Building the monolingual entry

The process of compiling entries for a monolingual dictionary is discussed briefly below:

★Preliminaries: resources for entry-building

User profile
A user profile seeks to characterize the typical user of the dictionary, and the uses to which the
dictionary is likely to be put. It’s true that some dictionaries have such a wide range of potential
users and uses that it may be difficult to identify information specific enough to be useful. But
even in such cases, the exercise is still worthwhile. To build a user profile, we need to think
carefully about who our typical users will be, and what they will be using the dictionary for.

The Style Guide

The Style Guide is a set of instructions which provides detailed guidelines for handling every
aspect of the microstructure. These guidelines reflect general policy decisions made at the outset
of the project – and those decisions, in turn, reflect our understanding of the needs and
capabilities of the intended user. The Style Guide affects both content and presentation.

Template entries
The Style Guide incorporates the ‘rules’ for dealing with each individual entry component. But,
the lexicon includes some entire categories of word whose members have so much in common
with one another that it makes sense to follow a standard model when compiling entries for
them. These standard models are what we call ‘templates’, and a template is a kind of skeleton
entry which you flesh out with information from the database. Templates can be written for
many kinds of lexical set, and they have the dual benefit of:
- streamlining the entry-writing process
- ensuring that entries belonging to lexical sets are handled systematically, and that relevant
information isn’t randomly omitted.

★Distributing information: MWEs, run-ons, and senses:

Multiword expressions (MWEs)
Multiword expressions (MWEs) are expressions which are made up of at least 2 words and
which can be syntactically and/or semantically idiosyncratic in nature. Moreover, they act as a
single unit at some level of linguistic analysis. According to Sag et al. we could define MWEs
roughly as „idiosyncratic interpretations that cross word boundaries. Examples for MWEs
would be idioms as „’kick the bucket’, compound nouns as „telephone box“ and „post office“,
verb-particle constructions as „’look sth. Up’ or proper names as „’San Francisco’.

Run-ons
Run-ons (undefined derived forms, typically located at the end of a main entry) have long been
used in dictionaries as a device for achieving broader coverage at a low cost in terms of space. A
good Style Guide will set out criteria for admitting words as run-ons, and will indicate which
suffixes are allowable.
Dictionary senses
A single-word lemma can have various senses, which we call lexical units. Some lemmas exist in
multiword form, and these can also have more than one sense: for instance the phrasal verb set
off has several meanings, including (1) begin a journey, and (2) detonate (a bomb, etc.). Some
types of multiword lemma, such as compounds (ice cream) and phrasal verbs (set off), regularly
appear as headwords in dictionaries.

★Systems for handling grammar and labelling:

Grammar
A well-designed and well-populated database will include detailed grammatical information for
each LU of each lemma. In all kinds of monolingual dictionary, basic grammar is supplied in
the form of wordclass markers. For example -
reside verb [no obj., with adverbial of place] have one’s home in a
particular place . . .

Labels
When an indication of vocabulary type is given in a print dictionary, this is normally in the form
of a ‘linguistic label’. Dictionaries will offer in the front or back matter a list of the abbreviations
used in these labels. Here are two groups of words that you might be tempted to label ‘archaic’:
chainmail, jousting, woad, alchemist
helpmeet, verily, greensward

 Writing the entry

Definitions: introduction
Explaining what words mean is the central function of a monolingual dictionary. It is also, as
Johnson observed, one of the most contentious aspects of the lexicographer’s work.
The raw materials we will be working with are already logged in the database, and they include:
 a provisional division of the lemma into LUs, or potential ‘dictionary senses’
 a rough characterization of the meaning of each LU, or how it contributes to the overall
sense of any text it forms part of.
 one or more examples from the corpus, showing how the LU is typically used and the
kinds of context it usually appears in.
 information about the LU’s register, collocational behaviour, syntactic and
colligational preferences, pragmatic features, and so on, with each fact typically
supported by at least one example sentence.
All these resources will come into play as we embark on the challenging task of creating
definitions for a dictionary entry.

Definitions: content
The definer’s first decision is: what should I say about this word (or to be more precise, about
this lexical unit, or LU). From every possible observation that could be made about the ways in
which a given LU contributes to the meaning of its context, which will be of most value to the
user.

Definitions: form
Once we have a clear idea of our definition’s content – the information we want it to convey –
our next task is to decide on its form. The form of a definition is the language used for encoding
its content, and this includes grammatical structures as well as words. Regardless of the
adequacy and accuracy of their content, definitions can never be effective if they are
unintelligible to the intended user.

What makes a good definition?

Definitions succeed when they get two things right: content and form. The precise configuration
will be determined by the needs and skills of the users of the particular dictionary we are
working on, but if a definition doesn’t provide the information its users require, in a form they
can readily digest, it has failed. So for example, a definition consisting only of synonyms may be
easy to follow, but in most cases it won’t give an adequate account of content. On the other hand,
a definition that provides the necessary content in technically precise language is of no value if it
is unintelligible to the users it is aimed at.

Examples
Example sentences are a vital component of the kind of database. Their function in the database
is to support and illustrate every linguistic fact recorded there, and to provide editors at the
‘synthesis’ stage with the raw materials for constructing a dictionary entry. Database examples
will typically be complete sentences taken from the corpus. In the finished dictionary, however,
the examples have somewhat different functions, and these vary according to the type and level
of dictionary.

Completing the entry

Finally, we’ve reached the end of our dictionary entry. The various senses of the headword have
been teased out and have been ordered in the entry in a way that best meets our users’ needs. For
each LU, we have provided a definition which conveys the information the user will need in
order to grasp the concept, and does so with the minimum number of words and in language our
user can readily understand. As far as possible, our entry will also cater for those users who want
(or need) to use the word productively. This means describing – transparently, and without
resorting to codes that have to be learned – the syntactic and lexical environments in which the
word typically occurs. Once the whole thing has been checked for length , voilà – your entry is
complete.