英语词典15讲.pptVIP

English lexicology (III) . What is a dictionary? A book which presents in alphabetical order the words of English, with information as to their spelling, pronunciation, meaning, usage, rules of grammar, and in some their etymology. It is closely related to lexicology: Lexicology use the raw material collected in dictionaries in their studies; whereas lexicographers employ the findings of lexicologists in dictionary-making . What is the earliest English dictionary? The forerunners of modern English dictionary appeared as early as the Anglo-Saxon period. While reading Latin manuscripts, people noted down in the margins the earlier Latin or English synonyms for some of the more difficult Latin words on the page, Later, for the sake of convenience these words and definitions were collected into lists called glossaries. What is the first real dictionary? It was not until the 17th century , when printing was well established, that the first real English dictionaries of importance appeared, for they defined English words in term of other English words. Different from our modern dictionaries, they dealt with only “hard words”. Thus we know that dictionaries should focus on those words which people unlikely to know. Modern English dictionaries The first complete dictionary was Nathaniel Bailey’s A Universal Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, with the first edition appeared in 1721. It was about the etymology of English words. It was so influential that it served as a model for many to come. Rumor had it that it was on the basis of Bailey’s 1731 edition, that Samuel Johnson compiles his dictionary. Who was Samuel Johnson ? Samuel Johnson’s famous A Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755. Single-handed, except for the aid of six scribes, he produced a book of 2,300 pages in two volumes, containing about 40,000 entries. It was the most comprehensive dictionary, with extensive etymologies and with clear and complete definitions. Johnson’s