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11
(4.2) Learning how to get most out of a Dictionary
Dictionary Exercise:
1. Words of high and low frequency (in terms of usage). Is it enough for you to just deal with words that are
common (of high frequency) or does your bibliographical and college level reading also require you to be
familiar with words of lower frequency (words that are not commonly used)? Does your dictionary list words
that are rarely used, or that are technical terms peculiar to certain areas of knowledge? Does it include rare
usages under commonly used words?
(a) Check the word «radical» in your dictionary. Do you find a mathematical and chemical or scientific
meaning of the word as well as a meaning from the area of political science?
(b) Check the following (rarely used) words and see if they are in your dictionary
(i) aardvark
(ii) eleemosynary
2. Range of Definitions
Does your dictionary make available to you a range of meanings i.e. words which may be used in a
technical /non-technical sense? See example of «radical» above. Judging by what you found under «radical»,
would you say your dictionary provides a broad, or narrow, range of definitions?
3. Order of Listings
How are different meanings of the word indicated in your dictionary? Does your dictionary follow any
particular order in listing different meanings? I.e. does it give the most common or most typical meaning first?
4. Multi-meaning Words
How does your dictionary enter multi-meaning words? — as one entry, with several different meanings?
with several different entries? (a) How many meanings does your dictionary have for the word «hold»? (b)
what is the meaning of the word «hold» in each of the following?
a. to hold hands
b. Hold the merchandise for me, please.
c. The call is on hold.
d. His performance can hold them spellbound.
e. We will hold the meeting on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
f. Will you hold back on that publication, please?
g. Who holds the major political offices? the minor ones?
h. This bottle holds 8 c.c.
i. I hold these truths to be self-evident. J. I hold him to be the best applicant.
k. He managed to hold the hostage for 18 hours before releasing him.
Does your dictionary contain all of these meanings or did you have to work out the meanings from the
context?
5. Find one of each of the following types of dictionaries:
a. a bilingual dictionary (English-Russian, English French, etc.)
b. an English — English Learners' Dictionary c. an English — English College Dictionary Look up the
underlined words in the following sentences in each of these dictionaries. Note the differences in the entries of
the various dictionaries for the same word. (Be prepared to find that some dictionaries do not list them at all.)
1. The University cannot function on eleemosynary contributions alone.
2. The number of civil service posts held by people of indigenous origin was small.
3. Students are often recalcitrant about paying their fees.
4. NATO is an organization that serves many countries.
(4.3) Dictionary Questionnaire* and some
First-year Student Responses
* from: Appendix C in Abigail Newback and Andrew D. Cohen, «Processing Strategies and Problems Encountered in the Use of