A theory of lexicographic texts: an overview

Abstract

The dictionary research constitutes the main part of metalexicography, it can be divided into four fields of research: the research on dictionary use, the critical dictionary research, the historical dictionary reseach, and the systematic dictionary research. Within the latter field of research, in particular, a general theory of lexicography is developed consisting of several partial theories; one of these is the theory of lexicographic texts which is presented here in broad terms. First, general aspects of the presentation of lexicographic texts in printed dictionaries are discussed. Dictionaries are text carriers, the texts of which are arranged into a macrotext which has a mediostructure and a metatext. It is obligatory for a dictionary to have at least one outer access structure. Next follows a presentation of the heuristic part of the text theory, in which the analytic methods are discussed, that is six variants of segmentation methods for lexicographic texts. The application of the segmentation methods leads, inter alia, to items and nontypographic microstructure indicators. Items consist of an item form and a genuine item function. One characteristic of the item form is the typographic structure indicator, so that each item is a structure-indicating item, but not a microstructure indicator. Numerous classes of items can be distinguished. Following, a broad overview is given of the structures which appear in lexicographic texts. The following structures are distinguished: the macrostructure, outer and inner access structures, the textual frame structure, the textual word list structure, the microstructure, the article structure, the structure of the positions, the item structure, the addressing structure, the cohesion structure, the theme-rheme-structure, the mediostructure, and the microarchitecture. Then, a more detailed look is taken at the micro-structures; by means of these structures it is determined which items are included in a dictionary article and in which order. First and foremost, the integrated microstructures have to be differentiated from the nonintegrated microstructures, because they differ completely in the way in which the article-internal order of the items is determined. Next, an overview of the integrated microstructures is given. Exemplified by a dictionary article, the semi-intergrated microstructures are introduced, which combine the advantages of the forms of access of the integrated and nonintegrated microstructures. Finally, it is commented on the ways of application of the text theory.

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