Use and Structure of The Bilingual Dictionary

Use and Structure of the Bilingual Dictionary
Dictionary: The publication that includes a wide series of words and terms arranged
alphabetically and whose purpose is for consultation is known as a dictionary.
This compilation usually includes various types of information about each word, such as its
meaning (what it means), its etymological history (origin), the way it is written and how it is
pronounced.
They can also provide synonyms and antonyms of the word.
It should be noted, however, that a dictionary does not always present all this information.
The discipline that is responsible, among other tasks, for creating dictionaries is
lexicography. They are usually found in the form of a printed book, but there are also
electronic dictionaries.
The Dictionary: According to Bajo (2000), the dictionary "is a catalog or collection of
lexical units defined or explained in some way, which are arranged in a certain order."
Pérez (2005), for his part, defines it as “a genre of work that alphabetically orders the lexical
universe of a language or a discipline…” in simpler words, it is a book that compiles a
certain number of lexical units (words ), of one or more languages or areas of knowledge, in
order to define them, explain them or present their translation in another language,
according to the purpose for which they were prepared.
Regarding its function, Pérez (ob.cit) states that it is nothing more than an auxiliary
instrument for study or research, which seeks to be a reference material in which the origin
of words, their grammatical category, can be located. semantic or pragmatic explanation,
appropriate uses, possible contexts in which they are performed, related voices or concepts
and other meanings. The use itself will depend on the purpose for which it was created and
the user who uses it.
Bilingual Dictionary: It is a dictionary that brings the words in one language and the
definitions in another. They are usually divided into two parts (for example, German-
Spanish and Spanish-German dictionary).
Origins: It is considered that the first dictionaries appeared in Mesopotamia. This statement
is based on the discovery of several cuneiform texts in the Library of Ashurbanipal, in
Nineveh, which related Sumerian words.
The term used to define the same during the Early Middle Ages was glossarium; In the Late
Middle Ages it was changed to vocabularium and dictionarium; and slowly it was
transformed until it reached its current name: dictionary.
Structure of a bilingual dictionary

Like the rest of dictionaries, bilingual ones modify their structure depending on which house
is responsible for the edition.
You can, however, try a typical order:
■ Article
■ Pronunciation (in parentheses or brackets)
■ Grammatical notes
■ Definition
■ Indications for use: historical, vulgar, technical...
■ Explanatory word or motto
■ Idiomatic expressions or derivatives (in italics or bold)
Dictionary Structure :
to — by pass through. be guided by. To — down go down, to
— on continue It's a — done deal ,
Guide words Entry Voice : these are located at the top of each page and indicate
:ion
Phonetics
grammatical
function
the first and last words of the page.

Entry word : They are organized in alphabetical order in the body of the dictionary,
usually highlighted in bold or in a different color than the meanings. Some dictionaries
separate them into lines.
Phonetic Transcription : it generally appears immediately after the input word, it

tells the reader the key to the correct pronunciation of the word, for this purpose phonetic
symbols are used that are in square brackets.
Grammatical function : through abbreviations the reader is made aware of the
grammatical function of the word (v, s, n, adj, prep, conj) in order to determine precisely
which of the meanings presented fits the context of the reading.
Synonym : depending on the dictionary, synonyms of the input word are presented,
sometimes they may be in parentheses, as in the previous example.
Substitution symbology : used to indicate that the input word should be placed in
the place where it is.
Phrasal verb : It is a combination of a verb with a particle. It causes the verb to
change its meaning. They can be identified in the dictionary by the presence of the particle
TO, then the substitution symbology and finally the particle that is often a preposition.
Idiom or phrase : the bilingual dictionary provides the meaning of phrases when
they have a non-literal meaning, that is, not necessarily what their words indicate.

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Use and Structure of the Bilingual Dictionary

Structure of a bilingual dictionary

the first and last words of the page.

Phonetic Transcription : it generally appears immediately after the input word, it

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