LEXICOGRAPHY. PECULIARITIES OF BRITISH, AMERICAN AND
OTHER VARIANTS OF ENGLISH
Lexicography,that is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries, is an
important branch of applied linguistics.
Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing
dictionaries.
Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly discipline of analyzing and
describing the semantic relationships within the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language
and developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in
dictionaries
General lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and evaluation
of general dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that provide a description of the language in
general use. Such a dictionary is usually called a general dictionary or LGP
dictionary.
Specialized lexicography focuses on the design, compilation, use and
evaluation of specialized dictionaries, i.e. dictionaries that are devoted to a
(relatively restricted) set of linguistic and factual elements of one or more specialist
subject fields, e.g. legal lexicography. Such a dictionary is usually called a
specialized dictionary or LSP dictionary.
What we have noticed is that some of the principles involved in the making
of dictionaries are clearly of a lexical or lexicological nature, while others derive
rather from the area of book production. On occasions a decision may be affected
by both kinds of principle, and one may be ignored in favour of the other. A decision
of this kind is the one that relates to the treatment of lexemes with multiple word-
class membership (such as skin п., v.). If these are accorded separate headwords
because the layout of the page is thereby rendered more attractive, then the decision
is informed by the principles of book production. If, however, only one headword is
entered, with the consequently longer and denser entry, then it is likely that the
decision has been taken on lexical grounds. It is possible, of course, that the separate
headwords decision was based on lexical principles also.
To the extent that decisions in dictionary compilation are informed by lexical
principles, we may say, as Doroszewski does, that they are derived from
lexicological theory. Indeed many aspects of lexicography must derive from
explicit or implicit lexicological theory. For example, the question of what
constitutes a lexeme is a lexicological matter, including the definition of the class
of compounds or the classes of derivations. Lexicology is likewise concerned to
investigate questions of homonymy and polysemy, which are of great importance
to lexicography. Indeed generally, lexicology investigates how to describe lexemes,
both formally and semantically. Some lexicological theory (e.g. lexical field
analysis) which we may consider of particular relevance to lexicography, has not yet
been applied widely in dictionary compilation. This may be either because
lexicography as a profession does not or cannot conceive of dictionaries handling
lexical description in that way, or because lexicography does not explicitly recognise
lexicology as its theoretical basis.
It is probably fair to say that lexicography developed its own principles and
traditions independently of the linguistic sciences generally; and it is only in the
relatively recent past that explicit links between lexicography and linguistics have
been recognised. Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1961) was the first
to acknowledge the influence of modern linguistics, and then really in two areas
only: the representation of pronunciation, and a generally descriptivist rather than
prescriptivist stance. Many current dictionaries are, of course, linguistically
informed, and compiled by lexicographers who have been trained in linguistics.
Indeed, it is not just lexicology which provides descriptive apparatus for
lexicography, but other branches of linguistics as well. For example, the study of
language variety, which is part of sociolinguistics, contributes to the marking of
style and register/domain in dictionaries.
Some of the main problems in lexicography
The most important problems of lexicography are connected with: 1) the
selection of lexical units for inclusion; 2) the arrangement of the selected lexical
units; 3) the setting of the entry; 4) the selection and arrangement of word-meanings;
5) the definition of meanings; 6) the illustrative material.
The selection of lexical units for inclusion.The choice of lexical units for
inclusion is the first problem the lexicographer faces. It is necessary to decide: a)
what types of lexical units will be chosen for the inclusion; b) the number of these
items; c) what to select and what to leave out in the dictionary; d) which form of the
language, spoken or written or both, the dictionary is to reflect; e) whether the
dictionary should contain obsolete units, technical terms, dialectisms, colloquial-
isms, and some others.
Lexicography, that is the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries, is an
important branch of applied linguistics. The fundamental paper in lexicographic
theory was written by L.V. Shcherba as far back as 1940. A complete bibliography
of the subject may be found in L.P. Stupin’s works. Lexicography has a common
object of study with lexicology, both describe the vocabulary of a language. The
essential difference between the two lies in the degree of systematisation and
completeness each of them is able to achieve.
Lexicology aims at systematisation revealing characteristic features of words.
It cannot, however, claim any completeness as regards the units themselves, because
the number of these units being very great, systematisation and completeness could
not be achieved simultaneously. The province of lexicography, on the other hand, is
the semantic, formal, and functional description of all individual words. Dictionaries
aim at a more or less complete description, but in so doing cannot attain systematic
treatment, so that every dictionary entry presents, as it were, an independent
problem. Lexicologists sort and present their material in a sequence depending upon
their views concerning the vocabulary system, whereas lexicographers have to
arrange it most often according to a purely external characteristic, namely
alphabetically.
It goes without saying that neither of these branches of linguistics could
develop successfully without the other, their relationship being essentially that of
theory and practice dealing with the same objects of reality. The term dictionary is
used to denote a book listing words of a language with their meanings and often with
data regarding pronunciation, usage and/or origin. There are also dictionaries that
concentrate their attention upon only one of these aspects: pronouncing (phonetical)
dictionaries (by Daniel Jones) and etymological dictionaries (by Walter Skeat, by
Erik Partridge, “The Oxford English Dictionary").
For dictionaries in which the words and their definitions belong to the same language
the term unilingual or explanatory is used, whereas bilingual or translation
dictionaries are those that explain words by giving their equivalents in another
language.1
Multilingual or polyglot dictionaries are not numerous, they serve chiefly the
purpose of comparing synonyms and terminology in various languages. 1
Unilingual dictionaries are further subdivided with regard to the time.
Diachronic dictionaries, of which “The Oxford English Dictionary” is the main
example, reflect the development of the English vocabulary by recording the history
of form and meaning for every word registered. They may be contrasted to
synchronic or descriptive dictionaries of current English concerned with present-day
meaning and usage of words. 2 The boundary between the two is, however, not very
rigid: that is to say, few dictionaries are consistently synchronic, chiefly, perhaps,
because their methodology is not developed as yet, so that in many cases the two
principles are blended. 3 Some synchronic dictionaries are at the same time historical
when they represent the state of vocabulary at some past stage of its development. 4
Both bilingual and unilingual dictionaries can be general and special. General
dictionaries represent the vocabulary as a whole with a degree of completeness
depending upon the scope and bulk of the book in question. The group includes the
thirteen volumes of “The Oxford English Dictionary” alongside with any miniature
pocket dictionary. Some general dictionaries may have very specific aims and still
be considered general due to their coverage. They include, for instance, frequency
dictionaries, i.e. lists of words, each of which is followed by a record of its frequency
of occurrence in one or several sets of reading matter.
A rhyming dictionary is also a general dictionary, though arranged in inverse
order, and so is a thesaurus in spite of its unusual arrangement. General dictionaries
are contrasted to special dictionaries whose stated aim is to cover only a certain
specific part of the vocabulary.
Special dictionaries may be further subdivided depending on whether the
words are chosen according to the sphere of human activity in which they are used
(technical dictionaries), the type of the units themselves (e. g. phraseological
dictionaries) or the relationships existing between them (e. g. dictionaries of
synonyms).
The first subgroup embraces highly specialised dictionaries of limited scope which
may appeal to a particular kind of reader. They register and explain technical terms
for various branches of knowledge, art and trade: linguistic, medical, technical,
economical terms, etc. Unilingual books of this type giving definitions of terms are
called glossaries. They are often prepared by boards or commissions specially
appointed for the task of improving technical terminology and nomenclature.
The second subgroup deals with specific language units, i.e. with phraseology,
abbreviations, neologisms, borrowings, surnames, toponyms, proverbs and. sayings,
etc.
The third subgroup contains a formidable array of synonymic dictionaries that have
been mentioned in the chapter on synonyms. Dictionaries recording the complete
vocabulary of some author are called concordances, they should be distinguished
from those that deal only with difficult words, i.e. glossaries. Taking up territorial
considerations one comes across dialect dictionaries and dictionaries of
Americanisms. The main types of dictionaries are classified in the accompanying
table.
Peculiarities of British, American and other variants of English
Every language allows different kinds of variations: geographical or
territorial, perhaps the most obvious, stylistic, the difference between the written and
the spoken form of the standard national language and others. It is the national
language of England proper, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and some provinces
of Canada. It is the official language of Wales, Scotland, in Gibraltar and on the
island of Malta. Modern linguistics distinguishes territorial variants of a national
language and local dialects. Variants of a language are regional varieties of a
standard literary language characterized by some minor peculiarities in the sound
system, vocabulary and grammar and by their own literary norms.
Standard English – the official language of Great Britain taught at schools and
universities, used by the press, the radio and the television and spoken by educated
people may be defined as that form of English which is current and literary,
substantially uniform and recognized as acceptable wherever English is spoken or
understood. Its vocabulary is contrasted to dialect words or dialectisms belonging to
various local dialects. Local dialects are varieties of the English language peculiar
to some districts and having no normalized literary form. Regional varieties
possessing a literary form are called variants. Dialects are said to undergo rapid
changes under the pressure of Standard English taught at schools and the speech
habits cultivated by radio, television and cinema.
The differences between the English language as spoken in Britain. The USA,
Australia and Canada are immediately noticeable in the field of phonetics. However
these distinctions are confined to the articulatory- acoustic characteristics of some
phonemes, to some differences in the use of others and to the differences in the
rhythm and intonation of speech. The few phonemes characteristic of American
pronunciation and alien to British literary norms can as a rule be observed in British
dialects.
The main differences between British and American English:
Vocabulary
The most noticeable difference between American and British English is vocabulary.
There are hundreds of everyday words that are different. For example, Brits call the
front of a car the bonnet, while Americans call it the hood.
Americans go on vacation, while Brits go on holidays, or hols.
New Yorkers live in apartments; Londoners live in flats.
There are far more examples than we can talk about here. Fortunately, most
Americans and Brits can usually guess the meaning through the context of a
sentence.
Collective nouns
There are a few grammatical differences between the two varieties of English. Let’s
start with collective nouns. We use collective nouns to refer to a group of
individuals.
In American English, collective nouns are singular. For example, staff refers to a
group of employees; band refers to a group of musicians; team refers to a group of
athletes. Americans would say, “The band is good.”
But in British English, collective nouns can be singular or plural. You might hear
someone from Britain say, “The team are playing tonight” or “The team is playing
tonight.”
Auxiliary verbs
Another grammar difference between American and British English relates to
auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are verbs that help
form a grammatical function. They “help” the main verb by adding information
about time, modality and voice.
Let’s look at the auxiliary verb shall. Brits sometimes use shall to express the future.
For example, “I shall go home now.” Americans know what shall means, but rarely
use it in conversation. It seems very formal. Americans would probably use “I will
go home now.”
In question form, a Brit might say, “Shall we go now?” while an American would
probably say, “Should we go now?”
When Americans want to express a lack of obligation, they use the helping
verb do with negative not followed by need. “You do not need to come to work
today.” Brits drop the helping verb and contract not. “You needn’t come to work
today.”
Past tense verbs
You will also find some small differences with past forms of irregular verbs.
The past tense of learn in American English is learned. British English has the
option of learned or learnt. The same rule applies to dreamed and dreamt,
burned and burnt, leaned and leant.
Americans tend to use the –ed ending; Brits tend to use the -t ending.
In the past participle form, Americans tend to use the –en ending for some irregular
verbs. For example, an American might say, “I have never gotten caught” whereas
a Brit would say, “I have never got caught.” Americans use both got and gotten in
the past participle. Brits only use got.
Don’t worry too much about these small differences in the past forms of irregular
verbs. People in both countries can easily understand both ways, although Brits tend
to think of the American way as incorrect.
Tag questions
A tag question is a grammatical form that turns a statement into a question. For
example, “The whole situation is unfortunate, isn’t it?” or, “You don’t like him, do
you?”
The tag includes a pronoun and its matching form of the verb be, have or do. Tag
questions encourage people to respond and agree with the speaker. Americans use
tag questions, too, but less often than Brits. You can learn more about tag questions
on a previous episode of Everyday Grammar.
Spelling
There are hundreds of minor spelling differences between British and American
English. You can thank American lexicographer Noah Webster for this. You might
recognize Webster’s name from the dictionary that carries his name.
Noah Webster, an author, politician, and teacher, started an effort to reform English
spelling in the late 1700s.
He was frustrated by the inconsistencies in English spelling. Webster wanted to
spell words the way they sounded. Spelling reform was also a way for America to
show its independence from England.
You can see Webster’s legacy in the American spelling of words like color (from
colour), honor (from honour), and labor (from labour). Webster dropped the
letter u from these words to make the spelling match the pronunciation.
Other Webster ideas failed, like a proposal to spell women as wimmen. Since
Webster’s death in 1843, attempts to change spelling rules in American English have
gone nowhere.
Not so different after all
British and American English have far more similarities than differences. We think
the difference between American and British English is often exaggerated. If you
can understand one style, you should be able to understand the other style.
With the exception of some regional dialects, most Brits and Americans can
understand each other without too much difficulty. They watch each other’s TV
shows, sing each other’s songs, and read each other’s books.
They even make fun of each other’s accents.
I’m Jill Robbins.
And I’m John Russell.
And I'm Claudia Milne.
American English (variously abbreviated AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US,
also known as United States English, or U.S. English) is a set of dialects of the
English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two thirds of
native speakers of English live in the United States. English is the most common
language in the United States. Though the U.S. federal government has no official
language, English is considered the de facto, "in practice but not necessarily
