1 Analysing and teaching meaning (3) Analysing and teaching meaning (3) SSIS Lazio - Lesson 3 prof. Hugo Bowles January 2007

2 Lesson 3 - part 1 Dictionaries and other resources

3 The Criteria of a Dictionary Formal Criteria:   A list of the headwords (entries)   Information about each headword Functional Criteria   A reference work (to provide information about difficult technical words)   A storeroom for a language (to find out what once existed and what exists today)   A code of law (to decide whether to accept or reject regional, historical or social variants).

4 Criteria regarding content Spelling Spelling Lexical meaning Lexical meaning Word class Word class Pronunciation Pronunciation Stress Stress Etymology Etymology Collocations etc. Collocations etc.

5 The history of English Dictionaries 1604: A Table Alphabetical; Robert Cawdrey (2,500 words) 1604: A Table Alphabetical; Robert Cawdrey (2,500 words) 1616: English Expositor; John Bullokar 1616: English Expositor; John Bullokar 1623: English Dictionarie; Henry Cockeram 1623: English Dictionarie; Henry Cockeram 1656: New World of English Words; Edward Phillips 1656: New World of English Words; Edward Phillips 1702: A New English Dictionary; John Kersey (28,000 words) 1702: A New English Dictionary; John Kersey (28,000 words) 1721: Universal Etymological English Dictionary; Nathaniel Bailey (40,000 words) 1721: Universal Etymological English Dictionary; Nathaniel Bailey (40,000 words)

6 Dictionary of the English Language 1755 by Samuel Johnson Two volumes 40,000 entries

7 An American Dictionary of the English Language An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster by Noah Webster Two volumes Two volumes 70,000 entries 70,000 entries

8 Oxford, Longman, and Collins 1928: Oxford English Dictionary (12 volumes, 15,487 pp., 252,200 entries) 1928: Oxford English Dictionary (12 volumes, 15,487 pp., 252,200 entries) 1968: Longman’s English Larousse 1968: Longman’s English Larousse 1987: Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary 1987: Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary

9 The Corpus Revolution: Word-watching  Compiling a corpus Corpus: A collection of written or spoken materials. Corpus: A collection of written or spoken materials. The sources: magazine articles, brochures, newspapers, lectures, sermons, broadcasts, chapters on novels, etc. The sources: magazine articles, brochures, newspapers, lectures, sermons, broadcasts, chapters on novels, etc.

10 The Survey of English Usage The first large corpus of English-language data, compiled in the 1960s. The first large corpus of English-language data, compiled in the 1960s. Directed by Randolph Quirk Directed by Randolph Quirk Based at University College London Based at University College London It consists of 1,000,000 words taken from 200 texts of spoken and written materials. It consists of 1,000,000 words taken from 200 texts of spoken and written materials. The texts were transcribed by hand and stored on index cards. The texts were transcribed by hand and stored on index cards. In the 1970s the spoken component was made electronically available by Jan Svartvik of Lund University In the 1970s the spoken component was made electronically available by Jan Svartvik of Lund University

11 Some important corpora The first computerized corpus: the Brown University Corpus of American English, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, in 1960s. The first computerized corpus: the Brown University Corpus of American English, Providence, Rhode Island, USA, in 1960s. The Lancaster–Olso/Bergen (LOB) Corpus of British English, in 1970s. The Lancaster–Olso/Bergen (LOB) Corpus of British English, in 1970s. Collins–Birmingham University International Language Database (COBUILD), in 1980s. The corpus reached 20 million words. Collins–Birmingham University International Language Database (COBUILD), in 1980s. The corpus reached 20 million words. Longman/Lancaster English Language Corpus, in 1980s, using both American and British English, comprises 30 million words. Longman/Lancaster English Language Corpus, in 1980s, using both American and British English, comprises 30 million words. Bank of English (Birmingham University), started in 1991 and reached 450 million words in Bank of English (Birmingham University), started in 1991 and reached 450 million words in 2002.

12 The British National Corpus (BNC) A collaboration between Longman, Oxford University Press, Chambers Harrap (Oxford University Computing Service), The University of Lancaster, and the British Library. A collaboration between Longman, Oxford University Press, Chambers Harrap (Oxford University Computing Service), The University of Lancaster, and the British Library. Compilation from 1991 until 1994 = 100 million words. Particular attention has been paid to the internal balance of the corpus. Compilation from 1991 until 1994 = 100 million words. Particular attention has been paid to the internal balance of the corpus.

13 The International Corpus of English Based at the University College London Based at the University College London Began in 1980s Began in 1980s By 1991, 20 countries agreed to take part: By 1991, 20 countries agreed to take part: Australia, Cameroon, Canada, Caribbean, Fiji, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, UK, and USA. Australia, Cameroon, Canada, Caribbean, Fiji, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, UK, and USA.

14 Types of dictionary (1) Standard monolingual Standard monolingual Learners monolingual (usuall with pictures andstudy guides) Learners monolingual (usuall with pictures andstudy guides) Thesaurus Thesaurus Oxford, Longman, Chambers, Webster Oxford Advanced Learners, Cambridge International, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Roget, Longman Lexicon

15 Types of dictionary (2) Bilingual (with translation) Bilingual (with translation) Concept dictionaries Concept dictionaries Thematic dictionaries (cuture, quotations) Thematic dictionaries (cuture, quotations) Technical dictionaries Technical dictionaries Zanichelli, Garzanti ecc. Cambridge Wordroutes, Word Activators

16 Dictionary formats Book form - pocket/full-size Book form - pocket/full-size Online Online CD-ROM CD-ROM

17 Other sources of lexical information Concordances Concordances Glossaries Glossaries Parallel texts Parallel texts

18 Learners dictionary - advantages More information More information - lexical, collocational, grammatical, - lexical, collocational, grammatical, pronunciation pronunciation Better information Better information - based on language corpora of English in - based on language corpora of English in use use Better learning Better learning - written in English - written in English

19 Learners dictionary - disadvantages No translation No translation Very few technical words Very few technical words

20 Bilingual dictionary - advantages and disadvantages ADVANTAGES ADVANTAGES gives a quick translation can give a quick understanding DISADVANTAGES can give a quick misunderstanding doesn’t help learning processes

21 Collocation dictionaries, concordances and glossaries The advantage of a collocation dictionary is to find collocations which are not availablee in a dictionary The advantage of a collocation dictionary is to find collocations which are not availablee in a dictionary A concordance from a corpus can also be used to find collocations or new ways of expressing a concept A concordance from a corpus can also be used to find collocations or new ways of expressing a concept Glossaries are compiled and used by specialists and are only useful for translation students working on advanced lexis Glossaries are compiled and used by specialists and are only useful for translation students working on advanced lexis

22 Some advice Choose a learners dictionary which really helps your students’ lexical problems and which you like using as a teacher Choose a learners dictionary which really helps your students’ lexical problems and which you like using as a teacher A good bilingual dictionary is also extremely useful but make sure you use it for translation only A good bilingual dictionary is also extremely useful but make sure you use it for translation only

23 Lesson 3 - part 2 Using resources and materials with students

24 Knowing the meaning of a word - what it implies for students Decoding and recognising the form Decoding and recognising the form Understanding the meaning Understanding the meaning Remembering the word Remembering the word Producing the word Producing the word Using the word Using the word

25 1. Decoding and recognising the form Read and relate written form to spoken form Read and relate written form to spoken form Listen to and identify a word Listen to and identify a word Morphological understanding of roots and affixes (word-formation) Morphological understanding of roots and affixes (word-formation)

26 2. Understanding the meaning what the word refers to what the word refers to the connotation of the word the connotation of the word the style and register of the word the style and register of the word its discourse function its discourse function

27 3. Remembering the word Meaning (receptive) Meaning (receptive) Form (productive) Form (productive)

28 4. Producing the word Spoken form (pronunciation) Spoken form (pronunciation) Written form (spelling) Written form (spelling)

29 5. Using the word Accurately (grammar, syntax) Accurately (grammar, syntax) Appropriately (style register, collocation) Appropriately (style register, collocation)

30 Using a dictionary for reading Look at the context of the word Look at the context of the word Use the context to decide on the grammar of the word (is it a verb/noun? Use the context to decide on the grammar of the word (is it a verb/noun? Use the context to make a hypothesis about the meaning Use the context to make a hypothesis about the meaning Use the dictionary to check your hypothesis Use the dictionary to check your hypothesis

31 Using a dictionary for speaking Know the phonetic alphabet (i.e. you need to be able to produce the sound of the symbol) Know the phonetic alphabet (i.e. you need to be able to produce the sound of the symbol) Look up the phonetic spelling of a word Look up the phonetic spelling of a word Produce the sound of the word by reading the phonetic spelling or by listening to/repeating the sound (CD/online dictionaries) Produce the sound of the word by reading the phonetic spelling or by listening to/repeating the sound (CD/online dictionaries) Practice the word in isolation and in a stream of speech Practice the word in isolation and in a stream of speech

32 Post-dictionary work You need a system to help students record and remember words: Alphabetical order Alphabetical order Word maps Word maps Words organised by topics Words organised by topics Different types of list (idioms, phonetic lists of words with same sound) Different types of list (idioms, phonetic lists of words with same sound) Lists with translations Lists with translations

33 Dictionaries See the list and analysis of dictionaries and software in the article on lexicography See the list and analysis of dictionaries and software in the article on lexicography