Developing a dictionary culture through integrated dictionary pedagogy in the outer texts of South African school dictionaries: the case of 'Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: IsiXhosa and English'

Authors

  • Dion Nkomo Rhodes University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40607-015-0021-8

Keywords:

Outer texts, Dictionary pedagogy, Dictionary culture, Educational policy on dictionary use, Integrated dictionary pedagogy

Abstract

The challenges posed by a poor societal dictionary culture and an inability of school curricula or teachers to integrate dictionary pedagogy in the everyday teaching and learning activities compel lexicographers to integrate dictionary pedagogy in the outer texts of school dictionaries. This is done through design features that encourage learners to appreciate the educational value of dictionaries while facilitating efficient and optimum use of the dictionaries. This article discusses the state of societal dictionary culture and dictionary pedagogy in South Africa. In spite of the acknowledged poor dictionary culture, it is shown that the school curriculum provides sufficient space for dictionary use as part of everyday teaching and learning as well as the nurturing of dictionary skills. Without delving deeper into how teachers respond to these educational policy provisions on dictionaries, which warrants a separate comprehensive study, the article demonstrates how the recently published Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: IsiXhosa and English (De Schryver et al. 2014), typifies school dictionaries in which lexicographers go beyond addressing learners’ educational needs regarding language and other school subjects to integrate dictionary pedagogy that may prove beneficial in the long-term development of dictionary skills and dictionary culture. This is particularly evident in the study of selected outer texts. However, the success of these endeavours depends on whether the target users use dictionaries in the first place, which still makes the role of teachers indispensable.

References

Dictionaries: print dictionaries

De Schryver, G.-M., et al. 2007. Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: Northern Sotho and English. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

De Schryver, G.-M., et al. 2014. Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: IsiXhosa and English. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

Fischer, A., et al. 1985. Oxford English-Xhosa Dictionary. Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.

Hartmann, R.R.K., and G. James. 1998. Dictionary of lexicography. London: Routledge.

Kropf, A. 1899. A Kafir-English Dictionary. Alice: Lovedale.

Mini, B.M., et al. 2001. The Greater Dictionary of isiXhosa, vol. 2. Pietermaritzburg: Nutrend Publishers.

Pahl, H.W., et al. 1989. The Greater Dictionary of Xhosa, vol. 3. Pietermaritzburg: Nutrend Publishers.

Tshabe, S.L., et al. 2006. The Greater Dictionary of isiXhosa, vol. 1. Pietermaritzburg: Nutrend Publishers.

Electronic dictionary

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online. http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/. Accessed 10 Mar 2015.

Other references

Anthony, L. 2014. AntConc (Version 3.4.3) [Concordancer Software]. Tokyo: Waseda University. Available online: http://www.laurenceanthony.net/.

Bergenholtz, H., and R.H. Gouws. 2012. What is lexicography? Lexikos 22: 31–42.

Bergenholtz, H. 2012. What is a dictionary? Lexikos 22: 20–30.

Bergenholtz, H., Tarp, S. and Wiegand, H. E. 1999. Datadistributionsstrukturen, Makro- und Mikrostrukturen in Fachwo¨rterbu¨chern. In Fachsprachen. Languages for Special Purposes. An International Handbook of Special-Languages and Terminology Research, eds. Hoffmann, L., et al., 1762–1832. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Beyer, H., and A.K. Faul. 2010. Namibian university entrants’ concepts of ‘a dictionary’. Lexikos 20: 644–679.

Boswell, J. 1791. (Edited by Christopher Hibbert in 1986). The Life of Samuel Johnson. New York: Penguin Classics.

Busane, M. 1990. Lexicography in Central Africa: The User-Perspective, with Special Reference to Zaire. In 1990, ed. R.R.K. Hartmann, 19–35. Lexicography in Africa. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.

Carstens, A. 1995. Language teaching and dictionary use: an overview. Lexikos 5: 105–116.

Chabata, E., and D. Nkomo. 2010. The utilisation of outer texts in the practical lexicography of African languages. Lexikos 20: 73–91.

De Schryver, G.-M. 2008. A new way to lemmatize adjectives in a user-friendly Zulu-English dictionary. Lexikos 18: 63–91.

De Schryver, G.-M. 2010. Revolutionizing Bantu lexicography—a Zulu case study. Lexikos 20: 161–201.

De Schryver, G.-M. 2003. Drawing up the macrostructure of a Nguni dictionary, with special reference to isiNdebele. South African Journal of African Languages 23(1): 11–25.

Department of Basic Education. 2011. Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS). Pretoria.

Dolezal, F.T., and D.R. McCreary. 1999. Pedagogical lexicography today. Tu¨bingen: Max Niemeyer.

Gouws, R. H. 2001. Lexicographic training: approaches and topics. In E´le´ments de lexicographie gabonaise Tome I, ed. Emejulu, J.D., 58–94. New York: Jimacs-Hillman.

Gouws, R. H. 2002. The outer texts in the De Gruyter Wo¨rterbuch Deutsch als Fremdsprache. In Perspektiven der pa¨dagogischen Lexikographie des Deutschen II, ed. Wiegand, H., 471–484. Tu¨bingen: Max Niemeyer.

Gouws, R.H. 2004. Outer texts in bilingual dictionaries. Lexikos 14: 67–88.

Gouws, R.H. 2007. A transtextual approach to lexicographic functions. Lexikos 17: 77–87.

Gouws, R.H. 2012. Who can really be called a lexicographer? Lexikos 22: 217–225.

Gouws, R.H. 2013. Establishing and developing a dictionary culture for specialised lexicography. In Specialised Lexicography, ed. V. Jesense?k, 51–62. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Gouws, R. H, and D. J. Prinsloo. 2005. Principles and practice of South African lexicography. Stellenbosch: SUNPress.

Gouws, R.H., and D.J. Prinsloo. 1998. Cross-referencing as a lexicographic device. Lexikos 8: 17–36.

Gouws, R.H., and D.J. Prinsloo. 2005. Left-expanded article structures in Bantu with special reference to isiZulu and Sepedi. International Journal of Lexicography 18(1): 25–46.

Gouws, R.H., and M. Steyn. 2005. Integrated outer texts: a transtextual approach to lexicographic functions. In Schreiben, Verstehen, U¨ bersetzen, Lernen, eds. I. Barz, H. Bergenholtz, and J. Korhonen, 127–136. . Frankfurt: Peter Lang.

Government of the Republic of South Africa. http://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/NCSGradesR12/CAPS/tabid/420/Default.aspx.

Hadebe, S. 2004. Improving dictionary skills in Ndebele. Lexikos 14: 89–104.

Hartmann, R. R. K. 1999. Thematic report 2. Case study: the Exeter University survey of dictionary Use. In Dictionaries in Language Learning. Recommendations, National Reports and Thematic Reports from the TNP Sub-Project 9: Dictionaries, ed. Hartmann, R.R.K., 1999: 36-52. Berlin: Freie Universita¨t Berlin.

Hartmann, R.R.K. 2001. Teaching and researching lexicography. Harlow: Pearson Education.

Kammerer, M., and H.E. Wiegand. 1998. U¨ ber die textuelle Rahmenstruktur von Printwo¨rterbu¨chern. Pra¨zisierungen und weiterfu¨hrende U¨ berlegungen. Lexicographica 14: 224–238.

Klein, J. 2007. Implementing a dictionary culture in South Africa: an attempt at a general framework for the African languages. Lexikos 17: 416–423.

Landau, S.I. 2001. Dictionaries. The art and craft of lexicography, 2nd ed. New York/Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Louw, P.A. 1999. Access structures in a standard translation dictionary. Lexikos 9: 108–118.

Maphosa, M., and D. Nkomo. 2009. The microstructure of Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele. Lexikos 19 (Supplement): 38–50.

McArthur, T. 1986. Worlds of reference. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

McArthur, T. 1998. Living words. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.

McKean, E. 2000. Dictionary activities in the elementary classroom: news for lexicographers. Dictionaries 21: 81–89.

Mtuze, P.T. 1992. A critical survey of Xhosa lexicography 1772–1989. Lexikos 2: 165–177.

Nabirye, M., and G.-M. de Schryver. 2013. Digitizing the monolingual Lusoga dictionary: challenges and prospects. Lexikos 23: 297–322.

Nabirye, M., and G.-M. de Schryver. 2010. The monolingual Lusoga dictionary faced with demands from a new user category. Lexikos 20: 326–350.

Nielsen, S. 2009. The evaluation of outside matter in dictionary reviews. Lexikos 19: 207–224.

Nkomo, D. 2014a. Teaching lexicography at a South African University. Per Linguam: A Journal of Language learning/Tydskrif vir Taalaanleer 30(1): 56–71.

Nkomo, D. 2014b. Review: Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: IsiXhosa and English. Lexikos 24: 417–422.

Nkomo, D., and Z. Wababa. 2013. IsiXhosa lexicography: past, present and future. Lexikos 23: 348–370.

Statistics South Africa. 2012. Census 2011: Census in Brief. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa, SUN Press. Available online: http://www.statssa.gov.za/census2011/Products/Census_2011_Census_in_brief.pdf.

Taljard, E., D.J. Prinsloo, and I. Fricke. 2011. The use of LSP dictionaries in secondary schools – a South African case study. South African Journal of African Languages 31(1): 87–109.

Tarp, S. 2008. Lexicography in the borderland between knowledge and non-knowledge: general lexicographical theory with particular focus on learner’s lexicography. Tu¨bingen: Max Niemeyer.

Van der Merwe, M. 2012. A study of the use of the HAT Afrikaanse Skoolwoordeboek by primary school children. Lexikos 22: 352–366.

Wiegand, H.E. 1989. Der gegenwa¨rtige Status der Lexikographie und ihr Verha¨ltnis zu anderen Disziplinen. In Wo¨rterbu¨cher. Dictionaries. Dictionnaires. an international encyclopedia of lexicography, ed. F.J. Hausmann, et al., 246–280. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Wiegand, H.E., and F.J. Hausmann. 1989. Component parts and structures of general monolingual dictionaries: a survey. In Wo¨rterbu¨cher. Dictionaries. Dictionnaires. an international encyclopedia of lexicography, ed. F.J. Hausmann, et al., 328–360. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Published

2015-12-01

How to Cite

Nkomo, D. (2015). Developing a dictionary culture through integrated dictionary pedagogy in the outer texts of South African school dictionaries: the case of ’Oxford Bilingual School Dictionary: IsiXhosa and English’. Lexicography, 2(1), 71-99. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40607-015-0021-8