Lexicography

Lexicography is concerned with dictionaries, both with the processes of compilation and with the study of the finished products. The latter is sometimes called “metalexicography” or “dictionary research.” The distinction is also drawn by referring to the compilation of dictionaries as “practical lexicography” and to the study of dictionaries as “theoretical lexicography.” The focus of this bibliography is on theoretical lexicography, but in many publications the distinction is not finely drawn. Dictionaries come in many shapes and sizes, in many forms and formats; and the study of them reflects that diversity. Academic lexicographers will often specialize and focus their research on some aspect of lexicography, which may be either a particular type of dictionary (e.g., dictionaries for learners, bilingual dictionaries, historical dictionaries, sign language dictionaries, slang dictionaries) or a particular facet of dictionary compilation (e.g., defining styles, usage notes, treatment of pronunciation). Lexicography has seen wide-ranging and radical changes in the last couple of decades, as it has been heavily influenced by the electronic revolution. Not only are most current dictionaries now available in a digital version, but many older dictionaries have also been digitized and made accessible via the Internet. Electronic lexicography, or e-lexicography, is a fast-moving area, as dictionary makers grapple with the potential opened up by digital formats. In this Google age, dictionaries have to find their place among a plethora of information resources on the Internet; consequently, considerable attention is being paid by academic lexicographers to the future of dictionaries. Lexicography, both practical and theoretical, has a long history, which predates the development of modern linguistics and has developed independently of it. Samuel Johnson’s “Plan of a Dictionary” (1747) is an example of an early contribution to theoretical lexicography, and Philip Gove, editor-in-chief of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary (1961) was the first dictionary editor to acknowledge explicitly the influence of modern linguistics on his lexicographical practice. This raises the question whether lexicography can be considered as a sub-discipline of linguistics. Some academic lexicographers do view lexicography as an applied linguistic practice; but some would argue that lexicography sits more comfortably within the broader remit of reference science, since it has much in common with other reference disciplines. The development of e-lexicography pushes lexicography further in this direction, as electronic dictionaries take their place among a plethora of reference resources on the Internet, all of which may be accessed by a single Google search.