Lexicography : Journal of ASIALEX

Includes bibliographical references.

The variables for drawing up the profile of dictionary users -- From traditional to electronic lexicography: the dictionaries of Old English -- A critique of the Shona-Chinese bilingual dictionary as a reference material in teaching and learning of Shona/Chinese language.

[Article Title : The variables for drawing up the profile of dictionary users / Deny A. Kwary, p. 105-118] Abstract : Dictionary users should be the main considerations in creating dictionaries. A mistake in identifying the users can make a dictionary to be simply a display without much benefit. Nevertheless, only a small handful of references have discussed the variables to be considered in determining the dictionary user profiles. Consequently, a more concise and updated reference is needed to draw up a more thorough profile of dictionary users. This article starts with reviews of the references on how to determine the profiles of dictionary users, proposed by Bergenholtz and Tarp (Manual of specialised dictionaries, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1995), Atkins and Varantola (in: Atkins (ed) Lexicographica Series Maior 88: using dictionaries, Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen, 1998), Denisov (in: Hartmann (ed) Lexicography: critical concepts, Routledge, London, 2003), Tarp (Lexikos 14:222-252, 2004), Bergenholtz and Nielsen (Terminology 12(2):281-303, 2006) and, Tarp (Lexicography in the borderland between knowledge and non-knowledge: general lexicographical theory with particular focus on learner's lexicography, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 2008). A theory on market segmentation process from Kotler and Keller (Marketing management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 2006) is also discussed to widen the perspective on determining the variables for dictionary user profiles. This study has found fourteen variables which are relevant for drawing up the profile of dictionary users.;[Article Title : From traditional to electronic lexicography: the dictionaries of Old English / Darío Metola Rodríguez, p. 119-133] Abstract : The aim of this article is to review the standard dictionaries of Old English from the perspective of the evolution from traditional lexicography to electronic lexicography and to find the similarities and differences, together with their pros and cons. The ultimate purpose is to find which of these four dictionaries is more suitable for linguistic research in Old English for scholars in the field. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (Bosworth and Toller in Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1973), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon (Sweet in Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1976), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (Hall in University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1996) and The Dictionary of Old English in Electronic Form A-G (Healey et al. in Dictionary of Old English Project, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, Toronto, 2008) are examined with respect to headwords, alternative spellings and cross-references, vowel quantity and textual evidence.;[Article Title : A critique of the Shona-Chinese bilingual dictionary as a reference material in teaching and learning of Shona/Chinese language / Herbert Mushangwe and Muchinei Musona, p. 135-151] Abstract : The present paper analyses the Shona-Chinese bilingual dictionary in relation with the teaching of the Chinese language to native speakers of the Shona language or teaching of the Shona language-to-Chinese people in Zimbabwe. The main aim of this paper is to give a critical analysis that will help improve this dictionary or other future similar dictionaries. The data used in this article are based on the headwords in the dictionary as well as the experience of teaching Chinese over 1 year. The Shona-Chinese bilingual dictionary is a remarkable step towards developing local Chinese teaching materials in Zimbabwe. The data analysis showed that to increase the usefulness of this dictionary as a complementary teaching reference book, there are a number of areas that need to be perfected. Some of the critical aspects that require attention include: the meanings of headwords should be defined as they are used in the target language, and all important headwords in daily conversations should be included in the dictionary. It was recommended that a more thoroughly revised dictionary should be produced to provide high-quality teaching materials of this sort.