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International Journal of Lexicography Advance Access published online on May 19, 2008
International Journal of Lexicography, doi:10.1093/ijl/ecn015
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© 2008 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Exemplification Policy in English Learners’ Dictionaries

Hai Xu

Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (Guangzhou, 510420, P.R. China)

(xuhai1101{at}yahoo.com.cn)


  Abstract

Exemplification in learners’ dictionaries is affected by such variables as the word frequency, part-of-speech and markedness of vocabulary. This article statistically examines the practice of the ‘Big Five’ in allocation of examples to different types of words. The results indicate that high-frequency words are generally exemplified, that prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions and adjectives are usually illustrated with more examples than other parts-of-speech, and that words marked for a particular style or attitude are sometimes provided with an example to show their pragmatic aspects. After a critical evaluation of the practice of the ‘Big Five’, the article proposes that exemplification in learners’ dictionaries should vary according to the word's frequency of usage, the word's collocational and syntactic complexities, and the user's needs and look-up preference.


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