Polish English Polish Translations
www.hilaltranslations.com
MA University of Birmingham (UK), DPSI (Law) Chartered Institute of Linguists (UK)
A comparative review of two monolingual dictionaries of English Language
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is a comparative review of two dictionaries: Collins Cobuild
Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary (CALD) Fifth Edition published by Harper
Collins Publishers in January 2006 and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD)
Seventh Edition published by the Oxford University Press in February 2005.
The basic argument of the comparative review is that the monolingual dictionary for
learners should be most importantly useful to its readership by focusing on the
clarity of its purpose and easy reference. The content of the book should therefore
be adjusted to the learners needs and communicate in a concise and uncomplicated
manner all the information that its readership needs to know in order to understand
the core sense and sub-senses of a particular foreign word, assist with its usage and
offer information which a native speaker knows intuitively. The analysed dictionaries
deal with the matters differently.
Key Words:
reliability, precision, comprehensiveness, phraseology, vocabulary, grammar,
definitions, exemplification, relevance, transparency, meaning, usefulness,
collocations, colligations, meaning, idioms, pragmatics, style.
The full article has been published:
“A comparative review of two monolingual dictionaries of English Language – for English Language
Learners”, Translation Journal, ISSN 1536-7207, Volume 13, No. 4.