Categorization-Based Definition Pattern Of Plant Words In English Learner’s Dictionary

Definition has always been considered as the core of a dictionary, but entries aretraditionally arranged in alphabetical order in dictionaries, which leads to thefragmentation of semantic network among lexical items. Thus, plant words related byall kinds of lexical relations are separated and get different definition patterns, whichmay cause confusion to dictionary users and lower their cognitive efficiency.Categorization is a basic mental process of human beings to understand theworld, and it is fundamental in language, since people group objects and ideas in thereal world into different categories and then form concepts in the mind, during whichlanguage plays a central role. Therefore, in order to straighten out the relationsbetween reference and definition, we adopt the categorization approach to improvethe definitions.In the present study, we choose the plant words in Big Fives as the researchsubjects, and we classify the plant into five main categories such as tree, bush, grass,fruit and crop. Then we discuss the construction of a category system based on lexicalrelations including meronymy, hyponymy, material-product relation, etc. Furthermore,we introduce some lexical data resources that helps us in analyzing the lexicalrelations, such as the WordNet, Visuwords and botanical reference books as well.Based on the category system, we analyze their definitions in present dictionaries.With the help of these definitions and the lexical data resources, we manage to figureout the prototype of each category and the non-prototypical features of each memberof the category. Finally, we attempt to bring forward a new definition pattern whichillustrates the prototypical feature of the category as well as the distinctivenon-prototypical features of each member.Through the optimization of the definition pattern, we hope that we can improvethe dictionary users’ cognitive efficiency and save the time and effort of compilers atthe same time. Furthermore, the category system based on categorization has apractical value and promises the prospect in electronic dictionaries.