A Study On The Thematic Collocation Boxes In Oxford Advanced Learne's English-chinese Dictionary-9^th Edition

Collocation is an essential element in grasping and using a language.Among English learner's dictionaries,the setting of collocation box is considered as the symbol of the birth of the third generation of English learner's dictionaries.Traditional collocation boxes are located at the end of the related entries,providing collocations of the headword exclusively.However,in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition,collocation boxes are based on topics,offering lexical collocations relevant to 43 topics.First of all,this thesis analyzed the characteristics of the thematic collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition in detail with examples.It is found that 1)43 topics could be divided into 3 categories according to the arrangement of the subtopics;2)collocation boxes are rich in the quantity of concrete collocations and the topic is highlighted with strong logics among collocations;3)collocation boxes establish a micro context for each collocation in particular topic,and collocation information is of encyclopedic significance to language learners.Besides,some deficiencies were found in the boxes including repetition on the collocations,undefined boundary on the collocations,lack of typicality on the collocations,translation errors of the collocations,and weak relevance between the collocation box and the entry of topic-related vocabularies appeared in the box.And it is not unified in collecting the collocations and treating collocations in the collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9th edition.Next,this thesis explored and compared thematic collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition and general collocation boxes based on specific entry words;and the using of the collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition is investigated in the form of questionnaires with Chinese advanced learners of English participating in.Lastly,based on semantic field theory,semantic clustering and thematic clustering,user's perspective,and previous analyses,this thesis proposed some suggestions on optimizing the collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition,and established a tentative model in presenting thematic collocation boxes in English Chinese learner's dictionaries.The present study proposes that 1)more cross-references between collocation boxes and other boxes and entries should be achieved;2)a menu of topic-related nouns is suggested to add within the collocation boxes;3)unified principles among the collocation boxes should be maintained;and 4)it is necessary to offer instruction or guidance for dictionary user on using the thematic collocation box.By optimizing the collocation boxes in Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary-9^th edition and proposing a tentative model of the thematic collocation boxes,this thesis hoped that more valid collocational information could be provided in learner's dictionaries and dictionary users could utilize the collocation boxes more effectively so as to enhance the use efficiency of dictionaries.