Lexicography

Catalog description

Lexicography is the making of dictionaries. Dictionaries take many forms and fulfill many functions. Dictionaries have evolved new formats; professional lexicographers share word gleaning with internet users. Dictionaries may be monolingual, di-, tri-, or multi-lingual, etymological or encyclopedic, synchronic or diachronic, prescriptive or descriptive, terminological or generic. Dictionary construction requires a number of skills which co-vary with the type of dictionary to be produced. This course provides an overview of dictionaries, their forms, formats and histories, while fostering a basic skill set for harvesting words and compiling lexicons. Dictionaries provide a cognitive map to communities of speakers, both past and present.