M.A. / This dissertation is an investigation into the lexicographical treatment of synonymy in Afrikaans explanatory dictionaries - especially the Verklarende Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (HAT). It is divided into two chapters of theoretical discussion, a chapter of practical examples from HAT and a final chapter with conclusions and suggestions for improvement. Chapter two discusses the concept of 'meaning'. In order to arrive at an understanding of 'meaning', it is necessary to have a measure knowledge of some aspects of the theory. First of all there will be a brief discussion of the theory of reference and cognitive/ descriptive meaning. A lexicographer should describe the conceptual sense of a word. In order to do this he uses sense relations, namely hyponymy, antonymy and synonymy. These relations are interdependent. Hyponymy and antonymy will be touched on briefly, while synonymy will be discussed thoroughly. As far as synonymy is concerned there will be, among other aspects, a discussion of the concept 'synonymy', the difference between absolute and near-synonymy and polysemy and homonymy. Chapter three lists the lexicographical criteria in terms of which synonymy must be applied in a dictionary. In this chapter there will be a look at aspects such as the guide to the use of the dictionary (front matter), synonym definitions, the arrangement of synonyms, contextual information and a consistant cross-reference. The system according to which syonymy must be applied in a dictionary must be thoroughly explained in the front matter. In the case of synonym definitions every synonym must be taken up as a lemma and supplied with a lexicographic definition. The member of a synonym paradigm with the highest use frequency must be supplied with a lexicographic definition, while the other members of a synonym paradigm get synonym definitions. With reference to chapter three, chapter four deals with an evaluation of the application of synonymy in HAT. All the criteria in chapter three will be discussed on the basis of examples from HAT.A main conclusion reached, is that the criteria are not always maintained. In many cases the criteria are correctly maintained, but deviations of the criteria are, inter alia: not all the synonyms are taken up as lemmas; cross-references are not always correct and consistant; the lexicographic definition is placed with the wrong lemma; the members of a synonym paradigm are not arranged according to the highest use frequency. Chapter five gives a summary of the conclusions regarding criteria. There are also suggestions for improvement, regarding the application of synonymy in the case of multi-word lexical units and sublexical units. Lexicographers are working on a central data base for Afrikaans, The main problem with dictionaries, namely inconsistant cross-referencing, will be reduced if such a data base functions as the basis for lexicographic activity.

Thesis (MA)-- Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Dictionaries have to be compiled in accordance with specific target users and dictionary goals. User orientation is, however, not the only criterion for measuring the success of a dictionary. Present-day lexicography requires the evaluation of the accessibility of dictionaries. The ease with which macro- and microstructural information is located and retrieved determines the quality and accessibility of the presentation. User orientated and accessible learner's dictionaries can contribute substantially to the improvement of communication in a multilingual South Africa with different groups of language learners. In a learner's dictionary the information should be presented in such a way that it can be retrieved without problems. The metalexicography makes provision for guide structures that facilitate access to information in the dictionary. The external, internal and meta-access structures are functional structures that increase the retrievability of information and help the user to reach the information he/she is looking for, as swiftly as possible. During the planning of a dictionary, the lexicographer must draw up a dictionary plan with a detailed explanation of the external and internal access structure. Such a dictionary plan contributes to a consistent application of lexicographical decisions. Decisions regarding the access structures must also be explained and illustrated in the front text in order for learners to acquire dictionary skills and become effective dictionary users. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Woordeboeke moet saamgestel word met inagneming van 'n spesifieke teikengroep en woordeboekdoel. Gebruikersgerigtheid is egter nie die enigste kriteria waaraan die sukses van 'n woordeboek gemeet word nie. In die hedendaagse leksikografie word die toeganklikheid van 'n woordeboek ook gemeet en beoordeel. Die gemak waarmee makro- en mikrostrukturele inligting opgespoor en ontsluit word, bepaal dus die kwaliteit en die toeganklikheid van die aanbieding. Binne 'n multitalige Suid-Afrika, met verskillende groepe taalaanleerders, kan aanleerderwoordeboeke wat op spesifieke gebruikers gerig is en toeganklik is, 'n wesenlike bydrae lewer tot die bevordering van kommunikasie. In 'n aanleerderwoordeboek moet inligting op so 'n manier aangebied word dat dit probleemloos herwin kan word. Die metaleksikografie maak voorsiening vir gidsstrukture wat toegang tot inligting in die woordeboek vergemaklik. Die eksterne, interne en metatoegangstrukture is funksionele struktuurelemente wat die herwinbaarheid van inligting verhoog en die gebruiker help om so vinnig as moontlik by die verlangde inligting uit te kom Die leksikograaf moet tydens die beplanning van 'n aanleerderwoordeboek 'n woordeboekplan opstel waarin onder andere die eksterne en interne toegangstruktuur uiteengesit word. So 'n woordeboekplan dra by tot 'n konsekwente toepassing van stelselbesluite. Besluite oor die toegangstruktuur moet ook in die toeligting beskryf en gei1lustreer word, sodat aanleerders woordeboekontsluitingsvaardighede kan verwerf en effektiewe woordeboekgebruikers kan word.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis--M.A. (Hons. Translation)--University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, (Faculty of Education), 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-197).

Thesis (DLitt)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the Internet.

- / -

No description available.

The study was aimed at establishing in a scientific way the extent to which Sepedi is able to fulfill its role as one of the official languages in South Africa. The primary research question was whether Sepedi could function as a medium of communication in all the higher domains of life. The research question was addressed by firstly making a study of the language clauses and the language stipulations of the South African Constitution. The second step was to situate the research within the theoretical paradigm of language development and language planning and to take cognizance of both international and local perspectives in this field. In order to plan the way forward it was necessary to determine the exact position of Sepedi as far as the adequacy of its lexicon was concerned. As a result of the fact that there are very few written sources in Sepedi regarding some of the high function domains it was decided to compile a corpus of South African English high function words to form the basis for determining the lexical capacity of Sepedi in higher function domains. The procedure for building a corpus was determined by studying the methodology and praxis of three well-known international corpora of English. Following the same basic strategies as the compilers of these corpora an English High Function Corpus was compiled. By making use of standard techniques in computational lexicography frequencies and spreading were determined, and keywords were studied in context. In order to establish whether Sepedi does indeed have translation equivalents for the English high function words, and has the lexical capacity to act as a fully-fledged official language, the most appropriate sources to be used as diagnostic instruments were found to be the existing bilingual English-Sepedi dictionaries. The treatment of lexical items in the English-Sepedi bilingual dictionaries led to the conclusion that only 8 of the English high function words were not entered in any of the three dictionaries studied. The investigation also provided valuable insight into the quality and comprehensiveness of these dictionaries and indicated that they are in dire need of revision. Language planners and lexicographers of Sepedi are advised to make use of the heuristic and diagnostic tools available in modem-day metalexicography, but also to make sure that all lexicographical work reflects the linguistic reality within the speech community. / Thesis (DLitt (African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / African Languages / unrestricted

This PhD thesis is about the design of a Setswana corpus for lexicography. While various corpora have been compiled and a variety of corpora-based researches attempted in African languages, no effort has been made towards corpus design. Additionally, although extensive analysis of the Setswana language has been done by missionaries, grammarians and linguists since the 1800s, none of such research is in corpus design. Most research has been largely on the grammatical study of the language. The recent corpora research in African languages in general has been on the use of corpora for the compilation of dictionaries and little of it is in corpus design. Pioneers of this kind of corpora research in African languages are Prinsloo and De Schryver (1999), De Schryver and Prisloo (2000 and 2001) and Gouws and Prisloo (2005). Because of a lack of research in corpora design particularly in African languages, this thesis is an attempt at filling that gap, especially for Setswana. It is hoped that the finding of this study will inspire similar designs in other languages comparable to Setswana. We explore corpus design by focusing on measuring a variety of text types for lexical richness at comparable token points. The study explores the question of whether a corpus compiled for lexicography must comprise a variety of texts drawn from different text types or whether the quality of retrieved information for lexicographic purposes from a corpus comprising diverse text varieties could be equally extracted from a corpus with a single text type. This study therefore determines whether linguistic variability is crucial in corpus design for lexicography. / Thesis (PhD (African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / African Languages / unrestricted

Thesis (DLitt)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / 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). / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die proefskrif bied 'n teoretiese model van 'n woordeboek in 'n spesifieke veld van die medisyne wat in drie tale aangebied word, naamlik Frans, Yipunu en Engels. Die besluit vir die opstel van so 'n woordeboek is gemotiveer deur die wens van die Gaboenese regering om plaaslike tale te bevorder. Die noodsaaklikheid bestaan vir Gaboen, soos ook ander Afrikalande, om 'n konstante en totale bewustheid oor gesondheid tussen die gemeenskappe te vestig as 'n proses van selfopvoeding in 'n poging om die verspreiding van siektes wat die regering baie geld kos, te verminder. Die samestelling van die woordeboek vereis nie slegs 'n woordeboekplan nie maar ook 'n deeglike teoretiese kennis van leksikografie as die dissipline gerig op die samestelling van woordeboeke. Die titel van die proefskrif vereis reeds 'n presiese bekendstelling van begrippe soos teorie, modelle, verduidelikings, woordeboeke, medisyne en terminologie; dit is die doel van hoofstuk 1. Hoofstuk 2 fokus op die mediese agtergrond in Gaboen met spesiale aandag aan die mediese infrastrukture in die land. Aangesien MIV/VIGS en malaria dodelike pandemies in Gaboen is, word spesiale aandag hieraan gewy, asook aan gesondheidsgebruike in die Weste en Afrika. Hoofstuk 3 bespreek verskeie teoretiese aspekte van die leksikografiese proses, vanaf data-insameling tot dataverspreiding, met besondere aandag aan die interdissiplinêre omgewing wat tans in Gaboen bestaan. Hoofstuk 4, die raamstruktuur, bevat metaleksikografiese struktuur-komponente en die klassifikasie van die woordeboek, waar die sentrale lys die belanggrikste deel van die woordeboek is maar nie langer die enigste plek vir die data-aanbod nie maar wat aangevul word deur ’n verskeidenheid buitetekste. Aandag is ook gegee aan die rol van verskeie funksies, byvoorbeeld die kennis- en kommunikasie-gerigte funksie. Hoofstuk 5 bied beide die makro- en mikrostruktuur as die kernstrukture van die woordeboek. Dit stel 'n hibriede tipe makrostruktuur bekend met ’n tematiese ordening gemeng met 'n alfabetiese makrostruktuur. Die verskillende temas wat ingesluit word in die 'FYEDMT' word gerangskik volgens die opskrifte van die lemams. Die lemmas in elke onderwerp is ook alfabeties. Die mikrostruktuur stel in nuwe tipe artikel bekend: die geamalgameerde woordeboekartikel met 'n kombinasie van drie individuele artikels. Hierdie nuwe tipe artikel gee die gebruiker drie duidelike soek-gebiede met die lemmas in Frans, Yipunu die eerste doeltaal en Engels die tweede doeltaal. Hoofstuk 6 ontwikkel die gidsstruktuur wat deur die toegangstruktuur gekonstitueer is (om die gebruiker te help deur verskeie middele en verskillende gebiede van data aan te bied vir beter konsultasie), die adresseringstruktuur (help die gebruiker met data-koördinasie) en die mediostruktuur (lei die gebruiker na spesifieke plekke in die woordeboek).