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Some remarks on recent trends in lexicography

2014; SlovakEdu, n.o.; Volume: 3; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

1339-4584

Anna Stachurska,

Literature, Language, and Rhetoric Studies

In recent decades, a profound interest in all kinds of lexicographic work has been observed, and – in particular – in monolingual English dictionaries compiled specifically for the use and convenience of EFL learners. On the practical side, this should be viewed in the context of the growing importance of TEFL problems, which eventually led to the regular publication of EFL GAZETTE in the late 1970s, a newspaper concerned primarily with English as a foreign language. Among the subjects discussed within the canvas of this monthly publication, the whole array of English training courses are presented and reviewed, English language institutions are introduced, the issues revolving round specialised Englishes, and – most significantly to our present discussion – learners’ dictionaries are also a particular focus in the current discussion of both lexicographic theory and practice (see, for example, Hartman, 1979, 1983; Ilson, 1985; Cowie, 1981, 1987). Obviously, the science of metalexicography hardly existed as a formal discipline at the time of the advent of first monolingual learners` dictionaries. It was evident, however, that non-native dictionary users needed detailed guidance on particular points of grammar and usage. As a result of the vast improvement in the resources available to lexicographers, EFL dictionaries have undergone numerous core changes. New features acquired the status of convention, as the monolingual learner’s dictionary developed into a distinct genre (Rundel 1998). These features included a shift towards the enlargement of vocabulary suitable for precise definition, syntax and inflection in a detailed, usable form (on this issue see Cowie, 1983b; Benson & Ilson, 1986). Accordingly, the main objective of the paper is to outline recent developments within EFL lexicography. These may be said to include the following points in no particular order of importance: (i) navigation, (ii) style/register, (iii) phraseology, (iv) lexical relations, (v) grammar and syntax, (vi) illustrations, (vii) examples. This paper enlarges on issues raised earlier in Wlodarczyk-Stachurska (2010).