Basic-level Categories And The Optimization Of The Macrostructure Of Onomasiological Learner's Dictionaries

Arranged from concepts to words and characterized by a detailed microstructure,the onomasiological learner's dictionary combines features of both the onomasiological dictionary and the learner 's dictionary.It functions to fulfill the production needs of intermediate and advanced EFL learners.Previous studies of the onomasiological learner 's dictionary or the onomasiological dictionary as a whole are mainly concerned with the lexical relations.Though consistent with learners'expression process i.e.from concepts to words,this type of dictionary generally arranges words on the basis of a classification system rather than the alphabetical order.As a result,learners usually feel perplexed to access,which greatly reduces the effectiveness of the dictionary.This thesis adopts the concept of basic-level categories from cognitive linguistics as the framework,attempting to discuss how to optimize the onomasiological learner's dictionary,in particular its macrostructure,with this concept.A case study of the second edition of Longman Language Activator was conducted.After setting the criteria of basic-level terms-representation of basic-level categories in linguistic field,Key Words in the dictionary are divided into groups according to word classes and then judged whether they are basic-level terms or not.The result reveals that more than 80 percent of the Key Words meet the criteria,especially the adjectival and verbal Key Words.The concept of basic-level categories exerts the most notable influence on the macrostructure of the onomasiological learner 's dictionary,that is,the classification system,the selection and the arrangement of Key Words:the classification system starts from basic-level categories without completing superordinate categories which tend to be abstract and redundant for access;the criteria set for basic-level terms also work for the selection of Key Words;the alphabetical order can be applied to arranging Key Words for users' expectation.Moreover,the concept of basic-level categories is also consistent with the microstructure of the learner 's dictionary.As for the practical significance,such a dictionary responds to the focus of users in current lexicographic research.In conclusion,the onomasiological learner's dictionary influenced by the concept of basic-level categories is both in accordance with the cognitive mode of EFL learners and characterized by the strength of user-friendliness.