Lexicography

Definitions:
1. “The practice of compiling dictionaries”
(The New Oxford Dictionary of English)
2. “The principles and practices of dictionary making”
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)
3. “Lexicography (is) the applied study of the meaning, evolution,
and function of the vocabulary units of a language for the
purpose of compilation in book form — in short, the process of
dictionary making.”
4. Perhaps the simplest explanation of lexicography is that
“It is a scholarly discipline that involves compiling, writing, or
editing dictionaries.”

Coined in English 1680, the word "lexicography" derives from Greek It is the process
of writing, editing, and compiling a dictionary. An author or editor of a dictionary is
called a lexicographer. The processes involved in the compilation and implementation
of digital dictionaries (such as Merriam-Webster Online) is known as e-lexicography.

Beginnings of English Lexicography

"The English lexicography began from the Old English period. The language of the
Roman Church was Latin; its priests and monks needed to be competent in Latin in
order to conduct services and to read the Bible. As English monks studied these Latin
manuscripts, they would sometimes write the English translation above (or below) a
Latin word in the text, to help their own learning, and as a guide to subsequent
readers. These one-word translations, written between the lines of a manuscript, are
called 'interlinear glosses'; they are seen as the beginnings of (bilingual)
lexicography." (Howard Jackson, Lexicography: An Introduction. Routledge, 2002)

Branches of linguistics:
1
Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines:

• Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing

dictionaries.

• Theoretical lexicography is 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, and how users may best
access the data incorporated in printed and electronic dictionaries. This is
sometimes referred to as 'metalexicography'.

Types of lexicography

• General lexicography involves the art of writing, compiling, designing,

using and editing language as used in general.

• Specialized lexicography focuses on the design, complication, use and

evaluation of specialized dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that are devoted to a
(relatively restricted) set of linguistic and factual elements of one or more
specialist subject fields, e.g. legal lexicography.

What is a dictionary?
2
“A dictionary is a reference book about words.”

It is a book about language. People consult them to find out information about words.
A dictionary describes the operation of individual lexical items, including, where
relevant, how they fit into the general patterns of grammar. Grammar and dictionary
are complementary parts of the description of a language, and a dictionary will use
terms that are defined by the grammar.

Macro-structure of dictionary

Macrostructure is overall structural organization of volume typically:

• Front matter, introduction, user guidelines
• Body – entries and definitions (pronunciation, word class, etymology etc.),
typically organized alphabetically
• End matter – appendices and additional information, e.g. personal names,
place names, loan items etc.

Lexicographer

“A lexicographer is a person who writes, compiles, and/or edits a dictionary.”

Lexicographer examine how words come into being and how they change in terms
of pronunciation, spelling, usage, and meaning.

The most influential lexicographer of the 18th century was Samuel Johnson, whose
Dictionary of the English Language appeared in 1755. The most influential American
lexicographer was Noah Webster, whose American Dictionary of the English
Language was published in 1828.

Principles adopted by lexicographer

3
Dictionary writing is a complex process. No lexicographer of English starts with a
blank sheet of paper, but rather stands in a tradition of dictionary making that reaches
back more than six centuries. While some lexicographers find themselves revising
and updating an existing dictionary to produce a new edition, others take on the
challenge of innovation and hack a fresh path for lexicography. Even then, they build
on the work of previous generations of lexicographers, both in determining the
headword list and in deciding what kinds of information to provide. Here are some
general principles that a lexicographer must keep in mind while writing, editing or
compiling a dictionary.
1. The nature of the language:
A dictionary has to be descriptive rather than prescriptive. Lexicographer describe the
way the words are used, not how they should be used. The lexicographer can't write
a definition based on their opinion of what they think a word means. They write
definitions based on what the evidence shows the meaning to be in that particular
region. They just report the facts.
2. Dictionaries vary in size and content:
Dictionaries vary according to size, from desk-size, through concise, to pocket and
smaller, with varying dimensions, numbers of pages, and coverage. All dictionaries
present a selection from contemporary vocabulary. Besides the general-purpose
dictionary, a wide variety of ‘specialist’ dictionaries is published. Some specialist
dictionaries focus on an aspect of lexical description: there are dictionaries of
pronunciation (e.g. Jones 1997; Wells 2000), dictionaries of spelling (e.g. West 1964),
and dictionaries of etymology (e.g. Weekley 1967). Other specialist dictionaries focus
on the vocabulary of a topic or subject-matter, e.g. Dictionary of Economics (Pearce
1992), Dictionary of Lexicography (Hartmann and James 1998). Such dictionaries
define the terminology that is crucial for talking about the subject; they exclude some
lexical information (e.g. pronunciation, grammar, etymology).
3. Every dictionary has its own metalanguage:
Every dictionary has to develop its own code, a sort of metalanguage for handling and
presenting information. Lexicographers have developed different concepts, terms and
practices for purpose. One example is the use of symbols like N, V, Adj. etc. for
grammatical categories and use of phonetic symbols to describe the pronunciation of
words. These symbols selected from IPA list of separate symbols for separate
sounds.

4. Lexicographer must keep his audience/clientele in his mind:

4
Dictionary have always been shaped by the needs of their users, or at least by the
what lexicographers knew or imagined, of those needs, and by what lexicographers
knew about language in general and words in particular: not only by what the user
wanted but also by what the lexicographers could offer. Sometimes the user feels
helpless in retrieving the particular information which possibly the dictionary has in its
structure. That’s why while compiling dictionaries, the study of the needs and skills of
the users should be seen as an effort to produce more user friendly dictionaries.

Contribution of lexicographer in the field of linguistics

“A lexicographer is the author or editor of a dictionary.” But they do more than

just define words. They help plan the content of dictionaries designed for particular
users.

Based on these special needs, lexicographers have to decide what words to include
in a dictionary and what words to leave out.

• Lexicographers constantly monitoring language. They are always on the

lookout for new words and discover new meanings for old words.
"Lexicographers read lots of different things to see how the language is
changing. They read major newspapers, novels, magazines, technical books.
They listen to dialog on television, conversations overheard on the bus.
Anything they come across is fair game. “To determine if a word should be
included in their dictionary, lexicographers use specialized computer databases.
These databases store information about language from many different sources
-- from the Bible to popular literature to song lyrics.
• Using these databases, lexicographers can measure how often a specific word
is used. They can record how it's used by a specific segment of the population
-- teenagers, for instance, or teachers, lawyers or doctors. The databases can
also show how words are used, what the different meanings are for the same
word and how they are combined to form new terms or phrases.
• Lexicographers may study the origin of a word or phrase and determine its
correct spelling and pronunciation. They study existing dictionaries to see how
others define a particular word and how its meaning has changed over time.
• Samuel Johnson's “Plan of a Dictionary” (1747) is an example of an early
contribution to theoretical lexicography

5
• Editor-in-chief of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1961) was
the first dictionary editor to acknowledge explicitly the influence of modern
linguistics on his lexicographical practice.
• Noah Webster, American lexicographer known for his American Spelling
Book (1783) and his American Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vol. (1828;
2nd ed., 1840). Webster was instrumental in giving American English a dignity
and vitality of its own. Both his speller and dictionary reflected his principle that
spelling, grammar, and usage should be based upon the living, spoken
language rather than on artificial rules.