Functions Of Illustrative Examples In Bilingual Dictionaries From The Perspective Of Psycholinguistics

With the dynamic booming of linguistic research and language teaching, scholars start to turn their attention to the integration of lexicography and other relevant subjects. They try their best to further develop lexicography, on the basis of interdisciplinary research, so as to improve the framework of dictionaries and to enrich their contents. As an indispensible and practical tool for a bilingual learner, English-Chinese bilingual dictionaries should be reader-oriented, being considerate of the need and perspective of the learners. With real languages in daily lives, the context created should be rational, vivid and consistent with the cognitive progress of dictionary readers. These enable learners to apprehend and acquire usages of the target word, and then, according to its definition, flexibly apply the target language in similar and concrete contexts. Taking the English-Chinese Dictionary (Second Edition) edited by Lu Gusun as an example, this dissertation, from the perspective of Psychological Linguistics, discusses the cognitive function, contextual function and cultural function of illustrative examples in bilingual dictionaries. Then, the paper also analyzes the modes of those three functions during the learning process. Lexicographers should master the cognitive characteristics and rules of language learners, and at the same time, the functions of illustrative examples during the process of language learning should be taken into account as well. This is the only way to make English-Chinese bilingual dictionaries become more in line with the natural laws of language learning, fulfill demands of dictionary readers, and ultimately promote the communications and interactions between different languages and cultures.