Dictionary Use

HILARY NESI

Introduction

Dictionaries are tools which people use to access information about words. Their purpose
is to provide “user-adapted access to data” (Leroyer, 2009, p. 113), so they must contain
information that is relevant to users, and they must also have an access system to enable
that information to be retrieved. The choice of information to include in a dictionary reflects
the dictionary maker’s beliefs about dictionary users’ wants and needs, and the design of
the access system reflects the dictionary maker’s beliefs about the dictionary users’ pur-
poses, circumstances, and skills. These beliefs are not always made clear to users, however,
and studies of dictionary use often reveal tensions between users’ beliefs about the types
of dictionary they should use and the types of dictionary they actually prefer to use, as
well as ignorance regarding the range of dictionary types and the various features of
dictionary access systems.
“Users in general never need information in general” (Tarp, 2009, p. 46). The type of
information that a user needs will always depend on the type of user and the type of
situation in which the need occurs. Applied linguists should be aware of the different
types of dictionary user and dictionary using situations in order to inform their practice
as dictionary designers, dictionary reviewers, and teachers of dictionary skills.

Different Types of Users

Dictionary users vary in terms of their familiarity with the target language, their familiar-
ity with the specific registers of that language, their dictionary-using skills and experiences,
and their educational level and scientific and cultural knowledge.

Bilingual Dictionary Users

Users of dictionaries in their own mother tongue and users of dictionaries in a second or
foreign language have different needs. Most surveys of language learners’ dictionary use,
for example Atkins & Varantola (1998), Komuro & Yamada (2000), and Wingate (2002),
have found that learners prefer to use bilingual dictionaries. This is especially true of low
proficiency learners, because they are less likely to know second language (L2) word forms
and are less likely to be able to understand L2 entries. Some bilingual dictionaries provide
very detailed information, however, suitable for advanced learners or professional transla-
tors. Language teachers often encourage learners to use monolingual dictionaries because
they believe them to be of better quality and more conducive to language acquisition.
Bilingual dictionaries are sometimes thought to foster the false impression that there are
exact translation equivalents for all words in one’s native and target language and some
have been criticized for their failure to provide appropriate translations (e.g., by Laffling,
1991). User studies suggest that “bilingualized” dictionaries which provide an L2 definition
and a first language (L1) translation may be more effective than either monolingual and
bilingual dictionaries (Laufer & Kimmel, 1997), but such dictionaries do not yet exist in
all the major languages and are rarely found in electronic form.

The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, Edited by Carol A. Chapelle.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0317
2 dictionary use

Many electronic dictionaries offer the opportunity to search multiple monolingual, bilin-
gual, general, and specialized dictionary sources simultaneously. The bilingual components
in these compilation dictionaries often contain mistranslations, yet they are widely used
in many countries. The publishers of the Kingsoft PowerWord translation tool for English
and Chinese, for example, claim that it has over 20 million users. Highly reputable mono-
lingual dictionaries such as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary are included in some electronic dictionary compilations, particularly
those for handheld devices (pocket electronic dictionaries). Their inclusion helps to sell
the product, but there is evidence to suggest that users rarely consult them and tend to
rely on the bilingual sources instead (Nesi & Boonmoh, 2009).

Monolingual Dictionary Users

Large multivolume monolingual dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, the
Dictionnaire de l’Académie française for French, and the Diccionario de la Lengua Española de
la Real Academia Española for Spanish, contain a great deal of historical information for
language scholars, but are not really intended for general everyday use. Surveys have
found that nonspecialists tend to use L1 dictionaries to check the meanings, spellings,
or hyphenations of less common words ( Jackson, 1988; Ripfel, 1990), so smaller general-
purpose dictionaries which focus on current usage generally suit them better. The desk-
sized general purpose dictionary is commonly treated as a highly authoritative source of
language information, and even when such dictionaries aim to be descriptive rather than
prescriptive they are used to provide proof of the correctness of given forms and usage.
Such dictionaries are also consulted for evidence of a word’s existence in the language,
for example whilst playing word games (Quirk, 1973).
Compared to monolingual general-purpose dictionaries, monolingual dictionaries for
language learners provide more help with grammar, pronunciation, and usage, and use
simpler defining language. The compilers assume that language learners need more
information about how to use words correctly, so the dictionary space that might have
been used to define rare words is used to treat a smaller number of common words more
fully, including, for example, information about collocations, word frequency and register,
and more extensive illustrative examples. This difference between native speaker and
learner dictionaries was more marked in the past, because many of the innovative features
that were first introduced to help language learners, such as usage notes, corpus-based
examples, and writing guide sections, are gradually being included in mainstream L1
dictionaries, while the coverage of learners’ dictionaries tends to increase with each new
edition. Extended coverage is a common selling point for publishers of all types of dic-
tionaries and reviewers commonly treat this as a mark of quality, to the exclusion of other
considerations such as the purpose and design of the dictionary (Nielsen, 2009).
Some learners habitually use general-purpose monolingual dictionaries rather than
learners’ dictionaries (Nesi & Haill, 2002), either because of the greater coverage, or because
they are unaware of the differences between the two dictionary types. Publishers tend to
give little indication of the type of user their dictionaries are primarily intended for, because
they want to appeal to as wide a market as possible. This can give rise to confusion, and
online book-purchasing sites sometimes include customer reviews warning language
learners against buying certain L1 dictionaries because they do not contain sufficient lan-
guage support, for example regarding the pronunciation of common words.

Younger Dictionary Users

Further distinctions can be made between users of different ages. Compared to desk-sized
general-purpose dictionaries, dictionaries for children are smaller in size, with larger fonts
 dictionary use 3

and reduced coverage. Like learners’ dictionaries they tend to make use of illustrations
for words whose meanings can be visualized, but which require complex language to
define. In some dictionaries for young children pictures replace definitions entirely, and
these might appear to be equally suited to non-native speakers in the early stages of
learning a foreign language. In fact, however, dictionaries for native-speaker children often
illustrate the meaning of words that the children already know, at least partially. In this
case the pictures may be too imprecise to be useful to language learners who have never
encountered the words before.

Alternative Dictionary Designs

All kinds of dictionary users are sometimes faced with the problem that they know the
meaning but not the form of the word they want to find. Thesauruses are designed to help
users in this respect, by grouping words into searchable conceptual categories. Visual
dictionaries such as those in the Oxford-Duden Pictorial dictionary series are also organized
conceptually and are particularly useful as a means of explaining technical terms for objects
that can be visualized. Another approach to the same problem is provided by learners’
dictionaries, such as the Longman Language Activator, which help users with limited vocabu-
laries by listing as headwords only the basic words that they are most likely to know and
suggesting in the entries for these words alternative forms with more specific meanings.
Electronic dictionaries which enable searches for words within entries can perform a
similar function, by showing which words are defined using the basic words the user has
in mind.

Different Types of User Situation

According to Tarp (2009), dictionary users’ needs are always “punctual” in that they are
concerned with filling an immediate knowledge gap. In this they differ from other types
of learning material such as textbooks which provide information to be learnt as part of
the systematic study of a given topic. It might be argued that users sometimes approach
a dictionary in order to memorize words and their meanings, using it as a ‘learning dic-
tionary’ rather than as a “consultation dictionary” (Hausmann, 1977, p. 144). Tarp points
out, however, that when this happens dictionaries “lose their distinctive nature as refer-
ence works” (2008, p. 46).

Cognitive Situations
In “cognitive” situations (Tarp, 2008) the user simply wants to use a dictionary to gain
new knowledge. This situation can occur in many different social contexts, with any kind
of dictionary, although the search functions in electronic dictionaries seem to make it
particularly easy for users to browse dictionary information and store their findings for
later review. Many online dictionaries enable users to ‘jump’ from entry to entry by click-
ing on words in the definition, for example, and some also provide facilities for copying
entries and creating and annotating lists of words.

Communicative Situations
Communicative situations, on the other hand, occur when dictionary use is motivated by
problems with language reception (while reading or listening), or production (while writ-
ing or speaking). In these situations users want to find the information they need as quickly
as possible, with as little disruption as possible to the communicative activity.
4 dictionary use

Opinions are divided as to whether it is fair to allow dictionaries in foreign language

examinations. Some argue that dictionary access might encourage cheating, especially in
the case of electronic dictionaries which offer multiple additional information sources. The
student informants in studies by East (2008) had mixed feelings about the value of diction-
ary use in examinations. It made them feel more confident, but they also thought that it
took up valuable time. Whether using a dictionary can help candidates gain higher marks
probably depends on the nature of the examination and on the candidates’ dictionary-using
skills.
Several studies have found that users often misread dictionary information and end up
with a false or incomplete notion of word meaning and use. A variety of reasons have
been given for this, for example that they pick out familiar words from the definition
without referring adequately to the context (Miller & Gildea, 1985), or they have difficulty
selecting the correct subentry, because they choose the first in the list, or mistake the word
class of the search word (Nesi & Haill, 2002; Nesi & Boonmoh, 2009).

Dictionary Choice

The user’s choice of whether to use a large or small print dictionary, an online dictionary,
or a pocket electronic dictionary should be influenced by the purpose of the consultation
and the physical circumstances of dictionary use. An online dictionary may be the best
choice whilst word-processing an essay, for example, but the same user may prefer a print
dictionary when reading a novel for pleasure.
Traditionally monolingual dictionaries have been oriented toward receptive rather than
productive use, so the earliest learners’ dictionaries were very innovative in the way that
they provided pronunciation, grammar and usage information for writers and speakers.
L1 dictionaries are now beginning to include these features too (see above).
Print-dictionary consultation is too slow for conversational needs and only the smallest
are easily portable, so in the past dictionaries were not widely used to support speaking
and listening. Pocket electronic dictionaries are much more convenient in this respect and
studies report on their use by students when listening to teachers in the classroom, often
also noting the teachers’ disapproval of this kind of use (Stirling, 2005). Pocket electronic
dictionaries with audio functions can even help users take part in conversations, by pro-
nouncing difficult words.
Typically, dictionary skills are thought of as the skills needed to look up words and
interpret dictionary entries. However, there is a strong case for also teaching users about
the range of dictionaries on offer, and encouraging them to critically evaluate the advan-
tages and disadvantages of different dictionary choices.

SEE ALSO: Bilingual Lexicography; COBUILD Project; Lexicography Across Languages;

Monolingual Lexicography; Web-Based Lexical Resources; Webster and American
Lexicography

References

Atkins, B. T., & Varantola, K. (1998). Language learners using dictionaries: The final report on
the EURALEX/AILA research project on dictionary use. In B. T. Atkins & K. Varantola
(Eds.), Using dictionaries: Studies of dictionary use by language learners and translator (Lexicographica
Series Maior, 88, pp. 21–81). Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer.
East, M. (2008). Dictionary use in foreign language writing exams: Impact and implications. Amsterdam,
Netherlands: John Benjamins.
 dictionary use 5

Hausmann, F. J. (1977). Einführung in die Benutzung der neufranzösischen Wörterbücher. Tübingen,

Germany: Max Niemeyer.
Jackson, H. (1988). Words and their meaning. London, England: Longman.
Komuro, Y., & Yamada, S. (2000). Dictionary use for production among Japanese college students
of English. Kernerman Dictionary News, 8 (July). Retrieved May 25, 2011 from http://www.
kdictionaries.com/newsletter/kdn8-3.html.
Laffling, J. (1991). Towards high-precision machine translation, based on contrastive textology. Berlin,
Germany: Foris Publications.
Laufer, B., & Kimmel, M. (1997). Bilingualized dictionaries: How learners really use them. System,
25(3), 361–9.
Leroyer, P. (2009). Balancing the tools: The functional transformation of lexicographic tools
for tourists. In S. Nielsen & S. Tarp (Eds.), Lexicography in the 21st century (pp. 103–22).
Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Miller, G., & Gildea, P. (1985). How to misread a dictionary. AILA Bulletin, Final Issue, 13–26.
Nesi, H., & Boonmoh, A. (2009). A close look at the use of pocket electronic dictionaries for
receptive and productive purposes. In T. Fitzpatrick & A. Barfield (Eds.), Lexical processing
in second language learners (pp. 67–81). Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Nesi, H., & Haill, R. (2002). A study of dictionary use by international students at a British
university. International Journal of Lexicography, 15(4), 277–306.
Nielsen, S. (2009). Reviewing printed and electronic dictionaries: A theoretical and practical
framework. In S. Nielsen & S. Tarp (Eds.), Lexicography in the 21st century (pp. 23–42).
Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Quirk, R. (1973). The social impact of dictionaries in the UK. In R. I. McDavid & A. R. Duckert
(Eds.), Lexicography in English (pp. 76–88). New York, NY: New York Academy of Sciences.
Ripfel, M. (1990). Ergebnisse einer Befragung zur Benutzung ein- undd zweisprachiger
Wörterbücher. Lexicographica, 5, 178–201.
Stirling, J. (2005). The portable electronic dictionary—faithful friend or faceless foe? Modern
English Teacher, 14(3), 64–72.
Tarp, S. (2008). Lexicography in the borderland between knowledge and non-knowledge (Lexicographica
Series Maior, 134). Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer.
Tarp, S. (2009). Reflections on data access in lexicographic works. In S. Nielsen & S. Tarp (Eds.),
Lexicography in the 21st century (pp. 43–62). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.
Wingate, U. (2002). The effectiveness of different learner dictionaries: An investigation into the use of
dictionaries for reading comprehension by intermediate learners of German. Tübingen, Germany:
Max Niemeyer.

Suggested Readings

Dolezal, F. T., & McCreary, D. R. (1999). Pedagogical lexicography today: A critical bibliography on
learners’ dictionaries with special emphasis on language learners and dictionary users (Lexicographica
Series Maior, 96) Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer.
Fuertes-Olivera, P. A. (2010). Specialised dictionaries for learners (Lexicographica Series Maior, 136).
Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer.
Hartmann, R. R. K. (2001). Teaching and researching lexicography. London, England: Longman.
Herbst, T., & Popp, K. (1999). The perfect learners’ dictionary(?) (Lexicographica Series Maior, 95).
Tübingen, Germany: Max Niemeyer.
Nesi, H. (2003). The specification of dictionary reference skills in higher education. In R. R. K.
Hartmann (Ed.), Lexicography: Critical concepts (pp. 394–412). London, England: Routledge.
Welker, H. (2006). O uso de dicionários. Brasilia, Brazil: Thesaurus.