Current Lexicographical Tools In EFL: Monolingual Resources For ...

Review Article
Current lexicographical tools in EFL: monolingual resources
for the advanced learner
Alfonso Rizo-Rodr´ıguez Department of English, University of Ja ´en, Spain
1. Introduction
requires much attention and effort on the part of
the conscientious teacher (see Atkins, 1998; Cowie,
A rich variety of lexicographical descriptions is
1987, 1999; Dolezal and McCreary, 1999; Hartmann,
available in English, and there is no doubt that this
2001; Humbl´e, 2001; Ilson, 1985; Nesi, 2000; Rizo-
contributes to its status as a world language. The
Rodr´ıguez, 1993; Wright, 1998). A syllabus of
teaching and learning of English can draw not only on
dictionary-using skills should promote, among other
a deep-rooted tradition of varied grammatical studies
aptitudes, a reasonable degree of familiarisation with
but also on a large range of dictionaries. For the non-
essential lexicographical works as well as a capacity to
native observer conversant with the nature of this
choose the dictionary which best ﬁts the user’s level
language, its history, its development, its vocabulary
and linguistic needs (receptive and productive). There
and grammar, that huge stock of lexicographical
is thus an urgent need to raise awareness of current
resources is particularly useful.
lexicographical resources, since the user of English
In TEFL, emphasis is often placed on the ex-
will gain much from being thoroughly familiar with
ploitation of appropriate grammars and usage books,
them.
while dictionaries may receive less attention. This is
The present paper aims to provide an up-to-date,
all the more surprising given the problems that
comprehensive overview of current advanced-level
English vocabulary poses for non-native users in areas
English dictionaries for undergraduate and graduate
like false friends, subtle nuances of meaning, verb-
students of English, as well as EFL/ESL teachers,
particle combinations, or lexical and grammatical
researchers, and language professionals. The selection
collocations. This state of affairs is often a conse-
and analysis of the dictionaries presented, comprising
quence of a lack of knowledge of the most adequate
both classic titles and more recent publications, is
dictionaries, of how to use them and of the beneﬁts
user-oriented: these lexicographical resources are
they can provide. At university level, for instance,
treated as reference tools at the disposal of the
the English lecturer often sees that students only
advanced user of English.
occasionally use a monolingual dictionary and that
Due to limitations of space and the vast scope
those who do so on a regular basis are usually aware
of the ﬁeld, no claim is made for exhaustiveness.
of one or two speciﬁc titles only. On the other
However, every effort has been made to offer a
hand, the bilingual dictionary is widely used, though
review which both reﬂects the state of the art in this
for certain reference needs this tool may not be
area of lexicography and pinpoints the idiosyncrasies
as suitable as the monolingual one (e.g. getting to
of each title and its adequacy for speciﬁc reference
know the frequency of common headwords and their
purposes.
collocational preferences, using a correct syntactic
In fact, in the ﬁeld of ‘dictionary research’
verb pattern, or choosing a term stylistically
(Hartmann, 1992: 151) there are numerous in-
appropriate for a given context). Again, knowledge
depth analyses of single dictionaries available. These
about special-purpose dictionaries or electronic
usually take the form of review articles: recent ones
works is usually very superﬁcial.
include those by Klotz (2003) and van der Meer and
The ﬁeld of dictionary instruction, then, closely
Sansome (2001), for example. But detailed analyses
related to the so-called dictionary-using skills,
of individual lexicographical works can also be found
in articles and books on pedagogical lexicography –
for instance, Cowie (1999), Herbst and Popp (1999),
Dr. Alfonso Rizo-Rodr´ıguez (Ph.D., University of
Heuberger (2000), Humbl´e (2001), Rundell (1998),
Granada) is senior lecturer in English linguistics at
Stark (1999) –, and also in other monographs: Berg
the University of Ja´en, Spain, where he was Head of
(1993) and Morton (1994). Two excellent sources of
the Department of English (1987–1995). His research
bibliographical information on a large variety of both
interests comprise English grammar and lexicographical
individual and contrastive reviews of dictionaries are
theory. His publications include a two-volume monograph
Dolezal and McCreary (1999) and Chan and Taylor
on verb complementation in English, Los verbos
(2001).
catenativos ingleses (Granada University Press), as well
Three different classes of dictionaries are reviewed
as numerous articles on diverse grammatical aspects, and
in this bibliographical survey – monolingual learners’,
on dictionary use and criticism.
general monolingual and special-purpose – and three
formats – printed, CD-ROM and online – are
Lang. Teach. 37, 29–46.
DOI: 10.1017/S0261444804002125
Printed in the United Kingdom
c 2004 Cambridge University Press
29

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
considered. Most of the works are descriptions
Representativeness results from sampling a broad
of British English, though some dictionaries of
range of text types, genres and registers, while balance
American English are also included. For reasons of
is a kind of internal proportion in the texts forming
space, the bilingual lexicography of English and the
a corpus.
major world languages is not discussed here.
Current dictionary-making can beneﬁt a lot from
corpus support, if both requirements are met. Thus
2. State-of-the-art: general overview
the lexicographer has access to millions of words
used in real contexts; moreover, the increasing
In their exemplary accounts of the current state of
size of ‘monitor corpora’ (continually updated)
the art in English pedagogical lexicography, Rundell
proves indispensable for certain lexicographical tasks
(1998) and Cowie (1999), themselves the authors of
requiring abundant evidence, such as the ordering of
well-known dictionaries, draw our attention to some
senses of words according to frequency, the selection
general features of the ﬁeld: enormous growth, as
of the core vocabulary, the indication of the frequency
shown in the publication of new titles every year;
of speciﬁc terms/structures, the identiﬁcation of
strong competition among publishers, fostered by
collocational patterns, etc.. Genuine texts (oral and
the increasing demand for teaching materials; and
written) constitute an excellent source of authentic
technological advances in the form of both computer
examples, and the large variety of current available
tools for the processing of linguistic information
databases (learner text, spoken/written databases,
and large size corpora or lexical databases held on
corpora of regional varieties of English, etc.) as well
computers.
as the diversity of genres and registers represented
Due to these factors, the user of English has
(e.g. literature, journalistic prose, radio broadcasts,
available a wealth of reference materials: new editions
interviews, casual conversation, scientiﬁc journals,
of traditional masterpieces, innovative dictionaries
World English) is a rich source of new and reliable
showing a variety of original elements, and newer
data. This data may inform us about the actual usage
formats – electronic and online. This in addition
of very common words in spoken English, about
to the well-known classic works. 2003 has been a
expressions typical of particular English-speaking
memorable year for English lexicography. Numerous
countries, about characteristic mistakes made by
new titles have appeared and bear witness to
learners, etc. (See Cowie, 1999: ch. 4; Landau, 2001:
growth on a large scale: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s
ch. 6; Ooi, 1998: ch. 3; Rundell, 1998).
Dictionary with CD-ROM, Longman Dictionary
Among the main corpora of English, each of them
of Contemporary English (4th edition) with CD-
employed in speciﬁc lexicographical projects, we ﬁnd
ROM, Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (16th
the following:
edition) with CD-ROM, Oxford Phrasebuilder Genie
CD-ROM Dictionary, CD-ROM Britannica 2003, and
— The Cambridge International Corpus: a 600 million
Roget’s Interactive Thesaurus, among others. Moreover,
word database of written and spoken English. It also
new titles, like the Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s
includes two subcorpora: CANCODE (5 million
English Dictionary (4th edition) with CD-ROM, are
word Cambridge and Nottingham Corpus of
announced for early 2004.
Discourse in English, a project of Cambridge
One of the major driving forces behind the
University Press and the University of Nottingham),
advances of English lexicography is precisely the use
and The Cambridge Learner Corpus (15 million
of large-scale corpora supplying the lexicographer
words of exam scripts written by learners of
with enormous amounts of linguistic evidence
English from all over the world), monitored by
which can eventually be used in the elaboration of
Cambridge University Press and Cambridge ESOL,
dictionaries. Interestingly, Cowie (1999: 1) notes that
the University of Cambridge Local Examinations
the rapid, ever-increasing development of corpora
Syndicate. It is the property of Cambridge
in the last few years – termed by Rundell (1998: 320)
University Press, which uses it for the elaboration
the ‘corpus revolution’ – has been brought about
of its dictionaries. uk.cambridge.org/elt/corpus/
by this growing market. In consequence, these huge
(6 May 2003).
collections of texts are currently at the disposal of the
— The Bank of English: 450 million word database
most important publishing houses.
of spoken and written English mainly British,
In computer corpus lexicography, ‘size is not
though 25% of the data are from American English
sufﬁcient, but it is necessary’ (Landau, 2001: 332).
sources and around 5% from other varieties like
Random, vast collections of texts may simply fail
Australian English. The spoken part is made up
to provide reliable data for the lexicographer. A
of some 20 million words. A joint project of
corpus, on the contrary, should be representative
the University of Birmingham and HarperCollins
and well-balanced. The validity and reliability of
Publishers, it is the source for a variety of materials
the linguistic evidence gathered depends on these
published by HarperCollins under the general
two cardinal features of corpora (Ooi, 1998: 53).
umbrella title ‘Collins Cobuild’ (dictionaries,
30

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Current lexicographical tools in EFL
grammars, English guides, vocabulary builders, etc.).
by the most demanding dictionary enthusiast only
titania.cobuild.collins.co.uk (6 May 2003).
a few years ago. Some recent references on electronic
— World English Corpus: 220 million word database of
dictionaries include Heuberger (2000), Nesi (1996,
spoken and written English, British, American and
1999), and Tsai (2002).
World English. The ratio of written and spoken texts
is 9:1. It consists of the Bloomsbury Corpus of World
3. Advanced-level printed dictionaries
English and other components – a corpus of learners’
text and another of ELT written and spoken
3.1 Monolingual learners’ dictionaries
materials – and is owned by Macmillan Publishers
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Eds. Kate
Ltd. www.macmillandictionary.com/aboutcorpus.
Woodford, Guy Jackson and Patrick Gillard.
htm (6 May 2003).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
— Longman Corpus Network: consisting of ﬁve corpora:
(xii + 1,550 + C38 pp.). (CD-ROM optionally
The Longman Learners’ Corpus (10 million words
attached). dictionary.cambridge.org (4 May 2003).
from essays and exam scripts written by students
Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced
of English of different nationalities), The Longman
Learners. Ed. John Sinclair. 3rd ed. Glasgow:
Written American Corpus (100 million words of
HarperCollins Publishers, 2001 (xlvii + 1,824 pp.).
American newspaper and book text), The Longman
(CD-ROM not attached, but available separately).
Spoken American Corpus (5 million words of spoken
titania.cobuild.collins.co.uk (6 May 2003).
American English), The Spoken British Corpus
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Ed.
(10 million words of spoken British English; part
Stephen Bullon. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Educa-
of the British National Corpus), and The Longman/
tion Limited, 2003. (xvii + 1,949 pp.). (CD-ROM
Lancaster Corpus (30 million words of written
optionally attached). www.longman.com/ldoce/
text from diverse sources). Owned by Longman
(13 June 2003).
Group. www.longman-elt.com/dictionaries/corpus/
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners.
lccont.html (6 May 2003).
Ed. Michael Rundell. Oxford: Macmillan, 2002.
— British National Corpus: 100 million word corpus of
(xiv + 1,692 + C16 + LA22 pp). (CD-ROM op-
modern British English, both spoken (10%) and
tionally attached). www.macmillandictionary.com
written (90%). This project was carried out and is
(6 May 2003).
managed by an industrial/academic consortium of
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current
public and private institutions: Oxford University
English. Albert Hornby. Ed. Sally Wehmeier.
Press, Longman Group UK Ltd, Chambers, Oxford
6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
University, Lancaster University and The British
(xii + 1,541 + A8 + B16 + C8
pp.).
(CD-ROM
Library. It is used in the compilation of dictionaries
optionally attached). www.oup.com/elt/global/
published by Oxford University Press, Pearson
catalogue/dictionaries (3 March 2003).
Education and Chambers. Single user and network
licences of the BNC can be purchased. It can also be
In the ﬁeld of English lexicography the term
accessed online. www.hcu.ox.ac.uk/BNC/ (6 May
‘monolingual learners’ dictionaries’ (MLDs) is taken
2003).
to refer to a work specially compiled for students of
— Collins Wordbanks Online: online fee-paying service
English as a second or foreign language. For a detailed
giving access to different corpora owned by
account of the origins, development and applications
HarperCollins: English (56 million words from the
of this type of dictionary, the reader is referred to
Bank of English), French (78 million words from La
Cowie (1999).
banque de franc¸ais moderne), Spanish (73 million words
Essential features of this type of learner-centred
from El banco de espa˜nol, Spanish and Latin-
or user-driven dictionary include: text clarity and
American varieties, both spoken and written). A
accessibility (often enhanced by colour printing),
fourth database is due to complete this collection
simplicity of use, restricted macrostructure (that is,
shortly: Die Deutsche Textb¨orse, a 100 million word
a limited number of entries, often selected according
corpus of current German. titania.cobuild.collins.
to their frequency), and very detailed microstructure
co.uk/wbinfo.asp
(19
March
2003).
www.
(or content of entries). This is shown in phonetic
collinswordbanks.com (19 March 2003).
transcription by means of the International Phonetic
Alphabet, clear sense divisions and deﬁnitions, use of
Apart from corpus support, the main innovation
simple grammar codes associated with each speciﬁc
of lexicography nowadays is, without doubt, the
meaning, abundant authentic examples, details about
emergence of new formats: dictionaries on CD-
collocations and idioms, and clear typographical
ROM, online, and portable electronic hand-held
resources for the indication of the various types
dictionaries. These electronic materials, though still
of information. The pedagogical orientation is also
at an early stage of development, provide the user
evident in the use of a controlled deﬁning vocabulary,
with a variety of novel applications undreamt of
plentiful notes about usage, grammar, cultural aspects,
31

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
style and varieties of English, information about
previous version. However, the pedagogical emphasis
the frequency of common words, inclusion of
has been achieved partly at the cost of simplifying
language study pages, varied appendices, and (colour)
and abridging the text of the preceding dictionary
illustrations.
and also of making it less informative and detailed.
Given all these characteristics, this kind of dic-
A number of signiﬁcant changes bear witness to this
tionary is particularly useful for encoding purposes,
fact: drastic reduction in the number of pages (over
but it can also serve receptive needs (Bogaards,
200), suppression of enlightening ‘language portraits’,
1996; Hartmann, 1992; Rundell, 1999; Scholﬁeld,
of sections on grammar and ‘false friends’, of the list
1999). The productive mode essentially involves
of controlled deﬁning vocabulary, and a considerable
writing and translation into English; both activities
shortening of the former comprehensive 64-page
require not only wide knowledge of English grammar
‘phrase index’.
but also the selection of ‘content’ words which
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
are grammatically correct, semantically adequate,
in its 4th (2003) edition, contains a number of
lexically idiomatic, and stylistically appropriate for a
innovative features: a detailed microstructure evident
particular context. The speciﬁc uses of ‘grammatical’
in its almost 2,000 pages (it is far longer than
words will also be of help for encoding needs. All
other works of this type); an abundance of examples
these types of information can best be obtained in an
and collocational information; the inclusion of new
MLD.
types of usage boxes on vocabulary building, on the
Equally, learners’ dictionaries can be an effective
collocations of very common words, on common
aid to reading and comprehending texts; their
learner’s errors, and on the use of certain expressions
deﬁnitions usually provide a remarkably accurate
in the spoken language. Further, we ﬁnd the
description of a word meaning, of its subtle nuances
addition of language notes, and plentiful synonyms
and connotations, as well as precise information
and antonyms; a totally updated macrostructure
about its register and usage. Illustrative examples may
incorporating most of the newly coined terms and
also facilitate and reinforce comprehension. An extra
meanings collected in the 64-page New Words
advantage is that continual contact with the English
Supplement which was included in the 2001
text of entries may help users increase their vocabu-
edition. As regards presentation, of particular use
lary. For these reasons, MLDs are highly recom-
are the full-colour printing of every headword
mended for advanced students and users of English.
(the 3,000 most common ones are highlighted in
The works mentioned above are currently the
red), idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs, ‘signposts’
most representative of this type. All of them
(semantic indications in capitals that help the user
are descriptions of British English, though they
to ﬁnd meanings), usage notes, frequency graphs,
also provide considerable coverage of American
appendices, language notes, drawings and pictures.
English and other regional varieties. Interestingly, the
Finally, other elements typical of former editions have
editorial team of the Macmillan English Dictionary for
been kept: word choice boxes, use of the 2,000-
Advanced Learners has created two editions from the
word Longman Deﬁning Vocabulary, extremely
same database, one for American English learners and
simple grammar codes, signposts, graphs showing the
another for learners of British English.
frequency of very common words in spoken and
Each of the dictionaries discussed here has its
written English, and information about the overall
own peculiarities, but, in essence, they all follow a
frequency in spoken and written English of the 3,000
pedagogical tradition originating in Albert Hornby
most recurrent words.
et al.’s seminal work A Learner’s Dictionary of Current
Another new title is the Macmillan English
English (1948).
Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002), by Michael
One of the most recent titles is the Cambridge
Rundell. Features of note in this clearly learner-
Advanced
Learner’s
Dictionary
(2003)
by
Kate
centred dictionary are its excellent use of typography;
Woodford, Guy Jackson and Patrick Gillard. It is
a very clear page and entry layout; copious usage
a fully updated, redesigned edition of Cambridge
notes on differences between British and American
International Dictionary of English (1995) by Paul
English, related words, grammatical aspects, common
Procter. In its current form, this new work owes
errors, and pragmatic issues; original notes on
much to its predecessor, since a considerable number
metaphor, sensitive language, academic writing, and
of its elements have been preserved: for example,
the origin of certain words; many collocational
‘guide words’ helping the user discriminate between
details (marked in bold type and also shown
the various senses of a word, description of each of the
in a box at the end of some entries); use of a star
meanings/uses of lexical units in a separate entry, or a
code and red colouring for the 7,500 most common
31-page ‘idiom ﬁnder’ –in the form of an appendix–
English words; red shaded boxes for sense menus,
which gathers together a large number of the idioms
usage notes and collocational information; extensive
included in the dictionary and indicates the page
coverage of present-day language, scientiﬁc and
where they can be looked up. This new design is more
computer-related terms, newly coined words, and
user-friendly and also more learner-centred than the
spoken language; and a central appendix entitled
32

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Current lexicographical tools in EFL
‘language awareness’ consisting of a collection of
those including cultural information have been
short insightful articles written by specialists on
suppressed.
selected language aspects. Finally, mention must be
made of the ‘dual-track approach’ (op. cit.: x) adopted
3.2 General monolingual dictionaries
to the treatment of vocabulary: the ‘productive’
(Native speaker dictionaries)
core of English (its 7,500 most common words) is
Collins
English
Dictionary.
Ed.
Diana
Treffry.
described in great detail, while less frequent words,
5th
ed.
(21st
century
edition).
Glasgow:
typically ‘receptive’, are treated more brieﬂy. This
HarperCollins, 2000. (xxxvii + 1,785 pp.). www.
enables compilers to expand the macrostructure in
collinseducation.com (19 March 2003). www.
order to include many entries on geography, culture,
collinsdictionaries.com (19 March 2003).
science, trademarks, proper names of famous public
Concise Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. Judy Pearsall.
ﬁgures, etc.
Rev. 10th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
The 3rd edition of the Collins Cobuild English
2002. (xx + 1,708 pp.).
Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2001) retains many
New Oxford Dictionary of English. Ed. Judy Pearsall.
of the characteristics of the 2nd, entitled Collins
Corrected 1st ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Cobuild English Dictionary (1995). Apart from a slight
2001. (xxi + 2,152 pp.).
increase in the number of references and examples,
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles.
the changes effected in the 3rd edition are not
Eds. William Trumble and Angus Stevenson. 5th
signiﬁcant: a slight reduction in the number of pages
ed. 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
thanks to slightly larger book size, the inclusion
(xxviii + ix + 3,751 pp.).
of a menu at the top of very long entries, more
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
speciﬁc pragmatic labels, new style and usage terms,
Language. Editors of The American Heritage
incorporation of recent uses of certain words and
Dictionaries. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifﬂin,
of new words connected with science, the Internet
2000. (2,076 pp.).
and related ﬁelds, an appendix of irregular verbs, and
The Chambers Dictionary. Ed. Ian Brookes. 9th ed.
some new typographical resources. In the meantime,
Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.,
typical features of the Collins Cobuild have been
2003. (xxix + 1,825 pp.). www.chambers.co.uk
preserved: strong corpus support, especially evident
(6 November 2003).
in the numerous example sentences (pieces of text
The
Compact
Oxford
English
Dictionary.
Eds.
from The Bank of English), the inclusion of an
John Simpson and Edmund Weiner. 2nd ed.
extra column providing grammatical details next
Full text reproduced micrographically. 1 vol.
to each use of a word, information by means of
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991. (xvi + 2,386 pp.).
‘frequency bands’ about approximately the 14,000
www.oed.com (6 June 2003).
most common words in spoken and written English,
The Oxford English Dictionary. Eds. John Simpson
and super headwords (long entries assigned to very
and
Edmund
Weiner.
2nd
ed.
20
vols.
common words having multiple uses). There are no
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. (21,728 pp.).
appendices and no illustrations.
www.oed.com (6 May 2003).
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the
English is now in its 6th edition (2000) and has
English Language, Unabridged. Ed. Philip Babcock
been considerably expanded. The number of pages
Gove. Rev. 3rd ed. Springﬁeld, Massachusetts:
surpasses that of the previous edition by over one
Merriam-Webster Inc., 2002. (120a + 2,663 pp.).
hundred; the number of references is also greater
www.m-w.com/netdict.htm (6 May 2003).
(80,000 versus 63,000 in the 5th edition). The
content of entries has been entirely revised and
This section presents a selection of the most
extended (many deﬁnitions have been rewritten, new
representative general monolingual dictionaries of
examples have been added, grammar codes have been
English. In the specialized metalexicographical
slightly modiﬁed); new usage notes have been
literature (cf., for example, B´ejoint, 2000; Hartmann
interspersed and appropriately classiﬁed into ﬁve
and James, 1998) they are usually referred to as ‘native
groups (‘Which word?’, ‘Vocabulary building’,
speaker dictionaries’ (NSDs) in order to distinguish
‘Grammar point’, ‘British/American’, and ‘More
them from those compiled for EFL/ESL learners
about’); there is more lexical information on colloca-
(cf. section 3.1 above).
tions, antonyms, synonyms and word families. More
Basically, this type of large-size work is a
morphological details (e.g. forms of verbs subject to
‘dictionary of record’ (Rundell, 1998: 337). It aims
morphological change) are given; there are more
to offer comprehensive coverage of words from the
semantic indications (frequently used short cuts
most diverse disciplines, varieties, and sources, as
show the general meaning or context of usage
documented both in former records of the language
of the different senses of many words); and new
and in current ones (most NSDs are corpus-based).
appendices (topic pages, colour illustrations, and
This is manifest in their huge macrostructure (often of
some new language study pages), though, regrettably,
an encyclopedic nature, i.e. technical, geographical,
33

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
biographical, etc.), particularly adequate for receptive
element is its minute print, an obvious obstacle
needs. Their entry format is not specially designed for
to reading. The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
learners, hence the unrestricted deﬁning vocabulary,
(1st edition 1933) is ‘an ofﬁcial abridgement of the
the reduced number of syntactic codes and illustrative
OED’ (Berg, 1993: 201) and offers one-third of the
examples, and the scarce lexical information about
coverage of the OED in one-tenth of its size (two
synonyms, collocates, and related words. On the
volumes). The entry layout of the 5th edition (2002)
contrary, special emphasis is laid on the inclusion
immediately attracts attention because of its great
of a huge stock of words (particularly, the most
clarity and accessibility: the rich variety of inform-
recent terms that have entered the language) and on
ation provided is extremely well presented by means
the description of their meanings, basic grammar,
of appropriate typography; particularly outstanding
spelling, etymology, and pronunciation.
are its illustrative quotations from authorities, made
Thus, with very few exceptions, general monolin-
prominent in tinted boxes. The Shorter deﬁnitely
gual dictionaries are not learner-centred. However,
proves more user-friendly than its parent, but it is at
advanced users of English, EFL teachers, and
the same time a historical dictionary explaining the
language professionals may ﬁnd them of great help,
development of the forms and meanings of words.
especially for decoding purposes and also for linguistic
Its updated macrostructure also includes many recent
research. Such users will learn much about the
terms and phrases.
specialized vocabulary of speciﬁc disciplines, foreign
The titles listed above (section 3.2) include a
words, rare terms, expressions typical of regional
second type of works that could be regarded as
varieties of English, ﬁgurative or special senses of
classic native-speaker dictionaries. For example, The
individual words, their variant forms, history, etc. It
Chambers Dictionary is a traditional reference – 1st
is evident that the restricted number of entries of
edition 1901, by Thomas Davidson. Subsequent
MLDs, whose macrostructure usually gathers only
editions have maintained its policy of offering a
the core vocabulary of English, cannot meet these
very comprehensive coverage of English in a single
requirements and is thus a serious drawback to certain
volume, while recording the latest words to enter
receptive needs.
the language and interspersing both unusual words
The titles presented above might be tentatively
and witty, idiosyncratic deﬁnitions. The 9th edition
grouped into three types according to their char-
(2003) is fully updated with around 10,000 new
acteristics. Let us begin with historical dictionaries,
words and meanings (both ‘Chambers Wordtrack’,
whose paradigm is The Oxford English Dictionary,
a programme that monitors new coinages, and the
‘the most complete historical record of the English
British National Corpus back this project). Outstanding
language ever assembled’ (Berg, 1993: vii). The OED
features of this dictionary include: the emphasis
gives a detailed account of the history of English
on the description not only of ‘the familiar
words, based on a careful selection of quotations from
language of our times’ but also of ‘the unfamiliar’
authoritative works from 1150 on. This dictionary is
(Preface, p. vii), hence the profusion of rare words,
usually regarded as an authoritative reference for the
technical terms, historical expressions, etc.; the cover-
description of English, as conﬁrmed by its 290,500
age of the language of classic authors; the inclusion of
entries, its treatment of 616,500 word forms, its
etymological information; three kinds of ‘subheads’
documentary evidence (2.5 million quotations from
nested within main entries –‘direct derivatives’,
a variety of sources), its coverage of regionalisms,
‘compounds’, and ‘phrases’– in order to show
and its account of the meanings of words and
‘family links’ and save space; and a large variety of
their semantic development, etymology, spelling
appendices. Regretfully, pronunciation (‘necessarily
variants, and pronunciation (using the International
approximate’, p. xxvii) is indicated by means of a
Phonetic Alphabet). A particularly striking feature
‘respelling system’, not by standard phonetic symbols.
of this magnum opus is the international ‘Reading
The Collins English Dictionary (1st edition 1979,
Programme’, established by founder James Murray
by Patrick Hanks), based on The Bank of English, is
in 1879, which has granted the editors of the OED
also clearly geared to receptive needs. Its 5th edition
full access to vast numbers of dictionary slips on
(2000) provides wide coverage of World English,
which collaborators from both America and Europe
and includes over 18,500 encyclopedic terms from
record quotations and uses of words. Nowadays the
the most diverse disciplines and topical subjects,
directed programme beneﬁts not only from the joint
many biographical and geographical entries, plentiful
contributions by voluntary readers and by paid ones,
newly coined expressions and compound nouns,
but also, as expected, from the constant search for
etymological information, pronunciation transcribed
linguistic evidence in machine-readable databases
in the International Phonetic Alphabet, usage notes
(Berg, 1993: 165).
about lexis, grammar and pragmatics, and some
Two works derive from The Oxford English Diction-
appendices. An original feature of its macrostructure
ary. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary reproduces
is the inclusion in certain entries of terms semantic-
the whole text of the OED micrographically in
ally, but not morphologically, related to a headword
one single volume whose most characteristic visual
(e.g. lapidary is shown next to gemstone). Its
34

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Current lexicographical tools in EFL
microstructure is quite similar to that in The Chambers
the collection of citations of the Oxford Reading
Dictionary: clear, detailed deﬁnitions are the most
Programme. An original feature of NODE is its
prominent element, and, in general, we ﬁnd not
approach to meaning: ‘core senses’ (representing
many example sentences, while grammatical inform-
‘typical, central uses of the word in question, as
ation is succinct.
established by research on and analysis of the British
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the
National Corpus’ (op. cit.: p. ix)) are presented ﬁrst,
English Language, Unabridged is the largest and most
followed by ‘subsenses’ logically related to the ‘core
comprehensive American dictionary of the English
sense’. This delicate exercise of semantic analysis
language. The current edition, according to its
cannot be properly assessed in this review (on the
Preface (p. 4a), is ‘the eighth in a series which has
‘atomization’ of meaning in lexicographical entries,
its beginning in Noah Webster’s American Dictionary
see Rundell, 1999: 40), but, from the user’s
of the English Language, 1828.’ Webster’s has always
perspective, it contributes to the accessibility of the
been a point of reference for dictionaries of English
text. Entries in the corrected 1st edition (2001) are
published in the United States with its treatment
extremely clear and accessible: the different types of
of over 450,000 words. Its targeted readership
information supplied are clearly separated (the labels
includes ‘the high school and college student, the
‘derivatives’, ‘origin’, and ‘phrases’, for example,
technician, and the periodical reader, as well as [. . . ]
explicitly introduce details about derived forms,
the scholar and professional.’ (Preface, p. 4a). It
etymology, and idiomatic phrases respectively), and
aims to cover ‘the current vocabulary of standard
typography is appropriately used. Various features
written and spoken English’ (Preface, p. 4a). Its
of this work are clearly learner-centred: abundant
deﬁnitions are original (i.e. not borrowed from any
usage notes, very precise syntactic information
other dictionary), the earliest meaning being given
closely associated with meanings, higher number of
ﬁrst. Entries often contain illustrative examples of
illustrative examples than in other native speaker dic-
words and uses by different authors, mainly from
tionaries (like The Chambers Dictionary or the Collins
the mid-twentieth century. It also includes 140,000
English Dictionary), and indication of verb and noun
etymologies, 3,000 illustrations and 14,000 new
inﬂections. In addition, NODE has features typical
lexical items in a Special Updated Addenda section
of NSDs: a wide macrostructure including 12,000
of new words and meanings. Its pioneer editor, Noah
encyclopedic entries, proper names, biographical
Webster, is also known for his work on spelling
entries, specialist terms, and additional encyclopedic
in The American Spelling Book (1783). McArthur
information in tinted boxes. It has no appendices. Its
(1992: 1102) notes that this title and his dictionary
treatment of pronunciation is arguably not adequate
‘greatly contributed to lessening US dependence on
for learners’ needs, since common, everyday words
British models of the standard language’. According
are not accompanied by phonetic transcription.
to a brief biography inserted in the dictionary,
The revised 10th edition of the Concise Oxford
Webster was always inspired in his work by a
English Dictionary (2002) is a description of current
total commitment to American culture, forms of
English clearly derived from the larger, more
life, language and education. Thus, his writings are
comprehensive NODE. Its macrostructure includes
motivated by his strong wish to defend the singularity
many new words from topical areas and subjects,
of American language and culture and promote its
while its microstructure proves more succinct than
understanding.
that in NODE. The Concise also includes etymologies
A work which draws on the Webster’s tradition is
and fewer and shorter usage notes; as explained above,
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Lan-
pronunciations are given only for specialist terms,
guage, a general dictionary for native speakers which
foreign or rare words, etc. Original features are its
provides a comprehensive treatment of the English
user-oriented appendices, in particular a ‘guide to
language, as well as biographical and geographical
good English’, and the inclusion of ‘word-formation
entries, colour photos, illustrations, maps, etymolo-
panels’ exemplifying the use of common afﬁxes (e.g.
gies, two appendices (one of Indo-European roots
-itis, -graphy).
and another of Semitic roots), 450 usage notes, 100
regional notes, and a special section entitled ‘Our
3.3 Special-purpose dictionaries and
Living Language’.
encyclopedic works
Finally, a third type of reference might be
distinguished in the titles listed in section 3.2: a
A Dictionary of False Friends. Robert Hill. London:
kind of hybrid work incorporating features of both
Macmillan, 1982. (viii + 319 pp.).
learners’ dictionaries and native speaker dictionaries.
A New Dictionary of Eponyms. Morton Freeman.
This is the case of the New Oxford Dictionary of English.
Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1997. (300 pp.).
NODE, which appeared in 1998, also follows the
Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary. Daniel
OED tradition, but is an innovative project aiming to
Jones. Eds. Peter Roach, James Hartman and Jane
describe current English. Its comprehensive coverage
Setter. 16th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University
is based on the British National Corpus and also on
Press, 2003. (632 pp.). (CD-ROM attached).
35

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. Peter
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Roget. Ed. George Davidson. 150th anniversary
(395 pp.).
ed. London: Penguin Books, 2002. (1,296 pp.).
Cambridge
International
Dictionary
of
Idioms.
The BBI Dictionary of English Word Combinations.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Morton Benson, Evelyn Benson and Robert Ilson.
(608 pp.).
2nd ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1997. (xl +
Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms. Ed. John Sinclair.
386 pp.).
London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002, 2nd ed.
The Hutchinson Dictionary of Difﬁcult Words. Ed.
(410 pp.).
John Ayto. Oxford: Helicon, 1998. (304 pp.).
Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Ed.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and
John Sinclair. London: HarperCollins Publishers,
Antonyms. Springﬁeld, Mass.: Merriam-Webster,
1996. (xx + 492 pp.).
1997. (448 pp.).
Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus. 2nd ed.
The New Oxford Thesaurus of English. Ed. Patrick
London:
HarperCollins
Publishers,
2000.
Hanks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
(1,408 pp.). www.collinseducation.com (19 March
(x + 1,087 pp.).
2003).
The Oxford-Duden Pictorial English Dictionary. 2nd ed.
Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 Print Set. 32 vols.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. (811 pp.).
London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Ltd., 2002.
The Penguin Dictionary of English Synonyms and
www.britannica.co.uk (17 May 2003).
Antonyms. Ed. Rosalind Fergusson. London:
Homophones and Homographs. James Hobbs. 3rd ed.
Penguin Books, 1992. (442 pp.).
Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc.
The Wordsworth Dictionary of Abbreviations and
1999. (404 pp.).
Acronyms. Rodney Dale and Steve Puttick. Herts:
Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture.
Wordsworth Editions, Ltd., 1998. (352 pp.).
Ed. Della Summers. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman,
1998. (xxiii + 1,568 pp.).
This group of lexicographical resources comprises
Longman Language Activator. Ed. Stephen Bullon. 2nd
a large variety of so-called ‘specialized’ or ‘special-
ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2002.
purpose dictionaries’ (Hartmann and James, 1998:
(1,530 pp.).
129). They complement the other works presented
Longman Lexicon of Contemporary English. Tom
in previous sections in this article, which could be
McArthur. Harlow: Longman, 1981. (xv +
generically described as ‘general dictionaries’.
910 pp.).
The above list of 30 titles, by no means exhaustive,
Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. John Wells. 2nd ed.
simply aims to provide the reader with details of
Harlow: Longman, 2000. (880 pp.).
specialized works which may prove to be of help for a
Longman Synonym Dictionary. Laurence Urdang.
number of reference needs not speciﬁcally addressed
London: Longman, 1986. (1,356 pp.).
by non-specialized dictionaries. As the regular user
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English,
knows, the coverage and treatment of vocabulary
Encyclopedic
Edition.
Ed.
Jonathan
Crowther.
in these latter is far more comprehensive, but also
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. (xxxviii +
less detailed and precise than in these special-purpose
1,081 pp.).
dictionaries. While the general dictionary is an all-
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English.
purpose tool intended to supply a full range of
Eds. Jonathan Crowther, Sheila Dignen and Diana
information, this type is more speciﬁc and thus can
Lea. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. (xiii +
afford greater depth in the description of special,
897 pp.).
restricted areas of language.
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. Eds.
In order to keep the list within reasonable limits,
Jonathan Crowther, Kathryn Kavanagh. Oxford:
two or three characteristic titles have been selected
Oxford University Press, 1999. (607 pp.).
for each of the following spheres. Some dictionaries
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Eds. Anthony
have been included on account of their special
Cowie, Ronald Mackin and Isabel McCaig.
contributions, although their latest (or only) editions
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993. (lxiii +
may have appeared some time ago. The domains
685 pp.).
selected are:
Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Eds. Anthony
Cowie and Ronald Mackin. Oxford: Oxford
(i) False friends
University Press, 1993. (xviii + 517 pp.).
(ii) Pronunciation
Oxford Learner’s Wordﬁnder Dictionary. Hugh Trappes-
(iii) Phrasal verbs
Lomax. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
(iv) Idioms
(xix + 519 pp.).
(v) Encyclopedic knowledge
Roget’s International Thesaurus. Eds. Barbara Kipfer
(vi) Synonyms, antonyms and other related words
and Robert Chapman. 6th ed. New York: Harper
(vii) Concepts, ideas, meanings
Resource, 2001. (xxv + 1,141 pp.).
(viii) Collocations
36

■
Current lexicographical tools in EFL
(ix) British and American culture and society
Three well-known books in this area are Longman
(x) Illustrations
Synonym Dictionary (including over 1 million words),
(xi) Abbreviations and acronyms
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and
(xii) Troublesome and curious words
Antonyms, and The Penguin Dictionary of English
Synonyms and Antonyms.
In the ﬁrst area, a classic general reference is A Dic-
This ﬁeld is closely linked to the next one: the
tionary of False Friends by Robert Hill, which covers
accurate expression of concepts, ideas and meanings.
15 different languages. Part 1 is a list of false friends,
There are outstanding works in English which classify
each of them followed by its false meaning and the
its lexical stock according to concepts. The pioneer
language(s) affected; part 2 – ‘English meanings’ –
lexicographer in this domain was Peter Roget,
explains how each of these words is used in English.
an English physician and librarian who compiled
(Only one of the monolingual learners’ dictionaries
a ground-breaking Thesaurus, ﬁrst published by
cited in section 3.1 above, Cambridge International
Longman in 1852. His formidable description is
Dictionary of English, deals with this area. CIDE
‘a verbal classiﬁcation’ (as Roget himself calls it in
contains diverse language-speciﬁc lists of English
the Preface to the 1st edition) of English words
false friends).
expressing speciﬁc meanings and ideas. There have
Within the second domain two standard works
been numerous revisions of this dictionary, the latest
on pronunciation are the 2nd edition of Longman
of which prepared by George Davidson and published
Pronunciation Dictionary by John Wells, and the 16th
in 2002, is the 150th anniversary edition: Roget’s
edition of Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary by
Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases. A recent
Daniel Jones, which incorporates a CD-ROM (see
edition published in the United States is Roget’s
section 4.3 below).
International Thesaurus by Barbara Kipfer and Robert
The third and fourth spheres (phrasal verbs
Chapman.
and
idioms)
receive
full
attention
from
the
Of
course,
this
type
of
organization
and
major publishing houses. Three titles published by
presentation of items is ‘onomasiological’, that is to
Cambridge University Press, HarperCollins, and
say, it proceeds ‘from concept to word’ (McArthur,
Oxford University Press have been included for each
1992: 727) and words are not deﬁned. The opposite,
of these phraseological areas (see above). General
(‘normal’) type of dictionary, which is ‘semasio-
dictionaries do not adopt a single, common approach
logical’, reverses the direction: it proceeds ‘from word
to the description of multi-word expressions (some
to concepts’ (op. cit.: 727), i.e. words are alphabetically
dictionaries put idioms under their ﬁrst lexical word,
arranged in entries and each of them is accompanied
others treat them under the second, etc.). A welcome
by a lexicographical deﬁnition. The onomasiological
innovation is introduced by the Cambridge Advanced
dictionary, prototypically represented by Roget’s
Learner’s Dictionary (2003), with its 31-page ‘idiom
Thesaurus, characteristically shows a thematic, non-
ﬁnder’ (see section 3.1).
alphabetical organization. Curiously enough, The
Users of English may sometimes need encyclo-
New Oxford Thesaurus of English, compiled by Patrick
pedic information. For this kind of reference needs,
Hanks, shows an A-Z alphabetical format.
they will have to resort to general monolingual
Another interesting variation on the classic type is
dictionaries (see section 3.2 above), to encyclopedias
the Collins English Dictionary and Thesaurus, a general
proper, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 Print Set,
monolingual dictionary and thesaurus, including
consisting of 32 volumes, also available on compact
corresponding dictionary and thesaurus entries on
disk (see section 4.3), or even to a special version
the same page. It also gives synonyms and antonyms.
of MLDs, known as ‘encyclopedic’: for example, the
Over the years, the inﬂuence of Roget’s Thesaurus
Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture
has been widely felt. A good example of a dictionary
by Della Summers, and the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
inspired by this tradition is the Longman Lexicon of
Dictionary of Current English, Encyclopedic Edition by
Contemporary English, composed by Tom McArthur.
Jonathan Crowther. Both are expanded versions of
Features of this book include: the organization of
their linguistically oriented counterparts (Longman
English vocabulary into fourteen semantic ﬁelds, an
Dictionary of Contemporary English and Oxford Advanced
A-Z index, the incorporation of synonyms, antonyms
Learner’s Dictionary of Current English) but they are
and other related words, a deﬁnition of every term,
encyclopedic in nature, as can be seen in the inclusion
and the inclusion of example sentences, style labels,
of specialized entries on geography, institutions,
and illustrations.
biography, etc., and a substantial increase in the
McArthur’s Lexicon, published in 1981, is thus
number of illustrations. A recent monograph on this
decidedly learner-oriented, and set the standards
type of monolingual dictionary is Stark (1999).
for subsequent reference tools of this class, like the
Paradigmatic lexical relations constitute a very
Longman Language Activator (2nd edition 2002) by
important subset of the vocabulary of English. A
Stephen Bullon, and the Oxford Learner’s Wordﬁnder
good command of synonyms, antonyms and other
Dictionary by Hugh Trappes-Lomax (1997). The
related words adds to the stylistic elegance of a text.
Activator (1st edition 1993, by Della Summers and
37

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
Michael Rundell) was designed as a ‘production
general, MLDs have a number of shortcomings and
dictionary’ intended to help the non-native advanced
limitations in this area, due to the absence of a
student choose precise, idiomatic words for the
consistent methodology: partial coverage (collocates
accurate expression of ideas and, unlike Roget’s
are given for some headwords, but not for others);
Thesaurus, it also explains how these words are used.
inconsistent printing (boldface is used sometimes,
Hence, its meaning-into-word approach reverses
but collocates may also appear in normal type when
the characteristic semasiological organisation of
they form part of the deﬁnition or of examples);
monolingual dictionaries: the Activator organises
insufﬁcient exempliﬁcation; indeterminate place-
vocabulary around nuclear concepts denoted by Key
ment (certain collocates appear in the entry of their
Words (e.g. modest). Unlike the Longman Lexicon,
head, while in other cases a head appears in the
this work does not include words naming concrete
entry of a collocate); scarce associations between each
objects of the real world. These core Key Words –
speciﬁc sense of a word and its collocates, etc.
866 in all versus 1,052 in the 1st edition – are
For these reasons, collocation dictionaries are
divided into more precise sections which include very
most useful and welcome. Two excellent titles are
speciﬁc words in order of frequency (e.g. modest, self-
The BBI Dictionary of English Word Combinations by
effacing, unassuming, humble). The Key Words are in
Morton Benson, Evelyn Benson and Robert Ilson –
alphabetical order, while the A-Z list of individual
1st edition 1986, 2nd edition 1997 – and the
words is presented as an index at the back. Each of the
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English
expressions listed under a Key Word is accompanied
by Jonathan Crowther, Sheila Dignen and Diana
by its pronunciation, deﬁnition, register indications,
Lea. This work, published in 2002, represents a
grammatical constructions, natural examples from the
signiﬁcant step forward in general dictionaries of
Longman Corpus Network, and typical collocations.
English collocations on various counts: its corpus
Because of its complex system of conceptually
support (it is based on the British National Corpus),
organized vocabulary and its wealth of lexical choices,
its excellent entry layout in which collocates are
effective use of the Activator requires considerable
grammatically organized, illustrated by means of
dictionary-using skills and a good command of
example sentences, and, most importantly, linked
English. If these conditions are met, this work can be
to speciﬁc senses of their headword, the inclusion
an excellent complement to monolingual learners’
of special sections (‘usage notes’ and ‘special pages’)
dictionaries for productive needs. The electronic
which group together words speciﬁc to one semantic
version of the Activator is included in the Longman
area followed by their collocates, and the addition
Dictionary of Contemporary English CD-ROM (2003) –
of ‘study pages’ with abundant collocation exercises.
see section 4.3. The Longman Essential Activator
A special electronic version of it has just come
(1997), compiled for intermediate students, is an
out: Oxford Phrasebuilder Genie CD-ROM Dictionary
offspring of the previous book. Its macrostructure
(see section 4.3 below). There also exist English
is shorter and key concepts and semantically related
dictionaries of collocations restricted to speciﬁc
words are organized in a simpler way.
lexical items: for example, adverbs (Kozlowska, 1991)
The Oxford Learner’s Wordﬁnder Dictionary is an
or intensiﬁers (P´erez-Fern´andez, 2003).
onomasiological lexicon which arranges English
Nowadays ELT specialists attach particular import-
vocabulary into 630 keywords denoting diverse
ance to cultural aspects as a necessary background
conceptual areas. In each of them the user may ﬁnd a
against which the language must be learnt, and
variety of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, expressions,
they almost unanimously advocate the inclusion of
etc.) related in meaning and use. It serves encoding
this component into the curriculum. A specialized
purposes mainly through the inclusion of appropriate
dictionary in this area is the Oxford Guide to British
examples.
and American Culture, available in book form and on
A central area in English lexicology is that of
CD-ROM.
collocations, more-or-less ﬁxed word combinations
A special type of encyclopedic work is the so-called
which must be learnt as building blocks or ‘prefabs’
‘pictorial’ dictionary. Certain kinds of conceptual
and cannot always be semantically explained. The
spheres involve an extensive terminology, often
English language teems with them but the treatment
unknown to the lay public; for example, nouns
of collocations in native speaker dictionaries is
denoting forms of jewels, fencing swords, or heraldry
insufﬁcient, and in learners’ dictionaries it is not
elements. General dictionaries sporadically rely on
exhaustive or systematic, though it has improved in
drawings or illustrations in order to explain terms of
the latest works. Admittedly, the Longman Dictionary
this kind which often resist deﬁnition, since semantic
of Contemporary English (4th edition 2003) and the
explanations in these cases frequently prove hard to
Macmillan English Dictionary (2002) are above average
understand due to the complexity of the concept
in this respect, in terms of both the quantity of
being described. Lexicographical practice has found
information provided and its internal organization
a satisfactory solution to this problem by resorting to
(both works, for example, include collocation boxes
illustrations. Thus, The Oxford-Duden Pictorial English
listing common ‘collocates’ of a ‘head’). But, in
Dictionary has been specially compiled to meet this
38

■
Current lexicographical tools in EFL
need. It organizes the vocabulary into subjects and
lighting it. An expression in a document can even
presents corresponding lists of words and illustrative
be replaced by text from a dictionary. Interfacing also
drawings. An alphabetical index to every lexical item
makes it possible to insert text from another appli-
permits easy reference to the relevant section of the
cation into the search box. Some dictionaries even
book.
provide a direct link which can be easily installed
The last two groups of special-purpose dictionaries
to the tool bar of a word processor.
are those dealing with abbreviations, acronyms and
c) Advanced search mode. A wide range of searches
troublesome and curious words. The following titles
can be made other than simply looking for a speciﬁc
have been selected in these areas: The Wordsworth
word: using ﬁlters in order to restrict the solutions to
Dictionary of Abbreviations and Acronyms contains over
certain parts of speech, to expressions typical of one
20,000 abbreviations and acronyms conveniently
regional variety of English, to one particular register,
organized by categories. The Hutchinson Dictionary of
to one speciﬁc syntactic structure (e.g. verb + ‘to’
Difﬁcult Words describes troublesome words which
inﬁnitive), to related words, etc.; carrying out
may cause difﬁculty because of their spelling,
thesaurus, wildcard and Boolean operator searches;
use, pronunciation, or semantic obscurity. A New
accessing all the entries that contain a search word,
Dictionary of Eponyms examines the origins of those
etc.
English words which are also the names of people
d) The result of a query can be cut and pasted to a word
who have become so closely associated with a product
processor, for example, or it can be printed.
or concept that their own names have been given
e) Any term employed in the deﬁnition of a word in
to them, e.g. sandwich, zeppelin. This dictionary
the dictionary or in one example sentence can be
also includes brief biographies of these people and
instantly looked up by clicking on it – ‘chaining’ or
explains how eponyms were created and became
‘hyperlinking’ (Nesi, 1999).
standard words. Finally, Homophones and Homographs
f ) With some dictionaries a personal note (including
is a special dictionary describing 7,781 American
comments, translations, etc.) can be added to a
homophones and 1,552 American homographs. It
dictionary entry and saved with it so that it may
is of special help in the area of spelling and usage.
be viewed later.
g) The recorded pronunciation of headwords can be
4. Advanced-level dictionaries on
heard and some dictionaries even permit the user to
CD-ROM
practise it and compare it with the correct one.
h) The results of previous searches can be looked up
In this section I discuss a large variety of lexico-
again by means of the ‘history’ function.
graphical resources on compact disk, most of which
i) Pedagogical extras such as games, illustrations,
have been released recently. This is a format affording
lexical and grammatical exercises, even videos, often
a range of new uses and applications which could
accompany the full text of the dictionary and
not be obtained from the traditional print book.
promote vocabulary acquisition. The dictionary thus
The list below has grouped these tools into the
becomes even a more active teaching/learning aid.
same categories that were considered in section 3:
monolingual learners’, general monolingual, and
Dictionaries on compact disk are clearly superior
special-purpose dictionaries.
to printed versions for certain kinds of uses
From a purely technical perspective this type of
and applications. However, they also have certain
electronic device needs certain minimum system
limitations precisely due to their being computer-
requirements, as is well known, but current computer
based. Thus, Nesi (1996: 541) notes that this tool,
capacity far surpasses these conditions in terms of
being computer-dependent and directly linked to
hard disk space, CD-ROM drive capabilities, RAM
other computer applications, can be ideally exploited
memory, microprocessor speed, sound card, speakers,
for writing purposes, rather than for decoding
monitor, microphones, etc. A particularly noticeable
tasks.
feature of a large number of dictionaries on compact
disk is that they can easily be installed on a personal
computer. Thus, they can be run directly from its
4.1 Monolingual learners’ dictionaries
hard disk without inserting the CD-ROM into the
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary CD-ROM.
drive, making for easier and quicker use.
Version 1.0. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Among the main assets of these tools, the following
Press, 2003.
are particularly noteworthy:
Cambridge International Dictionary of English on CD-
ROM. Version 1.03A. Cambridge: Cambridge
a) Extremely quick access and search facilities.
University Press, 2001.
b) Internal link to a word processor or other computer
Collins Cobuild on CD-ROM. Version 1.0. Glasgow:
applications –‘interfacing’ (Nesi, 1999). This feature
HarperCollins Publishers, 2001.
allows the user to look up an expression in a text
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English CD-
or on the Internet simply by clicking on it or high-
ROM. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 2003.
39

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
Longman Interactive English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Harlow:
different communicative situations (e.g. video 4:
Longman, 2000.
ordering a meal in a restaurant), maps, illustrations
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners.
and photographs. This dictionary can be updated on
Version
1.1.
Oxford:
Macmillan
Publishers
the Internet.
Limited, 2002.
The 6th edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
Oxford Advanced Genie. Oxford: Oxford University
Dictionary in book form contains a compact disk, the
Press, 2002.
Oxford Advanced Genie (2002), whose single objective
Oxford Advanced Learner’s CD-ROM Dictionary.
is to serve look-up needs. It pops up in the top right-
Version 3.1. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
hand corner of the screen as a small window. And
2000.
by pointing at a word in a document or on a Web
page, the user can instantly look up its corresponding
Of all the types of English dictionaries on CD-
entry in the dictionary. This CD-ROM contains
ROM, the foregoing titles show the widest range
only the entries of the printed work: there are no
of properties and functions outlined above, since
appendices, drawings, etc. The phonetic transcription
they have been conceived of specially for EFL/ESL
is not given; instead the recorded pronunciation can
learners. In fact, a common property of MLDs on
be heard by clicking on the appropriate symbol. Its
compact disk is that they contain the full text of
use proves very effective for decoding purposes, but
their paper counterparts, which constitutes a solid
its software is rather simple: it has only very basic
basis leading both to normal A-Z searches and also
menu options – back, forward, minimize, close and
to more advanced ones. But, in addition, these
print – and no edit function; so copying and pasting
works feature extras not provided by the printed
text to a document is not possible.
book: language practice, interactive pronunciation
The Oxford Advanced Learner’s CD-ROM Dictionary
exercises and videos, whole sets of drawings and
(version 3.1, 2000) includes the whole A-Z text
maps, photographs, and study sections, among others.
of the printed dictionary enriched with a large
All these qualities make them unique learning tools.
number of new example sentences, and important
Moreover, they are supported by extremely powerful
additions: an annotation facility, audio pronunciation
searching software.
and practice, three-dimensional search, 680 pictures,
As to presentation and availability, it is quite
video clips explaining difﬁcult verbs, colour maps
normal nowadays for the print dictionary to include
including audio pronunciation of place names, many
a CD-ROM, though publishing houses also market
proﬁciency-level vocabulary exercises, word games,
paperback and hardback editions without compact
as well as different extras also included in the book
disk at a lower price. These alternative presentations
version, such as topic pages, language study pages,
are made available, for example, by Cambridge
and appendices. Interestingly, all the pictures are
University Press – Cambridge Advanced Learner’s
interactive: they include ‘hot spots’ –when the cursor
Dictionary CD-ROM –, Oxford University Press –
is moved over these areas, it activates vocabulary
Oxford Advanced Genie –, Longman – Longman
denoting items in a picture; this vocabulary can be
Dictionary of Contemporary English CD-ROM –, or
instantly looked up by clicking on the hot spot.
Macmillan – Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced
Particularly original is the so-called three-dimension
Learners. However, other reference works on CD-
search, a kind of interactive vocabulary builder which
ROM included in the list above are sold only as a
shows the lexical connections between a search word
separate product: Collins Cobuild on CD-ROM (by
and related dictionary entries including that word.
HarperCollins), Longman Interactive English Dictionary
This is graphically depicted in a kind of web of words
(by Longman), and Oxford Advanced Learner’s CD-
spreading out from the central item. By double-
ROM Dictionary, version 3.1 (by Oxford University
clicking on one of the expressions forming a web,
Press).
further lexical items are displayed. At any time the
The Longman Interactive English Dictionary is
meaning of one word can be looked up by clicking on
probably the ﬁrst monolingual learners’ dictionary
it. The searching capabilities of this tool are excellent.
published on compact disk – 1st edition 1993. The
The software locates every occurrence of a word
second one (2000) has been fully updated. It contains
in the entire text of the dictionary: in headwords,
the full text of the third edition of the Longman
idioms,
phrasal
verbs,
collocates,
deﬁnitions,
Dictionary of Contemporary English, the interactive
examples and usage notes. Moreover, by means of
Longman English Grammar and the Longman Dictionary
the advanced option a search can be conﬁned to a
of Common Errors. Alongside normal headwords,
speciﬁc part of an entry (e.g. examples, deﬁnitions),
accompanied by spoken pronunciations, the user
or restricted through ﬁlters to a particular part of
will ﬁnd numerous cultural and encyclopedic entries
speech, register, regional variety, illustration or video
taken from the Longman Dictionary of English Language
clip. Finally, a particularly helpful utility is provided
and Culture, over 1,000 intermediate and advanced
by BOOKcase 3.1, software which lets users open
practice tests (of the type included in FCE, CAE and
the lookup window of the Oxford Guide to British
Proﬁciency exams), 8 real-life video clips featuring
and American Culture CD-ROM in order to consult a
40

■
Current lexicographical tools in EFL
term from OALD on CD-ROM. The Oxford Guide
headwords, in the derived words, in the compounds,
is equipped with the same software and thus the re-
in the idioms, in the deﬁnitions, in the examples
verse kind of search can also be conducted (see
and in the usage notes, and facilitates the exact
section 4.3).
number of matches that contain the search word.
The Collins Cobuild on CD-ROM (2001) is a
The results obtained constitute a lexical network
distinctly different sort of electronic reference (ﬁrst
and, needless to say, promote vocabulary expansion
version 1995). Version 1.0 incorporates various
in much the same way as a thesaurus or lexicon does.
books –Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced
Another remarkable contribution of this tool is its
Learners, 3rd ed. (2001), Collins Cobuild English
‘properties’ option whereby the user can display or
Usage (1992), Collins Cobuild English Grammar (1990),
hide various kinds of entry information: phonetics,
Collins Thesaurus (2001)– and also the 5-million-
UK/US sound icons, grammar codes, irregular
Wordbank from The Bank of English, a sample of
inﬂections and related words. The ‘related words’
both the written and spoken language of British
function is one of the most attractive features of CIDE
and American English (UK written: 3 million words;
on CD-ROM. It is a link present in many entries
UK spoken: 0.5 million; US written: 1 million;
which opens up a wealth of lexical information
US spoken: 0.5 million). A striking feature of this
about items related in meaning to a headword, based
electronic reference is its plain, rather old-fashioned
on a fairly comprehensive conceptual classiﬁcation
interface, exclusively equipped with a few essential
also available in one of the ﬁlter groups. In this
functions and menus. However, the software is fast
respect, this dictionary is a genuine pioneer with its
and easy to use, and the effective integration of these
impressive ﬁlter system, which allows a vast number
four reference books supplemented with a corpus
of reﬁned searches, both lexical and grammatical. It
partly compensates for these limitations. Thus, search
comprises six different groups: part of speech, label,
terms can be instantly looked up in the dictionary, in
grammar, category, frequency, and related words.
the grammar, in the usage guide, in the thesaurus and
The Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary on
in the corpus. This provides a particularly rich variety
CD-ROM (2003) is the electronic version of the
of perspectives on a lexical unit. The Collins Cobuild
Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. This CD-
on CD-ROM provides three search options: phonetic
ROM has a more modern interface than CIDE
(it searches for homophones), morphological (it
on CD-ROM but has many similar elements and
returns the base form corresponding to any inﬂected
functions: its full text search (with the same
form inserted as a search term), and full text
capabilities), its ‘smart thesaurus’ (equivalent to the
(it locates a word in headings, deﬁnitions and
‘related words’ link in the entries in CIDE on CD-
explanations, examples, sample lists, synonyms and
ROM,
and
based
on
the
same
conceptual
antonyms, and remarks). Other original features
classiﬁcation), its ﬁlter system (very similar to that
include: supplementary dictionary (allowing users to
in CIDE on CD-ROM and comprising category,
create their own entries), and audio pronunciation
part of speech, grammar, usage, region and topic),
of all the forms of a word (e.g. plural, simple past,
its ‘display’ option (formerly labelled ‘properties’
etc.). Some limitations have also been observed:
option), its exercise section (a revised and reduced
entries do not include the phonetic transcription,
version of that in CIDE), and its picture sets (updated
just the recorded British English pronunciation;
but also considerably reduced in number). The study
‘interfacing’ (internal linking with other computer
pages reproduce the text of those in the printed
applications) proves slightly cumbersome (looking
edition. Original components of this software include
up words from a document is not instantaneous
a ‘quickﬁnd’ function, intended for look-up purposes
but requires highlighting and copying them into the
exclusively, which enables quick access to the entries
clipboard); a whole entry can be copied to a word
in a small window, and ‘superwrite’, a small pop-up
processor, but not a single section of it.
window designed as an aid to writing which shows
The Cambridge International Dictionary of English on
the uses of words. One of the main innovations of
CD-ROM, version 1.03A, issued in 2001, is based
this electronic dictionary is the inclusion in certain
on the Cambridge International Dictionary of English
entries of ‘buttons’ or links to extra information:
(1995) but it was independently designed. CIDE on
verb endings, collocations, word building, ‘smart
CD-ROM shows very similar attributes to those of
thesaurus’,
common
learner
error
and
usage
the Oxford Advanced Learner’s CD-ROM Dictionary,
notes.
apart from the normal A-Z text: annotation facility,
The Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced
audio pronunciation and practice, 38 study sections,
Learners (2002) is a highly original tool based on its
122 sets of drawings incorporating the ‘hot spots’
printed counterpart. Its interface exhibits a modern
facility mentioned above, and a great variety of
design and has two display modes: ‘quicksearch’,
advanced-level exercises on pictures and on some
identical to the ‘quickﬁnd’ function in the Cambridge
of the study sections. The full text search is even
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary on CD-ROM, and full
more powerful than its counterpart in OALD: it
display, including all the components and functions
returns all entries that contain a given word in the
of this electronic tool: word and text search (ﬁnds
41

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
a term in simple headwords, derived words, com-
original elements and functions are: full conjugation
pounds, phrasal verbs, phrases, collocations, deﬁn-
of every verb, 15,000 word origins and etymologies,
itions, examples and editorial notes), illustrations
tests on cultural aspects, dictation exercises, subject
(including ‘hot spots’), study pages (introduction to
search for diverse topics, word origin search, and
the dictionary, language awareness and atlas; all of
pronunciation search.
them, except atlas, included in the printed version),
wordlists (a pedagogical aid to learning and revising
4.2 General monolingual dictionaries
vocabulary), ﬂashcards (vocabulary tests), annota-
(Native speaker dictionaries)
tions, audio pronunciation and practice, spelling
Concise Oxford Dictionary (10th edition) on CD-ROM.
checker, sound search (ﬁnds words with the same
Version 1.1. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
pronunciation and searches for words by the way
2002.
they are pronounced), and ‘smart search’ (advanced
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus,
searching through an exhaustive ﬁlter system
Deluxe Audio Edition 2.5. Springﬁeld, Massachu-
comparable to that in the Cambridge International
setts: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2000.
Dictionary of English on CD-ROM). This electronic
Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM.
dictionary also allows instantaneous look-up from
Version 3.0. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
screen and automatic pronunciation replay of every
2002.
word pointed at. Interestingly, it also contains
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM.
recorded sound of onomatopoeic verbs (e.g. buzz,
Version 2.0. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
roar) as a deﬁnition aid, and also of musical instru-
2002.
ments in many of their entries. Finally, its guided
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
tour is an excellent explanatory addendum.
with CD-ROM. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifﬂin,
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
2000.
CD-ROM (2003) includes the full A-Z text of
The Oxford World English Dictionary Shelf on CD-
the 4th edition of the printed dictionary, a further
ROM. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
80,000 example sentences, the Longman Language
Webster’s
Third
New
International
Dictionary,
Activator (2nd edition), and also around 7,000
Unabridged, on CD-ROM. Version 2.5. Springﬁeld,
encyclopedic entries from the Longman Dictionary of
Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Incorporated,
English Language and Culture. It has highly up to date
2000.
software capabilities and a very modern, attractive
interface. The LDOCE CD-ROM shares most of the
Practically all these titles are electronic counterparts of
typical functions of the latest electronic dictionaries:
printed works (see section 3.2 above). As occurs with
recorded UK/US pronunciation, pronunciation
monolingual learners’ dictionaries, it is frequently the
practice, pop-up mode in the form of a small window
case that publishers of ‘native speaker dictionaries’
enabling instant look-up of a term, dictionary search
also bring out versions on compact disk of these
in the full text of entries, in headwords, in deﬁnitions
dictionaries, most often as a separate product.
and in examples, spelling checker, exercises on
The list given above includes several titles by
grammar and vocabulary, English language practice
Oxford University Press which derive in one way or
tests, pictures, recorded sound effects of a large variety
another from The Oxford English Dictionary: Concise
of onomatopoeic words and musical instruments,
Oxford Dictionary on CD-ROM, Shorter Oxford English
related words (named ‘word set’), and ﬁlter system
Dictionary on CD-ROM, and Oxford English Dictionary
with only three options: word frequency (an original
Second Edition on CD-ROM. This last work deserves
ﬁlter returning the most frequent 1,000, 2,000, or
particular attention. Its two disks include the full text
3,000 words in written and in spoken English), part
of the 20 volumes and of the 3 Additions Series of the
of speech, and style. But where this tool stands out
OED. Now in version 3.0., the OED on CD-ROM
is in the successful integration of entry content with
(2002) stands out not only in terms of its modern and
supplementary information on phraseology, examples
attractive interface, and the dimensions of its text, but
of usage and corpus support, and vocabulary
also thanks to its powerful, ﬂexible software, which
expansion. These three areas, captured in small
enables searches of main dictionary entries and of the
windows on the right side of the screen, and named
full text (to ﬁnd a word wherever it occurs in the
‘phrase bank’, ‘examples bank’, and ‘activate your
dictionary, to obtain words related to a particular
language’ respectively, prove most valuable. As
subject, to search for quotations from a speciﬁc
explained in greater detail in section 4.3, the
author, work, date, etc.). Searching can be conﬁned
phrase bank is full of collocational information. The
to particular areas (e.g. deﬁnitions, etymologies,
examples bank greatly enriches the description, since
examples, etc.), it can be carried out in order to look
it contains over 1 million sentences taken from the
for words occurring together (‘proximity search’),
Longman Corpus Network without previous editing.
for phrases, etc. Equally important is the advanced
The third extra is a direct link to the text of the
searching mode, which enables the user to employ
Longman Language Activator (see section 3.3). Other
Boolean operators, to search for pronunciations, for
42

■
Current lexicographical tools in EFL
words belonging to a particular part of speech, etc.
English Dictionary on CD-ROM, the Webster’s Third
Other facilities include: automatic look-up of a word
New International Dictionary does not include recorded
in a document or in the text of the dictionary
pronunciations.
by double-clicking it, saving and printing entries,
Finally, the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
viewing a map of a whole entry structure, showing
and Thesaurus integrates the potential of a general
or hiding the pronunciation, spellings, etymology
monolingual dictionary with that of a thesaurus. The
and supplementary information, displaying quotation
Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition, 2000) incorporates
dates by means of a chronological chart, bookmarking
the 13 search types of Webster’s on CD-ROM, and
an entry for subsequent consultation, and tutorial
also audio pronunciations. The Thesaurus supplies
searches (explanations on diverse searching modes).
a semantic explanation on the meaning of the
The dictionary can be installed on the hard disk.
synonyms, a part-of-speech label, and a list of
A particularly attractive product is The Oxford
synonyms, antonyms, related words, contrasted
World English Dictionary Shelf on CD-ROM, a
words, and idiomatic equivalents.
suite of four different dictionaries reﬂecting some
signiﬁcant regional varieties of English: The New
4.3 Special-purpose dictionaries and
Oxford Dictionary of English (1998), The New Oxford
encyclopedic works
American Dictionary (2001), The Canadian Oxford
Dictionary (1998), and The Australian Oxford Dictionary
Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary CD-ROM.
(2000).
Daniel Jones. Eds. Peter Roach, James Hartman
The Webster’s Third New International Dictionary,
and Jane Setter. 16th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge
Unabridged, on CD-ROM (2000) reproduces the text
University Press, 2003.
of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of
CD-ROM Britannica 2003 Ultimate Reference Suite.
the English Language, Unabridged electronically. Its
4 CD-ROM set. London: Encyclopaedia Britan-
interface looks slightly old-fashioned, if compared
nica, Ltd., 2003. www.britannica.co.uk (17 May
with more recent works; similarly, the typographical
2003).
resources of the text in the entry display area
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus,
(where the content of an entry can be read)
Deluxe Audio Edition 2.5. Springﬁeld, Massachu-
are rather meagre. Fortunately, that does not at
setts: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2000.
all affect the enormous searching power of the
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture CD-
software, which proves highly effective at all times.
ROM. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Three search modes are available: basic, advanced
Oxford Phrasebuilder Genie CD-ROM Dictionary.
and browse. In the ﬁrst (the most common), a
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
total of 13 different search options can be chosen:
The Oxford Pop-up English Language Reference Shelf
main entry, crosswords, jumbles and cryptograms
on CD-ROM. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
(word game and puzzle-solving options), rhyme
2000.
and homophones (pronunciation options), function
Wordnet 1,6 CD-ROM. A Lexical Database for the
label (words belonging to a speciﬁc part of speech),
English Language. Christiane Fellbaum. Cambridge,
usage note (words characteristic of a particular type
Mass.: MIT Press, 1998. www.cogsci.princeton.
of register), etymology (all words coming from a
edu/∼wn/ (23 April 2003).
particular language), deﬁnitions (all the deﬁnitions
that contain a word), verbal illustrations (uses of a
These titles, which complement the other electronic
word in examples), synonym paragraphs (occurrence
tools presented in sections 4.1 and 4.2 above,
of a word in paragraphs explaining differences
may satisfactorily meet particular reference needs
between synonyms), and quotations (all entries
concerning aspects like pronunciation, encyclopedic
including quotes from one author or from one
knowledge, paradigmatic lexical relations, cultural
newspaper). By means of the advanced mode,
aspects, collocations, and quotations.
searches can be conducted using wildcards and
The Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary CD-
Boolean operators. Finally, the browse search utility
ROM gives recordings of each word as well as
scans the list of headwords and lets browsers gain
pronunciation exercises. It also enables users to record
access to all those beginning with a combination of
and check their own pronunciation.
letters (e.g. syner-) or ending with the same group
Encyclopedic information is provided by CD-
of letters (e.g. -ment). Other remarkable features of
ROM Britannica 2003 Ultimate Reference Suite. It
this tool are its spelling help (an aid to ﬁnd words
comprises: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica Student
whose spelling may be uncertain for the user), access
Encyclopedia,
Britannica
Elementary
Encyclopedia,
from word processors (by installing the appropriate
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus,
macros), bookmarking entries into various categories
World Atlas, Timelines, Knowledge Navigator, Research
(vocabulary, favourites and language research), and
Organizer. With this electronic reference the reader
going online, which provides links to various
can search more than 80,000 articles, hundreds of
linguistic resources on the Web. Like the Oxford
media presentations, and also navigate the Internet
43

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
(links to sites related to a given topic can be
ROM –, since its contents include the Longman
conveniently retrieved with a click of the mouse).
Language Activator (2nd edition), an onomasiological
Paradigmatic lexical relations (synonymy, hypo-
dictionary (see section 3.3). This CD-ROM also
nymy, antonymy, related words, etc.) are des-
supplies an enormous amount of collocational in-
cribed in Wordnet 1.6 CD-ROM. A Lexical Database
formation in its ‘phrase bank’ working in conjunction
for the English Language, a compact disk version of
with
its
‘examples
bank’.
Both
lexical
and
a lexical database which can also be accessed online
grammatical collocations are explicitly highlighted
(Fellbaum, 1998). Its features are described in sec-
and supported by illustrative examples, as well as
tion 5.3 below. Other titles including thesauri are the
phrases and compounds in which a headword occurs.
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus
According to the data provided in the printed version
(see section 4.2 above) and The Oxford Pop-up English
of this dictionary, this CD-ROM includes 150,000
Language Reference Shelf on CD-ROM, a suite of
collocates used with common headwords.
electronic dictionaries comprising The New Oxford
Dictionary of English, The New Oxford Thesaurus of
5. Advanced-level online dictionaries
English, The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, and The
Oxford World Encyclopedia.
This section contains a representative selection of
Aspects of culture are described in the Oxford
dictionaries which can be consulted on the Internet.
Guide to British and American Culture CD-ROM, an
These are mainly useful for decoding purposes when
electronic version of the printed book (see section 3.3
the user is browsing a web page or some other kind
above). It can be consulted by category (e.g. cultural
of text on the computer. In most cases the look-
notions/entities relating to arts, geography, history)
up operation simply requires highlighting a word or
and also alphabetically. The compact disk also
expression in a passage and clicking on the right icon
includes over 50 classic poems recorded by American
or button. They can thus provide exceptionally quick
and British speakers. This software enables users to
and easy help. Of course, online dictionaries can be
conduct full text searches for every occurrence of a
employed for encoding purposes as well. As in the
word (if necessary, by means of wildcards, Boolean
case of electronic dictionaries on CD-ROM, their
operators, and date and illustration ﬁlters), look up
main constraint is precisely that they are computer
the meaning of an expression from the Oxford Guide
dependent: a standard print dictionary may prove
to British and American Culture CD-ROM
in
easier to reach on some occasions, though sometimes
the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary CD-ROM
the user may not be able to consult it so quickly.
(directly linked to this software), hear the pronunci-
An original facility of some online dictionaries is
ation of a term or the recording of a piece of poetry,
that they can be added to a personal website created
record their own pronunciation or version of it and
by the user; thus browsers of that page will be able to
compare it with the original, and write annotations
search an online dictionary while visiting it. Similarly,
on single terms.
some of these electronic resources provide a direct
An excellent electronic resource on collocations
link in the form of a toolbar button which can be
is the Oxford Phrasebuilder Genie CD-ROM Dictionary
easily installed to a browser program (e.g. Netscape
(2003), a type of educational software which gives
Navigator or Internet Explorer), and thus the user
instant access to the Oxford Collocations Dictionary
need not worry about locating an online dictionary
for Students of English, and to the Oxford Advanced
on the web.
Learner’s Dictionary. By means of it, the user can
As in previous sections, the titles included here
see the collocates of a term in a browser or in a
have been classiﬁed into three groups: monolingual
document simply by pointing at the word, and also
learners’, general monolingual, and special-purpose
look up its meanings and uses. For ease of reference,
dictionaries.
as in the Oxford Collocations Dictionary, the collocates
of a word are conveniently organized in entries in
5.1 Monolingual learners’ dictionaries
two dimensions: the speciﬁc senses of the headword
Cambridge Dictionaries Online. dictionary.cambridge.
(or ‘base’ of the collocation) and the grammatical
org/default.asp?dict=a (28 April 2003).
structure of the collocation (e.g. noun + verb, ad-
This allows searches in various monolingual learners’
jective + noun, verb + adverb). Illustrative examples
dictionaries: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary,
have also been added. In addition, the compact
Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary and Cambridge Diction-
disk contains over 4,000 collocation exercises,
ary of American English.
extensive practice on synonyms, as well as the ‘study
pages’ and ‘special pages’ included in the Oxford
Longman Web Dictionary. www.longmanwebdict.com
Collocations Dictionary for Students of English (see
(15 May 2003).
section 3.3 above).
This enables the user to look up words in the Longman
Finally,
an
electronic
monolingual
learners’
Dictionary of Contemporary English and in the Longman
dictionary should be added to these references –
Advanced American English Dictionary. It also contains
the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English CD-
15,000 encyclopedic entries.
44

■
Current lexicographical tools in EFL
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. www.oup.com/
each quarter, and thus a comparison can be made
elt/global/products/oald/ (9 May 2003).
with entries from the 2nd edition.
Home site of this monolingual learners’ dictionary.
Ultralingua
English
Language
Dictionary.
www.
It provides various facilities: the user can consult any
ultralingua.net (23 April 2003).
word in it, discover new expressions that are entering
This incorporates three different facilities: standard
the English language, read recent news extracts,
search, reverse dictionary (useful for obtaining terms
look at the word of the month, and do crossword
by entering words that form part of their deﬁnition),
puzzles.
and phonetic dictionary (which lets users ﬁnd a word
by writing an approximate spelling or pronunciation).
5.2 General monolingual dictionaries
This dictionary is partially based on Wordnet.
(Native speaker dictionaries)
Universal Online Dictionary. www.foreignword.com/
Chambers Reference Online. www.chambersharrap.co.
Tools/dictsrch.htm (10 July 2003).
uk/chambers/chref/chref.py/main (16 May 2003).
This enables searches in 275 dictionaries on the
Site created by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.,
Internet, both monolingual and bilingual.
a British company based in Edinburgh, devoted
mainly to the production of dictionaries and reference
Wordreference.com. Michael Kellogg. Atlanta, Georgia,
books. The Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and
USA. wordreference.com (6 May 2003).
The Chambers Thesaurus can be accessed on this
This site gives access to the Collins English Dictionary
site.
(2000), which can also be installed for free to a hard
disk. Only words on a web page, not in a text written
Dictionary.com.
dictionary.reference.com
(2
May
with a word processor, can be consulted.
2003).
This is a search engine that enables both dictionary
Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus. www.wordsmyth.
and thesaurus searches by extracting information
net (10 April 2003).
from well-known general monolingual English
This tool is markedly learner-oriented. Apart from
dictionaries like the Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary
simple A-Z word searches, it allows other types of
or The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
advanced consultation: terms semantically related,
Language, and thesauri like Wordnet and Roget’s
synonyms and derived forms (a genuine thesaurus),
Interactive Thesaurus.
part-of-speech searches, words whose spelling may
be uncertain for the user, terms used in the text of
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. www.m-w.
deﬁnitions or in that of examples, etc.
com/ (27 April 2003).
Merrian-Webster
Unabridged.
www.m-w.com/
5.3 Special-purpose dictionaries and
(27 April 2003).
encyclopedic works
These resources are electronic versions of their
printed counterparts. The ﬁrst can be consulted
Cambridge Dictionaries Online. dictionary.cambridge.
for free, while the second requires a subscription.
org/default.asp?dict=a (28 April 2003).
Subscribers can access a reverse dictionary, a rhyming
This enables searches in the following special-purpose
dictionary and an atlas as well.
dictionaries: Cambridge International Dictionary of
Idioms and Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal
Newbury House Online Dictionary. Heinle and Heinle
Verbs.
Publishers. nhd.heinle.com (2 May 2003).
This contains over 40,000 entries and is based on the
Chambers Reference Online. www.chambersharrap.co.
Newbury House Dictionary of American English. Single
uk/chambers/chref/chref.py/main (16 May 2003).
entries can be consulted as well as all entries including
This site gives access to The Chambers Thesaurus. See
a speciﬁc term.
section 5.2 above.
One Look Dictionary Search. www.onelook.com
Dictionary.com.
dictionary.reference.com
(2 May
(2 May 2003).
2003).
This is an engine that searches a very large number
Enables searches in thesauri like Wordnet and Roget’s
of dictionary web sites. It provides free access to
Interactive Thesaurus. See section 5.2 above.
5,228,156 words in 910 dictionaries indexed.
Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
www.britannica.co.uk/
BT Click Buy.htm (17 May 2003).
Oxford English Dictionary Online. dictionary.oed.com/
Also known as Britannica Premium Service, this
entrance.dtl (6 May 2003)
subscription-based online facility offers unlimited
This dictionary is only accessible through a
access to the 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica and
subscription service. Subscribers have access not only
other smaller encyclopedias, video and audio clips,
to the 20-volume OED and the 3-volume Additions
magazines and journals.
Series constituting the 2nd edition, but also to results
of the revision programme started in 1993. A total
Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate
Thesaurus.
www.
of 1,000 new and revised entries are made available
m-w.com/ (27 April 2003).
45

Current lexicographical tools in EFL
■
Provides free access to the printed version of this
Hartmann, R. (2001). Teaching and researching lexicography.
dictionary.
Harlow: Longman.
Hartmann, R. & James, G. (1998). Dictionary of lexicography.
Roget’s Interactive Thesaurus. Ed. Barbara Kipfer. 1st
London: Routledge.
ed., version 1.0.0. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC,
Herbst, T. & Popp, K. (eds.) (1999). The perfect learners’
2003. thesaurus.reference.com (2 May 2003).
dictionary (?). T ¨ubingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag.
Heuberger, R. (2000). Monolingual dictionaries for foreign
The thesaurus contains over 17,000 entries. All
learners of English: a constructive evaluation of the state-of-the-
of them include a brief deﬁnition, part-of-speech
art reference works in book form and on CD-ROM. Wien:
information, synonyms, antonyms, and a description
Braum ¨uller.
of the general semantic area.
Hornby, A., Gatenby, E. & Wakeﬁeld, H. (1948). A learners
dictionary of current English. Oxford: Oxford University
Wordnet. A Lexical Database for the English Language.
Press.
George Miller, Princeton University. www.cogsci.
Humbl´e, P. (2001). Dictionaries and language learners. Frankfurt
princeton.edu/∼wn/ (6 May 2003).
am Main: Haag und Herchen.
Ilson, R. (ed.) (1985). Dictionaries, lexicography and language
This unique database organizes verbs, nouns,
learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
adjectives and adverbs into synonym sets and offers
Klotz, M. (2003). Review of Crowther, J., Dignen, S., &
a wealth of details about synonyms ordered by
Lea, D. (eds.). Oxford collocations dictionary for students
estimated frequency, coordinate terms, hyponyms,
of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
hypernyms, meronyms and holonyms. It is also
International Journal of Lexicography, 16, 1, 57–61.
available on CD-ROM and for anonymous FTP at
Kozlowska, C. (1991). English adverbial collocations. Warszawa:
Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
ftp.cogsci.princeton.edu. The latest version is 1.7.1.
Landau, S. (2001). Dictionaries. The art and craft of lexicography.
Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus. www.wordsmyth.
2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McArthur, T. (ed.) (1992). The Oxford companion to the
net (10 April 2003). See section 5.2 above.
English language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Meer, G. van der & Sansome, R. (2001). OALD6 in a
Acknowledgements
linguistic and a language teaching perspective. International
Journal of Lexicography, 14, 4, 283–306.
The author is deeply grateful to Dr. Neil McLaren,
Morton, H. (1994). The story of Webster’s third: Philip Gove’s
of the University of Granada, and Dr. Francisco
controversial dictionary and its critics. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Gonz´alvez-Garc´ıa, of the University of Almer´ıa,
Nesi, H. (1996). Review article: for future reference? Current
Spain, for their insightful comments and revision of
English learners’ dictionaries in electronic form. System, 24,
a previous version of this article.
4, 537–46.
Nesi, H. (1999). A user’s guide to electronic dictionaries for
language learners. International Journal of Lexicography, 12,
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