[Lexicog] Semantic domains for lexical analysis

[Ron Moe]

There are numerous lists of semantic domains that have been developed for
specific dictionaries or purposes. Here are some references for published
lists:

Language Activator. 1993. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
Oxford Learner's Wordfinder Dictionary. 1997. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene A. Nida. 1988. Greek-English lexicon of the New
Testament: based on semantic domains. New York: United Bible Societies.
Roget's Thesaurus. 1989. Harlow, Essex: Longman.
Buck, Carl Darling. 1949. A dictionary of selected synonyms in the principal
Indo-European languages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Murdock, George P., et al. 1982. Outline of cultural materials. 5th ed. New
Haven: Human Relations Area Files, Inc.
FrameNet. http://www.icsi.berkeley.edu/framenet/.

Each of these lists has hundreds of domains. There are also other short
lists. The Australianist list that Bill Poser refers to below has about 200
domains.

The problem with each of these lists is that they are incomplete. They
either omit certain kinds of domains or they were not designed to classify
all the words of a language. To solve this problem I developed a set of
domains which can be downloaded from the Dictionary Development Program
website http://www.sil.org/computing/ddp/. The DDP list covers all of the
domains in the lists above. I also incorporated domains from other
classified dictionaries and works on semantics. I have attempted to make it
as exhaustive and universal as possible. The DDP list has 1800 domains and
is the largest list that I know of.

The DDP list has now been used to collect words in well over 100 languages
with varying degrees of success. So although it is not a universal standard,
it has proven to be useful in a number of language families in various areas
of the world.

Ron Moe

-----Original Message-----
From: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of
billposer at alum.mit.edu
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2005 3:07 PM
To: lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Lexicog] Semantic domains for lexical analysis


I don't think that there is any true standard list, but
you might find it useful to consult the Australianist list
on David Nash's website:
	http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/aust/domains.html

Bill





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