Selection of lexical units and arrangement of entries in dictionaries.
The selection of lexical units on the basis of social variations depends on the scope of the dictionary. the general purpose dictionaries may include the colloquialisms although normative dictionaries do not enter them. In the dictionaries using more of oral literature and unwritten texts the possibility of inclusion of colloquialism is greater than the dictionaries which are mainly based on written literature16.
Similarly a dictionary with a normative character might not include words pertaining to slangs, taboo etc., Smaller dictionaries and dictionaries for learners also to not have scope for their inclusion.
This much about the formal characteristic of the lexical entries. How to decide the number or density of entries in a dictionary? What are the criteria which help in the selection of entries? One very common and widely accepted criterion for selection of entries is the frequency of the lexical items. Frequency counts are specially made a basis for the selection of entries in a learner's dictionary, because they provide the vocabulary minimum criterion for selection of entries. There are many limitations of it.
Arrangement of Entries: The dictionary is not only a storehouse of the lexical information of a language. It is also clearing house of this information. The information should be presented in a dictionary in such a way that it is easily retrievable. The entries in a dictionary should, therefore, be arranged in such a way as to enable the reader to find the information quickly and correctly. It would be impractical to present the entries in a completely haphazard manner. This would "squarely defeat the very purpose of a reference work". (Malkiel 1967, 18) "A good dictionary therefore", as Mary Hass (1967. 41) remarks, "is one in which you can find the information you are looking for preferably in the very first place you look. Nothing could be sillier than the silly assumption, for too commonly encountered, that it is somehow good for the soul of the user if he has to work hard for what he is looking for".
Selection and arrangement of meanings.
Methods of lexicological analysis.
1.1. Contrastive AnalysisІ.2. Statistical Methods of Analysis І.3. Immediate Constituents Analysis І.4. Distributional Analysis and Co-occurrence І.5. Transformational Analysis І.6. Componential Analysis І.7. Method of Semantic Differential І.8. Contextual Analysis45. Regional variation in the English vocabulary.
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One of the most easily noticeable features characterizing some regional feature of a language is most certainly accent. Although it is generally believed that some people speak with an accent and others do not it is not true. Every language speaker utters words with some kind of accent which can tell the listeners where the speaker is from, as the very term accent is characterized as: the way of pronouncing words characteristic to a group of people showing which country, or part of country the speaker is from. Accent is frequently confused with the term dialect which denotes aspects of pronunciation together with words and syntax slightly different from the standard variety. Although various dialects of one language posses grammar rules and vocabulary characteristic to them, speakers of different dialects of one language understand each other without major difficulties. Moreover, one language user can speak two different dialects, or varieties of one language. In countries like China or Malta there are distinct forms of language used on everyday basis and on special occasions. Such a linguistic situation, when one variety of language is considered more prestigious and one move vernacular, but both are in use depending on situation is called diglossia.
Apart from regional variations of a language within the boundaries of a country or speech community there are other factors influencing language change. In certain areas of the world English has been used as a lexifier, that is a language which is a source of words, for varieties of language called pidgins. A pidgin, or a contact language, is a mixture of two other languages created usually because of trading purposes between peoples who do not share a common means of communication. English-based pidgins are used in India, Cameroon, or Nigeria for example. Such varieties of language often have limited vocabulary, poorly developed grammar and are used only when other types of communication are impossible. When a pidgin begins to be used by a larger number of people its vocabulary and grammar expand, and it starts to be used in a wider context. As it is developed as a contact language pidgin does not have any native speakers, yet if it is used on a wider scale children of people using it might acquire it as their mother tongue. When such a language starts to be used by a second generation of speakers it is called a creole. It is the next stage of development of pidgin and it is characterized by different grammatical features such as avoidance of passive voice, lack of case distinction in pronouns, different word order. Some English-based creoles include: Gambian Creole, Hawaiian Creole, Australian Creoles.
As the process of the development of a pidgin into a creole is called creolization, there is also a process of decreolization, which stimulates further change of a language. When people using a creole have some contact with the standard language they tend to shift from one form to the other thus often changing the structures of creole to make it resemble the standard version, perceived as having higher social prestige.
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