[Lexicog] Circular definitions

[Hayim Sheynin]

The problem is that these dictionaries are written for common folk
audience. If you will give complete definitions with scholarly terms
first, it will be too long and secondly (even more important) both boring
and inaccessible to many.
The dictionaries intended to large masses should be formulated as simple as
possible, otherwise they lose their relevance. Hence the quasi-circular
definitions. For a lexicographer it is almost unavoidable to use a
simplistic definition as opposite to scholastic one unless he writes
scholarly or terminology dictionary.

Hayim Y. Sheynin
Gratz College

-----Original Message-----
From: Koontz John E [mailto:john.koontz at colorado.edu]
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 11:53 AM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Lexicog] Circular definitions

On Thu, 4 Mar 2004, Rudolph C Troike wrote:
> Some years ago, thinking that I would find a solidly-anchored definition
> in the word "cow", I looked it up in (I think) the then-current edition of
> the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and found "the female of any
> species the male of which is called a bull". So I looked up the definition
> of "bull", and -- you guessed it -- found "the male of any species the
> female of which is called a cow".

In a sense, though the presentation is certainly lacking, this is like
saying that 'cow' and 'bull' are paired terms for female and male that are
applied to various (unspecified) species.  Thus there is a dependence, but
not a real circularity.  The problem is really the difficulty of
presenting domain-based information in an alphabetical format.  You could
solve the problem by referring to another entry (or one of the entries)
for a complete story.




Yahoo! Groups Links











Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/