The Description & Application Of Glosses In The Definitions In ELDs & ECBDs For Chinese EFL Learners

A gloss is a short explanation used as an instrument for supplementing useful information within the entries in dictionaries. When glosses are used in the definitions, they, together with the core part of the definition, represent the meanings of the headwords and facilitate a better understanding of the definitions. Nevertheless there is a tendency to reduce the number of glosses or even to abandon the utilization in ELDs. The shift is triggered on the grounds that glosses harm the integrity of the definition and the definition with a gloss or glosses is not user-friendly. In fact, glosses have advantages over other means of supplying supplementary information. To some extent, they are necessary in defining the headwords. Therefore, it is not proper to blindly reduce the use of glosses or even to abandon them. In fact, what ELD editors need to do is to pursue optimized and effective presentation of glosses instead of canceling the use of glosses.The historical changes in the utilization of glosses in ELDs are explored and the types and functions of glosses are categorized. On the basis of these analyses, it is revealed that glosses are still very useful in maintaining the completeness and accuracy of the definitions and they are of great significance in fostering both the users' correct comprehension and production of English. And suggestions are put forward in an attempt to improve the presentation of glosses in ELDs. In addition, further researches into the applications of glosses in ECBDs are conducted and it is discovered that their power in this area lies in filling up the cultural, pragmatic and semantic gaps between the English headwords and the Chinese equivalents in ECBDs.