Example Sentences

An example is worth a paragraph of explanation.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Uses of example sentences

To illustrate semantics. To illustrate grammar. To illustrate usage. To illustrate culture.

Semantics—to contrast multiple senses When a lexical item has multiple

senses, examples are helpful to illustrate these contrastive semantic features.

Have you heard the joke about the President’s dog? [sth said]

Inside the parcel there was an empty bottle. “Is this some kind of joke?” he asked. [sth done]

Semantics—to clarify complicated definitions An example can help elucidate the

meaning of a complicated definition or one that expresses some semantic feature unfamiliar to the non-native user.

wisecrack n. a funny, clever remark that criticizes or makes fun of someone, often in a way that annoys them. Bob Hope would keep his audience laughing with an endless stream of jokes and wisecracks. | Another wisecrack like that and I’ll have you thrown out of class.

Grammar—to illustrate the grammar of the headword Whenever there is something unusual about the

morphology or syntax of a word, this usage should be illustrated. This is especially true when a grammatical pattern is related to a particular sense. Sometimes the headword is uniquely restricted in its morphology or syntax and it would be helpful to illustrate this.

connecting adj. connecting passage/door/window etc (=one that joins two rooms, buildings, or areas, so that people can move, see, or hear between them) [only before noun] There was a connecting passage between the two offices.

Grammar—to illustrate all major patterns in the language

By using a variety of morphological, phrase, clause and sentence patterns, the examples throughout the dictionary should together illustrate all major grammatical patterns of the target language.

Usage—to illustrate speech registers When a lexical item is commonly or

primarily used in a given style, this should be illustrated in an example. This would include illustrating such features as poetry, chanting, prayers, incantations, formal, intimate speech, etc.

beseech v. to ask… Father, we beseech you to hear our prayer.

ya prn. Informal variant of you. How ya doin’?

Usage—to illustrate connotation Whenever a word has a strong

connotation, an example sentence should be included to illustrate it.

sweetheart n. a term of endearment… My sweetheart is so kind. He sent me the most gorgeous valentine.

fool n. someone who behaves in a stupid way… You fool, how could you do such a stupid thing?

Culture—to illustrate culture Example sentences are an excellent

place to incorporate cultural information about the headword.

smartly adv. a British word meaning wearing neat, clean, attractive clothes and having a generally tidy appearance. The children stood in neat rows, smartly dressed in school uniform, their faces scrubbed and shining.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Frequency of Example Sentences Some lexicographers recommend that

every word be illustrated with an example. Others recommend at least 50-75%. After the headword and definition the example sentence is perhaps the most useful part of the article. We recommend that you make a practice of including or writing an example for every word. In this way you will soon become convinced of their worth.

Frequency of Example Sentences Examples should especially be included for the

entries which have: multiple senses. unpredictable, restrictive or unique

collocations. glosses difficult to understand. restricted or irregular usage in the grammar. major connotative features. unusual or unique cultural features. stylistic features.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Sources of example sentences

Text corpus. Literature. Transcribed oral texts and

conversations. Picking an example from a corpus. Train someone to write example

sentences.

Literature

If a literature exists for the language, it can be a rich source of examples. Do not use translated materials. Do not use archaic materials unless illustrating archaic usage. Be sure to indicate the source. A general credit can be given in the introduction.

Transcribed oral texts If there is little or no published

literature, you may be able to find people who know stories and who would be willing to record them for you. The recordings can be transcribed and collected into a text corpus. Dictionary programs like Toolbox and LinguaLinks are designed to process texts, and add words and example sentences from them to your dictionary.

Transcribed conversations

Conversations will contain, like, lots and lots of great stuff. You know, like hesitations, interjections, ways to interrupt someone, and, um, let’s see, oh yeah, funky expressions that no one would ever put in a stuffy scholarly treatise. You following me?

Huh? Oh, right. Yeah, absolutely.

Picking an example from a corpus

Look for frequent elements in the context.

Pick the sentence that is most typical.

If necessary, pick elements from several sentences and construct a composite.

If necessary, adjust the wording.

Train someone to write example sentences Not everyone is a good writer. Some people have a

special ability to tell stories or describe things. Find some good writers and teach them how to write good example sentences. Ask him to tell an interesting one sentence “story”. Or get him to imagine an incident in which the word would be used and put it in that context. Do not simply give someone a list of lexical items and ask him to make up sentences. He will probably not know what features need to be highlighted. Instead go over the characteristics of good illustrative sentences. Review good examples, pointing out what makes them good. Then help him to write a number of examples for several words.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Characteristics of a well-formed example sentence

Be of adequate length. Illustrate normal usage. Be semantically self-contained and

intelligible. Contain mutually reinforcing

elements. Be worded so that few words can

replace the headword.

Characteristics of a well-formed example sentence

Be accurate in content. Reflect the target culture. Be culturally transparent to the user. Be non-judgmental of the culture. Be selected for their usefulness to a

language learner. Be consistent with the gloss.

Be of adequate length. An example sentence should have

sufficient context to clearly indicate the meaning. It is very difficult to give enough context in an example sentence that is less than ten words long. In fact sometimes it is necessary for the example to consist of two sentences.

We didn’t really mean to frighten you. It was only a joke.

However, you should try not to be wordy. Words that do not contribute to defining the meaning should be left out.

Be of adequate length.

It is recommended that dictionaries designed for non-native speakers only use complete sentences. However monolingual dictionaries often use phrases or sentence fragments. If the purpose can be achieved by a sentence fragment, leave out the rest.

lock the door

Illustrate normal usage Be semantically central to the sense.The sentence should illustrate the normal

meaning of the sense, rather than a peripheral meaning (except when using multiple sentences to contrast senses).

whisper v. 1. to speak without vocalizing. She whispered into my ear so no one would hear. *The wind whispers peace to the troubled soul.

Illustrate normal usage Use a common grammatical construction.The lexicographer should use a variety of

grammatical constructions throughout the dictionary. However unusual syntactic constructions and seldom used inflected forms should be avoided. Instead he should use constructions which illustrate how the word is normally used.

*I’m sorry and I’m apologizing to you.You were right and I was wrong. I apologize.

Be semantically self-contained and intelligible It is possible to use sentence fragments

and phrases as long as they can be understood without the larger context. Even complete sentences must be understandable in and of themselves. Examples taken from texts often require adjustments in order to stand alone. The follow sentences were taken ‘as is’ directly from a text.

? There were some peculiar points about that stain.

? And the second point?

Be semantically self-contained and intelligible An example sentence should be

like a little story. Give enough context. Set the stage.

As we drove around town, he pointed out several buildings of historical interest.

The coroner stated that all the evidence points to it being a simple case of heart failure.

Contain mutually reinforcing elements It is best if several elements of the

sentence reinforce the meaning of the headword.

None: I saw a kulintang.One: This man is pedsakit with

dysentery.Several: With her natural grace, careful

makeup, and expensive clothes she was the picture of elegance and style.

Be worded so that few words can replace the headword Write the example sentence so that only

a few similar words can occur in place of the headword. Ideally the only word that can occur in the slot should be the headword.

Having a tin atep makes the house really hot when the sun shines.

Your bad attitude and disrespect is going to get you into a lot of ________.

Be accurate in content

The sentence should be accurate to the culture and to history.

*Most Americans are cremated when they die.

*Abraham Lincoln was assassinated before he could finish his first term.

Reflect the target culture

Caution must be exercised that the examples reflect the target culture and not the culture of the lexicographer.

The following sentence may not reflect the cultural ranking of crimes:

Murder is the worst of all crimes.

Be culturally transparent to the user An example sentence must not require

inside knowledge of the culture, but should be culturally transparent to the outsider. This caution does not apply to monolingual dictionaries designed for speakers of the language who have full knowledge of the culture. However if the dictionary is going to be used by an outsider to learn the target language, he will miss the meaning of the sentence.

Be culturally transparent to the user

He pulled the brim of his straw hat jauntily over one eye and strolled down the sidewalk.

This sentence is meaningful only if we know the cultural connotations of various modes of wearing hats and the what the word ‘stroll’ implies about attitude and purpose.

My father is scraping the sugar cane. Unless a person is familiar with how sugar

cane is eaten, he won’t understand that the man is removing the outside of the stalk so that he can eat the inside.

Be culturally transparent to the userThe hare always makes us pedtatawa.

[laugh] This example is only meaningful if the user

knows that the hare is always joking and making people laugh.

From these examples it should be clear that a dictionary designed for the native speaker can include examples which demand much more cultural knowledge. A dictionary for language learning should include cultural information but it should be accessible and clear to an outsider.

Be culturally transparent to the user

Idioms and figurative language are not transparent unless they have been carefully defined and the example sentence is illustrating their use. The following is not a suitable example for light because of its idiomatic meaning.

The lights were on, but nobody was home.

Be culturally transparent to the user

Proverbs are especially problematic for the outsider because they are often archaic or poetic in form, are grammatically condensed, and almost always need interpretation.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Be non-judgmental of the culture The dictionary is no place to preach or

lecture a culture on its deficiencies. We should not let our personal or cultural beliefs and value judgments influence choices. Example sentences should be representative of the value system of typical speakers of the language.

*Female circumcision is an evil custom. Such issues are better fought elsewhere.

Be selected for their usefulness to a language learner

It should be a sentence worth memorizing.

Could you describe the way people use cups and mugs?

Be consistent with the definition

bellow v. (For a bull) to make a loud roar. *My boss got so mad he started bellowing at me.

The definition says that the subject must be an animal. But the subject of the example is a human being.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example

sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Things to include in an example sentence Characteristic attribute.The rainbow was so bright, we

could clearly see the seven colors. Characteristic behavior or action.An armadillo can make a ball of

itself and hide inside its shell.The balloon popped when it hit the

sharp twig.

Things to include in an example sentence

Characteristic use.My grandmother has a wardrobe in

which she keeps her clothes.I took an aspirin for my headache. Characteristic position or location.My jacket is missing a button.I pinned the notice to the bulletin

board.

Things to include in an example sentence

Characteristic material.I keep my toys in a cardboard box. Characteristic subject, object, or

instrument of an action.The bean plants have dried out so

they should be pulled up.

Things to include in an example sentence Contrast or gradation.Uncle Oscar was a great joker. You could

never tell when he was being serious.If today is Saturday, then yesterday was

Friday and the day before yesterday was Thursday.

Cause-effect relationship.My sister’s cheek is swollen because of a

toothache.

Things to include in an example sentence Examples of abstractions or of general

classificatory terms.Many people use artificial sweeteners in

their coffee instead of sugar.Nearly a third of adults in the UK have

false teeth. Part-whole relationship.The oxcart was so heavily loaded that

the wheel broke.

Things to include in an example sentence Synonym or class name.Nostrils are the holes in our noses. Comparison.Chickenpox isn’t as severe a

disease as smallpox. Collocation.The test pilot flew the experimental

airplane for the first time.

Example sentences Uses of example sentences. Frequency of example sentences. Sources of example sentences. Characteristics of example sentences. Things to include in an example

sentence. Wording to use in the translation of

the example sentence.

Wording to use in the translation of the example sentence. Translations of examples should be fairly literal,

reflecting the wording and structure of the original. The goal should be to enable the user to decipher the example.

Su masandag a taw na niya nin manggiginawa na sekanin bu i mapia a taw. A boasting person is one who feels that he alone is a good person.

Too literal: (topic) boasting (linker) person (linker) this he feels (linker) he just (topic) good (linker) person.

Too free: A braggart thinks he’s the best there is.

Wording to use in the translation of the example sentence.

If a literal translation does not communicate, add a more idiomatic translation in parentheses.

ou gar alla graphomen humin all’ ee ha anaginooskete ee kai epiginooskete. Not for other we write to you but or what you read or and understand.

Wording to use in the translation of the example sentence.

If a literal translation does not communicate, add a more idiomatic translation in parentheses.

ou gar alla graphomen humin all’ ee ha anaginooskete ee kai epiginooskete. Not for other we write to you but or what you read or and understand. (i.e. We haven’t written you anything you can’t read and understand.) [2Cor 1:13]

Bibliography

Newell, Leonard E. 1995. Handbook on lexicography. Manila: Linguistic Society of the Philippines. pp. 326-331.

Bartholomew, Doris A. and Schoenhals, Louise C. 1983. Bilingual dictionaries for indigenous languages. Mexico, D.F.: Summer Institute of Linguistics. pp. 59-69.

Longman language activator. 1993. Della Summers (ed.). Essex: Longman Group UK Limited.