| Abstract |
The paper focuses on the construction of lexicographic definitions for an electronic dictionary targeting intermediate-to-advanced learners of French as a second language. It proposes a learner-friendly adaptation of definition formats developed for a theoretical lexicon of a particular type-Explanatory-Combinatorial Dictionary [= ECD] of Contemporary French. It is argued and, hopefully, demonstrated that it is possible to construct lexicographic definitions that are both theoretically sound and palatable for language learners. The work on the adaptation of existing definition formats has shed light on these definitions themselves-which in some cases needed to be modified-thus demonstrating, once again, the interdependence of applied and fundamental research. After presenting the basic structure of an ECD-style definition, the paper details the types of modifications needed to make it learner-friendly. These range from 'superficial' modifications, aimed at a better readability of the definition-typography, indentation, color, etc., to substantial ones-simplification of the vocabulary and syntax of the defining language, omission of the definition components deemed non-essential in a learner's dictionary, changing the word-sense division within a polysemic word in case the level of detail seems too high for our purposes, etc. The proposed approach is illustrated with the example of evaluation verbs, such as approuver - (to) approve, désapprouver -(to) disapprove, blamer -(to) blame, critiquer -(to) criticize, etc., for which a definition template and definitions themselves are given. |
| BibTex |
@InProceedings{ELX08-041,
author = {Jasmina Milićević},
title = {Structure de la définition lexicographique dans un dictionnaire d'apprentissage explicatif et combinatoire},
pages = {551-560},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 13th EURALEX International Congress},
year = {2008},
month = {jul},
date = {15-19},
address = {Barcelona, Spain},
editor = {Elisenda Bernal, Janet DeCesaris},
publisher = {Institut Universitari de Linguistica Aplicada, Universitat Pompeu Fabra},
isbn = {978-84-96742-67-3},
} |
