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Three Good General Dictionaries
10.3 Three Good General Dictionaries
●●● Longman
10.3.1 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDCE) New Edition
(1987)
LDCE
was published first in 1978 and proved an immediate success with foreign
teachers and students. It was noted for its wide coverage of new words,
new meanings and new usages, for its simple and clear definitions and
for its controlled 2,000 words used to define words and illustrate usages,
and above all for its meticulous and complete grammatical information.
Unfortunately, the last point seems to overshadow its success because
the complicated codes have proved helpless to general readers. The new
edition (1987) is the result of radical revision. It has 56,000 words
and phrases, covering both American and British English with special emphasis
on new words. Words such as space-time, space-shuttle, women's lib, generation
gap, fax, laser printer, nuclear-free, ELT, TESOL are not found in the
old edition. It contains 83,000 meanings of words and phrases with 75,000
realistic useful examples and additional 500 new helpful illustrations.
As the new edition still uses a controlled vocabulary of 2000 common words,
the dictionary is easy to understand. Apart from these, a few others features
are worth mentioning.
1.
Clear grammar codes.
The
grammatical codes are redesigned and become user-friendly but with no
less information. The dictionary concentrates on three major classes of
words nouns, adjectives and verbs. Take verbs for example. Verbs are divided
into intransitive[I], transitive[T] and linking[L] verbs. Their actual
usages are indicated by easy-to-recognise sentence patterns:
[+to-v]
verb + infinitive
[+v-ing]
verb + v-ing
[+obj+to-]
verb + object + infinitive
[+obj+t-v]
verb + object + infinitive without to
[+obj+v-ing]
verb + object + verb in ing form
[+obj+that]
verb + object + clause with that
[+obj+wh-]
verb + object + clause with wh-
[+obj+v-ed]
verb + object + past participle
[+obj+adj]
verb + object + abject
etc.
These
patterns are arranged right after each definition. For example, after
the 2nd meaning of see, among the codes is [+obj+v/v-ing], followed
by an example 'I saw him leave the house/saw him leaving the house.' If
the code is not clear, with the help of the example there should be no
mistake.
For nouns we may find such labels as [C](Countable), [U](Uncountable),
[P](Plural), [S](singular), [the](used with the), [the](without the),
[+sing/pl.v](with singular or plural verb), [+to-v](followed by infinitive).
These and others indicate clearly the actual use of every noun including
proper nouns.
2.
Usage notes
The
columns of usage notes have always been welcomed. It covers discrimination
between synonyms and near-synonyms, explains about difficult grammar and
stylistic points, differences between British and American usages, etc.
For example, following the definitions of the word child, there
are further notes explaining the differences between child, baby, infant,
toddler, teenager, adolescent, youth and kid. Moreover, the definitions
are dotted with synonyms and antonyms printed in capital letter, which
is of great value to readers.
3.
Language notes
This
new edition has enclosed 20 language notes, which are arranged alphabetically
in the main body of the dictionary. They are special entries, each being
an article discussing a special topic such as 'Apologies', 'Collocations',
'Idioms', 'Requests' and 'Criticism and praise'. Take 'Addressing people'
for example. The entry explains how to address people on different occasions,
different types of people: How to talk to strangers, to people of various
professions, to friends and family, etc. It also supplies special forms
of address: Ladies and gentlemen (a formal opening of a speech), Your
Excellency (to an ambassador), Your Highness (for a prince or princess),
MR/Madam President, Prime Minister.
In
addition, the definitions are revised and updated. Much improvement is
reflected in the arrangement of meanings. Many meanings are reordered
from the last to the first or vice versa. All the changes manifest current
usages of the language, a significant move to keep abreast with the times.
●●●
COBUILD
10.3.2 Collins
COBUILD
English
Language
Dictionary (CCELD) (1987)
CCELD
is a brand new dictionary, similar in scope and size to Longman. Apart
from the good points of Longman which it has absorbed, it has some unique
features.
1.
Definition.
Firstly,
the definitions in this dictionary are all in full sentences, the most
readable of its kind; the definition itself throws light on the grammatical
use of the word in question. For example, the definition of aide
is 'An aide is a person who works as an assistant to someone with
an important job, especially in government or armed forces' against the
definition in LDCE 'a person who helps, esp. a person employed to help
a government minister.' This definition tells us immediately that aide
is a countable noun which should take an (not a) to show its singular
number. Secondly, CCELD contains more meanings and covers more information
in comparison with some other dictionaries of the same scope. Thirdly,
the order of meanings indicates the semantic changes of words. Take gay
for example. This word has a number of meanings, among which `homosexual'
is usually labelled slang and arranged as the last meaning in many
other dictionaries but the first and commonly used meaning in CCELD, which
is true of actual use of the word.
2.
Extra column.
If
we say the use of sentences to define words as a breakthrough, the use
of extra column to deal with grammar information is no less significant.
Against the traditional practice of lexicography, CCELD creates a extra
column arranged alongside the definitions. This is where you find part
of speech, usage instructions, synonyms, antonyms, superordinates, verb
patterns and so on. Each meaning listed in the definition has a corresponding
extra note put side by side. For example, the verb deprive is given
such a note in the extra column 'V+O+A(of)', which means the verb is followed
by an object plus an adverbial usually introduced by 'of'. In the main
column there is an example " 'I'm not trying to deprive you of the
necessities of life,' I explained." All the codes are explained and
arranged as entries alphabetically in the main body of the dictionary
like a word. So far as the content of the extra column is concerned, COBUILD
is comparable with LDCE and is better in some way. For example, apart
from all the information provided for adjectives one can find in LDCE,
CCELD labels adjectives as 'adj classifying, adj colour, adj qualitative'
and suggests the word order if the three types adjectives appear together:
adj qualitative + adj colour + adj classifying. Suppose
scarf has woolen, big, yellow to modify it at the same time, the
order should be 'a big yellow woolen scarf' as big labelled 'adj
qualitative', yellow 'adj colour' and woolen 'adj classifying'.
The number of synonyms, antonyms and superordinates provided in CCELD
exceeds all other dictionaries of similar scope and many large dictionaries
as well.
3.
Usage examples.
In
CCELD, almost every meaning of a word has an example to show its meaning
and usage, most in sentence form. These examples are all selected from
actual usage, not invented by compilers in some other dictionaries. This
gives the dictionary high degree of authority.
In
short, CCELD is a good reference book for teachers of English as well
as students. Using the dictionary is not just to find information about
the word but reading practice, a process of learning the present-day English.
The extra column is a miniature of a grammar book and the user is able
to see the usage notes at one glance.
●●●
Chinese-English Dictionary
10.3.3.A Chinese-English Dictionary, Revised Edition (CED) (1995)
CED
compiled by the English Department Beijing Foreign Studies University
with Wu Jingrong as Editor-in-Chief was first published in 1978 and was
well received both at home and abroad. It was the first medium-sized Chinese-English
dictionary compiled by mainland Chinese on the basis of modern Chinese
used in the People' Republic of China. However, as the compilation started
in 1971, the dictionary was inevitably characterized by the historical
period of the time, particularly in the selection of entries. In 1983
the work of revision got under way. The new edition met the public in
1995. It is noted for the following features:
1.
ON the basis of the first edition, the new edition has an addition of
800 single character entries and of 18000 multi-character entries including
catchphrases, sayings and proverbs. Altogether, it has a collection of
80000 entries. Among them are a large number of newly created words that
appeared in the press. For instance, kala OK (karaoke), 霹雳舞 (break dance),
香波(shampoo), 抬轿子(carry sb. in a sedan chair-flatter rich and influential
people), 菜篮子(food basket, food supply), 精品(quality goods, articles of
fine quality), 拳头产品(competitive products), 扶贫(aid-the-poor program [a
government programme for providing assistance for poor areas of the country]),
爬格子(crawl over squared or lined paper-write, esp. in order to make a living),
宏扬 (carry forward, enhance) are not found in the old version. Under the
headword 拜, the old lists 15 entries but the new edition increases to
29, adding such words as 拜师 (formally become a pupil to a master), 拜堂
(old [of bride and groom] make ceremonial obeisances-perform the marriage
ceremony), 拜天地 (same as 拜堂).
2.
The new edition revised some old entries. For example, it adds notes to
polysemous words and their definitions: 嫁 (of a woman) marry, 黄粱美梦(Golden
Millet Dream [from the story of a poor scholar who dreamt he had become
an official but awoke to find the pot of millet still cooking on the fire]
- pipe dream). Some entries have new meanings added to them and some new
examples. Under the entry 中途 (halfway, midway), we find the sentence 开会不要中途退场
(Don't leave before the meeting is over./Don't leave when the meeting
is in progress.)
3.
The new edition keeps the previous alphabetical order of entries, which
makes the dictionary easy to use. It changes the method of marking academic
or subject areas and word classes. In the old edition, the marking was
done in Chinese, but in the new was turned into English. Moreover, alongside
some simplified versions of Chinese, the compilers add the old complicated
versions.
4.
The dictionary boasts of the quality of the English equivalents it provides
for its Chinese items. For example, 吃软不吃硬 was translated by 林语堂 into 'bully
the weak but yield to one who fights back', but into 'open to persuasion,
but not to coercion' in this dictionary, a version somewhat closer to
the original in spirit. Another good example is 布衣素食 which is rendered
as 'coarse clothes and simple fare' instead of 'wear cotton clothes and
eat vegetable food', which would be certainly misleading to westerners.
According to Wang (1980:190), real equivalence means equivalence not only
in sense, but also in tone, sentiment, atmosphere, impact, style. The
compilers' endeavour in this respect is reflected in the following examples:
没词儿(can find no words in reply/be struck for an answer), 他很会哄孩子 (She has
a way with children.), 他想拉拢我- 没门(He wants to rope me in- Not a chance.)
帮倒忙 (be more of a hindrance than a help), 一个唱红脸，一个唱白脸 (One coaxes, the
other coerces.), 他脑挨克, 都皮了(He gets scolded so often that he no longer
cares.)
As
a general Chinese-English dictionary, this one is the most complete and
up-to-date, most elaborately treated. For general readers including teachers
and translators this new edition makes a good companion.
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