Department of Afrikaans and Dutch

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Browsing Department of Afrikaans and Dutch by Subject "African languages -- Dictionaries"

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    Affirming a role for specialised dictionaries in indigenous African languages
    (Bureau of the WAT, 2010) Nkomo, Dion
    One of the main problems facing speakers and language practitioners of indigenous African languages is the shortage of appropriate dictionaries for a variety of purposes. This lack results in users consulting any available but inappropriate dictionaries. Quite often, users are disappointed because a wrong dictionary does not normally provide the required assistance. Various functions, which the dictionary may serve, are sought in vain from inappropriate dictionaries and other terminological products. Consequently, the potential of lexicography in general and specialised lexicography in particular, remains unrealised owing to a variety of reasons. This article which mainly discusses the specialised dictionary, draws insights from Wiegand's (1984) general theory of lexicography and the theory of lexicographic functions (Bergenholtz and Tarp 1995, 2003; Tarp 2000, 2002, 2008) to affirm the role of specialised dictionaries in indigenous African languages and also to give insights into how such dictionaries may be produced.
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    The utilisation of outer texts in the practical lexicography of African languages
    (Bureau of the WAT, 2011) Chabata, Emmanuel; Nkomo, Dion
    In this article, an analysis of the utilisation of outer texts in recently compiled dictionaries of African languages is presented. The analysis is undertaken in the context of an upsurge of the compilation of dictionaries in the African languages. It is undertaken with a view to do a qualitative evaluation of the many new dictionaries of African languages that have come on the market in recent years. The point of departure is that prior to the recent lexicographic developments, the then available dictionaries were compiled in the context of the limited role the African languages played. It has been found that most of those dictionaries are limited in scope, perspective and function and hence less effective now that the languages are being assigned a greater social role. The evaluation of outer texts in modern dictionaries is therefore a way of measuring the extent to which lexicographic practice in the African languages is applying theoretical developments to produce better dictionaries.