Browsing by Author "Dziemianko, Anna"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 20
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item A new type of folk-inspired definition in English monolingual learners' dictionaries and its usefulness for conveying syntactic information(Oxford University Press, 2006) Lew, Robert; Dziemianko, AnnaA new type of definition of abstract noun headwords, the single-clause when-definition, has recently found its way into major English monolingual learners' dictionaries. In line with a current broad tendency in pedagogical lexicography, the new definition format seems to be modeled after (English) folk defining, although in fact the latter has so far received little systematic study. The present contribution focuses on the usefulness of the new definition format for conveying syntactic class information to the foreign learner, who may be unfamiliar with the English folk defining tradition. The new definition is tested empirically against the traditional analytical definition.Item Coding systems in monolingual English learners’ dictionaries: Form and utility(Adam Mickiewicz University, 2002) Dziemianko, AnnaItem Dictionary form in decoding, encoding and retention: Further insights(Cambridge University Press, 2017) Dziemianko, AnnaItem Dictionary, lexicon, glossary, wordbook or thesaurus? The usefulness of OALDCE7 and OLT for choosing the right word(Afûk, 2010) Dziemianko, AnnaThe aim of the present study is to investigate the usefulness of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (7th edition, OALDCE7) and the Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus (OLT) for discriminating between synonyms. The paper is underpinned by empirical research, in which 73 advanced learners of English took part. In the experiment, words appropriate for given contexts had to be indicated in different synonym sets. The results reveal that neither dictionary significantly shortened the time needed to complete the task. Nonetheless, the use of OLT much more often resulted in successful synonym selection. Interestingly, synonym notes, present in both dictionaries, did not affect the subjects’ choices. Besides, different information was usually referred to in the two dictionaries. In OALDCE7 the subjects paid attention most often to definitions, while in OLT – to examples. The results of the supplementary questionnaire suggest that the students’ familiarity with the two dictionary types could not have affected their performance. They were nonetheless more satisfied with their results when they had OLT at their disposal rather than OALDCE7. Yet, they were critical of the arrangement of synonyms in the OLT synonym clusters, where the alphabetical order, rather than frequency, would be a better solution.Item Does dictionary form really matter?(2011) Dziemianko, AnnaItem Non-standard dictionary definitions: What they cannot tell native speakers of Polish(Cadernos de Traduçao, 2006) Lew, Robert; Dziemianko, AnnaRecently, a new defining format has been gaining in popularity in abstract noun entries of monolingual English learners’ dictionaries: a single-clause when-definition. The present study attempts to investigate the role of the definition of this format, placed in a complete microstructure, in conveying information on the syntactic class of nominal headwords. To achieve this aim, tests were designed and run on several groups of Polish learners of English at the intermediate level. Balanced parallel forms were employed, where single-clause when-definitions were contrasted with their closest analytical analogs in full dictionary entries. It was found that both the new and the classical definition formats resulted in comparably frequent correct POS identification of the headword nouns. This is in stark contrast to the results yielded by Lew & Dziemianko’s research (in press), which has inspired the present analysis, where the definition formats were investigated in isolation from other components of the microstructure. Analysis of the consultation behaviour suggests that the syntactic label was the only element of the entry consulted with any frequency, which suggests that the subjects may have approached the task as a metalexicographic exercise.Item Noun and verb codes in English monolingual dictionaries for foreign learners: A study of usefulness in the Polish context(Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, 2012-09) Dziemianko, AnnaThe book is devoted to noun and verb coding systems in monolingual dictionaries for foreign learners of English. It opens with an overview of noun and verb codes in learners’ dictionaries published in the years 1938–2010. Tracing the evolution of coding systems for the two parts of speech throughout the history of English pedagogical lexicography leads to the identification of two approaches to coding the syntax of nouns and verbs. Mainstream and alternative coding systems are distinguished, and it is they that inspired the empirical study presented in the next part of the book. Around 900 native speakers of Polish took part in the experiment conducted to assess the usefulness of the identified systems of codes. Besides the subjects’ proficiency in English, the following variables were included: degree of syntactic congruence between English and Polish lexical items, presence of codes, form of codes and part of speech. The participants were given a test in which they had to complete partial English translations of 12 Polish sentences using specific nouns and verbs in appropriate syntactic constructions. The nouns and verbs were headwords of dictionary entries compiled for the purpose of the study and manipulated accordingly. The obtained results make it possible to judge whether syntactic codes in learners’ dictionaries are necessary, how their user-friendliness is affected by the selected variables and whether the global character of pedagogical dictionaries of English should be changed, considering syntactic anisomorphism between English and users’ native language. Apart from codes, attention is paid to examples, the other vehicle for syntactic information in the supplied entries.Item Noun and verb codes in pedagogical dictionaries of English: User-friendliness revisited(Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2008) Dziemianko, AnnaThe aim of the present paper is to assess the user-friendliness of noun and verb coding systems in pedagogical dictionaries of English, measured by the frequency with which relevant information properly used in a productive task is located in codes. The influence of the following independent variables on the user-friendliness of codes is studied: the degree of syntactic congruity between Polish lexical items and English headwords, the form of codes, the grammatical category of headwords and the level of dictionary users’ proficiency in English. To investigate the influence of the form of codes on their user-friendliness, codes in noun and verb entries were divided into mainstream – referring to formal categories, transparent and prevalent in pedagogical dictionaries, and alternative – which, used very sparingly in today’s dictionaries, include reference to sentence functions (verbs) or many quite opaque symbols (nouns).Conclusions are drawn on the basis of an experiment in which almost 900 Polish subjects, advanced and intermediate in English, were involved in a translation task in which they had to use English noun and verb entries compiled for the purpose of the study. The results show that differences in grammar between Polish and English did not affect the consultation of either noun or verb codes. Strangely enough, alternative, and seemingly more demanding codes were strongly favored by the intermediate subjects, and – in the case of verbs – also the advanced ones. The part of speech played a very significant role at the higher level of proficiency, but was not important for the reference to codes by the less advanced. Finally, the higher level of proficiency in English made the subjects appreciate codes more fully, which may be seen as an argument for maintaining the over 70-year tradition of encoding syntactic information in pedagogical dictionaries of English.Item On the non-Africanness of 'A Dictionary of South African English'(Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2007) Dziemianko, AnnaItem On the presentation and placement of collocations in monolingual English learners’ dictionaries: Insights into encoding and retention(2014) Dziemianko, AnnaThe paper reports on an empirical investigation in which the effect of lexicographic presentation and positioning of collocations on encoding and retention was analysed. Two places of collocations in entries (entry-initial and entry-final) in three presentation conditions (box, bold before examples, bold within examples) were taken into consid- eration. The experiment centred on verb+noun collocations and was conducted among a large group of non-native speakers of English at the intermediate level. The results show that the presentation and place of collocations significantly affected their use. Remembering collocations, in turn, proved to be conditioned by the adopted mode of presentation, but not by their distribution in the entry. The paper ends with suggestions for optimizing the presentation of collocations depending on their position in the micro- structure. The investigation does not prove the usefulness of collocation boxes.Item On the use(fulness) of paper and electronic dictionaries(Oxford University Press, 2012-12) Dziemianko, AnnaThe aim of the chapter is to compare the use and usefulness of paper and electronic dictionaries, as revealed by the latest research in the field. Various formats of electronic dictionaries are taken into consideration and the effect of the electronic medium is discussed. The main frame of reference was provided by the empirical studies which compare the use of paper and electronic dictionaries. Nonetheless, attention is also paid to the investigations which focused on one medium, but yielded findings relevant to the present discussion. The analysis is structured around the following areas: decoding, encoding, speed, look-up frequency, learning and appreciation. In view of the wide variety of the studies referred to, comparability issues and limitations of current research are highlighted. Possible directions of further investigations into paper vs. electronic dictionary use are outlined in the final part of the chapter.Item Research into dictionary use by Polish learners of English: Some methodological considerations(Adam Mickiewicz University, 2006) Dziemianko, Anna; Lew, RobertItem Single-clause when-definitions: Take three(Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo, 2012-08) Lew, Robert; Dziemianko, AnnaIn our EURALEX 2006 contribution (Dziemianko and Lew 2006), we focused on the practice of defining certain abstract nouns by means of a when-clause, which seems to have gained much popularity in recent years in some major monolingual English learners’ dictionaries. We tested the hypothesis that a definition of this format would fare worse than the classic analytical definition in terms of conveying information on the syntactic class of the lemma. Experiments with Polish high-intermediate and advanced learners of English provided strong empirical support for this hypothesis. However, the testing instruments employed in the 2006 study used a relatively restricted microstructure, with just headwords and definitions. In the present follow-up study, we attempt to verify the results using a more complete microstructure to assess the strength of the effect of single-clause when-definitions on syntactic class identification in the presence of other potential indicators of syntactic class. Below we summarize the findings of the whole series of studies of this contentious defining format.Item SUBJECT-VERB CONCORD WITH COLLECTIVE NOUNS OR THE COUNT-MASS DISTINCTION: WHICH IS MORE DIFFICULT FOR POLISH LEARNERS OF ENGLISH?(Versita Ltd., de Gruyter, 2008) Dziemianko, AnnaTwo aspects of English syntax were chosen for closer analysis in the present paper, i.e., subject- verb concord involving collective nouns in the singular and the syntactic marking of noun reclas- sification from the category of uncountable nouns to that of countable ones with the help of the indefinite article. The study aims to find out which of them is more difficult for Polish learners of English and whether the degree of difficulty depends on the learners’ proficiency in the foreign language. The discussion is based on the results yielded by an empirical study in which interme- diate and advanced Polish students of English took part. The subjects had to complete partial English translations of Polish sentences with specific low-frequency English nouns which substi- tuted true English equivalents of the Polish nouns shown in the sentences. The study reveals that marking subject-verb concord in the case of collective subject nouns was as difficult for the sub- jects as signaling the count-mass distinction by means of the indefinite article and the zero arti- cle, respectively.Item Item When you are explaining the meaning of a word: The effect of abstract noun definition format on syntactic class identification(Edizioni dell'Orso, 2006) Dziemianko, Anna; Lew, RobertRecently, a new defining format has been gaining in popularity in abstract noun entries of monolingual English learners’ dictionaries: a single-clause when-definition. The present study attempts to investigate the role of the definition of this format, placed in a complete microstructure, in conveying information on the syntactic class of nominal headwords. To achieve this aim, tests were designed and run on several groups of Polish learners of English at the intermediate level. Balanced parallel forms were employed, where single-clause when-definitions were contrasted with their closest analytical analogs in full dictionary entries. It was found that both the new and the classical definition formats resulted in comparably frequent correct POS identification of the headword nouns. This is in stark contrast to the results yielded by Lew and Dziemianko’s research (in press), which has inspired the present analysis, where the definition formats were investigated in isolation from other components of the microstructure.Item When-definitions revisited(Oxford Journals, 2013) Dziemianko, Anna; Lew, RobertThe aim of this paper is to analyze the usefulness of when-definitions for conveying information on the grammatical category of headwords. Such definitions are currently employed in some monolingual learners’ dictionaries (MLDs) to define abstract nouns, but they have a much longer tradition in English lexicography. By way of introduction, this defining pattern is compared with other definition formats prevalent in learners’ dictionaries. The research which it has already inspired is then reviewed. The empirical investigation whose results are reported below reveals whether when-definitions actually affect part of speech recognition in most naturalistic conditions. The general evaluation of the real potential of when-definitions to inform users about the syntactic category of nouns leads to recommendations, formulated at the end of the paper, on further implementation of this defining strategy in learners’ dictionaries.Item Where Verb Entries Fail: The Case of A Dictionary of South African English(Department of Dutch and South African Studies, Faculty of English, 2007) Dziemianko, AnnaItem Why one and two do not make three: Dictionary form revisited(2012-11) Dziemianko, Anna