SUMMARY OF LECTURE: On defining ‘Definition’ 23rd Oktober
Types of Definitions: a)associative – ie word groups in a thesaurus.
b) contextual – i.e. example given in sentence form
Basic Definition Types: Good =
· standard dict. def. = X is a Y kind of Z
· contextual def.
· recursive def.
· real def.
Bad= Circle def. e.g. A rose is a rose is a rose – Gertrude Stein
Standard Dictionary Definitions:
Definitio per [ genus proximum] et [differentia specifica]
Definition by [ nearest kind ] and [specific differences ]
genus proximus= toaxonomy i.e. animal
/ | \
Dog
/ \
Poodle Terrier
Types of Dictionaries: a) semasiological – you have word and are looking for its meaning
e.g. Readers Dictionary, decoding dict.
b) onomasiological – you have meaning and are looking for word
e.g. thesaurus, writers dictionary, encoding...
Dictionary Information:
FORM à appearance à spelling, pronunciation
STRUCTURE à formulation à construction, place of words, e.g. sentences
CONTENT à meaning à definition, relation with other words, examples
SLIDES: http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/HTMD/htmd02-definitions-v01a.pdf
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: None, this lecture was totally unimportant ;-)
HOMEWORK:
Open Ended QUIZ
● What is a dictionary? A book that lists the words of a language in alphabetical order and gives their meaning, or gives the equivalent words in a different language.
● What kinds of dictionary are there? Too many, just to name a few: Thesaurus, Readers Dictionary, Writers Dictionary, En/Decoding Dictionary … Then theres the different publishers i.e. Oxford Dictionary
● What is the difference between a semasiological (1)dictionary and an onomasiological (2)dictionary? 1 = you have word and are looking for its meaning. 2 = you have meaning and are looking for a word.
● What other kinds of dictionaries are there? Lexicons
● What is Text Linguistics? ‘A branch of Linguistics which deals with texts as communications systems’ – www.wikipedia.com
● What is Applied Text Linguistics? Puts Text Linguistig theories into practice
● What are the main kinds of information in a dictionary? General information.
● Give examples of
– FORM information = see above
– STRUCTURE information
– CONTENT information
● What is the main kind of information which dictionary
users are generally interested in?semasiological dictionaries
● Find dictionary defintions of 5 different words of different
parts of speech, and
– give examples of genus and differentia specifica
– give examples of other kinds of definition
1. Hat: (noun) a shaped covering(genus proxies) for the head worn for warmth, as a fashion item, or as part of a uniform.
2. Run: (verb) move at a speed faster than a walk(genus proximus), never having both or all feet on the ground at the same time (differentia specifica)
3. Fabulous: (adjective) 1) extraordinary, especially 2) having no basis in reality; mythical
4. zero: (cardinal number) quantity or number; nought; the figure 0
5. Canada: the second-largest country in the world, covering the entire northern half or North America with the exception of Alaska; pop. 31,902,268 (Est. 2002) ; official languages, English and French; capital, Ottawa
GLOSSARY:
Lexis: vocals
Orthography: spelling
Phonology: sound/pronunciation
Morphology internal structure
Syntax external structure i.e. parts of speech
Syllogism an instance of form of reasoning in which conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed positions i.e. dictionaries are texts, texts have meanings = (therefore) dictionaries have meanings.
Taxonomy the classification of sth. ; a scheme of classification
LINKS:
TRIVIA: The CEO founder of the Oxford English Dictionary is called Prof. Onions
Quote of the Day: ‘ey I need a walking dictionary’ –young miss gibbon
