A defining vocabulary is a list of words used by lexicographers to write dictionary definitions. The underlying principle goes back to Samuel Johnson 's notion that words should be defined using 'terms less abstruse than that which is to be explained', and a defining vocabulary provides the lexicographer with a restricted list of high-frequency words which can be used for producing simple definitions of any word in the dictionary.
15-637: Defining vocabularies are especially common in English monolingual learner's dictionaries . The first such dictionary to use a defining vocabulary was the New Method English Dictionary by Michael West and James Endicott (published in 1935), a small dictionary written using a defining vocabulary of just 1,490 words. When the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English was first published in 1978, its most striking feature
30-775: A small dictionary using a restricted defining vocabulary of just 1490 words. Since the end of World War Two, global sales of the MLD have run into the tens of millions, reflecting the boom in the English language teaching industry. Probably the best-known English monolingual dictionary for advanced learners is the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary , now in its tenth edition. It was originally published in Japan in 1942 as The Idiomatic and Syntactic Dictionary of English , written by A. S. Hornby and two collaborators. It
45-421: Is available in four configurations: The dictionary is currently in its sixth edition. The premium website was revised in 2014 and 2015. It now offers over a million corpus examples (exceeding the paper version's), and includes sound files for every word, 88,000 example sentences, and various tools for study, teaching, examinations and grammar. The 9000 Most Important English Words to Learn have been highlighted via
60-487: Is designed to meet the reference needs of people learning a foreign language . MLDs are based on the premise that language-learners should progress from a bilingual dictionary to a monolingual one as they become more proficient in their target language , but that general-purpose dictionaries (aimed at native speakers ) are inappropriate for their needs. Dictionaries for learners include information on grammar , usage , common errors, collocation , and pragmatics , which
75-406: Is largely missing from standard dictionaries, because native speakers tend to know these aspects of language intuitively. And while the definitions in standard dictionaries are often written in difficult language, those in an MLD use a simple and accessible defining vocabulary . The first English MLD, published in 1935, was the New Method English Dictionary by Michael West and James Endicott,
90-517: The Open Dictionary of English , are explicitly designed as learner's dictionaries, and may even include built-in, adaptive tutoring. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English ( LDOCE ), first published by Longman in 1978, is an advanced learner's dictionary , providing definitions using a restricted vocabulary, helping non-native English speakers understand meanings easily. It
105-608: The Longman Communication 9000. The free online version was updated in 2008 and offers search (with spelling assistance), definitions, collocations , and many examples and illustrations. A key feature of the LDOCE is its utilization of the Longman Defining Vocabulary, a 2000-word controlled defining vocabulary used to write all of the definitions in the dictionary. This defining vocabulary
120-537: The Oxford and Longman dictionaries, these are: All of these dictionaries are available in hard copy and online. Since the 1980s, the English MLD has, arguably, been the most innovative area in the field of lexicography, in terms of both the way dictionaries are written and the aspects of language which dictionaries describe, in particular the use of software in combination with text corpora to: MLDs were among
135-469: The definitions are written in reasonably accessible language, which argues for some sort of defining vocabulary to be maintained in dictionaries aimed at language learners. Intermediate-level language learners are likely to have receptive familiarity with most words in a typical 2,000-word defining vocabulary. To accommodate beginning-level learners, the defining vocabulary can be divided into two or more layers, where words in one layer are explained using only
150-543: The first dictionaries to appear on CD-ROM, with the Longman Interactive English Dictionary leading the way in 1993. More recently the six MLDs listed above have become available in free online versions . MLDs have been the subject of research into how people use dictionaries, as well as the subject of scholarly work. A standard book on the subject is Cowie 1999. The Internet offers a range of online dictionary resources. Some, like
165-408: The list are sometimes used in non-central meanings. The more common view, however, is that the disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages, and there is some empirical research which supports this position. Almost all English learner's dictionaries have a defining vocabulary, and these range in size between 2000 and 3000 words, for example: It is possible that, in electronic dictionaries at least,
SECTION 10
#1732765236000180-488: The need for a controlled defining vocabulary will disappear. In some online dictionaries, such as the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners , every word in every definition is hyperlinked to its own entry, so that a user who is unsure of the meaning of a word in a definition can immediately see the definition for the word that is causing problems. However, this strategy works only if all
195-485: The simpler words from the previous layers. This strategy is used in the Learn These Words First multi-layer dictionary, where a 360-word beginning-level defining vocabulary is used to explain a 2,000-word intermediate-level defining vocabulary, which in turn is used to define the remaining words in the dictionary. Monolingual learner%27s dictionary A monolingual learner's dictionary ( MLD )
210-424: Was its use of a 2,000-word defining vocabulary based on Michael West's General Service List , and since then defining vocabularies have become a standard component of monolingual learner's dictionaries for English and for other languages. Using a defining vocabulary is not without its problems, and some scholars have argued that it can lead to definitions which are insufficiently precise or accurate, or that words in
225-453: Was subsequently republished as A Learner's Dictionary of Current English in 1948, before acquiring its current name. Other publishers gradually entered the market. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English was published in 1978, and its most striking feature was the use of a restricted defining vocabulary, which is now a standard feature of learners' dictionaries. There are currently six major MLDs for advanced learners. In addition to
#0