A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR REVIEWING DICTIONARIES
The reviewing of electronic and printed dictionaries is not an exercise in linguistics or in subject fields but an exercise in lexicography. It does not follow from this that dictionary reviews cannot or should not be based on a linguistic approach, but that the linguistic approach is only one of three approaches to dictionary reviewing. Similarly, the linguistic and factual competences of reviewers should not be relegated to an insignificant position in the review process. Moreover, reviewers should define the object of their reviews, the dictionary, in terms of significant lexicographic features in order to give priority to lexicography and dictionary functions, as this emphasises the fact that dictionaries are much more than mere vessels of linguistic categories, namely lexicographic tools that that have been developed to fulfil specific types of needs of specific types of users in specific types of situations in the real (extra-lexicographic) world.
I propose a basis for a framework that contains an outline of general theoretical and practical principles that underlie the true nature of dictionary reviews, and places the reviews in a lexicographic universe with the dictionary and lexicography at its centre. This seems to be in line with the modern understanding of lexicography as a separate academic discipline concerned with the compilation, design, evaluation and use of dictionaries.
Moreover, a set of generally applicable principles may lead the discourse community to accept dictionary reviews as an important part of the scholarly discourse. Finally, it may result in reviews that actually contribute to the development of lexicographic theories and dictionary compilation.
A FRESH LOOK AT ONLINE LEXICOGRAPHY
Online dictionaries are integrated parts of a world that is constantly changing its reality. The first online dictionaries were based on existing printed dictionaries and the second generation was based on specially developed databases. However, these dictionaries do not fully meet the needs for help and knowledge users have in specific situations. To meet these needs, it is necessary to re-assess the theoretical foundation of online lexicography and the electronic options available to produce targeted reference tools. Based on the work on the

multilingual Accounting Dictionaries, I propose that lexicographers should distinguish between the database and the dictionary: The database is not a dictionary, but a repository of structured data. Furthermore, modern online dictionaries do not contain data, but are search engines that search for structured data in databases, retrieve the relevant data, and present them to users in pre-arranged orders. The core of the set of online dictionaries is an English database with Danish and Spanish databases related to it through the definitions of terms, thereby creating both monolingual and bilingual dictionaries.
Users access the data in these databases through online dictionaries that allow them to make structured searches relating directly to the problems they need to solve. The search engines have been designed according to lexicographical functions, i.e. the type of help dictionaries can provide in certain types of situation. All dictionaries have both communicative and cognitive functions, but they mainly help users to solve problems in communicative situations such as understanding, producing and translating accounting texts. The monolingual dictionaries also help users acquire knowledge about accounting matters in general and specific cognitive user situations. This theoretical foundation allows lexicographers to design and develop dictionaries that search in structured datasets and then retrieve and present data types explicitly selected because they provide help in specific situations. Users who want to know how to use a specific term or phrase in a textproduction situation are presented with data that are different from the data presented to users who want to know what that particular term means in accounting texts. The theoretical foundation and practical implications of this type of dynamic online dictionaries allow lexicographers to design dictionaries that meet the needs of modern users for practical lexicographical tools.
DANISH LEXICOGRAPHY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO LSP DICTIONARIES
The history of specialised dictionaries in Denmark can be traced back several hundred years. In the 1500s, LSP dictionaries dealt with subjects such as religion and law, followed by dictionaries of subjects within the natural sciences. Then came a period when the focus was on dictionaries treating liberal and professional areas such as music, business and technical subjects. The number of LSP dictionaries increased at a slow but steady pace until

the early 1900s when the pace went up and from around 1970 the number of new LSP dictionaries increased significantly. This indicates that lexicography has been present in
Denmark for many years, but not until the last part of the 20 th
century did lexicographers start to seriously consider the principles and practices behind the compilation of dictionaries and treat lexicography as an academic discipline.
During the past two decades, the number of “large” publishing houses has decreased. Most of them have been bought by the major actors, who have a considerable share of the market.
However, the advances in information technology have lead to many small companies publishing LSP dictionaries available online even though publishing is not their core business. This also reflects the trend of making printed dictionaries available in electronic form either on CD-ROMs or on the Internet. The traditional publishers offer most of their
LSP dictionaries in electronic form on a subscription basis and new actors, such as IT companies have entered the scene, not as publishers in the strict sense but at providers of online dictionaries.
At present, theoretical LSP lexicography has a solid foundation in Denmark. This does not mean that all LSP dictionaries are prepared according to the latest theoretical principles, as many dictionaries are still influenced by the printed-dictionary tradition. However, new and interesting projects have seen the light of day. They try to take advantage of new technological advances that show novel ways of making knowledge available and try to satisfy potential user needs in new ways.