Lexicography is one of the oldest linguistic sub-disciplines and began to compile extensive corpora early on as the basis for dictionary work. Surprisingly, these corpora and the dictionary articles have not been used very frequently for the study of language variation, although most dictionaries do not only contain information about word meanings and grammar, but also on regional distribution or style level. This volume explores the value of lexicographical data in the study of language variation. The contributions focus on different types of dictionaries for different languages as well as on various linguistic research questions ranging from the dictionaries' approach to loan words or morphology to practical issues regarding digital frameworks for lexicographic work.

It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.

This book addresses term variation which has been a very important topic in terminology, computational terminology and natural language processing for up to twenty years. This book presents the first complete inventory of term variants and the linguistic procedures that lead to their formation. It also takes into account issues raised by multilingual applications and presents ways to detect variants in five different languages: French, English, German, Spanish and Russian. The book provides insights into the following issues: What is a variant? What are the main linguistic mechanisms involved in the transformation of base terms into variants? How can variants be automatically detected in texts? Should variation be taken into account in natural language processing applications? This book is targeted at terminologists and linguists interested in term variation as well as researchers in natural language processing and computer science that must handle term variants in different kinds of applications.

This volume provides concise, authoritative accounts of the approaches and methodologies of modern lexicography and of the aims and qualities of its end products. Leading scholars and professional lexicographers, from all over the world and representing all the main traditions andperspectives, assess the state of the art in every aspect of research and practice. The book is divided into four parts, reflecting the main types of lexicography. Part I looks at synchronic dictionaries - those for the general public, monolingual dictionaries for second-language learners, andbilingual dictionaries. Part II and III are devoted to the distinctive methodologies and concerns of the historical dictionaries and specialist dictionaries respectively, while chapters in Part IV examine specific topics such as description and prescription; the representation of pronunciation; andthe practicalities of dictionary production. The book ends with a chronology of the major events in the history of lexicography. It will be a valuable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners in the field.

The Routledge Handbook of Lexicography provides a comprehensive overview of the major approaches to lexicography and their applications within the field. This Handbook features key case studies and cutting-edge contributions from an international range of practitioners, teachers, and researchers. Analysing the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries within the digital era, the 47 chapters address the core issues of: The foundations of lexicography, and its interactions with other disciplines including Corpus Linguistics and Information Science; Types of dictionaries, for purposes such as translation and teaching; Innovative specialised dictionaries such as the Oenolex wine dictionary and the Online Dictionary of New Zealand Sign Language; Lexicography and world languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Russian, Chinese, and Indonesian; The future of lexicography, including the use of the Internet, user participation, and dictionary portals. The Routledge Handbook of Lexicography is essential reading for researchers and students working in this area.

Theories of Lexical Semantics offers a comprehensive overview of the major traditions of word meaning research in linguistics. In spite of the growing importance of the lexicon in linguistic theory, no overview of the main theoretical trends in lexical semantics is currently available. This book fills that gap by charting the evolution of the discipline from the mid nineteenth century to the present day. It presents the main ideas, the landmark publications, and thedominant figures of five traditions: historical-philological semantics, structuralist semantics, generativist semantics, neostructuralist semantics, and cognitive semantics. The theoretical and methodological relationship between the approaches is a major point of attention throughout the text: going well beyond amere chronological enumeration, the book does not only describe the theoretical currents of lexical semantics, but also the undercurrents that have shaped its evolution.

This book is concerned with dictionary-making and dictionary-research carried out in Romania. The outcome of extensive, hands-on experience in dictionary making and dictionary research, the volume addresses a range of culture-specific topics related to both dictionary-as-process and dictionary-as-product. It reflects the interests and concerns of all the stakeholders on the lexicographic continuum: theorists, practitioners, and dictionary users. The topics covered here encompass a number of macro- and micro-structural aspects relating to paper and online, monolingual and bilingual, general and specialized reference works. They create a composite picture of the lexicographic landscape in Romania set against a wider sociocultural backdrop. It is this ecology of dictionary making that helps explain the priorities, influences, pressures, and challenges that have shaped the local dictionary culture. The book will also provide researchers, practitioners, teachers and students with a clearer view of the peculiarities of the dictionary.