Speaker
Description
Japanese-English dictionaries (JEDs) are intended to help Japanese to produce texts in English. Those dictionaries have been developing with a number of innovative features to help the users with their productive activities. Currently, however, JEDs are put under tremendous pressure from digital translation tools and apps. In view of this, JEDs have to distinguish themselves from those digital competitors. For this purpose, JEDs should dramatically shift their emphasis from reference to the assistance in language production and learning. There is a limit to knowledge that human beings can retain in memory and draw on immediately. With this in mind, headwords, translational equivalents, and illustrative examples should be selected and provided. Basically, headwords should be selectively chosen, including superordinates which cover important concepts. On the other hand, relaxed approaches can be taken to include non-basic expressions (e.g., buzzwords and jargons) if they are judged to serve the productive needs of Japanese students of English. In rendering equivalents, in addition to Japanese-to-English lexical matchings, consideration should be given to the provision of items and patterns with wide applications (e.g., “phrasal constraints” [Nattinger & DeCarrico 1992: 41-42]). English equivalents and examples should be controlled both lexically and grammatically. Ideally, examples should be chosen or designed as models or bases to be memorized by the students for production, as those in A Grammar of English Words (Palmer, 1938).
