Browsing by Subject "outer texts"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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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 utilisation of outer texts in the practical lexicography of African languages
    (Stellenbosch University, 2010) Chabata, Emmanuel; Nkomo, Dion
    In this article, an analysis of the utilisation of outer texts in recently compiled dictionaries of African languages is presented. The analysis is undertaken in the context of an upsurge of the compilation of dictionaries in the African languages. It is undertaken with a view to do a qualitative evaluation of the many new dictionaries of African languages that have come on the market in recent years. The point of departure is that prior to the recent lexicographic developments, the then available dictionaries were compiled in the context of the limited role the African languages played. It has been found that most of those dictionaries are limited in scope, perspective and function and hence less effective now that the languages are being assigned a greater social role. The evaluation of outer texts in modern dictionaries is therefore a way of measuring the extent to which lexicographic practice in the African languages is applying theoretical developments to produce better dictionaries.