Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries

This book is concerned with bilingual thematic dictionaries (BTDs). The three chief aims of the research project are: 1) to identify the characteristic features of the bilingual thematic dictionary, 2) to gauge its usefulness, and 3) to make suggestions as to how it could be improved. Various approaches are adopted in order to reveal the nature of the BTD. The typological approach considers the lexicographic genres (bilingual, thematic, and pedagogical) which have been combined to create this hybrid reference work. Particular attention is paid to the BTD's immediate forerunner and closest lexicographic relative: the monolingual thematic learner's dictionary. Detailed textual analyses of contemporary thematic dictionaries identify the characteristic features of the macrostructure, microstructure, and other components from a structural perspective. In order to evaluate the usefulness of the BTD features identified, the textual analyses are supplemented by three pieces of user research involving a questionnaire (to elicit learners' opinions), a test (on the effectiveness of the access structure), and an experiment (to discover how a learner uses a BTD).

1;List of Figures;9 2;Acknowledgements;11 3;List of Abbreviations;12 4;1 Introduction;15 4.1;1.1 The Reasons for Undertaking Research into Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries;15 4.1.1;1.1.1 The Bilingual Thematic Dictionary as an Innovative and Intriguing Lexicographic Hybrid;15 4.1.2;1.1.2 The Lack of Previous Research into Contemporary Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries;18 4.1.3;1.1.3 The Potential for Development of the BTD;19 4.2;1.2 The Aims of the Research;20 4.2.1;1.2.1 What are Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries?;20 4.2.2;1.2.2 How Useful are BTDs?;23 4.2.3;1.2.3 How Can BTDs and the Use of BTDs be Improved?;24 5;2 The Nature and Development of the Bilingual Thematic Dictionary as a Hybrid Lexicographic Genre;27 5.1;2.1 Researching the Bilingual Thematic Dictionary from the Typological, Structural, and User Perspectives;27 5.2;2.2 The Bilingual Thematic Dictionary as a Type of Bilingual Dictionary;27 5.2.1;2.2.1 What is a Bilingual Dictionary?;27 5.2.2;2.2.2 The Different Types of Bilingual Dictionary;28 5.2.3;2.2.3 The Key Issues of Bilingual Lexicography;29 5.2.4;2.2.4 What are the Desiderata for a Bilingual Dictionary?;34 5.3;2.3 The Bilingual Thematic Dictionary as a Type of Learners Dictionary;35 5.3.1;2.3.1 What is a Learners Dictionary?;35 5.3.2;2.3.2 The Different Types of Learners Dictionary;103 5.3.3;2.3.3 What are the Desiderata for a Learners Dictionary?;106 5.3.4;2.3.4 A Checklist of Monolingual Learners Dictionary Features and Choices;109 5.4;2.4 The Bilingual Thematic Dictionary as a Type of Thematic Dictionary;109 5.4.1;2.4.1 What is Thematic Lexicography?;109 5.4.2;2.4.2 Thematic Dictionaries;120 5.5;2.5 Thesauri;145 5.5.1;2.5.1 What is a Thesaurus?;145 5.5.2;2.5.2 Definitions of Thesaurus;145 5.5.3;2.5.3 Contemporary Native-Speaker Thesauri;147 5.6;2.6 Bilingual Synonym Dictionaries;167 5.7;2.7 The Key Issues and Desiderata of Thematic Lexicography;178 5.8;2.8 Monolingual Thematic Learners Dictionaries;181 5.8.1;2.8.1 An Overview of Monolingual Thema
tic Learners Dictionaries;181 5.8.2;2.8.2 The Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English;181 5.8.3;2.8.3 The Longman Language Activator;194 5.8.4;2.8.4 The Longman Essential Activator;209 5.8.5;2.8.5 The Longman Pocket Activator;224 5.8.6;2.8.6 The Oxford Learners Wordfinder Dictionary;233 5.8.7;2.8.7 A Checklist of Thematic Dictionary Features and Choices;243 5.9;2.9 Summary of Chapter 2;244 6;3 Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries;246 6.1;3.1 An Overview of Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries;246 6.1.1;3.1.1 A Chronology of Key Works;246 6.1.2;3.1.2 The Types of BTD in the Survey;247 6.2;3.2 The Cambridge Word Routes Series;247 6.2.1;3.2.1 The Six Dictionaries in the CWR Series;247 6.2.2;3.2.2 Users;248 6.2.3;3.2.3 Aims;248 6.2.4;3.2.4 Inclusion;249 6.2.5;3.2.5 Lexicographic Evidence;249 6.2.6;3.2.6 Overall Structure and Textual Components;249 6.2.7;3.2.7 Macrostructure;251 6.2.8;3.2.8 Sections;255 6.2.9;3.2.9 Microstructure;256 6.2.10;3.2.10 Other Features;265 6.2.11;3.2.11 Access Routes;274 6.2.12;3.2.12 User Guidance;276 6.3;3.3 The Cambridge French/English Thesaurus;277 6.3.1;3.3.1 Users;277 6.3.2;3.3.2 Aims;277 6.3.3;3.3.3 Inclusion;278 6.3.4;3.3.4 Lexicographic Evidence;278 6.3.5;3.3.5 Overall Structure and Textual Components;278 6.3.6;3.3.6 Macrostructure;279 6.3.7;3.3.7 Sections;280 6.3.8;3.3.8 Microstructure;283 6.3.9;3.3.9 Other Features;290 6.3.10;3.3.10 Access Routes;301 6.3.11;3.3.11 User Guidance;302 6.4;3.4 The Collins Robert Comprehensive Dictionary & Thesaurus;302 6.4.1;3.4.1 Users;302 6.4.2;3.4.2 Aims;302 6.4.3;3.4.3 Inclusion;303 6.4.4;3.4.4 Lexicographic Evidence;304 6.4.5;3.4.5 Overall Structure and Textual Components;304 6.4.6;3.4.6 Macrostructure;305 6.4.7;3.4.7 Microstructure;305 6.4.8;3.4.8 Other Features;306 6.4.9;3.4.9 Access Routes;307 6.4.10;3.4.10 User Guidance;307 6.5;3.5 Bilingual Thematic Slang Dictionaries;307 6.5.1;3.5.1 The Street French Slang Dictionary and Thesaurus;307 6.5.2;3.5.2 The Streetwise French Dictionary/Thesaurus;322 6.6;3.6 A
Checklist of Existing BTD Features and Choices;331 6.7;3.7 Summary of Chapter 3;331 7;4 Approaches to Evaluating the Usefulness of Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries;333 7.1;4.1 A Three-Pronged Approach;333 7.2;4.2 Assessing Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries from the User Perspective;333 7.2.1;4.2.1 The Informants;333 7.2.2;4.2.2 User Research Methodology;341 7.2.3;4.2.3 The Scope and Limitations of User Research;349 7.3;4.3 Summary of Chapter 4;350 8;5 The Compilation of Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries: Choices and Recommendations;352 8.1;5.1 A Cumulative Checklist of Actual and Potential BTD Features and Choices;352 8.2;5.2 Physical Format;352 8.3;5.3 Independent and Dependent BTDs;353 8.4;5.4 Inclusion;354 8.5;5.5 Lexicographic Evidence;357 8.6;5.6 Macrostructure;357 8.7;5.7 Sections;361 8.8;5.8 Headings;365 8.9;5.9 Microstructure;366 8.10;5.10 Other Features;376 8.11;5.11 Access Structures and Routes;382 8.12;5.12 User Guidance and Practice;389 8.13;5.13 Bilingual Elements;390 8.14;5.14 CD-ROM Features;390 8.15;5.15 Summary of Chapter 5;392 9;6 Conclusions;393 9.1;6.1 What are Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries?;393 9.2;6.2 How Useful are Bilingual Thematic Dictionaries?;395 9.3;6.3 How Can BTDs and the Use of BTDs be Improved?;399 9.4;6.4 Implications for Future Research into BTDs;407 10;Bibliography;412 11;Appendix 1 A Checklist of Monolingual Learners Dictionary Features and Choices;418 12;Appendix 2 A Checklist of Thematic Dictionary Features and Choices;424 13;Appendix 3 A Checklist of Existing BTD Features and Choices;434 14;Appendix 4 A Sample of the EFL Questionnaire Version A (for French Learners of English);443 15;Appendix 5 Location Guessing Experiment: List of BTD Categories;454 16;Appendix 6 Location Guessing Experiment: List of 10 Words;457 17;Appendix 7 Search Report Experiment: Answer/Search Report Sheet;458 18;Appendix 8 A Cumulative Checklist of Actual and Potential BTD Features and Choices;465 19;Appendix 9 Location Guessing Experiment: Guessed Locati
ons for Each Word;481 20;Appendix 10 Location Guessing Experiment: No. of Correct Guesses for Each Word;484 21;Appendix 11 Location Guessing Experiment: Correct Answers and Participants Answers;486 22;Abstract;488 23;Index;489