On Equivalent Discrimination In Verb Entries In Chinese-English Dictionaries For Chinese Intermediate EFL Learners

Most of the current Chinese-English dictionaries for EFL learners often contain at least two English equivalents, which are near-synonyms, for each sense of a Chinese entry. Taking the users’needs into consideration, C-E dictionaries should include effective equivalent discrimination. But the truth is that no or scanty information about equivalent discrimination can be found in C-E dictionaries. As a result, users, especially elementary or intermediate EFL learners, often have difficulty in choosing the appropriate equivalent for the Chinese word they want to express in English when consulting C-E dictionaries. Against this background, the present thesis intends to investigate the major difficulties Chinese intermediate EFL learners encounter in choosing the appropriate equivalent of a Chinese entry when consulting C-E dictionaries and EFL learners’reference expectations for equivalent discrimination. Besides, the thesis aims at pinpointing the major problems with equivalent discrimination in C-E dictionaries and proposing possible solutions for future improvement. Because of the importance of verbs in both Chinese and English, the present thesis especially focuses on verbs.The thesis approaches the first two research goals by carrying out a C-E translation test and a questionnaire survey.48subjects with intermediate level of English proficiency were chosen in the present study. The subjects were required to do the translation test twice. During the first test, they had to do the test without any reference book. During the second test, they could use the mini-dictionary, the information in which was extracted from A Chinese-English Dictionary. The test result revealed that the major difficulty EFL learners encounter when consulting C-E dictionaries is that the information provided in C-E dictionaries can not help them choose the appropriate equivalent. The questionnaire survey mainly investigated the subjects’ reference expectations for equivalent discrimination in verb entries. According to the result of the survey, the subjects’expectations can be summarized as follows:1) The difference between the equivalents in denotation, collocation, emotion, style and register should be presented in dictionaries.2) Examples, usage labels and usage notes are preferred ways to present equivalent discrimination. Besides, a special discrimination column can also be adopted.3) Examples are expected to play an important role in equivalent discrimination. And special attention should be paid to the treatment of examples so that the information conveying the difference between the equivalents can be more easily noticed by users.In order to find out the main problems with equivalent discrimination in C-E dictionaries, the present thesis examined three major C-E dictionaries. Based on the data from the dictionary survey, the author found that the problems can be identified in the quantity and quality of the information provided for equivalent discrimination in verb entries. As regards the quantity, three drawbacks, namely zero addressing, under-addressing and over addressing, are pinpointed. The problem in the quality is mainly reflected in the treatment of examples. Specifically, the examples are often not representative to show the difference between the equivalents of verb entries.Then the author proceeded to explore how to improve the treatment of equivalent discrimination in verb entries. By studying Zgusta’s classification of lexical meaning and taking into account EFL learners’ expectations, the author put forward the following suggestions. 1) In terms of the content of equivalent discrimination, C-E dictionaries should show the difference between the equivalents of verb entries in designative meaning, connotative meaning and collocation.2) As to the ways to present equivalent discrimination, C-E dictionaries should employ examples, usage notes and usage labels. Besides, a special discrimination column can also be adopted.3) When it comes to using examples to present equivalent discrimination, lexicographers must bear in mind that the examples must be adequate in amount and representative enough to show the difference between the equivalents.The study has both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it applies Zgusta’s view on the classification of lexical meaning into equivalent discrimination in verb entries, which provides a useful criterion for what kind of differences between the equivalents of verb entries should be presented in dictionaries. Practically, this thesis proposes helpful suggestions on the improvement of equivalent discrimination in verb entries so that the future C-E dictionaries can meet EFL learners’encoding needs better.