Lexicographic inconsistency in the central list of major dictionary/groot woordeboek

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Bilingual dictionaries should have a decoding as well as an encoding function. Decodingdictionaries want to assist the user in interpreting the language, while encoding dictionarieswant to help the user with the usage of the language. The present role of a bilingual ortranslation dictionary has to change from that of supplying only translation equivalents to oneof supplying a more comprehensive data presentation. This should also include additionalsemantic and pragmatic information.The main aim of a bilingual dictionary should not only be the establishment of a relation ofsemantic equivalence between source and target language, but also reaching communicativeequivalence in the process. This means that the user must be able to find the applicableequivalent of the source language item in the target language.One of the best ways for a lexicographer to test the communicative aptness of a giventranslation equivalent, is by means of the reversibility principle. It means that lexical item A,included as translation equivalent of lemma B in the X-section of a bidirectional translationdictionary, has to be included as a lemma in the Y-section ofthe dictionary with at least thelexical item B, the relevant lemma from the X-section, as one of its translation equivalents.Each lexical item included as a translation equivalent in the Y-section has to be included asthe lemma in the X-section of the dictionary with at least the respective lemma from the Ysectionas a translation equivalent.This thesis tries to show how, if not adhered to the above principles, an inferior product canbe the result of many hours of painstaking work. The main problematic areas are inter aliathose of labels, spelling inconsistencies and an absence of translation equivalents. However,some of the less obvious problematic areas are also touched upon.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University