Browsing by Author "Mihindou, Guy-Roger"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The reproduction of cultural aspects in dictionaries in French and the Gabonese languages
    (Bureau of the WAT, 2003) Mavoungou, P. A.; Otsaga, Thierry Afane; Mihindou, Guy-Roger
    The reproduction of culture in dictionaries constitutes one of the fundamental problems of lexicographers today. What is the nature of cultural data in dictionaries? To what extent should cultural aspects be transferred from one language to another? How should this transfer take place? This article attempts to discuss the relevance of the reproduction of Gabonese cultural aspects in dictionaries in French and the Gabonese languages. One of the main problems the compilers of these dictionaries encountered was the transfer and the translation of some cultural aspects. In order to discuss the nature and extent of cultural information in Gabonese dictionaries, this article will restrict itself to the following points: - The translation of different realities - The role of culture in the change of meaning - Dictionaries and cultural activities - Dictionaries and cultural ethics - Dictionaries and language registers - Dictionaries and culture maintenance - Dictionaries and the standardization of culture Prior to a discussion of the above-mentioned points, a brief description of the dictionaries investigated will be given. After a description of the influence of cultural contexts on lexicographers in the choice of macrostructural elements and their treatment, cultural differences between source and target languages in the dictionaries of Gabonese languages are discussed. The article concludes with the observation that the majority of existing lexicographic works tend to survey the full vocabulary of the language. The lexicographic treatment of some words is satisfactory because an account of the underlying worldview of the people is given. For example, in this article, the following themes are considered: dietary practices, sexuality, mythology, traditional pharmacopoeia, the kinship system, hospitality, and respect for traditional authority and elders. However, to be used in the most efficient way, these lexicographic publications need to be revised.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A theoretical model for a Yipunu-English-French explanatory dictionary of medical terms
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2006-04) Mihindou, Guy-Roger; Gouws, R. H.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The dissertation proposes a theoretical model of a dictionary which will include three languages, namely French, Yipunu and English in a specific field of medicine. The decision to compile such a dictionary was motivated by the desire of the Gabonese government to promote local languages. The necessity also exists for Gabon, like other African countries, to build a constant and total awareness among the communities on issues relating to health as a process for self education in an attempt to reduce the spreading of diseases of which medication is costly for the government. The compilation of the dictionary demands not only a dictionary plan but also a sound theoretical knowledge in lexicography as the discipline regarding dictionary compilation. The title of the dissertation alone requires that notions like theory, model, explanation, dictionary, medicine and terminology need to be explained in detail; this is done in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 focuses on the medical background in Gabon with specific attention to the medical infrastructures of the country. As AIDS and malaria are the most deadly pandemics in Gabon, special attention is given to them as well as the notion of health in both western and African ways. Chapter 3 discusses various theoretical issues of the lexicographic process, from data acquisition to its distribution, with particular attention to the interdisciplinary environment prevailing in Gabon. Chapter 4, the frame structure, contains metalexicographic structural components of the dictionary and their classification, where the central list as principal part of the dictionary is no longer the only venue for data accommodation within the dictionary but is complemented by a variety of outer texts. Attention is also given to the role of various functions such as the knowledge-orientated function and the communication-orientated function. Chapter 5 presents both the macro- and the microstructure as the core structures of the dictionary. It introduces a hybrid type of macrostructure with a thematic arrangement mingled with a straight alphabetical macrostructure. The different themes to be included in the FYEDMT are arranged alphabetically as topic of themes section. The lemmata included in each topic as article stretch are also alphabetically organized. The microstructure introduces a new type of article: the amalgamated dictionary article, in which three individual articles are combined. This new type of article gives the user three distinctive search areas with French being the language of lemmatisation and Yipunu the first target language and English the second. Chapter 6 develops the guide structure constituted by the access structure (to help the user by presenting various devices and different venues of data for better consultation), the addressing structure (help the user by means of data coordination) and the mediostructure (direct the user to specific slots of the dictionary).