Browsing by Subject "LSP lexicography"
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- ItemOpen AccessAffirming a role for specialised dictionaries in indigenous African languages(Stellenbosch University, 2010) Nkomo, DionOne of the main problems facing speakers and language practitioners of indigenous African languages is the shortage of appropriate dictionaries for a variety of purposes. This lack results in users consulting any available but inappropriate dictionaries. Quite often, users are disappointed because a wrong dictionary does not normally provide the required assistance. Various functions, which the dictionary may serve, are sought in vain from inappropriate dictionaries and other terminological products. Consequently, the potential of lexicography in general and specialised lexicography in particular, remains unrealised owing to a variety of reasons. This article which mainly discusses the specialised dictionary, draws insights from Wiegand's (1984) general theory of lexicography and the theory of lexicographic functions (Bergenholtz and Tarp 1995, 2003; Tarp 2000, 2002, 2008) to affirm the role of specialised dictionaries in indigenous African languages and also to give insights into how such dictionaries may be produced.
- ItemOpen AccessNot mere lexicographic cosmetics: the compilation and structural features of Isichazamazwi SezoMculo(Stellenbosch University, 2009) Nkomo, Dion; Moyo, NobuhleThis article offers a brief overview of the compilation of the Ndebele music terms dictionary, Isichazamazwi SezoMculo (henceforth the ISM), paying particular attention to its struc-tural features. It emphasises that the reference needs of the users as well as their reference skills should be given a determining role in all lexicographic decisions leading to the publication of a dictionary. Dictionary structure should, therefore, be conceived and evaluated in terms of its data constituents and the accessibility of these data. Accordingly, this article demonstrates that the structure of the ISM is not a case of mere cosmetics but a lexicographic mode of communication between the dictionary compilers and users who are participants in a lexicographic communication process. In this way, the article highlights some of the challenges encountered during the com-pilation of the ISM and the strategies the compilers employed to facilitate the communication pro-cess between the lexicographers and the users regarding dictionary contents and the arrangement thereof. From such a perspective, this article may provide useful insights for LSP lexicography in African languages, prospects of which are based on the increased need for knowledge acquisition and dissemination as well as the multilingual nature of African societies.