Part of
Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching: Historical perspectivesEdited by Richard Smith and Tim Giesler
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 20] 2023
► pp. 59–80
Edited by Richard Smith and Tim Giesler
[AILA Applied Linguistics Series 20] 2023
► pp. 59–80
Chapter 4Innovation in monolingual English learner’s dictionaries
A historical perspective
80 years have passed since the publication of
A. S. Hornby et al.’s Idiomatic and syntactic English
dictionary (1942), which was reprinted a few years
later by Oxford University Press as A learner’s dictionary
of current English (1948). Hornby et al.’s publication
firmly established a new and distinct genre of dictionary that has
been at the forefront of lexicographic innovation during the past
decades. This paper examines the historical development of selected
key features of monolingual English learner’s dictionaries,
focussing on major innovations and their significance for the users.
It concentrates on areas such as defining vocabularies and
definitions, grammar and usage, example sentences and the use of
corpora, and also briefly touches upon electronic learner’s
dictionaries.
Article outline
- Introduction
- A brief history of monolingual English learner’s dictionaries
- Defining vocabularies and definitions
- Grammar and usage
- Example sentences and the use of corpora
- Frequency information
- Pictorial illustrations
- Microstructure
- Other innovations: Transcriptions, collocations, guides
- Electronic learner’s dictionaries
- Conclusion and outlook
-
Notes -
References -
Appendix
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