| Internet has changed the world significantly.Every day,new information is being produced and is spread via the Internet with unprecedented speed.When digital content competes with content in printed media,users are inclined to the new presentation form.Dictionaries,among a group of other traditional printed media,have to face the risk brought about by the digital booming.Some dictionary publishers have taken moves by providing online versions of the printed dictionaries.Although these Internet dictionaries are based on the printed versions,they manifest features that are unique in an online environment,especially in the settings of search paths.This thesis aims to study the various search paths adopted in online learner’s dictionaries due to their importance as well as diversity.Taking the online British Big Five as the research objects,this thesis investigates how search paths are devised in an online environment,with their obvious advantage of hyper-text links.Moreover,it seeks to evaluate the efficiency of these search paths.In order to achieve these goals,this thesis draws from lexicographical information costs,the Relevance theory as well as the Game theory and proposes a theoretical framework which gives an explanation of the rationale of search paths in these online dictionaries.Taking the very nature of online dictionaries as well as the efficiency of search paths into consideration,the framework consists of three parts:the dynamic compiler-user relationship,interactive strategies,and optimal relevance.Then,under such a framework,this thesis takes up a comparative approach to discussing search paths in the online British Big Five.This thesis classifies search paths in these online dictionaries into two groups,those from users to internal lexicographical information and those from internal lexicographical information to other internal lexicographical information,that is,the external access as well as internal access.After that,it summarizes their respective strengths and weaknesses.In light of the analysis of existing strategies adopted by the online British Big Five,the thesis then puts forward some optimization suggestions for the access in online learner’s dictionaries from three aspects.First,this thesis argues that irrelevant search paths should be abandoned.Second,the relevance between search paths and their linking content should be explicit and strengthened.Third,new designs of search paths for more use situations should be adopted to satisfy users’ needs.This thesis concludes that in setting the search paths in an online environment,dictionary compilers are attempting to build a more dynamic community for both compilers and their users.The associations or relevance that they attempt to present can,and should,be evaluated under the relevance principle,so as to achieve optimal utility in their communication with their online users. |
