The classification of dictionaries.

All dictionaries are traditionally divided into encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries.

Encyclopedic dictionaries are books that contain information on all branches of knowledge or treats comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge usually in articles arranged alphabetically often by subject.

Linguistic dictionaries are word-books. They list word of the language and give other linguistic facts. Besides these two types now there exists the so-called cultural dictionaries. They combine their information of two types both encyclopedic and linguistic dictionaries.

Linguistic dictionaries can be unilingual and bilingual.

In the first one explanations are given in one language and the second one in a different/other language.

Dictionaries are also divided diachronic and synchronic.

The diachronic shows the history of the word and reflects its development up to the present moment. One of the most famous dictionaries is the OED 13 volumes.

Synchronic dictionaries are disrupted dictionary. They show either the present day meaning and usage of words or those meaning which the words had at a certain historical period.

There are general and special dictionaries. General represent the vocabulary as a whole. Special dictionaries cover a specific part of the vocabulary; There are synonyms and antonyms, dictionaries of neologism and slang, pronouncing and so on.

There are glossaries and concordances. Glossaries explain term or difficult words, may be archaism, different branches of knowledge. Concordances record the complete vocabulary of some author. EG: there are concordances to the works of W. Shakespeare.

And finally there are ideographic dictionaries and thesaurus. These dictionary group words according to the concepts expressed. They supply a word or words by which a given idea may be expressed.

The setting of an entry in different types of dictionary.

Since different types of dictionaries differ in their aim, in the information they provide, in their size, etc., they of necessity differ in the structure and content of the entry. The most complicated type of entry is that found in explanatory dictionaries. In explanatory dictionaries of the synchronic type the entry usually presents the following data: accepted spelling and pronunciation; grammatical characteristics including the indication of the part of speech of each entry word, the transitivity and intransitivity of verbs and irregular grammatical forms; definitions of meanings; modern currency (употребительность); illustrative examples; derivatives; phraseology; etymology; sometimes also synonyms and antonyms.

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What’s in an entry

· Spelling: the headword indicates the normal spelling, but any variations will follow

· Pronunciation: within rounded () or slash // brackets, together with any variations

· Inflections: if these are formed irregularly or occasion some spelling adjustment such as doubling of consonants, dropping of ‘e’ or changing ‘y’ to ‘i’

· Word class: usually indicated by conventional abbreviations, ‘n’ for noun, ‘adj’ for adjective, etc.; verbs are also marked for ‘transitive’ (vt) or ‘intransitive’ (vi)

• Senses (значения): where a lexeme has more than one meaning, each sense is usually numbered; where a sense, or group of senses belong to a different word class or subclass, this is indicated before the sense(s) concerned

• Definition: each sense is given a definition, which is an explanation of its meaning

· Examples: where the elucidation of a sense benefits from an illustrative phrase or sentence, usually given in italic type

• Usage: where a sense is restricted in its contexts of use, an appropriate label precedes the sense concerned; if the restriction applies to all the senses of a lexeme, the label precedes any of the senses

· Run-ons: undefined derivatives (with a word class label), idioms, phrasal verbs (if they are not included as headwords), usually in bold type

• Etymology: conventionally in square brackets as the final item in the entry

Learner’s lexicography

Learner lexicography has as its objective to develop principles that help practitioners to produce lexicographic tools that fulfil the needs of specific types of users in specific types of situations in the real world. Furthermore, lexicography has to be measured on the basis of the methods used to achieve the objective. The dictionary should be analysed in terms of three significant features, namely its functions, data and structures, as this strengthens the basis of learner lexicography because it leads to a proper study and understanding of the competences and needs of learners. Finally, the modern theory of dictionary functions encourages theoretical and practical lexicographers to adopt a new way of thinking when planning and compiling learner's dictionaries.