Language material in grammars and dictionaries: Authentic or thematically related?

Contents

Introduction

1. Short introduction of the grammars analysed in this paper
1.1 The Collins COBUILD English Grammar
1.2 The Oxford English Grammar
1.3 The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English
1.4 The Longman English Grammar
1.5 Englische Grammatik heute

2. The importance of real examples

3. Real examples in use
3.1 Usage in the Collins COBUILD English Grammar
3.2 Usage in the Oxford English Grammar
3.3 Usage in the Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English
3.4 Usage in the Longman English Grammar
3.5 Usage in the Englische Grammatik heute

4. The example solutions in grammars

5. Dictionaries
5.1 What is a dictionary?
5.2 The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
5.3 The Collins COBUILD English language dictionary
5.4 The American Everyday Dictionary
5.5 Comparison of the dictionary-entries

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The first dictionary was published in 1984. At that time the focus lay on lexicography especially on English as an international language. Nowadays nearly every three month new dictionaries appear. They are mainly published from publishing houses in Great Britain. This is due to the dominance which British lexicography won in the 1960s. When the first Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English appeared in 1978 British lexicography had finally won dominance to American lexicography. In 1987 the second edition of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and the Collins COBUILD Dictionary of the English language appeared. These works were completely different to the ones before. According to Sidney I. Landau these works were “in many respects a daring departure from the customary practices of lexicography, and particularly of ESL lexicography”^[1]. They offered a new look at what the user needed. The aim of this paper is to take a closer look on these dictionaries to check whether they are working with authentic language material to explain words and how easy or difficult it is for a user to understand the explained issues.

In grammars the different features of a language are considered systematically. Spoken and written language material is described. Nowadays the grammarians are working together with Universities or at least base their entries on large databases that include millions of texts taken out of various forms of writing and communication situations. This system is meant to help to provide the use of authentic language material that is familiar to the grammar user. In the analysed grammars invented examples are avoided with the aim to offer the user a better access to the explained issue.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the used example solutions by keeping an eye on whether they are really authentic and easy to understand or not better than the invented ones that were often used in former times.

1. Short introduction of the Grammars used in this paper

1.1 The Collins COBUILD English Grammar

The Collins COBUILD Grammar includes 20 million words, all examples which are used are taken from the Birmingham corpora of texts and are supplemented by a lot of different sources like the Times newspaper. These sources consist of current English words and are therefore seen to be a good base for learners of the English language as real examples are meant to be livelier than invented ones. Real examples – taken out of everyday situations - are used and examined to give the user of this dictionary a better access to the world of Grammar. This reference work addresses advanced students of the English language and teachers. It offers an analysis of both written and spoken registers of modern English.

1.2. The Oxford English Grammar

This grammar was written by Sidney Greenbaum director of the Survey of English Usage at University College London and one of the world’s leading grammarians. Just like the Collins COBUILD English Grammar does the OED^[2] uses real examples taken from the modern English everyday language. It includes written and spoken English – both, American and British. Formal registers of these languages are taken into account as well as informal. The examples used in this book are taken from American and British sources and the new International Corpus of English at University College of London. The successor of the LOB-Corpus was taken over by the Oxford University Press with the aim of having a large corpus on the English language. Even an East-African-English section is included. The English language is described with attention to national, regional and social variation. Spoken and Written English are both covered – real examples are taken as they are seen to help getting a better access. This book is meant to be a good solution for both students and specialists as it provides all necessary information on the British and American English.

1.3 The Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English

The focus of the LGSWE lies on the actual use of grammatical features in the English language. Structural considerations are also taken into account and features of different varieties of English like conversation, fiction, newspaper language and academic prose are described in their actual use. As in the grammars described before real examples are taken to explain special circumstances and it is shown that structure and use of a language belong together and are no independent aspects.

The aim of the LGSWE is to offer various ways in which grammatical features occur and recur in their actual use.

The source of the examples used in this grammar is a large electronic database which includes examples of naturally occurring language. Much of its terminology and grammatical framework is based on: A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985).

The used authentic texts and extracts are meant to be familiar to most grammar users and therefore easier to understand.

1.4. The Longman English Grammar

The aim of this book is to offer a grammatical description of English. As English grammar is often misrepresented the aim of this reference book is to give adequate answers to reasonable questions on the English language. The examples used are not oversimplified or inaccurate as this would give the learner a false view of the English language. This Grammar presupposes a basic knowledge of the language. The producers of this book know the common errors made by learners and organised this grammar accordingly. The constructions used to describe forms and usages are as simple as possible. They are also meant to be familiar to the reader.

1.5. Englische Grammatik heute

This grammar is designed to offer German pupils, students as well as persons that might need to work with a grammar at work or at home easy access to the English language. It uses text examples and tables to illustrate the explained facts. Authentic texts are used in order to offer easy access to the subject. Often marks show that one can get additional information in therefore created sections. The importance of words in communication is the basis of this grammar. The actual use of British English and American or other non-British variants is shown by using examples especially of the British National Corpus. The examples used are orientated at real English and its use among young standard speaking adults.

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^[1] Landau, Sidney I.: Dictionaries: the art and craft of lexicography. New York: Cambridge University Press. 1993. p. x

^[2] OED: Oxford English Grammar