1、Illustrations in Bilingual Dictionary 双语词典中的插图,By Yang Weiying,Outline,. Introduction1）Single Illustration . Types of Illustration 2）Group Illustration3）Composite Illustration1) Clarifying definitions2) Conveying english culture3) Enlarging vocabulary . Functions of Illustration 4) Explaining gramma
2、r5) Broadening knowledge6) Decorating layout 1）Appropriateness . Criterion for Illustration 2）Adequateness3）User-friendliness . Conclusion,. Introduction,Definition: Al-Kasimi: Illustration refers to “those configurations of line, dot, or area and any combination of these three resembling摹写events or
3、 objects (persons, places, and /or things) either as perceived or as generally conceived“. Illustrations mainly fall into 2 kinds: verbal and nonverbalnonverbal illustrations in dictionaries mainly for providing visual presentation of those lexical items whose meanings are difficult to describe in s
4、hort paragraphs.And it main refers to the noun (41.9%), i.e. name of the concrete objects, but it also includes other classes and speech like verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions, even numerals.,. Introduction,History: The first illustrated reference work may have appeared in China. In Jin Dy
5、nasty, the famous scholar, Guo Pu (276-324) illustrated the earliest dictionary Erya, which was thus called Erya Tu (Erya Pictures) In western lexicography, Thomas Blounts Glossograhpia难词详解(1656),which “broke new ground among English dictionaries by including two woodcuts in illustration of heraldic
6、terms”(采用了两幅木刻来说明纹章学词汇) , the practice of including illustrations in dictionaries was followed by early British and American lexicographers.,. Types of Illustration,As far as the type of illustration is concerned, some lexicographers give either broad or detailed classifications. Broadly speaking, p
7、ictorial illustrations can be divided into three types:single illustration, group illustration (several small pictures arranged in a group) composite illustration (a large picture with relevant components specified).,. Types of Illustration,Single illustration is the most common of the 3 types, It m
8、ay represent a single object, animal, action and the like. Traditionally, for unfamiliar words or words having no appropriate equivalents, single picture is usually used.,. Types of Illustration,2）Group Illustration: it deals with a group of things, objects, and actions, which are related to each ot
9、her in category or class. Their purpose is to display their relationship and bring out their differences so that the dictionary user can identify one from the other, e.g. to illustrate a number of similar/opposite words, or homonyms/ senses of a polysemous word.Synonymy, antonymy, homonymy and polys
10、emy themselves are lexical relations, so this kind of illustration can represent lexical relations of these kinds.,. Types of Illustration (Group Illustration),. Types of Illustration,3）Composite Illustration (a large picture with relevant components specified), It depicts synthetic concepts and sup
11、er-ordinate terms by analytical means.,. Functions of Illustration,It has been said that “a picture is worth a thousand words”, it means the pictorial material can add quite substantially to the informative power of a dictionary, and the picture can show many more typical features of what is to be d
12、escribed than are normally included in a definition. the pictorial illustration makes a dictionary more interesting, informative and comprehensible. The functions discovered in the previous studies mainly cover the following aspects:,. Functions of Illustration,1) Clarifying definitions The most uni
13、fying function of pictorial illustrations is to clarify those things which cannot be easily expressed by definitions. the primary purpose is depicting unusual or unfamiliar things. Seahorse: “A small marine fish of the genus Hippocampus, swimming in an upright position and having a prehensile tail,
14、a horse like head, and a body covered with bony plates，一from American Dictionary “A small sea fish with a head and neck that looks like those of a horse-LDOCES.,. Functions of Illustration,2) Conveying different culture Cultural information is an indispensable component of language teaching. The com
15、pilers also need to think about how much users know about the culture of the foreign-language area concerned. E.g. the cross-cultural differences between “dragon“ and “龙”，a pictorial illustration easily to discriminate it.,. Functions of Illustration,3) Enlarging vocabulary Lexically, pictorial illu
16、strations provide dictionary users with images of related words for references and comparisons, helping the construction of semantic network, thus the vocabulary building and discrimination of words are accomplished incidentally.,. Functions of Illustration,4) Explaining grammar Grammatically, picto
17、rial illustrations can help interpret the complex grammar of target words. it can help dictionary users in understanding those complicated grammatical points, e.g. tenses, grammatical features propositions etc.,. Functions of Illustration,5) Broadening knowledgeIIlustrations with the functions of co
18、nveying knowledge, dictionary users can directly get the related knowledge of certain entries and their related entries, thus dictionary users knowledge is broadened in this process. it can make dictionary users entertained, showing the integration of specific science and social science in education
19、,. Functions of Illustration,6) Decorating layout the pictorial illustrations can decorate the dictionary and entertain dictionary users, thus activating users interest and taking commercial advantage.,. Criterion for Illustration,For the nonverbal lexicographic illustrations, Al-Kasimi s criteria a
20、re compactness, fidelity and interpretability, using his criterion as the starting-point, the present study suggests Yongs criteria as the following:appropriateness, adequateness,user-friendliness. they are useful guidance for dictionary illustrations.,. Criterion for Illustration,1）Appropriateness
21、The illustration must be related to the lexical items involved and suitable for the illustrative purpose.It must help dictionary users to gain a correct understanding of its basic meaning and intention so that misunderstandings and distortions are avoided.The focus should be on what differences the
22、illustrated lexical item makes in the relevant culture in terms of acceptability and interpretation.,. Criterion for Illustration,2）Adequateness The illustration must display the main features of the illustrated objects, concepts and actions. It must indicate similarities and differences.Examples: G
23、roup illustrations must be capable of showing various relationship between the illustrated items and the ways they are related. Composite illustrations must be able to show the part-whole relationship and the label the individual parts that make up the whole.,. Criterion for Illustration,3）User-frie
24、ndliness The illustration must not make heavy demands upon dictionary users to interpret its basic intention and meaning.Example:Reproductions of paintings may make no sense because dictionary users are usually not prepared or knowledgeable enough to appreciate their artistic value.,. Conclusion,Gen
25、erally speaking, the nonverbal illustrations may create and enhance a relaxed, easy lively and informative atmosphere which may assist in understanding language- and culture-specific words and intricate lexical sense relations.However, the Pictorial illustrations, although an important component part in the microstructure of the dictionary, have not been given due emphasis, I believe, with the development of relevant technology and market need, this part would gain a growing importance in dictionaries of many kinds.,Thanks for your attention!,
