On The Necessity And Readability Of Etymological Information In Advanced English-Chinese Dictionaries

Etymology is the study of the origins and developments of words in languages. This thesis aims at emphasizing the importance of EI and necessity of improving its readability in advanced English-Chinese Dictionaries (AECDs). The author points out that EI offer many beneficial motivations to culture-bound words, neologism, idioms, slang, loan words and word-formation. EI may originate from a variety of sources. Some are borrowed from countries abroad, some from mythologies and fairy tales, and others from literature, etc. It's an instructive supplement for the comprehension of words.AECDs are useful tools for language learners. But according to the findings of the author, only a few AECDs have set up EI column. Among those with EI, some offer too simple EI, some use too many complicated symbols and abbreviations, others are too obscure to understand. Only a few are elite. Therefore, it's necessary to improve the readability of EI in AECDs.First, the author conducts questionnaires and experiments on target users of AECDs to test whether EI are useful to them. The feedback proves affirmative. Then similar approaches are carried out in order to find out what forms of EI presentation they prefer. Base on the results of the investigation, the author compares various ways AECDs treat EI, and finally proposes several optimal models for EI in the entry words that need etymological explanations.To sum up, this thesis elaborates the academic and practical significance of setting up EI in AECDs. The author claims that the readability of EI should be improved accordingly to exert the charms and functions of etymology to the maximum.