Lexicology and linguistics

Types of dictionaries

Lexicographers

Assignment for LEA

Written by: Romana Kozáková

2011
Lexicology and linguistics

Lexicology is the part of linguistics which studies words, their nature and meaning,
words' elements, semantical relations between words, word groups and the whole lexicon. In
other words lexicology deals with the vocabulary and characteristic features of words and
word groups. .

The term “vocabulary” is used to denote the system of word and word groups that
language possesses. The term “word” denotes the main lexical unit of a languages resulting
from the association of a group of sounds with meaning. It is the smallest unit of a language
which can stand alone as a complete utterance and it is semantic, grammatical and
phonological unit. The term “word group” denotes a group of words which exists in the
language as a ready-made unit, has a unity of meaning and the unity of syntactical function.

The term lexicology is of Greek origin, from word „lexis“, which means “word” and
„ logos“, which means learning. The term first appeared in the 1820s, though there were
lexicologists before the term was established.

We have got several types of lexicology. General lexicology studies language

universals, in other words it studies phenomena which are common to all languages. Special
lexicology studies specific features of the vocabulary of certain language, always based on the
principals of general lexicology. Historical lexicology studies the evolution of a vocabulary
and its elements, discusses the origin of words and their change and development, their
semantic relations and the development of their sound form and meaning. Another branch of
lexicology is called descriptive lexicology and it studies the vocabulary at a definite stage of
its development

The relation between phonetics and lexicology is very important. Words consist of
phonemes, which, although don´t have meaning, serve to formation of morphemes, the level
where meaning is expressed. So they serve to express difference between meanings.
Moreover, meaning itself is very important for phonemic analysis.

The link between lexicology and grammar is also very close. Each word has a relation
in the grammatical system of a language and belongs to some part of speech. Lexicology
studies this relationship in terms of the grammatical meanings and also their relationship with
the lexical meaning. In the field of word formation, lexicology is still getting more close
related to grammar. Both study the patterns of word formation.

When we talk about lexicology, we have to mention three concepts which consists of
language levels. The lowest level is level of phonology. Phonology is subdiscipline of
linguistics concerned with "the sounds of language". It studies use of sound to encode
meaning in any spoken human language. Next level is level of morphology which is
characteristic also by monosyllabic words or in other words is characteristic by words that in
fact are in plain. We can find these word in English more often than in czech language.
Morphology is the identification, analysis and description of the structure of morphemes and
other units of meaning in a language like words, affixes, and parts of speech and intonation,
Next levels are level of lexicology and level of syntax which is the study of the principles and
rules for constructing sentences in natural languages. The highest level is level of text which
can be either written or spoken.

Next part of three concepts are 2 language planes. The first is form and the second is
meaning. We have to mention that words are given which also means that sign value of verbs
is given and it is not connected with reality. In different languages we have got different
expression for same thing. This expression doesn´t have any relation with thing which it
describes. This is closed to semantic triangle. On the right side of triangle we can find objects,
on the left side there are word and on the top of triangle are our minds. Between objects and
words, there is not full relation.

Last part of three concepts are language rules which are syntactic, semantic and
pragmatic. When we talk about syntactic rules, we discuss and analyze conjoining. We have
got syntax of sentences and syntax of text. Next rule is semantic which emphasize that we can
see form isolated, because we have got more word for one imagination. The last rule is
pragmatic which express that language is influenced by social and natural background.

Next to three concepts, we can find also three approaches. The first one is synchronic
and diachronic. Synchronic modem studies today’s form of language and also language types
which are synthetic and analytic which deals with language isolated units. We can say, that
English is more isolated than Czech language. This modem also studies agglutinative,
flexional, introflexional and incorporative languages. Diachronic modem studies periods of
development of language. English language has 7 periods. Period of Indo-European language,
proto-germanic, west-germanic, Anglo-Saxon, Norman Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, new
Early English and the last one is new Modern English. Next approach is structural and
generative. Structuralism is specialized in describing language using at first sounds, syllables,
words and finally sentences and texts compared to generative approach which studies
psycholinguistics and starts with sentences and texts and finishes with syllables and sounds.
Last approach are linguistics and sociological approach. Sociological approach is concerned
to social function of language, how can be language used in social background, differences of
lexicon of different generation. Linguistics studies languages only using language facilities.

Finally I have to mention that we distinguish also classification of languages. It is

difference between domestic value and foreign value and also difference between internal and
external word units. We can say, that there are pure languages, which have got a low number
of foreign word in their lexicon and there are also hybrid languages. Czech language and most
of roman languages are pure compared to English which is hybrid language.

Types of dictionaries

Dictionary is defined as a "book dealing with the individual words of a language so as

to explain their orthography, pronunciation, signification and use, to show their synonyms,
derivation and history. The words are usually arranged in some stated order and now in most
languages and in larger dictionaries the information which is given in is illustrated by
quotations from literature.

The classification of dictionaries is a very important aspect of lexicography for the

preparation of dictionaries. The whole work of dictionary starting with the planning stage to
the preparation of press copy, selection and setting of entries and arrangement of entries and
their meanings, is made on the basis of which the dictionary is classified.

Dictionaries can be classified into different groups on the basis of several criteria, I
would like to present some main criteria for the classification of dictionaries. These criteria
are for example: the number of languages involved, then we distinguish monolingual,
bilingual or multilingual dictionaries. Next criterium is the nature of entries: whether entries
are only lexical or also encyclopaedic, then whether informations are diachronic or
synchronic, next criterium is an arrangement of entries: alphabetical, semantic or causal and
last criterium is whether dictionairy is meant for the general reader to find out general
linguistic information or for special users to know some special information

Here are some descriptions of different types of dictionaries classified on the criteria I
have already mentioned.

The first dictionaries are historical and etymological dictionary. The main function of
both the historical dictionary and the etymological dictionary is to present the history of a
lexical item. The difference is in their approach. The historical dictionary records the
development of a lexical item in terms of both the form and the meaning of the particular
lexical unit, but the etymological dictionary presents the origin of words by tracing the present
day words to their oldest forms.

Now, I would like to mention some special dictonaries. The first group includes
dictionaries which may be classed into the following groups on the basis of the nature of their
word lists. These are for example dictionaries of dialects, technical terms – glossaries, special
professions, arts and craft, slangs, jargon, argot and so on. Special dictionaries classified on
the basis of the formal aspects of the lexical units are Spelling or orthographical dictionaries,
Pronouncing dictionaries, Word formation dictionaries, Dictionaries of homonyms,
Dictionaries of paronyms, Grammatical dictionaries, Reverse dictionaries and Dictionaries of
abbreviations and acronyms. The dictionaries classified on the basis of their semantic aspect
and their relational value in the lexical stock of the language are Dictionary of synonyms,
Dictionary of antonyms, Ideographical or ideological dictionary and Dictionary of frequency
counts. Special dictionaries classified on the basis of their collocational value are Dictionaries
of collocations and Dictionaries of Usages. Dictionaries of special lexical units are generally
Dictionaries of phrases or phraseological dictionaries, Dictionaries of proverbs and idioms,
Dictionaries of neologism.

Now I would like to describe general dictionaries. The general dictionary covers the
total language. The dictionary of any size may be a general dictionary. It contains words from
all spheres of human activities and all areas of the life of the speakers of the language. The
general dictionaries are of two types: Academic or normative dictionary and Referential or
overall descriptive dictionary.

The academic dictionary gives the lexical stock of the standard language. The aim of
this dictionary is to present the language as it is expected to be. It is also important for the
future usage of the language. The selection of entries is done from the works of the creative
writers, both earlier and contemporary, literature of science, arts, newspapers, magazines and
other materials which are considered representative of the standard language. These
dictionaries do not contain words of local or regional variation. Such words are included in
the dictionaries only when they have been used by some writers and have been standardized
in the language. Archaic words used by creative writers are also included in them. The chief
feature of these dictionaries is that they include illustrative examples form with or without
citations.

The referential or overall descriptive dictionary does not have any normative aim. The
word stock of this dictionary is selected from different speech groups. This dictionary doesn´t
include only literary texts , but also oral literature. It contains words of regional, social and
stylistic variations.

Lexicography and lexicographers

An allied science to lexicology is lexicography, which also studies words in relation

with dictionaries . It is actually specialized in the inclusion of words in dictionaries. We can
say that lexicography is the theory and practice of composing dictionaries. Sometimes
lexicography is considered to be a part or a branch of lexicology, but this two disciplines
should not be mistaken. We can say that lexicography is the practical lexicology, it
is practically oriented and it has its own theory, but the pure lexicology is mainly theoretical.

Lexicography is divided into two related disciplines. The first one is practical
lexicography. It is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. Theoretical
lexicography is the scholarly discipline of analyzing and describing
the semantic, syntagmatic and paradigmatic relationships within the lexicon of a language. It
is developing theories of dictionary components and structures, linking the data in dictionaries
and the needs for information by users in specific types of situation..

A person devoted to lexicography is called a lexicographer.

General lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, uses and evaluation of

general dictionaries, for example dictionaries that provide a description of the language in
general use. Such a dictionary is usually called a general dictionary or LGP dictionary
(Language for General Purpose). Specialized lexicography focuses on the design,
compilation, use and evaluation of specialized dictionaries. Such a dictionary is usually called
specialized dictionary or LSP dictionary

There is some disagreement on the definition of lexicology. Some use word

"lexicology" as a synonym for theoretical lexicography, others use it to mean a branch
of linguistics.
Links:
Elsevier Science Ltd [online]. 2001 [cit. 2011-02-28]. International Encyclopedia of
the Social & Behavioral Science. Dostupné z WWW:
<http://pubman.mpdl.mpg.de/pubman/item/escidoc:68592:3/component/escidoc:68593/147_2
001_Lexicology_and_lexicography.pdf>. ISBN :0-08-043076-.

Etymology (Part I): Lexicology and the Constitution [online]. 2000 [cit. 2011-02-28].
The Constitution, Plain and Simple. Dostupné z WWW:
<http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/caine12.html>.

Lexicology [online]. 2011 [cit. 2011-02-28]. Encyclopedia69. Dostupné z WWW:

<http://www.encyclopedia69.com/eng/d/lexicology/lexicology.htm>.

Bibliography
Burkett, Eva Mae. 1939. American dictionaries of the English language before 1861.
New York:

Murray, J.A.M. 1900. Evolution of English lexicography. Oxford: Oxford University

Press