Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour
Multi-word expressions (MWEs) are a known challenge to lexicographers and language learners alike. Dictionary articles are traditionally organized around single words, so lexicographers are forced to choose the headword under which to include a given MWE. When users encounter a problematic MWE i...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2022
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/1/54842-194028-1-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848815167530336256 |
|---|---|
| author | Lew, Robert Tomczak, Ewa |
| author_facet | Lew, Robert Tomczak, Ewa |
| author_sort | Lew, Robert |
| building | UKM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Multi-word expressions (MWEs) are a known challenge to lexicographers and language learners alike. Dictionary
articles are traditionally organized around single words, so lexicographers are forced to choose the headword under
which to include a given MWE. When users encounter a problematic MWE in text, they also face the choice of the
component word under which to look it up. The present study attempts to find out what factors can predict such lexical
choices so that lexicographers can position the information in the very entry that dictionary users will choose to
consult. Based on previous findings, four factors are selected as potentially predictive: lexical frequency, part of
speech, word position, and word length. A list of thirty-seven English sentences with MWE’s was presented to 155
Polish students at high school and university levels, asking them to indicate which word they would choose to look up
in a dictionary. Our analysis suggests that these choices are best explained in terms of lexical frequency, with a
preference for less frequent items. Empirical results are then compared with actual lexicographic practice for these
very MWE’s in five major English learners’ dictionaries, indicating there is much room for improvement, and that
such improvement is easily achieved using our findings. Finally, it is argued that the issue of MWE lemmatization is
relevant for print and digital dictionaries alike. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:45:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | oai:generic.eprints.org:20683 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T00:45:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | oai:generic.eprints.org:206832022-12-11T00:51:08Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/ Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour Lew, Robert Tomczak, Ewa Multi-word expressions (MWEs) are a known challenge to lexicographers and language learners alike. Dictionary articles are traditionally organized around single words, so lexicographers are forced to choose the headword under which to include a given MWE. When users encounter a problematic MWE in text, they also face the choice of the component word under which to look it up. The present study attempts to find out what factors can predict such lexical choices so that lexicographers can position the information in the very entry that dictionary users will choose to consult. Based on previous findings, four factors are selected as potentially predictive: lexical frequency, part of speech, word position, and word length. A list of thirty-seven English sentences with MWE’s was presented to 155 Polish students at high school and university levels, asking them to indicate which word they would choose to look up in a dictionary. Our analysis suggests that these choices are best explained in terms of lexical frequency, with a preference for less frequent items. Empirical results are then compared with actual lexicographic practice for these very MWE’s in five major English learners’ dictionaries, indicating there is much room for improvement, and that such improvement is easily achieved using our findings. Finally, it is argued that the issue of MWE lemmatization is relevant for print and digital dictionaries alike. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022-09 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/1/54842-194028-1-PB.pdf Lew, Robert and Tomczak, Ewa (2022) Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 28 (3). pp. 69-83. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1543 |
| spellingShingle | Lew, Robert Tomczak, Ewa Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title | Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title_full | Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title_fullStr | Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title_short | Where should English Dictionaries place multi-word expressions? A study of user consultation behaviour |
| title_sort | where should english dictionaries place multi-word expressions? a study of user consultation behaviour |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20683/1/54842-194028-1-PB.pdf |