Browsing by Subject "microstructure"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    The microstructure of Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele
    (Stellenbosch University, 2009) Maphosa, Mandlenkosi; Nkomo, Dion
    This article analyses the microstructure of Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele. The analysis takes place on two levels: the level of availability of information and the level of accessibility of the available information to dictionary users. Data derived from two outreach exercises carried out to ascertain users' perspectives on the dictionary and their competence in using the dictionary is also scrutinised while the notion of user-friendliness and the general principles of dictionary-making form the framework within which the analysis is done.
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    Open Access
    Not mere lexicographic cosmetics: the compilation and structural features of Isichazamazwi SezoMculo
    (Stellenbosch University, 2009) Nkomo, Dion; Moyo, Nobuhle
    This 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.
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    Open Access
    The Tshivenda-English Thalusamaipfi/dictionary as a product of South African lexicographic processes
    (Stellenbosch University, 2010) Madiba, Mbulungeni; Nkomo, Dion
    The publication of a dictionary is regarded as the result of a lexicographic process. Three subtypes of a lexicographic process have been noted, namely the primary comprehensive, the secondary comprehensive and the dictionary specific lexicographic processes. In South Africa, the three lexicography processes correspond to the respective mandates of the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB), the National Lexicography Units (NLUs) and the editorial teams involved in the compilation of the specific dictionaries. This hierarchical arrangement of the lexicographic practice is supported by the government within the country's national multilingual policy which was lauded in linguistic and lexicographic circles as a triumph for cultural democracy. It is almost a decade since these planned lexicographic processes have been in place. It seems the right time to consider the products of these South African lexicographic processes which are envied by many foreign lexicographers, especially in Africa. Accordingly, the article evaluates these lexicographic processes with special reference to the Tshivend√a–English T√halusamaipfi/Dictionary. Specifically, it addresses the question: To what extent does this dictionary represent lexicographic development in the indigenous South African languages which were marginalised before the establishment of the NLUs? A few insights are drawn from modern lexicographic theories for the general improvement of future lexicographic practice in languages with limited lexicographic tools such as Venda.