[Lexicog] Spelling variants vs. synonyms

[Andrew Dunbar]

On 6/22/06, goodtracks at peoplepc.com <goodtracks at peoplepc.com> wrote:
> If it were an entry for the dictionary I was making, I would select one
> entry of preference for the full entry, and then have the others listed with
> followed by a "See:  "MAIN ENTRY".
> jimm

Wiktionary has a "policy" of making a full entry for every
word. Chiefly to sidestep foreseen issues with whether
American or British spellings ought to be primary, but also
because we have plenty of space. Another reason is
because with open contribution there can be cases where
people push their favourite pet words. Yet another is that
we know none of us are trained linguists who don't really
have the expertise to choose the primary form, especially
when different print dictionaries choose different forms.
So it makes more sense to treat every synonym and
spelling as its own entity.

That said, I put "policy" in quotes becuase not everybody
agrees all the time and none of our policies are really fully
developed yet.

Andrew Dunbar (hippietrail)

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Andrew Dunbar" <hippytrail at gmail.com>
> To: <lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 11:10 AM
> Subject: [Lexicog] Spelling variants vs. synonyms
>
>
> > Most dictionaries treat spelling variants differently to synonyms.
> > Spelling variants
> > are often included in the headword, the OED has a special Spellings
> > section.
> > Synonyms may have a cross-reference to a more common word rather than a
> > full
> > definition.
> >
> > Sometimes it turns out to be difficult to know where to draw the line. I
> > am a
> > contributor to the English Wiktionary and I'm currently travelling through
> > Central America, collecting unusual Spanish words as I go. I'm
> > particularly
> > interested in foods and regionalisms.
> >
> > One word I've come across is a fruit called "pejibaye" which I saw in
> > Costa
> > Rica. I also saw it often in Panama but without a sign. When I bought a
> > dictionary of Panamanianisms I found not this word but another entry,
> > "pifa",
> > says it is also known as "pisbao", "pixbae", "pejibayo", and "corolo". The
> > RAE
> > contains only "pejibaye" and "pijibay".
> > http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/pejibaye.html lists a lot more.
> >
> > It seems clear that these should be considered spelling variants:
> > pejibaye, pijibay, pejibayo
> >
> > And equally clear that these should be considered synonyms:
> > pifa, corolo
> >
> > But these could go either way:
> > pisbao, pixbae
> >
> > My question is this: what do you guys, the real lexicographers, do when
> > you
> > come across a situation like this?
> >
> > Andrew Dunbar (hippietrail)
> >
> >
> > --
> > http://linguaphile.sf.net
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
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>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
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>
>


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