A Contrastive Study Of The Chinese-English Dictionary Of W.H.Medhurst And Herbert A.Giles

From the 19 th century to the first half of the 20 th century,Western missionaries were the main compilers of Chinese-foreign dictionaries,among which Chinese-English lexicography had the highest achievement.Most Western missionaries in China are familiar with Chinese culture and have good humanistic literacy.They are both lexicographers of Chinese-English dictionaries as well as the user,so they are more familiar with their own needs for bilingual dictionaries.In addition,by the beginning of the 20 th century,Western missionaries had been compiling Chinese-English dictionaries for nearly three hundred years.Therefore,Chinese-English dictionaries compiled during this period are of great significance to the compilation of Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries today.However,the study and utilization of these Chinese-English dictionaries is far from enough.This article is based on the “Chinese-English Dictionary” and “Chinese-English Dictionary” compiled by W.H.Medhurst and Herbert A.Giles who the influential British sinologists in the late Qing Dynasty.Firstly,we compare the retrieval methods,word selection and appendix information of the dictionary from a macro perspective.Secondly we analyze the phonetic methods,grammatical information and semantic interpretation of the dictionary from a micro perspective.Through the study of these two Chinese-English dictionaries,this paper aims to explore the lexicography experience of export-oriented bilingual learning,which is of positive significance to the study of Chinese history and the compilation of export-oriented Chinese learning dictionaries.This article is divided into five parts:The first part is the introduction.Firstly,it introduces the reason and significance of this topic.Secondly,it introduces the research status of this topic at home and abroad from two aspects: the history study of Chinese-foreign bilingual dictionaries by western sinologists and the case study of Chinese-English dictionaries compiled by western sinologists.Finally,according to the current research situation,this paper puts forward the research objectives and explains the research methods.The second part is a brief introduction to Medhurst and Gellis and their Chinese-English dictionaries.This chapter is a brief review of the history of Chinese-English lexicography,and a detailed introduction of the most successful Chinese-English dictionaries and their representatives in the history of Chinese-English lexicography,including Medhurst and his Chinese-English Dictionary,and Giles and his Chinese-English Dictionary.The author makes a detailed review of the lives and major works of the two Sinologists,and introduces the writing style and later evaluation of the Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries compiled by them.The third part is the macrostructure structure of Medhurst and Gillis Chinese-English Dictionary.This chapter focuses on the macro perspective,mainly on the two dictionaries in the three aspects of word selection,retrieval structure,appendix function of the three characteristics of comparative study.The conclusion is that the choice of the two bilingual dictionaries in terms of the basis of word selection,the principle of eye-catching,the way of word arrangement,the way of retrieval,the setting of appendix information,etc.has taken care of the use needs of Chinese learners from different perspectives,played a role in language teaching,and is worthy of reference for future generations of bilingual learning dictionaries.The fourth part is the microstructure of Medhurst and Gellis Chinese-English dictionaries.This chapter,based on the multidimensional and hierarchical characteristics of Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries’ microstructures,conducts a comparative study from three aspects: entry structure,formal description and semantic interpretation.This paper deeply analyzes the entry information density,phonetic patterns,grammatical information,cultural information and definition principles in the two dictionaries.The fifth part is the influence and inspiration of Medhurst and Giles Chinese-English dictionaries.This chapter is based on the influence of the Chinese-English bilingual dictionaries compiled by Medhurst and Giles,and analyzes the ways in which the learning ability of the two Chinese-English dictionaries is reflected,and summarizes the successful experience of the two Chinese-English dictionaries.Finally,from the perspective of compilers and users,the author summarizes the inspirations of Chinese-English dictionaries in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China on Chinese-foreign learning dictionaries,in the hope of providing some suggestions for the compilation of Chinese-foreign bilingual learning dictionaries in the 21 st century,and making a contribution to the cause of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.