LING2023 Dictionaries and Dictionary-Making
Later Year Course
| Offered By | School of Language Studies |
|---|---|
| Academic Career | Undergraduate |
| Course Subject | Linguistics |
| Offered in | Second Semester, 2010 |
| Unit Value | 6 units |
| Course Description | Dictionaries are the most widely-used source of information about languages. This course introduces the craft of dictionary-making, and looks at questions about the nature of languages and their descriptions that arise when making a dictionary. The course will focus both on existing lexicographic materials (e.g. various kinds of dictionaries of major world languages) and on the task of making dictionaries of undescribed languages from scratch (particularly for languages of indigenous Australia and the Western Pacific). |
| Learning Outcomes |
On completing this course, students will have (a) a clear understanding of the central design issues in lexicography (b) an acquaintance with some relevant software for dictionary-making (c) skill in searching language corpora for relevant material (d) rigour in the formulation of dictionary definitions for English and other languages relevant to their interests (e) an understanding of how lexical entries relate to semantic and grammatical analysis, sociolinguistic variation, etymology and broader encyclopaedic knowledge (f) an understanding of the history and likely future developments in lexicography (g) an understanding of the role of dictionaries in translation and language teaching |
| Indicative Assessment |
(a) Problem/critique of selected existing lexicographic resources (definitions; organization) (15%) due at end of 4th week (b) a 2500 word essay due at end of Week 9 (35%) (c) Lexicographic project (group work available as an option) due at end of final week (50%)
|
| Workload |
2 hours lectures per week plus 4 1.5 hour tutorials |
| Areas of Interest | Linguistics and Applied Linguistics |
| Requisite Statement |
At least 4 semester-subjects or equivalent of linguistic study, including at least one semester of semantics. |
| Prescribed Texts | Atkins, Sue & Michael Rundell. 2008. The Oxford Guide to Practical Lexicography. Oxford: OUP. Other relevant readings will be posted online during the course |
| Preliminary Reading | Relevant readings will be posted online before the course |
| Indicative Reading List |
Frawley, Hill & Munro. 2002. Making dictionaries. Preserving indigenous languages of the Americas. U Chicago Press. Austin, Peter. Australian Aboriginal Lexicography. Evans, Nicholas. Main peculiarities of the vocabularies of Australian languages. Haimam, John, Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias; Hale, Ken, The Warlpiri Dictionary Project, Pawley, Andrew, Grammarian's lexicon; Lexicographer's lexicon; Wierzbicka, Anna Back to definitions; Landau, S. What is a dictionary |
| Technology Requirements | Materials will be made available online. It will simplify the running of the course if students can bring a laptop to the workshops. |
| Majors/Specialisations | Applied Linguistics and Linguistics |
| Academic Contact | Professor Nick Evans |
The information published on the Study at ANU 2010 website applies to the 2010 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2009 website.
