Classification of dictionaries
A great deal has been written in recent years to provide a theoretical basis on which the dictionaries of various types can be compiled. There are many different types of English dictionaries. First of all they may be divided into two main groups: encyclopaedic(describe objects, phenomena, people, etc. and give information about them) and linguistic(describe words, their origin and usage).
It should be noted that some scholars consider this subdivision not so important nowadays, as encyclopaedic and linguistic dictionaries often overlap. Encyclopaedias sometimes indicate the origin of words which belongs to the domain of linguistics. On the other hand, encyclopaedic material is included in many linguistic dictionaries. In addition to information about words, they give facts (in the body of the dictionary or in special sections in the back) about people and places. (Карпова O.M. Лексикографические портреты слоарей современного английского языка. Иваново: Иван. гос. ун-т, 2004. C. 12.)
We shall deal only with linguistic dictionaries, but it may be useful for you to know that the most well known encyclopedias in English are Encyclopaedia Britannica in 30 volumes and Encyclopaedia Americana in 30 volumes. Very popular in Great Britain and the USA are Collier's Encyclopaedia (24 volumes), Encyclopedia International (20 volumes), World Book Encyclopedia in 22 volumes, Chamber's Encyclopaedia and numerous reference books confined to definite fields of knowledge, e.g. World Almanac and Book of Facts, Statesman's Yearbook, The New Century Cyclopedia of Names (3 volumes), Who's Who, Cambridge History of English Literature, Oxford Companion to the Theatre, The Harvard Dictionary of Music, etc.
A linguistic dictionary is a book of words in a language usually listed alphabetically with pronunciation, definitions, etymologies and other linguistic information or with their equivalents in another language or other languages.
A good definition must be concise, accurate and clear. It must be short enough to fit into the very small space allotted it, but it must be complete enough to satisfy the reader. It must also distinguish between the several related senses and must present them in some kind of order. The main function of a dictionary is to give the meanings of words. Since a single word may have many meanings, an entry covering it must have a matching number of definitions. Some dictionaries put definitions in historical order: the earliest meaning first, the latest last. Others base order on frequency of use, the most common meaning first, and the least common last.
Linguistic dictionaries may be classified according to different criteria.
1. According to the nature of the word-list all dictionaries are divided into restrictedand unrestricted.To restricted dictionaries belong phraseological and terminological dictionaries {A. V. Kunin 's English-Russian Phraseological Dictionary), dictionaries of new words (e.g.: John Ayto. Twentieth Century Words), dialectal dictionaries (e.g. The English Dialect Dictionary by Joseph Wright), etc. Unrestricted (or unabridged)dictionaries contain lexical units from various spheres of life, they are unrestricted in their word-list and general in the information they contain (e.g. The Oxford English Dictionary, The New English-Russian Dictionary edited by prof. I.R. Galperin, A.S.Hornby's The Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, etc.;.
2. The second principle according to which we classify dictionaries is the information given about each item. All linguistic dictionaries fall into two groups: general– presenting a wide range of data about the vocabulary items in ordinary use and specialized(or special)dictionaries, those restricting themselves to one particular aspect. To general dictionaries belong two most widely used types of dictionaries, i.e. explanatory dictionaries (e.g. Webster's dictionaries, the Funk & Wagnalls dictionaries, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, the New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, etc.) and parallel or translation dictionaries (e.g. the Russian-English Dictionary under prof. Smirnitsky's general direction). Specialized dictionaries are dictionaries of synonyms (e.g. Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms, English Synonyms by Y.D. Apresyan), of collocations (e.g. Kenkyusha's New Dictionary ofEnglish Collocations), dictionaries of slang (e.g. Richard A. Spears. Slang and Euphemisms), usage dictionaries (e.g. Fowler's Modern English Usage), etymological dictionaries (the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology by C. Onions), pronouncing dictionaries (English Pronouncing Dictionary by Daniel Jones), ideographic dictionaries (Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases), etc.
3. In accordance with the language in which information is given all types of dictionaries may be monolingual, bilingualand polyglot,i.e. the information may be given in the same language or in another language.
4. According to the intended user we differentiate learner's dictionaries and those designed for the general public (e.g. The Thorndike-Century Junior Dictionary, Webster's New Elementary Dictionary, etc.).
Learner'sdictionaries began to appear in the second half of the twentieth century. The well-known dictionaries for foreign learners are The Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English by Hornby A. S., Gatenby E. V., Wakefield H., Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, The Random House College Dictionary. These are most practical dictionaries
1. for everyday use. They usually have from about 100,000 to about 160,000 entries. College dictionaries are frequently revised and they are reasonably up-to-date.
2. for foreign language learners it is important to know that different aspects of the vocabulary are presented in different types of dictionaries, for example:
| Aspect | Types of Dictionaries |
| Semantics | explanatory |
| Word-structure | derivational or the so-called reverse dictionaries |
| Combinability a) free collocations b) set collocability | a) dictionaries of collocations b) phraseological dictionaries |
| Semantic ties | ideographic (Thesaurus) and thematic dictionaries |
| Division according to a) similarity of meaning b) polarity of meaning c) sphere of usage | a) dictionaries of synonyms b) dictionaries of antonyms c) terminological, slang, etc., dictionaries |
| Value of occurrence | frequency dictionaries |
Thus, there are a number of different kinds of dictionaries, depending upon the purposes for which they are designed, with different propositions of data depending upon the practical needs of the intended users.
A modern dictionary is intended to give a sufficient detailed description of the English vocabulary in its present state. It can serve as a source of reference on many questions, both general and specific, pertaining to English lexicology, grammar, phonetics, style, and it can be useful to translators, teachers, students, and, in general, to all who use English in their academic and practical work.
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Лекция № 15