Running head: DICTIONARY REVIEW 1

Dictionary Review

Monchi Liu

Colorado State University

DICTIONARY REVIEW 2

Introduction

Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictonary. Springfield: Merriam-

Webster Incorporated, 2008.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton

Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.

This review is based on the practical applicability of The American Heritage Dictionary

(AHD) and Merriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary (MWALED) to help

English learners. More precisely, the two dictionaries are evaluated for certain groups of

intermediate high to advanced low English language learners who want to be admitted to

universities in the US.

The MWALED is based on the Merriam-Webster company’s corpus, which was

published in 2008, and is designed specifically for English language learners. It points out in the

preface that this dictionary contains approximately 100,000 words and phrases with 3,000 most

frequently used core vocabulary words, more than 160,000 examples sentences, 32,000

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) pronunciations and more than 22,000 idioms.

The AHD is a standard English-English native speaker dictionary which was published in

2011. This edition includes 10,000 new words and phrases, as well as 4,000 new full-color

images. However, there is not any information about the size of this edition, but according to the

instruction of the previous version and the illustration of this edition, it can be inferred that this

version contains approximately 300,000 words.

Front and Back Matters

The front matter of the MWALED includes information about the Name, Publisher,

Disclaimer, Copyright, Contents and Preface, specific information under the heading “Using the
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Dictionary” which include Entries, Pronunciation, Spelling, Definitions, Synonyms and

Antonyms, Examples, Forms and Tenses, Grammatical Labels, Other Labels, Cross-References,

Other Features, Labels Used in this Dictionary, and Pronunciation Symbols. Each of these

classifications is illustrated in a paragraph with descriptions and examples. The Entries explains

that dots within headwords mean the place where the reader can put a hyphen if it’s necessary. A

blue underline highlights 3,000 basic English words selected by Merriam-Webster editors as

being the most important words for learners to know. Synonyms illustrates the definition,

function, position, and appearance of synonyms of a word in four short paragraphs. Though it is

very detailed, students could be confused by the different positions that synonyms might appear

in an entry. Other descriptions are well developed in “Using the Dictionary”. “Labels Used in

This Dictionary” includes Part of Speech, Grammatical Labels, Usage Labels and Subject Labels.

“Pronunciation Symbols” illustrates how to recognize the IPA system, such as vowels,

consonants, stress and the like.

The front matter of the AHD includes two pages on the basic information, which is Name,

Edition, Publisher, Disclaimer, Copyright, Table of Contents, and Introduction. In the Editorial

and Production Staff, Special Contributors and Consultants, and The Usage Panel sections, it

introduces the dictionary editors’ personal information. The Variation and Change in Our Living

Language helps to demonstrate that American English is not uniform and static but diverse and

dynamic. The Usage in The American Heritage Dictionary and the Guide to the Dictionary

sections show the ways that the AHD is organized. The Guide to the Dictionary section shows

samples from the dictionary entries with Syllabication, Pronunciation, Variants, Part of Speech

Labels, Inflected Forms, Labels, Cross-References, Order of Senses, Division of Senses, Special

Wording of Some Definitions, Illustrative Examples, Phrasal Verbs, Idioms, Etymologies,

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Undefined Forms, and Notes. The AHD gives a Pronunciation Key panel at the last section of

the front matter, which includes examples, the AHD symbols, and the IPA symbols, to help users

with pronunciation.

The back matter of the MWALED contains nineteen sections: Geographical Names;

English Grammar Review; Irregular Verbs; Contractions; Prefixes and Suffixes; English Word

Roots; Words That Are Often Confused; Spelling Rules; The Spelling of Different Sounds in

English; A Handbook of Style; Common First Names; Money; Numbers; Weights and Measures;

Dates; Holidays; Envelope Addresses; E-Mail, Letters, Memos, and Resumes; and

Pronunciation Symbols. The Geographical Names section is an extension of learners’

vocabularies, which shows the English name of different places around the world such as cities,

countries, regions, and locations in alphabetical order. The English Grammar Review section

provides a review of the main elements of English grammar, which includes Part of Speech, The

English Verb System, Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences. The Irregular Verbs is a list that shows

the Infinitive, Past-Tense, and Past-Participle Forms for the irregular verbs. The Contractions

section shows the nine common words in speech that English-speakers will contract. The

Prefixes and Suffixes, English Word Roots, Words That Are Often Confused, Spelling Rules and

The Spelling of Different Sounds in English sections are aimed at helping ELLs to better

understand and remember the meaning of English words. The Handbook of Style section deals

with the use of punctuation, capital letters, italic type, the special problems in writing

compounds, abbreviations, and numbers. The rest of the sections above extend the common

knowledge for ELLs. These sections that appear in MWALED are useful to nonnative students

to review their English skills at any time without an instructor and it could be helpful to college

students if they come across some information which they are unfamiliar with. However, there is
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only basic information provided in these sections. Students may need further research if they

want detailed information.

The back matter of the AHD contains Indo-European Roots and Semitic Roots. The first

section includes Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans, Guide to Appendix I, Indo-European

Sound Correspondences, and Appendix I Indo-European Roots. The second section includes

Proto-Semitic Language and Culture, Guide to Appendix II and Chart of the Semitic Family Tree,

Appendix II Semitic Roots, and Picture Credits. Both the appendix of Indo-European Roots and

Semitic Roots are designed to allow readers to trace English words derived from either Indo-

European languages back to their basic components in Proto-Indo-European or Semitic

languages back to their basic components in Proto-Semitic.

Range of Contents

Both the MWALED and the AHD contain information on currency, weights, and

measurement. These tables would be helpful to learners at every proficiency level as long as they

are from countries that do not use the U.S. dollar and the imperial system. The MWALED

contains brief illustrations of every category while the AHD includes many illustrations with a

whole page table in the center of the dictionary. In addition to the pictures in the AHD, there are

lots of pictures attached to individual entries. For example, beside the definition for anchor there

is a picture of three common anchors with their name below them. Pictures also provide

supplementary information. For instance, on the left side of the definition for arm there is a

picture of an arm with three supplement words, humerus, radius, and ulna, pointing to the three

parts of it. The AHD also provides Development of the Alphabet, Geologic Time Scale, Periodic

Table of the Elements, Planets of the Solar System, and Thermodynamics tables to supplement

the knowledge that readers may want to know. There are not many additional sections included
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in the MWALED. These two dictionaries are suitable for ELLs from different levels.

Intermediate level English learners would find synonyms, grammar assistance, and a lot of

foreign country information in the MWALED, whereas the AHD provides extensive etymologies,

and terminologies for very advanced learners.

Information in Entries

Head Word and Syllabication

In the AHD, head words are in blue and are divided into syllables by dots. In MWALED,

head words are boldface and are divided by dots to show the place where a reader can break a

word and add a hyphen if the entire word will not fit at the end of a line of print or writing. The

dots in the MWALED seem useless for ELLs because the word processing software will

automatically add a hyphen when needed. On the other hand, the dots in the AHD can help

readers pronounce words following syllables. The 3000 most frequently used core vocabulary

words are highlighted, which means these words are a good place for ELLs to start when they are

learning new words.

Pronunciation

In both the MWALED and the AHD, pronunciation appears right after the head word in

forward slashes // or parentheses (). The pronunciations are written using the IPA system in the

MWALED and represented by Respelling System in the AHD. This causes the pronunciation

section to be different in the two dictionaries. For example, the pronunciation in the MWALED

for the word pronunciation is represented as /prə,nʌnsɪ'eʃən/ while in the AHD as (prə-nŭn′sē-

ā′shən). For intermediate high or advanced low-evel students, the IPA system used in the

MWALED is better than the AHD because they may not be familiar with the symbols in the

AHD. It can be presumed that ELLs would have experience with the IPA. Native speakers or
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proficient learners, on the contrary, may have experience with the Respelling System given in the

AHD.

Parts and Subcategories of Speech

In both the MWALED and the AHD, the part of speech is given shortly after the

pronunciation symbols. The MWALED identifies entries as abbreviations, adjectives, adverbs,

conjunctions, combining forms, definite articles, indefinite articles, interjections, nouns, verbs,

prefixes, prepositions, pronouns, suffixes, count, noncount, singular, plural, transitive,

intransitive, linking, auxiliary, modal, phrasal, comparative, and superlative. The AHD identifies

entries as adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, definite articles, indefinite articles, interjections,

nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs. The AHD also indicates inflected forms: plural and

singular; traditional classification of verbs as transitive, intransitive, and auxiliary; prefixes and

suffixes. The classification of the MWALED would be helpful to any proficiency level of ELLs

since the content it covers may provide more information to them. The content in AHD, on the

other hand, will serve very high proficiency level learners.

Etymology

The MWALED doesn’t provide any etymologies at all. The AHD is an authority in the

field of dictionaries of etymology. It gives etymological information for most of the entries. This

information is indicated in square brackets at the end of each entry. The etymology information

is ordered from the latest to the earliest. For example, the entry for animal [Middle English, from

Latin, from animāle, neuter of animālis, living from anima, soul; see anə- in the Appendix of

Indo-European roots.]. The etymology of this entry animal was borrowed into Middle English

from the Latin form animāle. Though ordinary ELLs more focused on learning the language

rather than the history, this information would be useful to those students who have a strong
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interest in etymology.

Order of Meanings

The AHD often lists the most commonly sought meanings first. For example, the six

meanings in the AHD lists for the word gay is 1. Of, relating to, or having a sexual orientation to

persons of the same sex. 2. Showing or characterized by cheerfulness and lighthearted

excitement; merry. 3. Bright or lively, especially in color. 4. Offensive Slang Socially

inappropriate or foolish. 5. Given to social pleasures, especially at the expense of serious pursuits:

“You know she is gay, and wild, loves company and mirth, and that it was her impatience of

restraint in these things, that made the breach between her and her father”. 6. Dissolute or

licentious: “He and his wife led a gay life. He made money fast, and she spent it faster.

Eventually, both were broken physically”. Similarly, but not exactly, the MWALED lists their

meanings according to the frequency of use in English. For the same word listed above, gay, the

definitions are as follows: 1. Sexually attracted to someone who is the same sex:

HOMOSEXUAL. 2. Old-fashioned: happy and excited. 3. Old-fashioned: very bright in color:

COLORFUL. Both definitions of these two words have their advantages and disadvantages. The

definitions are very comprehensive and elaborate in the AHD, and the definitions in the

MWALED are clear and understandable. They are both appropriate for ELLs.

Expressions Related to the Head Word

Homographs

Both the MWALED and the AHD provide homographs in separate entries with a

superscript number on its corner to distinguish the different definitions. The MWALED puts the

superscript number at the left side of a word while the AHD places the superscript number at the

right side of a word. For example, the word fine in the MWALED has four separate entries,
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which are shown as “1fine adj. 1. good, acceptable, 2. very good, 3 well or health, 4. sunny and

pleasant, 5. very thin, 6. small and done with a lot of care and accuracy, 7. expensive and of high

quality” and “2fine adv. 1. not badly or poorly 2. in an elegant and graceful way, 3. in small

pieces” and “3fine noun. An amount of money that you pay as a punishment for breaking a low or

rule” and “4fine verb. To require (someone) to pay a fine as a punishment.” The word fine in the

AHD has three separate entries, which are shown as “fine1 adj. 1 Of superior quality, skill, or

appearance” and “fine2 n. 1. a sum of money required to be paid especially to the government as

a penalty for an offense” and “fine3 n. The end.” To place these homographs in different entries

can help ELLs to better understand the difference of these words.

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

The MWALED places idioms and phrasal verbs in alphabetical order at the end of the

entry that they relate to. For example, the phrases with definition of pave over and pave the way

for are listed after the definition of pave. The AHD places phrasal verbs and idioms in boldface

and introduces them by the headings –phrasal verb(s) and –idiom(s). For example, the phrasal

verb set about attaches after the definition of the word set leading by the heading –phrasal verb;

the idioms on the take attaches after the definition of the word take by the heading –idiom(s).

This information would be helpful to all level ELLs because idioms and fixed phrases are often

difficult for them to learn.

Compounds

The MWALED and the AHD place compounds as head words. For example, the

MWALED lists airbag, airplane, aircraft, and the like with definitions after the entry air. The

same as AHD.

Derivationally Formed Words

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The MWALED lists the derivationally formed words as separate entries after the first entry word.

For example, after the entry help, many derivationally formed words are listed in individual

entries, such as helpful, helping, and helpless. In the AHD, derivationally formed words are

indicated by their part-of-speech labels. For example, “the entry at excuse includes four

undefined forms: —ex·cus′a·ble adj., —ex·cus′a·ble·ness n., —ex·cus′a·bly adv., and —

ex·cus′er n.” These two ways of expressions would help learners to figure out the similar

meaning of derivationally formed words.

Connotational Meaning and Collocational Information

Connotational meaning information is not found in either dictionary. However, both the

MWALED and the AHD contain limited collocational information. For example, the AHD

provides the entry fast food with definition: Inexpensive food, such as hamburgers and fried

chicken, prepared and served quickly and the MWALED lists the entry fast food with definition:

food that is prepared and served quickly; food from a restaurant that makes and serves food very

quickly. The language used in MWALED is more learner-friendly than the AHD because

learners may not know the word inexpensive.

Conclusion

According to this review, the MWALED would be suitable for all levels of ELLs, for

their daily life and academic use in English classes. Because it contains fairly comprehensive

information for ELLs. As for the AHD, it would be appropriate for very advanced learners and

native speakers, who are enrolled in an English major or students who have a specific interest in

the English language or something similar. On the other hand, the AHD is a good assistance for

teachers as well. Audiences of the AHD would find it a strong supplement for etymologies,

example sentences, and plenty of details.