[Lexicog] Frequency & Attendant Words/Phrases for Lex. Entry

[bolstar1]

Case for frequency-listing & attending-words/phrases listing (lexical 
inclusion) 

    Imagine a person learning, say, English, and randomly picking the 
word `bilious' out of a thesaurus for a term with the meaning 
irritable, grouchy, or ornery,  and using it in the next conversation 
with a native speaker. The native speaker might learn a new word for 
the effort-*, and even get a chuckle for the day out of it, but it 
would have been far more practical for the learner to 
learn `irritable' or `spiteful, or `hyper-touchy.' 
    I'd like to proffer, or more accurately, add to, the argument for 
including frequency ratings to lexical entries, both dictionaries and 
thesauruses. Although this would require considerable thought, 
organization, and conference-activity in the lexicographical 
community to establish well-grounded and widely acceptable "norms," 
it would seem to offer great benefits for the effort. 
     For the sake of economy of space, as well as for fine-tuning 
leverage, a numbering scale (1-10) could be employed. Short and 
easily distinguished from other information, the ranking would give 
the searcher an idea of how much weight to give to any particular 
term (main entry). It could be listed immediately after the 
pronunciation guide (for general usage) or after the field/context 
identifier (for jargon-related terms). Both main entries and synonyms 
used in defining them (synonyms themselves in thesauruses) "could be" 
ranked. Whether the entries are identified as unique to a particular 
a field, activity, etc. (jargon related) or generally used (common 
vernacular), the result would be a broadening of the `usage' category 
without adding an inordinate amount of space to it. 
     For example, under `angry'/'anger' the entry could read as 
follows, with rank designated "r.": 

an∙gry  |`aeng gree| {r. 1} *adj.; (angrier, angriest) feeling strong 
annoyance, irritation, hostility, ready to lose one's temper:    I 
get angry every time I listen to him.

attending words/phrases:  
   angry with s
e
   angry at s
e 
   I'm so angry I could scream. 
   I'm so angry I can't see straight. 
   walk off (leave) angry

related phrases: 
   righteous anger 
   pent-up anger 
   filled with anger 
   bristle with anger 
   take one's anger out on someone
        
     Additional in importance to frequency is the use of particles 
attending the root word, and phrases commonly using the root. To 
determine ranking numbers and inclusions of attending words, using 
computational linguistics that glean frequencies would be easy and 
straightforward -- but additional consensus-forming and vote-taking 
among lexicographers/linguists would refine the results. Identifying 
and selecting the most commonly used attending words & phrases could 
follow a similar strategy. 
     The devil would be in the details, each root word having 
variations distinct to that word's uses in their own contexts. 
Naturally, space limitations are a key factor in determining the 
extent of the `attendant-words listing,' (`attending-words listing'), 
but it, along with frequency listing, are integral parts of learning 
& using words correctly, and indeed phrasal and corpus focus have 
become buzz words in linguistics, self-evident aspects of having 
quality lexical collations. 

Scott Nelson




 
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