Ontological Study Of The Translatological Dictionaries

The dissertation is organized by the ontological perspective, and the relevant discussion and argumentation of the dissertation are carried out by the requirements and properties of ontology. Ontology can help people to understand the existence and nature of things. From the natural phase to humanistic one, ontology has stepped out of the metaphysical realm to the physical world, and the actual problems about human life and culture have become the research subjects of ontology. Despite the differences between understandings of ontology, there exist some common ones in terms of the properties of ontology, which are mainly expressed by the origin of existence, unification of noumenon and phenomenon, hermeneutic circle, and the emphasis of function. It is just on the basis of these properties of ontology that the chapters of the dissertation are built.The translatological dictionary has its lexicographical origin. There is a long history of dictionary culture, but lexicography, which mainly deals with the dictionary making and research, is just developed in the latter half of the 20th century. Lexicography mainly goes around the nature, property, typology, and function of the dictionary. For a long time, lexicography had been regarded as a branch of linguistics, as it dealt with the dictionary research only from the linguistic perspective. Later on, interdisciplinary study of the dictionary broadened people's academic horizon, and lexicography gradually developed into an independent discipline. As an independent discipline, lexicography must have its inner system and characters, and it is certain for lexicography to show its new properties, which are mainly characterized by its multidisciplinary integration, open perspective, and practice-oriented tendency. It is just these characteristics of lexicography that imply the lexicographical origin of the translatological dictionary. The translatological dictionary has its translatological origin. The existence of the translatological dictionary contains two noumenal aspects:one is the form and the other content. The lexicographical origin determines that the translatological dictionary is a kind of dictionary; the translatological origin determines that the translatological dictionary is a kind of specialized dictionary. The multivariate property of translatology determines the coexistence and mutual complementation of the multivariate perspectives in translation studies. The translatological dictionary, a way to deal with the translatological matters, is a new research perspective to translation studies. The systematic property of translatology determines that translatology, as an independent discipline, must have its theoretical system and research methodology. The translatological dictionary is conducive to the systematization the translatological matters. The open property of translatology determines that translation study is always open to be enriched, for interdisciplinary study in translatology is increasingly strengthened. The study of translatological dictionary, derived from the integration of lexicography and translatology, accords with the open property of translatology.The existence of the translatological dictionary lies in the integration of translatology and lexicography. With the production of translatological dictionaries and the theoretical study of them, the name and nature of the translatological dictionary have been established. As for the noumenal elements of the translatological dictionary, the dissertation argues from four aspects:a) Material cause. The material cause refers to the noumenal materials of the translatological dictionary. The noumenal materials of translatology constitute the noumenal materials of the translatological dictionary. With a strong tendency of interdisciplinarity, translatology must involve various kinds of knowledge, which are mainly composed of translatological concepts, terms, and proper nouns. b) Formal cause. In respect of the formal cause, it should reflect the requirements of lexicography. Therefore, the formal cause of the translatological dictionary should be oriented towards lexicography, which can verify if the presentation form of the translatological dictionary satisfies the lexicographical rules and regulations. In this respect, the dissertation mainly talks about the macrostructure, microstructure, and the physical features. c) Efficient cause. Efficient cause refers to the productivity of the noumenon of the translatological dictionary. The phenomena of the translatological dictionary are determined by the noumenon, and the noumenon of the translatological dictionary should be presented by the various phenomena. Therefore, the noumenon and phenomena of the translatological dictionary should be closely unified. d) Final cause. The final cause refers to purposes of the translatological dictionary, which can verify the function or value of the translatological dictionary. The noumenal elements of an entity are mutually dependent upon, forming an organic whole, and with the contradiction and unification of the noumenal elements, an entity is endowed with the inner drive for development. Each noumenal element is endowed with their existent meaning or value by its proving the existent meaning or value of the other elements, thus forming a hermeneutic circle. The noumenal elements of the study of translatological dictionary form a hermeneutic circle. With the movement of the hermeneutic circle, the study of translatological dictionary is endowed with its inner drive for development. The hermeneutic circle of the study of translatological dictionary is mainly composed of the dictionary compilers, theories concerning the translatological dictionaries, dictionary users, and the social and cultural background. In terms of the compilers, the dissertation discusses their perception, understanding, reason of the compilation and study of the translatological dictionary, and their professionalism as well. In terms of the theories, the dissertation mainly talks about the translatological dictionary in terms of its nature, typology, compilation principle, structure, criticism, function, and history. In terms of the users, the dissertation mainly talks about their awareness of the translatological dictionary, their cognitive competence, and the valid communication. In terms of the social and cultural background, the dissertation mainly talks about the publication of the translatological dictionary, science and technology, and ideology. All the elements of the study of translatological dictionary are ontologically related, forming a hermeneutic circle.Dictionary compilation is a part of cultural activities, leaving behind a long history. However, for a long time, the dictionary-making had escaped from the academic research, as people paid little heed to its functions. Not until the 18th century in the West did the lexicographers begin to talk about the quality of dictionaries. Comparatively, the translatological dictionary is much younger, with a short history of about three decades. Therefore, the study of translatological dictionary is too young to attract enough attention from the scholars, and as a result, people have not well understood the functions of the translatological dictionary. The dissertation probes into the functions of the study of translatological dictionary, testifying the existent values of the translatological dictionary, which can promote the development of the compilation and study of translatological dictionary. As for the functions, the dissertation first talks about the possibility for the study of translatological dictionary to be a discipline. According to the disciplinary science, the dissertation talks about the study of translatological dictionary in terms of its inner impetus, disciplinary environment, and disciplinary index system. The inner impetus lies in the movement of the hermeneutic circle of the study of translatological dictionary. The relevant disciplines, such as translatology, lexicography, linguistics, information engineering, communication theory, publication, bibliotheca, corpus, and so on, constitute a disciplinary environment. According to the disciplinary index system, the dissertation talks about the study of translatological dictionary in terms of its definition, research object, historical necessity, founder and his magnum opus, theoretical system, research methodology, and research objective. The study of translatological dictionary can clarify some misunderstandings. The study of translatological dictionary can also reveal its dynamical mechanism, its development pattern, and its development space. In addition, the scholars' discipline-building consciousness and their theory courage play an important role in promoting the compilation and study of the translatological dictionary.In conclusion, the dissertation deals with these aspects:significance of the application of ontology in this study, main findings or contributions of this study, limitations of this study, and some proposed future studies. To discuss the translatological dictionary and its study from the ontological perspective is conducive to the understanding of their properties and functions. In terms of the main findings of the study, the dissertation points out its thinking value, application value, and the ideas of disciplinary ecology. To elucidate the thinking value, the dissertation talks about the combination of systematic analysis and synthesis, and the combination of synchronic and diachronic surveys. To elucidate the application value, the dissertation talks about the contributions made by the compilation and study of translatological dictionary to translatology, specialized lexicography, and the study of translatological dictionary itself. To elucidate the ideas of disciplinary ecology, the dissertation talks about the descriptive function, integrative function, and filtrating function of the study of translatological dictionary. In terms of the limitations of the study, the dissertation points out that little effort is made to the empirical study and case study, and the research literature is mainly confined to China. In terms of the future studies, the dissertation proposes to make more translatological dictionaries, to raise people's awareness of the compilation and study of translatological dictionary, and to study the criticism specification of the translatological dictionary.