From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A
dictionary is minimizing if it attempts to include
only a limited selection of words from a particular speech
community. An example of a minimizing dictionary (also spelled
minimising dictionary) is a dictionary containing the 2,000 most
frequently used words in the English language, as it attempts to
lemmatise (i.e. show as entry words) only a very limited number
of English words using a specific principle for their selection.
This is one way in which to classify dictionaries based on the
number of entry words they contain and give information about,
i.e. their coverage.
The distinction between a minimizing dictionary and a
maximizing dictionary is also important in connection with
specialized dictionaries. A law dictionary that contains 2,000
words is minimizing in that it cannot reasonably be claimed to
cover more than a limited number of legal terms. This should be
contrasted with a law dictionary that contains more than 20,000
entry words, which is a maximizing dictionary, as it attempts to
include nearly all legal terms.
Relevant literature
- Sandro Nielsen: "Contrastive Description of Dictionaries
Covering LSP Communication", in:
Fachsprache/International Journal of LSP 3-4/1990,
129-136
Categories:
Lexicography |
Dictionaries
