MAKING A COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARY
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Diana Lea
Abstract
This paper seeks to explain the process and principles behind the selection and presentation of collocations in the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English. It argues for a pragmatic interpretation of the concept of collocation, based firmly on the needs of language learners. Thus, the whole range of collocations is included, from the relatively weak to the strongest and most restricted, but with the greatest emphasis on the “medium-strength” collocations between these two extremes. Judgements were not made as to the “predictability” of particular word combinations. The presentation of the collocations in the dictionary is designed to make selection of the best collocate by the user as intuitive as possible. Where possible, grammar is “pre-digested”, with collocates presented in the form in which they are most likely to be used. Collocates are grouped (but not labelled) according to semantic categories. The aim was to make the dictionary accessible not only to keen linguists, but to all who wish to improve their writing in English, whether interested in the mechanics of the language or not.
© 2014 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co.
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Inhalt
- Editorial
- INTRODUCTION: THE MYSTERY OF COLLOCATION
- DIE KOLLOKATIONEN IM RAHMEN DER PHRASEOLOGIE – SYSTEMATISCHE UND HISTORISCHE DARSTELLUNG
- COLLOCATIONS AND EXAMPLES: THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND TREATMENT IN A NEW CORPUS-BASED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY
- MAKING A COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARY
- TO ERR IS NOT ALL: WHAT CORPUS AND ELICITATION CAN REVEAL ABOUT THE USE OF COLLOCATIONS BY LEARNERS
- A COUPLE HOURS – ON NON-OCCURRENCE OF OF AFTER PARTITIVE ENGLISH NOUNS
- NON-COMPOSITIONALITY AND EMERGENT MEANING OF LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL CHUNKS: A CORPUS STUDY OF NOUN PHRASES WITH SENTENTIAL COMPLEMENTS AS CONSTRUCTIONS
- REVIEWS
- LIST OF AUTHORS
Articles in the same Issue
- Titelei
- Inhalt
- Editorial
- INTRODUCTION: THE MYSTERY OF COLLOCATION
- DIE KOLLOKATIONEN IM RAHMEN DER PHRASEOLOGIE – SYSTEMATISCHE UND HISTORISCHE DARSTELLUNG
- COLLOCATIONS AND EXAMPLES: THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND TREATMENT IN A NEW CORPUS-BASED LEARNER’S DICTIONARY
- MAKING A COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARY
- TO ERR IS NOT ALL: WHAT CORPUS AND ELICITATION CAN REVEAL ABOUT THE USE OF COLLOCATIONS BY LEARNERS
- A COUPLE HOURS – ON NON-OCCURRENCE OF OF AFTER PARTITIVE ENGLISH NOUNS
- NON-COMPOSITIONALITY AND EMERGENT MEANING OF LEXICO-GRAMMATICAL CHUNKS: A CORPUS STUDY OF NOUN PHRASES WITH SENTENTIAL COMPLEMENTS AS CONSTRUCTIONS
- REVIEWS
- LIST OF AUTHORS
