English Dictionaries for Foreign Learners: A History (review)

The sad fact is that foreign language learners do not like using dictionaries and that their teachers do not know much about dictionary skills instruction or about the most recent developments in modern learners’ dictionaries. Thus, L2 learners have serious difficulties using dictionaries because they do not know how to use them, are not motivated to use them, and are not taught how to use them. However, language teachers should realize that efficient dictionary use, although quite complex, can be taught, and that vocabulary skills can be improved with efficient dictionary use. This historical treatment of monolingual learners’ dictionaries elucidates the principles developed for pedagogical lexicography during the 20th century, culminating in the publication of four modern English as a second language (ESL) dictionaries in 1995. The valuable front matter and introduction include thumbnail biographies of the seminal figures, Palmer, West, and Hornby. The 232 total pages are organized into six chapters and several useful appendixes (199–232). Cowie’s book provides much of the background necessary for language teachers to understand 21st century lexicography.

Ch. 1, ‘The genesis of the learner’s dictionary’ (1–51), covers the historical and pedagogical underpinnings for principles dictating a limited entry word list, a controlled vocabulary for words that define entries, and a microstructure that is user-friendly. C considers several difficult questions regarding the treatment of polysemous words, collocations, and grammar in the entries.

Ch. 2, ‘Phraseology and the learner’s dictionary’ (52–81), demonstrates the crucial importance of the comprehensive treatment of fixed phrases for ESL learners in these dictionaries, elucidating the principles behind the treatment of collocations in phrases and clauses. In the strongest chapter in the book, C cogently explains the historical developments behind the changes in the entries for phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs, idioms, and metaphorical language. The American reader may note the Briticisms, ‘she’ll only want to shove her oar in’ and ‘cut and thrust’ (73), as well as ‘blow the gaff’ and ‘a belt and braces approach’ (116). However, readers will see that C addresses learners’ dictionaries from an all-inclusive perspective based on a sense of fairness unbiased by a Eurocentric perspective.

Ch. 3, ‘The second generation of learners’ dictionaries’ (82–143), delineates users’ needs regarding pronunciations, definitions, examples, and other critical sections of the entry for the Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary (OALD) and the Longman dictionary of contemporary English (LDOCE) of the late 1970s. C provides a masterful explication of the treatment of collocations and grammatical information in the first four editions of the OALD, the later editions of which C helped to design, construct, and edit. C critiques LDOCE’s defining style, comparing OALD favorably with LDOCE, and analyzes OALD’s and LDOCE’s examples, invented by editors or taken from materials, following the competing principles of economy and naturalness.

Ch. 4, ‘The role of the computer in learner lexicography’ (118–42), links the findings of the researchers of the 1930s and 40s to recent developments in computer corpora, demonstrating that West, Palmer, and Hornby had already conceived of many ‘modern’ innovations.

Ch. 5, ‘The third generation of learners’ dictionaries’ (144–74), introduces COBUILD’s innovative defining style in 1987, LDOCE’s editorial response in the late 1980s, and OALD’s modifications to its defining policy and microstructure that C oversaw. He also develops a comparative analysis of the treatment of verb complementation, collocation, style, register, and attitudinal labels, areas in which COBUILD does not compare well.

Ch. 6, ‘Focus on the dictionary user’ (175–98), reports the important editorial shift to decoding, i.e. reading comprehension, as a goal for ESL dictionary use rather than encoding skills, writing and speaking. In a comparative summary of seminal research on dictionary use, C explains how expanded entries, simplified grammatical codes, and improved examples have resulted in four new (1995) dictionaries that genuinely assist learners of English. These include the three above, OALD, LDOCE, and COBUILD, and the new Cambridge University Press ESL dictionary, CIDE...