Group Members:

Siti Nur Diyana Mohd Ghazali (0727706)Nurul Liyana Binti Janah@Zainal (0723990)

Noor Arina Binti Muhamad (0726896) Melisa Nurjustina Elwiana Muhd Alwin

Liew (0719306)

Definition of Lexicography1) the editing, compiling, writing or making of a

dictionary

2) the principles and practices of dictionary making

~ Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines :

a) Practical lexicography The art or craft of compiling, writing and editing

dictionaries.

b) Theoretical lexicography The scholarly discipline of analyzing and describing

the semantic, syntagmatic and paradigmatic

relationships within the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language.

Developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries.

The needs for information by users in specific types of situation.

How users may best access the data incorporated in printed

and electronic dictionaries. This is sometimes referred to as

'metalexicography'.

Scope of Lexicographyi- Practical lexicographic work involves several

activities, and the compilation of well crafted dictionaries require careful consideration of some of the following aspect:

Shaping the intended users Selecting and organizing the components of the

dictionary Selecting words and affixes for systemization as entriesSelecting collocations, phrases and examples Defining words Organizing definitions Specifying pronunciations of words Labeling definitions and pronunciations for register and

dialect, where appropriate Designing the best way in which users can access the

data in printed and electronic dictionaries

ii- Theoretical lexicography - Concerns the same aspects as lexicography but is

meant to lead to the development of principles that can improve the quality of future dictionaries. Several branches of such academic dictionary research are:

Dictionary criticism - evaluating the quality of one or more dictionaries

Dictionary history - tracing the traditions of a type of dictionary  in a particular country or language

Dictionary typology - classifying the various genres of reference works (ex: monolingual versus bilingual dictionary)

Dictionary structure - formatting the various ways in which the information is presented in a dictionary

Dictionary use - observing the reference acts and skills of dictionary users

Dictionary IT - applying computer aids to the process of dictionary compilation

Relevance to Language Learning/ Corpus Linguistics

Printed bilingualised learners’ dictionaries, typically include an L2 definition immediately followed by an L1 translation and provide access to both monolingual and bilingual information.

The corpora that they use to produce the dictionary:

HOW THEY DECIDE? Current, reliable, user friendly, more

information, and relevancy.

Corpus of LexicographyCorpora is used for the production of

dictionaries and grammar books.

Examples : for dictionaries: Collins Cobuild, British National Corpus (BNC), Longman Corpus Network and Online Dictionaries.

For Grammar books: COBUILD Corpus of Spoken and Written British, American and Australian English, LOB Corpus of Written British English, Kohlapur Corpus of Written Indian English, London-Lund Corpus of Spoken British English, UTS/Macquarie Corpus of Spoken Australian English.

Synopsis of Study 1Topic: “Improving dictionary skills in Ndebele” by Samukele

Hadebe, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Level: School pupils and Ndebele community.

Purpose: To improve dictionary skills amongst the Ndebele.

Method: Incorporating the teaching of dictionary skills into teacher training .

Tool: Dictionaries

Findings: Current and future Ndebele dictionaries are likely to remain underutilised unless users develop requisite skills for dictionary use. Dictionary skills is improved when the teaching of reference skills is incorporated in the school syllabus.

Synopsis of Study 2 Topic: “An investigation into the effect of English learners’ dictionaries on international

students’ acquisition of the English article system” by Julia Miller, Flinders University Student Learning Centre.

Level: Postgraduate international students involved in an introductory academic program at a South Australian university, with an average length of English study from 7 to 10 years. Group 1 & 4 = 32 students.

Group 2 & 3 = 34 students.

Purpose: Aims to investigate the effectiveness of dictionary use for ESL students studying the English article system, specifically in regard to accountability.

Method: 4 groups - In Stage one, at the start of the session, each student was given a pre-test exercise consisting of five passages from which articles had been deleted. In Stage two, after the pre-test exercise, a lesson was taught on the English article system, during which students were encouraged to remember or deduce their own rules in respect to article usage. In Stage three, at the end of the session, they were asked to do a post-test exercise and complete a questionnaire. The lesson was identical for all the groups, but Groups 2 and 3 were given basic instruction in how to use a learners’ dictionary and were requested to use the dictionary for the post-test exercise.

Tool: Dictionaries - Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary; Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary; and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

Findings: Not all the students in Groups 2 and 3 used the dictionaries provided. However, these groups had more correct answers post-test, especially in the gap-fill exercises. The non-dictionary Groups 1 and 4 made more changes in total (both correct and incorrect) from pre- to post-test. This would seem to indicate that the use of the dictionary guided groups 2 and 3 in their choices and prompted them to think more carefully and make fewer random changes.

Other Relevant Information

Professor Kev Nair is regarded as the father of fluency lexicography. - Fluency lexicography came into existence as a separate branch of dictionary writing

Lexicography is not merely focusing on English language but also other language as well like Arabic Lexicography and German Lexicography.

Lexicographer is a linguist whose specific expertise is in writing dictionaries.

A lexicographer is concerned with what words are, what they mean, how the vocabulary of a language is structured, how speakers of the language use and understand the words, how the words evolved and what relationships exists between words.

ConclusionsLexicography is divided into two related

discipline that is practical lexicography and theoretical lexicography.

The relevancy of lexicography to language learning and corpus linguistics.

Lexicography corpora.

Related studies pertaining to lexicography.