Problems of Dialect Non-Inclusion in Tshivenḓa Bilingual Dictionary Entries
Abstract
Tshivenḓa is characterised by a number of dialects which exhibit some linguistic features different from those of other groups. The standard dialect in Tshivenḓa is Tshiphani. This dialect is spoken in the areas of Tshivhase and Mphaphuli. The selection of the Tshiphani as a standard dialect in Tshivenḓa did not cause the other dialects to die out as they are still used by the Vhavenḓa as spoken language. However, there is non-inclusion of dialectal entries in some dictionaries, whereas in others, very few dialectal entries have been included. A lexicographer must always take into consideration that there is a variation in language. Lexicographers should not see the inclusion of non-standard dialects as corrupting the standard language. Tshiphani was superimposed on other dialects. A dictionary is expected to accommodate all dialects of a language because they have equal value in spoken language. It is important for a lexicographer to first carry out research regarding the existence of dialects in a language if one intends to compile a dictionary. This paper seeks to show that it is necessary to include lexicons from non-standard dialects in lexicography works such as bilingual dictionaries because there is no dialect which is better than others. The addition of non-standard dialects in dictionaries will enrich the languages.
Session
Bilingual Lexicography
Keywords
BibTex
@InProceedings{ELX10-077, author = {Munzhedzi James Mafela}, title = {Problems of Dialect Non-Inclusion in Tshivenḓa Bilingual Dictionary Entries}, pages = {824-831}, 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}, }
