In many languages,
words are grouped together according to their root word, with
the roots being arranged alphabetically. If English dictionaries
were arranged like this, the words "import," "export,"
"support," "report," "porter,"
"important" and "transportation" would
theoretically be listed under the Latin "portare,"
"to carry." This method has the advantage that all
words of a common origin are listed together, but the disadvantage
is that one has to know the roots of the word before one can
look it up. Some Hebrew, Sanskrit, and Arabic dictionaries
work this way. While most of Japanese and Korean dictionaries
are arranged according to their phonetic writing (kana syllabic
script for the Japanese, and hangul alphabet for the Korean),
the main body of modern Chinese dictionaries mostly is ordered
according to the Latin alphabet with the pinyin spelling ;
but most Chinese dictionaries have an appendix ordering entries
accordance to the Chinese logographic writing system , in
order to allow readers to find words written in logograms
whose pronunciation is not known. Chinese characters may be
sorted according to one of many schemes based on the component
parts of the characters (radicals, number of strokes, overall
shape). Since words and their meanings develop over time,
dictionary entries are organized to reflect these changes.
Dictionaries may either list meanings in the historical order
in which they appeared, or may list meanings in order of popularity
and most common use.
Dictionaries also differ in the degree to which they are encyclopedic,
providing considerable background information, illustrations,
and the like, or linguistic, concentrating on etymology, nuances
of meaning, and quotations demonstrating usage. Any dictionary
has been designed to fulfill one or more functions. The dictionary
functions, or jobs, chosen by the maker(s) of the dictionary
provide the basis for all lexicographic decisions, from the
selection of entry words, over the choice of information types,
to the choice of place for the information (e.g. in an article
or in an appendix). There are two main types of functions.
The communication-oriented functions comprise text reception
(understanding), text production, text revision, and translation.
The knowledge-oriented functions deal with situations where
the dictionary is used for acquiring specific knowledge about
a particular matter, and for acquiring general knowledge about
something. The optimal dictionary is one that contains information
directly relevant for the needs of the users relating to one
or more of these functions. It is important that the information
is presented in a way that keeps the lexicographic information
costs at a minimum.
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