1.1 The Concept of Dictionary
§ 2. At the beginning of our study we ought to clarify what we understand by âdictionary.â MarĂa Moliner defines this as âa book in which the words of a language or of a particular corpus are arranged alphabetically and explained or given their equivalence in another language.â80 A similar definition is given by F. LĂĄzaro Carreter: âa book that, by means of a general alphabetical ordering, contains and explains the meanings of all the words of a language or maps them out with the equivalents of one or several other languages.â81 The double possibility expressed in these definitionsâthe dictionary as an explanation of the meaning of words or as |15-P a repository of translational equivalentsâis alluded to by A. Schökel, author of the Diccionario BĂblico hebreo-español,82 a project parallel to ours except that it deals with the Hebrew language. Discussing the possible ways of organizing a bilingual dictionary of the Hebrew Bible, he marked out two:
- a) To define or describe the semantic content or the function of each term in a meta-language.
- b) To offer words or expressions in the target language that correspond to the various meanings and uses of each Hebrew term.
Additionally, as a third way he then adds, âThe author of a bilingual dictionary is prone to combine the two tactics in varying degrees.â83 In his dictionary, however, Schökel did not follow this third option. Rather than beginning by describing the meanings of words and lexemes, he places a series of Spanish words at the front of the entry next to the Hebrew term. For example, next to the lexeme bayit (âhouseâ) appear:
palacio, mansión, hogar, taller, sala, habitación, cårcel, prisión, burdel, castillo, establo, corral, harén, residencia, posada, albergue, mausoleo [palace, mansion, home, workshop, room, habitation, jail, prison, brothel, castle, stable, corral, harem, residence, inn, lodge, mausoleum].
None of these terms, however, represent the meaning of the Hebrew word. They are translational equivalents in diverse contexts. The meaning of bayit could be described as âa covered building that demarcates an open and accessible space constructed to be inhabited.â
§ 3. A more technical, albeit shorter, definition of âdictionaryâ is offered by A. J. Greimas, who in part inspired the methodology that we will present in the pages that follow. Greimas understood dictionary as the stock of lexemes |16-P (and eventually of paralexemes)84 of a natural language arranged in a conventional order (normally alphabetically), which, taken as âtitles,â have definitions or para-synonymous equivalents.85 A more complete definition is provided by J. Dubois:86
A dictionary is a cultural object that presents the lexicon of a language (or of several languages) in an alphabetical form, providing certain information for each term (pronunciation, etymology, grammatical category, definition, construction, examples of usage, synonyms, idioms). Such information is intended to allow the reader to translate from one language to another or to fill gaps that keep one from understanding the text in oneâs own language. The dictionary also tries to give a complete description of the means of expression and to expand the cultural knowledge of the reader.
§ 4. From these definitions of âdictionaryâ it can be easily deduced that we are concerned with a dictionary of terms or language (i. e., with the linguistic use of words), as opposed to an encyclopedic dictionary, which focuses on the concept, idea, or thing that a word represents. Yet, the border between these two kinds of dictionary is not clearly defined and it must be admitted that a dictionary of language is, to a certain degree, encyclopedic, and vice versa.87
The authors we have cited conceive of two ways of presenting definitions in their dictionaries: (1) words can be listed and their meaning(s) explained (which tends to be the case, in a more or less systematic manner, in monolingual dictionaries); and (2) words can be listed in one language followed by their translational equivalents in another language (which is common in bilingual dictionaries). We prefer to adopt the definitions provided by Moliner and LĂĄzaro Carreter (mentioned above) by changing the disjunctive âorâ to the copulative âand,â in which case âdictionaryâ would be defined as âa book that contains an alphabetically organized set of words of a language,88 explains their meaning(s), and, in the case of a |17-P bilingual dictionary, also presents their translational equivalents in another language.â89
§ 5. In DGENT we therefore adopt the third alternative proposed by Schökel. We combine the two tactics, in the first place giving the definition of the lexeme except when it refers to an obvious entity, in which case the definition is not necessary (e. g., âdog,â âcat,â âapple,â etc.). We view the lexicographerâs primary task to consist of explaining, viz. defining the meaning of words (which is not always an easy task). This will consist, above all, in describing the meaning of each lexeme abstractly (semiological level, langue) by means of a paraphrase that may be semantically equivalent to the lexeme.
Excursus: Definitions of Technical Terminology
Having spoken about âdictionaries,â it will be helpful to distinguish this term from others, such as âlexiconâ or âvocabulary,â which are frequently used without distinction. A lexicon is a book that contains the inventory of all the lexes (lexes = lexeme, paralexeme/set phrase) of a natural language from a certain time period.90 According to T. Lewandowski,91 lexicon differs from vocabulary, the latter being the exhaustive list of the words of a corpus. |18-P Lexicon can have other meanings. In contrast to dictionary, it can evoke two kinds of works:92 a book that serves as the list of terms employed by an author, by a scientific discipline, or by a technology, and, on the other hand, a compact bilingual dictionary that parallels the lexical elements of the two languages being compared. As can be seen, the term âlexiconâ has several meanings and is sometimes confused with âvocabulary.â Lexicon is therefore reserved in this volume for language (langue) and vocabulary for speech (parole). The units of langue are lexemes while the units of parole are words and their usage (âtheir usageâ designates each appearance of a certain word). Nevertheless, as a technical linguistic term, âlexiconâ does not imply a book but all items that form the language of a community, of a human activity, of a speaker, etc.
The term âlexicographyâ not only refers to how a dictionary is constructed but also to its method of linguistic analysis. âLexicographyâ is, moreover, |19-P as ambiguous as the term âlexicographer,â which can refer to a linguist who studies lexicography and to the editor of a dictionary. The science of lexicography and the practice of lexicography, however, are differentiated, as are also the linguist studying lexicography and the author who produces a dictionary. For its part, âlexicologyâ is defined as the scientific study of words.93
§ 6. One question remains to be answered, namely, why a bilingual dictionary ought to explain the meaning of words before suggesting their translational equivalents in the target language. Two reasons can be given. First, a word in a target language is not the meaning of a word in the original language, but is rather a translational equivalent, as is outlined below (cf. §§ 9, 21). Meaning and translational equivalence are different concepts. Second, before suggesting translational equivalents, the dictionary ought to explain the meaning of the words. Doing so will help avoid the confusion of having to select a translational equivalent from among a series of words, which, as the series continues, strays further and further from the meaning that headed the series. Confusion can be avoided when the dictionary is more extensive and specialized and when meanings are arrived at through morpho-syntactical and contextual criteria. When the definition of a lexeme is not provided, confusion is likely to arise.
§ 7. Let us look at some examples. For the lexeme Ύ᜷ΎÏÎŒÎč, the manual dictionary of J. M. PabĂłn94 lists the following translational equivalents:
âto giveâ (something, acc, or from something, gen; to someone, dat), âto offerâ (áœÎŒáœ”ÏÎżÏ
Ï âhostagesâ; ÎŽ. λáœčÎłÎżÎœ âto give accountâ [áŒÎ±Ï
Ïáż·] or âto let someone speakâ; ÎŽ. Ύ᜷ÎșηΜ âto pay the penaltyâ or âto give an accountâ; ÎŽ. áŒÎșÎżáœ”Îœ âto give or lend the earâ; ÎŽ. ÏᜱÏÎčÎœ âto grantâ or âto give free reignâ; ÎŽ. ÏÎčáœłÎ”ÎčÎœ âto give something to drinkâ); âto offer in sacrificeâ, âto sacrifice,â âto appease,â âto ascribe,â âto grant,â âto awardâ; âto concede,â âto admitâ (in a discussion); âto give permission for,â âto permitâ; âto hand overâ (ÎșÏ
Ï᜷Μ âto the dogsâ; áŒÏáœłÎ”ÏÏÎč âto the painsâ; ÏÎżáżÏ ΎΔÎčÎœÎżáżÏ αáœÏÎżáœșÏ ÎŽÎčÎŽáœčΜαÎč, âto expose themselves to the dangersâ); or âto entrustâ (in marriage, as a companion, etc.); âto pardonâ (ÎŽáœłÎżÎœÏαÎč ÎŽÎżáżŠÎœÎ±Îč ÏÏ᜷ÏÎč áŒÎœÎŽÏΔ âthey ask that the life of the men be spared, that they pardon themâ).
The words from this list are not in and of themselves meanings of Ύ᜷ΎÏÎŒÎč. Rather, they represent meanings that the verb acquires in specific contexts (the author of the dictionary is conscious of this, as is seen in the various parentheses). The verb Ύ᜷ΎÏÎŒÎč actually means âan act whereby a personal agent |20-P causes something he or she possesses to become the possession of a recipient, normally personalâ (cf. § 263).
§ 8. Let us provide another example. If one knows in advance that the Greek term ÎșÏÎ»áœ»Ï means âto cause (voluntarily or involuntarily) something not to happen,â then it can be translated as âto deprive,â âto avert,â âto impede,â âto prohibit,â âto hinder.â Depending on context, the term can be expressed by one of these translational equivalents. Although ÎșÏÎ»áœ»Ï can be translated in certain contexts as âto prohibit,â one should not assume that this is its meaning or that it can always be translated as such. A phrase like the one in Rom 1:13, âI want you to know, brothers, that I have planned to visit you many times, Îșα᜶ áŒÎșÏλ᜻ΞηΜ áŒÏÏÎč ÏοῊ ΎΔῊÏÎż,â cannot be translated as âI was prohibited,â but rather as âI was hindered until the present.â The generic meaning of Îș...