Monolingual learner's dictionary
Encyclopedia
A Monolingual learner's dictionary (or MLD) is a type of dictionary
designed to meet the reference needs of people learning a foreign language
. MLDs are based on the premise that language-learners should progress from a bilingual dictionary
to a monolingual one as they become more proficient in their target language
, but that general-purpose dictionaries (aimed at native speaker
s) are inappropriate for their needs. Dictionaries for learners include a great deal of information on grammar
, usage
, common errors, collocation
, and pragmatics
, which is largely missing from standard dictionaries because native speakers tend to know these aspects of language intuitively. And while the definition
s in standard dictionaries are often written in difficult language, those in a monolingual learner’s dictionary aim to be simple and accessible.
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have been produced for learners of several languages, including German, Spanish, Dutch, and Chinese. But most of the activity in this field is in the area of dictionaries for people learning English. The first English MLD, published in 1935, was the New Method English Dictionary by Michael West
and James Endicott, a small dictionary using a restricted defining vocabulary
of just 1490 words. Since the end of World War Two, the MLD has been a publishing phenomenon, with global sales running into tens of millions of copies, reflecting the boom in the English language teaching
industry.
Probably the best-known English monolingual dictionary for advanced learners
is the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
. now in its eighth edition. It was originally published in Japan in 1942 as The Idiomatic and Syntactic Dictionary of English, written by A. S. Hornby
and two collaborators. It was subsequently republished as A Learner's Dictionary of Current English in 1948, before acquiring its current name.
Other publishers gradually entered the market. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English was published in 1978, and its most striking feature was the use of a restricted defining vocabulary
, which is now a standard feature of learners' dictionaries. There are currently six major MLDs for advanced learners. In addition to the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, these are:
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have been the subject of a great deal of scholarly work , and the standard book on the subject is Cowie 1999.
Since the 1980s, the English MLD has, arguably, been the most innovative area in the field of lexicography, in terms of both the way dictionaries are written and the aspects of language which dictionaries describe. Notable advances include:
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have also been the subject of a great deal of research into how people use dictionaries, and are probably the most intensively-studied type of dictionary.
Dictionary
A dictionary is a collection of words in one or more specific languages, often listed alphabetically, with usage information, definitions, etymologies, phonetics, pronunciations, and other information; or a book of words in one language with their equivalents in another, also known as a lexicon...
designed to meet the reference needs of people learning a foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
. MLDs are based on the premise that language-learners should progress from a bilingual dictionary
Bilingual dictionary
A bilingual dictionary or translation dictionary is a specialized dictionary used to translate words or phrases from one language to another. Bilingual dictionaries can be unidirectional, meaning that they list the meanings of words of one language in another, or can be bidirectional, allowing...
to a monolingual one as they become more proficient in their target language
Target language
Target language may refer to:*Target language, in applied linguistics and language education, the language which a person is learning, also called second language*Target language, in translation, the language to which a source text is translated...
, but that general-purpose dictionaries (aimed at native speaker
Native Speaker
Native Speaker is Chang-Rae Lee’s first novel. In Native Speaker, he creates a man named Henry Park who tries to assimilate into American society and become a “native speaker.”-Plot summary:...
s) are inappropriate for their needs. Dictionaries for learners include a great deal of information on grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, usage
Word usage
Word usage is how a word, phrase, or concept is used in a language. Lexicographers gather samples of written or spoken instances where a word is used and analyze them to determine patterns of regional or social usage as well as meaning...
, common errors, collocation
Collocation
In corpus linguistics, collocation defines a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a phraseological collocation is the expression strong tea...
, and pragmatics
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, and linguistics. It studies how the...
, which is largely missing from standard dictionaries because native speakers tend to know these aspects of language intuitively. And while the definition
Definition
A definition is a passage that explains the meaning of a term , or a type of thing. The term to be defined is the definiendum. A term may have many different senses or meanings...
s in standard dictionaries are often written in difficult language, those in a monolingual learner’s dictionary aim to be simple and accessible.
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have been produced for learners of several languages, including German, Spanish, Dutch, and Chinese. But most of the activity in this field is in the area of dictionaries for people learning English. The first English MLD, published in 1935, was the New Method English Dictionary by Michael West
Michael West
Michael West may refer to:* Michael West, American Horror author* Michael D. West, American gerontologist and CEO of BioTime, Inc.* Michael Philip West , English teacher and researcher who served in India...
and James Endicott, a small dictionary using a restricted defining vocabulary
Defining vocabulary
A defining vocabulary is a list of words used by lexicographers to write dictionary definitions. The underlying principle goes back to Samuel Johnson's notion that words should be defined using 'terms less abstruse than that which is to be explained', and a defining vocabulary provides the...
of just 1490 words. Since the end of World War Two, the MLD has been a publishing phenomenon, with global sales running into tens of millions of copies, reflecting the boom in the English language teaching
English language learning and teaching
English as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
industry.
Probably the best-known English monolingual dictionary for advanced learners
Advanced Learner's Dictionary
The advanced learner's dictionary is the most common type of monolingual learner's dictionary, that is, a dictionary written for someone who is learning a foreign language and who has a proficiency level of B2 or above according to the Common European Framework...
is the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
The first Advanced learner's dictionary was the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, first published 60 years ago. It is the largest English language dictionary from Oxford University Press aimed at a non-native audience...
. now in its eighth edition. It was originally published in Japan in 1942 as The Idiomatic and Syntactic Dictionary of English, written by A. S. Hornby
A. S. Hornby
Albert Sidney ' Hornby, usually just A. S. Hornby, 1898–1978, was an English grammarian, lexicographer, and pioneer in the field of English language learning and teaching ....
and two collaborators. It was subsequently republished as A Learner's Dictionary of Current English in 1948, before acquiring its current name.
Other publishers gradually entered the market. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English was published in 1978, and its most striking feature was the use of a restricted defining vocabulary
Defining vocabulary
A defining vocabulary is a list of words used by lexicographers to write dictionary definitions. The underlying principle goes back to Samuel Johnson's notion that words should be defined using 'terms less abstruse than that which is to be explained', and a defining vocabulary provides the...
, which is now a standard feature of learners' dictionaries. There are currently six major MLDs for advanced learners. In addition to the Oxford and Longman dictionaries, these are:
- Collins CobuildCOBUILDCOBUILD, an acronym for Collins Birmingham University International Language Database, is a British research facility set up at the University of Birmingham in 1980 and funded by Collins publishers.The facility was led by Professor John Sinclair...
English Dictionary, first published in 1987 - CambridgeCambridge University PressCambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
International Dictionary of English, 1995 - Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, also known as MEDAL, was first published in 2002 by Macmillan Education. MEDAL is an advanced learner’s dictionary and shares most of the features of this type of dictionary: it provides definitions in simple language, using a controlled defining...
, 2002 - Merriam-WebsterMerriam-WebsterMerriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
Advanced Learner's English Dictionary, 2008
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have been the subject of a great deal of scholarly work , and the standard book on the subject is Cowie 1999.
Since the 1980s, the English MLD has, arguably, been the most innovative area in the field of lexicography, in terms of both the way dictionaries are written and the aspects of language which dictionaries describe. Notable advances include:
- the use of corporaText corpusIn linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
as a basis for language description, a radical innovation which was introduced by the COBUILDCOBUILDCOBUILD, an acronym for Collins Birmingham University International Language Database, is a British research facility set up at the University of Birmingham in 1980 and funded by Collins publishers.The facility was led by Professor John Sinclair...
project in the 1980s and is now standard practice in lexicography - the use of intelligent software for extracting information from corporaText corpusIn linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
and for automating the dictionary-making process - detailed information about collocationCollocationIn corpus linguistics, collocation defines a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a phraseological collocation is the expression strong tea...
, such as the ‘collocation boxes’ in the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, also known as MEDAL, was first published in 2002 by Macmillan Education. MEDAL is an advanced learner’s dictionary and shares most of the features of this type of dictionary: it provides definitions in simple language, using a controlled defining...
http://www.macmillandictionary.com, which give lists of high-frequency collocates, identified using ‘Word Sketch’ software - the use of digital media: MLDs were among the first dictionaries to appear on CD-ROM, with the Longman Interactive English Dictionary leading the way in 1993. More recently several MLDs have become available in free online versions, among them the Merriam-WebsterMerriam-WebsterMerriam–Webster, which was originally the G. & C. Merriam Company of Springfield, Massachusetts, is an American company that publishes reference books, especially dictionaries that are descendants of Noah Webster’s An American Dictionary of the English Language .Merriam-Webster Inc. has been a...
Advanced Learner's English Dictionaryhttp://www.learnersdictionary.com/ and the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced LearnersMacmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, also known as MEDAL, was first published in 2002 by Macmillan Education. MEDAL is an advanced learner’s dictionary and shares most of the features of this type of dictionary: it provides definitions in simple language, using a controlled defining...
http://www.macmillandictionary.com
Monolingual learner's dictionaries have also been the subject of a great deal of research into how people use dictionaries, and are probably the most intensively-studied type of dictionary.
The dictionaries themselves
- Cambridge Dictionaries Online
- Collins COBUILD Advanced Dictionary
- Longman Dictionary of Comtemporary English
- Macmillan English Dictionary
- Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
- Merriam-Webster Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Other
- Monolingual vs. bilingual dictionaries A discussion of dictionary types with regard to foreign language learners.
- Monolingual, bilingual and bilingualized dictionaries for learners A book-length study comparing the effectiveness of monolingual, bilingual and bilingualized dictionaries for learners of English