| Abstract |
The rapid development of Internet technology and the significant increase in the number of non-native English speaking college students urge lexicographers working on LSP dictionaries to create better electronic dictionaries to satisfy the needs of these dictionary users. This paper argues that better LSP dictionaries can only be created if lexicographers move from language-oriented to user-oriented lexicographical solutions. This paper shows that the traditional divisions of monolingual, bilingual and semi-bilingual dictionaries have confined the creation of lexicographical solutions that can thoroughly satisfy the needs of the users. The definitions given in monolingual LSP dictionaries are incomprehensible due to the use of difficult vocabulary. The equivalents given in bilingual dictionaries, though considered the quickest way for second language users to know the meaning of a term, do not really help the users when the equivalents relate to different concepts in L1 from the L2 due to cultural differences and when the equivalents are only the transfer of the L2 words. Combining the definitions and the equivalents, as in semi-bilingual dictionaries, may not work well either due to the overload of information presented to the users. Consequently, the shift from language-oriented to user-oriented has to take place in order to produce better lexicographical solutions. Better considerations on users’ competences and characteristics are required in creating better electronic LSP dictionaries. In this paper, the implementation of this user orientation is only shown in the on-going project of an English dictionary of finance intended to give help to Indonesian college students to understand financial texts, but the proposed solutions may also be applicable to other LSP dictionaries with a similar type of users. |
| BibTex |
@InProceedings{ELX10-109,
author = {Deny Kwary},
title = {From Language-Oriented to User-Oriented Electronic LSP Dictionaries: A Case Study of an English Dictionary of Finance for Indonesian Students},
pages = {1112-1120},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 14th EURALEX International Congress},
year = {2010},
month = {jul},
date = {6-10},
address = {Leeuwarden/Ljouwert, The Netherlands},
editor = {Anne Dykstra and Tanneke Schoonheim},
publisher = {Fryske Akademy},
isbn = {978-90-6273-850-3},
} |
