Specialized lexicography is an academic discipline that is concerned with development of theories and principles for the design, compilation, use and evaluation of specialized dictionaries. A
specialized dictionary
A specialized dictionary is a dictionary that covers a relatively restricted set of phenomena. The definitive book on the subject (Cowie 2009) includes chapters on some of the dictionaries included below:
*synonyms
*pronunciations
*names (place na ...
is a
dictionary that covers a relatively restricted set of phenomena, usually within one or more subject fields. An alternative term for this type of dictionary is
LSP dictionary.
Various aspects of specialized lexicography
The study of specialized lexicography deals with several important aspects within the general field of
lexicography
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoreti ...
. The problems involved in designing and making bilingual dictionaries within a culture-dependent subject field involves aspects such as the user's linguistic competence in both languages as well as the user's extra-linguistic (factual) competence in both cultures.
As described in Nielsen 1994, the coverage of dictionaries may be divided into three lexicographically relevant types. First, the
multi-field dictionary
A multi-field dictionary is a specialized dictionary that has been designed and compiled to cover the terms within two or more subject fields. Multi-field dictionaries should be contrasted with single-field dictionaries and sub-field dictionarie ...
, which covers several subject-fields; secondly, the
single-field dictionary
A single-field dictionary is a specialized dictionary that has been designed and compiled to cover the terms of one particular subject field. Single-field dictionaries should be contrasted with multi-field dictionaries and sub-field dictionaries ...
, which covers one subject-field; and thirdly, the
sub-field dictionary
A sub-field dictionary is a specialized dictionary that has been designed and compiled to cover the terms of one (or possibly more) sub-fields of a particular subject field. It is therefore a sub-division of the class of dictionary called a singl ...
, which covers one sub-field within a general subject-field. This distinction is lexicographically important, because the best treatment of a subject-field is given in single-field and sub-field dictionaries, as these are the best reference tools for containing and presenting the relevant data.
The function for which the dictionary has been designed is also relevant. The dictionary may have been designed to help the user with two general types of function: communication-oriented and knowledge-oriented. The former deals with the translation of texts, understanding of texts, production of texts and editing/revision of texts, and the latter deals with the acquisition of knowledge (data and information) in situations that are independent of communication.
Specialized lexicography is therefore the discipline where scholars attempt to develop principles and techniques that can help both the compilers of dictionaries and the users. Nielsen 2008 argues that, in particular, the presentation of data in the dictionary should be structured in such a way that the
lexicographic information cost
Lexicographic information cost is a concept within the field of lexicography. The term refers to the difficulties and inconveniences that the user of a dictionary believes or feels are associated with consulting a particular dictionary or dictionar ...
s are kept at a minimum.
See also
*
Controlled vocabulary
Control may refer to:
Basic meanings Economics and business
* Control (management), an element of management
* Control, an element of management accounting
* Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization
* Controllin ...
*
Lexigraf
*
Terminology
Terminology is a group of specialized words and respective meanings in a particular field, and also the study of such terms and their use; the latter meaning is also known as terminology science. A ''term'' is a word, compound word, or multi-wo ...
Relevant literature
* Henning Bergenholtz/Sven Tarp (eds.) (1995): ''Manual of Specialised Lexicography''. Benjamins Publishing.
*Sandro Nielsen (1994): ''The Bilingual LSP Dictionary''. Gunter Narr Verlag.
* Sandro Nielsen (2008): The Effect of Lexicographical Information Costs on Dictionary Making and Use. ''Lexikos'' 18-2008: 170-189.
* Sandro Nielsen (2010): "Specialised Translation Dictionaries for Learners". In: P. A. Fuertes-Olivera (ed): ''Specialised Dictionaries for Learners''. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 69-82.
External links
Lexicographical Basis for an Electronic Bilingual Accounting Dictionary: Theoretical Considerations
{{Lexicography
Lexicography