his dictionary (even though Webster
didn’t use encyclopedic info in his dictionary)
 Encyclopedic - thingbooks,
o it’s detailed
o explain the meaning with all technicalities
o For example, “animal” in linguistic dictionary – one short explanation; in
enc.d. – several broad meanings (what eats, how long leaves, where located,
all possible details
According to Nature of the word-list linguistic dictionaries can be: unrestricted and
restricted.
 Unrestricted – (it’s a mistake to think that it contains all words of the language,
it’s impossible). Contains words (lexical units) in ordinary use, not restricted by
one sphere of human activity
 Restricted – words only from a certain sphere of human activity. They can be
subdivided where words were taken from (medical dictionary, dictionary of
economic terms); reflecting one type of lexical units (idiomatic dictionary),
reflecting relationships between units (dictionary of antonyms/synonyms)
According to information presented in dictionary: general and specialized.
 general – describe a word by various angles. Contain all types of info of the word
(even if it’s restricted) (etymology, pronunciation, part of speech, meaning, usage
etc.)
 specialized –only one type of info (only pronunciation, only usage, only
etymology
According to the language of dictionary:
  Bi – include translation dictionaries, but they are not synonyms. For example,
Borys Grinchenko’s explanatory dictionary with some elements of translation
dictionary (1906-1905) contains the explanation in Russian, Russian equivalents,
Ukrainian quotations (so it’s Bi, but explanatory)
 Mono – most modern explanatory dictionaries are mono, but there are exceptions.
According to prospective use. No dictionary can be general-purpose word-book, they all
have specific purpose. For example, for students/learners (Oxford learner dictionary,
Longman exam dictionary, Longman activator). Such dictionaries are compiled by rule
based on simplifying the explanation of the word. They have defining words.

UNRESTRICTED GENERAL DICTIONARIES

Explanatory dictionary (тлумачні) can be subdivided chronologically:
 diachronic (they are rare) – reflect the whole development of lexical unit.
Example – New English dictionary on historical principle, The Oxford English
dictionary.
 synchronic – reflect temporal access
Example – Middle English dictionary
Translation dictionary (or pararrel ones)
 contains vocab items in one language and their equivalents in another language.
 Англо-український словник, Жлуктенко

RESTRICTED AND/OR SPECIALIZED DICTIONARIES

Idiomatic dictionary – English phraseology was best developed in Soviet regime.
 1969 – English and Ukrainian phrasebook, Barantsev. It has very tiny
discrimination between usage (for exp. іронічне – жартівливе). But it’s isolated (no
modern words, only what was allowed to take)
 1941 – Галицькі приповідки та загадки, Ількевич
 Номис – Українські прислів’я приказки і таке інше
 Іван Франко – Галицько-руські народні приповідки (1901).
 Фразеологічний словник укр мови – містить цитати з перекладів (наприклад
переклади Лукаша з Бокаччо)
 Фразеологія перекладів Миколи Лукаша, (поч. 2000).
Dictionary of neologisms. Nowadays, they are rare because of the rapid development of the
lexicon. They are not printed.
Dictionary of slang.
 Contain entries from area of sustandart speech (such as vulgarisms, jargonisms,
curse-words etc.)
 Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, Patridge
Usage dictionary.
  Contain hard words, (words with complicated spelling, commonly mixed up words).
 In Ukrainian, there is only one dictionary: 1889, Словник труднощів укр мови,
Гринчишин
Reverse ( back - to - front ) dictionaries
 lists of words in which the entry words are arranged in alphabetic order starting with
their final letters .
 The original aim was to indicate words that form rhymes.
 The Rhyming Dictionary of the English Language compiled by J. Walker
Pronouncing dictionary
 record contemporary pronunciation.
 Not very common in print.
 The world famous English Pronouncing Dictionary ( 1917 ) by Daniel Jones.
Etymological dictionaries
 trace present - day words back to the oldest form available, establish their primary
meanings.
 The most authoritative dictionary of this type is The Oxford Dictionary of English
Etymology ed . by C. T. Onions .
Ideographic dictionaries
 designed for writers , orators and translators seeking to express their idea adequately
contain words grouped by the concepts expressed .
 A Thesaurus supplies the word or words by which a given idea may be expressed.
Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases
Concordance – Симфонія/Конкордація.
 They include an alphabetic index of all words used in a specific environment (by
author/book).
 Конкордація поетичних творів Шевченка, 2001. Найчастіше слово – Бог.
Симфонія святого письма
Лекція 2
‘Dictionary entries differ substantially in terms of the corpora , the degree of coverage
and the definition.
SELECTION OF ENTRIES
The most important principle is the selection of entries, because it determines the potential
user of the dictionary.
The first attempt to make a dictionary, which will include all words of the language was
made by Nathan Bailey (N.Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary (1721). It
mostly included bookish and technical vocabulary.
Though Johnson's Dictionary (1755) is recognized for its general inclusion , the selection
is predetermined by his subjective view, his desire to guard the purity of the language and
avoiding so called barbarous words ( words that should be avoided by the users ). The
dictionary also established a British tradition of linguistic dictionaries to avoid
terms/proper names.
Noah Webster wanted to show which words are used by people, so he adopted current
educational usage as a standard for inclusion.
The compilers of the Oxford English Dictionary ( 1884-1928 ) gave equal status for
Middle English and Modern English lexical units (because they explored both of them).

CORPUS
///In the pre-computer age, a corpus comprised many filing cabinets full of index cards ,
each with a citation . Each citation has the following elements : 1 ) the word itself ; 2 ) an
example of the word used in context ; 3 ) bibliographical information about the source
from which the word and example were taken .
The current selection of words is based on new approach. Compilers extract their
headwords from corpora. The corpus will show which form is most common and further
analysis will show whether one form is used more in writing and the other in speech .
*** text corpus is a language resource consisting of a large and structured set of texts

There is Cobuild, which is based within the School of English at Birmingham University.
Since 1980 it has been collecting a corpus of texts on computer for dictionary compilation
and language study.
In 1991, Cobuild launched the Bank of English. This corpus provides objective evidence
about the English which people use most in every-day communication. The most
representative corpora of English besides the Bank of English are the Longman Corpus
Network.
The corpus can provide the following kinds of information:
1) basic word frequency counts. It helps to analyze whether the word is well-used or one-
day lexical unit
2) alternative forms and spellings and facilitate judgments as to which form should be
used
3) alternative meanings. It should show the most common meanings of the word , listed in
a descriptive order
4) collocations.
5) typical contexts. It shows whether a particular word is current across the stylistic scale.
So we can encounter such labels as “colloquial”, “found mostly in spoken interaction”
6) examples of actual use of the word

Outside the scope of corpora lie:

1)pronunciation
2)formal grammar labels (we can see grammatical functions in actual examples of usage)
3) usage labels - stylistic labels extracted from the contexts in which examples are found ,
though labels relating to the impact of the word , e.g. " derogatory " , " old - fashioned " are
matters of judgement ;
4) definitions (they should be created by lexicographer)
Corpora differ in terms of the text types presented, in the presentation of words, meanings
and their frequency . The text types are presented within the following framework:
1) subject area in the written corpora ( fiction , science etc ) ;
2) medium – засіб вираження (books , periodicals or unpublished in the written corpora ) ;
3) the level (high medium or low in written corpora ) ;
4) context (education , leisure business , and public or institutional in spoken corpora).
To enter a dictionary a new word must have a substantial number of citations that
come from a wide range of publications over a considerable period of time.
New principles of entry selection are being elaborated , e.g. field collecting with its face-to-
face interviews and questionnaires. This was the primary method of eliciting words and
meanings for the Dictionary of American Regional English ( 1985-2002 ).
DEGREE OF COVERAGE
The exact number of words included in a dictionary is sometimes rather questionable
due to the ambiguity of the term entry , i.e. the units calculated. For example, Webster's
Third New International Dictionary includes regular inflections of nouns , verbs,
adjectives and adverbs rarely shown in other dictionaries. In addition to the headword , the
term entry is used to indicate run-ons , such as the adverb , adjective or noun , formed by
the addition of a prefix , suffix or both, list words that are merely indicated ( without
pronunciation, definition or etymology ) to show their spelling and show some credence to
their existence, variant spellings, hidden entries, which are usually collocation forms
defined within a related entry but not listed as headwords.
The order of the arrangement of entries is different in different types of dictionaries. In
most dictionaries , regardless of type , entries are given in a single alphabetical listing. In
some explanatory and translation dictionaries entries are grouped in families of words of the
same root (thesaurus).
There are subentries, which are items listed under a main entry. The difference between
subentries and run-ons is that subentries do include definitions and usage labels whereas
run-ons are not defined , as their meaning is clear from the main entry ( most often because
they are built as productive patterns)
The arrangement of meanings within an entry is of three main types : historical order ,
i.e. the presentation of meanings in the sequence of their historical development ; frequency
order , proceeding from the most typical meanings, and logical order , presenting the
coherent connection of meanings.
There are a number of principles which are used when lexicographers consider definitions :
1 ) avoid circularity, where the reader has to go through the dictionary for multiple times
2) define every word that used in the definition (in metavocabulary - a limited set of
lexical units used to define other lexical units in a dictionary)
3) define the word rather than simply talking about it
The metavocabulary should consist of the most frequent words , especially in learner's
dictionaries . As a result , the definition should be brief and transparent .
It is generally recognized that definitions should be objective and generalized , i.e. deprived
of the definer's subjective view. In particular , the Longman Defining Vocabulary of only
2,000 words is used to define all words in the 4th edition of the Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English (2003).
There is a Johnsonian style. It means that definitions are notorious for their subjectiveness
and sophisticated metavocabulary.
In the OED the definitions are often deeply analytical , offering species and genus
definitions with qualifying clauses.
Another strategy for defining is contextual glossing. Here definition describes the extended
context in which a word is used.
Illustrative examples form an integral part of most comprehensive dictionaries . Johnson
(1755, A Dictionary of the English Language) was the first to introduce them into the
English lexicography. In the Ukrainian lexicographical tradition quotations from the Bible
and ancient authors were used in P. Berynda's Lexicon.
Compilers of a diachronic dictionary opt for dated, literary quotations arranged
chronologically and intended to exemplify the development of a word's meaning.
Most synchronic dictionaries , especially learner's dictionaries , either draw their
illustrations from contemporary mass media sources or use phrases constructed by the
compilers.
The concise Oxford American dictionary, 2006

Linguistic dictionary
Unrestricted
General
Monoligual
Explanatory synchronic dictionary
The Concise Oxford American Dictionary is for school, work, and home. The
dictionary includes Usage Notes that give helpful information on correct English
(usage dictionary); Word Histories that provide fascinating background on the lives
of words; illustrations; and a handy Ready Reference section with information about
weights and measures, chemical elements, U.S. states and presidents, punctuation,
frequently misspelled words, and much more (contain encyclopedic information)