„Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno“ struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos

DANUTĖ LIUTKEVIČIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language STRUCTURE, AIMS AND PROSPECTS OF THE DICTIONARY OF STANDARD LITHUANIAN The Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian, compiled at the Lexicography Centre of the Institute of the Lithuanian LanguageDictionary of Standard Lithuanian (hereafter, the DSL)1, will be a prescriptive publication intended for the public, whose aim is to reflect correct usage of words in contemporary standard Lithuanian. An effort is being made to strike a balance in the dictionary between the presentation of the lexicon of official and spoken language and certain other language features. The aims are: 1) to achieve the greatest possible degree of systematicity; 2) while maintaining continuity with the traditions of Lithuanian dictionaries, to gradually modernize the compilation of the Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian and orient it towards contemporary lexicography in other languages. These are the principal aims. To avoid systematic shortcomings, the DSL compilers wrote and edited the dictionary in lexical-semantic groups2 (see also Liutkevičienė 2006: 9). Of course, it is probably impossible to divide all words into separate groups, so the dictionary was also compiled alphabetically. Thus, the work proceeded in several stages: first, words were grouped by topic and so-called thematic writing began. This approach was used for: 1) terms in anatomy, botany, chemistry, art, philosophy, physics, photography, geography, history, linguistics, military affairs, computing, cookery, literature, medicine, music, pedagogy, psychology, religion, sport, construction, veterinary medicine, zoology, agriculture, and other fields, as well as names for footwear, furniture, clothing, dishes, professions, peoples, and so on; 2) verb groups (verbs formed with the suffixes -auti, -inti, -yti, -oti, and others; verbs of effort, benefactive verbs, causative verbs, and verbs of motion); 3) certain adjective groups (adjectives formed with the suffixes -ėtas, -ykštis, -ingas, -ytas, -opas, -otas, -uotas, compound adjectives, and others); 4) certain 1 The aims and principal principles of the DSL, whose compilation was then getting under way, were discussed in Gimtoji kalba (GK 1999); however, naturally, as the dictionary was being compiled, the compilers’ views on some matters changed somewhat. 2 Here, the DSL compiler drew considerably on J. Paulauskas’s Systematic Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (Paulauskas 1987) and Русский семантический словарь (RSS, I–II, 2002; III, 2003). D. LIUTKEVIČIENĖ. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos 141 parts of speech such as manner adverbs, particles, ideophones, pronouns, interjections, numerals, and others. Thematic writing also had drawbacks: the work proceeded more slowly because words had to be grouped, their definitions compared, and so on. However, the advantages were undeniable. Similarities and differences among related words became apparent, and in many cases definition templates characteristic of a particular group were devised3 (see also Murmulaitytė 2006: 34–54; Naktinienė 2006: 21, on definition templates for certain words); it was easier to distinguish meanings. For example, names of peoples are defined in the DSL as follows: ‘a people living in a particular place and speaking a language belonging to a particular group’. Compare: Berbers4 noun, plural (2) a group of peoples living in North Africa, speaking Berber languages of Afro-Asiatic origin: Most Berbers live in villages; some are nomadic or semi-nomadic. Bretons noun, plural (2) a people living on the Breton peninsula, speaking one of the Celtic languages and French: Breton language. Buryats noun, plural (2) a people living in Buryatia, northern Mongolia, and northeastern China, speaking one of the Mongolic languages: Buryat language. Latvians noun, plural (2) a people living in Latvia, speaking one of the East Baltic languages: Latvian language. Two or more meanings are distinguished for corresponding adjectives derived from names of peoples or inhabitants, and they are defined as follows: 1. ‘characteristic of the inhabitants of a particular area, their culture, or that area’; 2. ‘made, found, and so on, in that area’; 3. (if referring to a people with its own language) ‘of that people’s language; written, published, and so on, in that language’. Compare: Kazakh, relating to Kazakhs, their culture, or Kazakhstan adj. (1) 1. characteristic of Kazakhs, their culture, or Kazakhstan: Kazakh hospitality. I didn’t like Kazakh food; it is very fatty. 2. found or produced in Kazakhstan: Kazakh oil. 3. in the Kazakh language, written or published in Kazakh, etc.: Kazakh newspapers. Mozambican adj. (1) 1. characteristic of Mozambicans, their culture, or Mozambique: For lunch, we ate according to a Mozambican recipe 3 Of course, these definition schemes were not followed in every case; sometimes it seemed much more logical and clearer to define one word or another, or one of its meanings, in an entirely different way. 4 The definitions, examples, etc., of the words mentioned here and below may still change after final editing. 142 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 83 roasted chicken. 2. grown, produced, etc., in Mozambique: Mozambican cotton. The definition scheme chosen for names of pieces of furniture is: ‘what it looks like and what it is intended for’. Cf.: armchair noun (1) an upholstered piece of furniture with a back and armrests, usually for one person to sit in; cf. chair: She curled up in the armchair. Sit in the armchair; I’ll sit on the chair. bed noun (1) a piece of furniture consisting of a wooden or metal frame and a mattress, usually covered with fabric, on which one sleeps: Single [double, bunk] bed. Narrow [wide, short] bed. Make your bed. Go to bed and sleep. table noun (4) a piece of furniture with a flat top and one or more legs (sometimes with drawers or cabinets), used for eating, writing, etc.: Writing [folding, kitchen, tennis, computer] table. Sit at [down to] the table. Get up from the table. Set [clear, wipe] the table. The definition scheme for causative verbs5 is ‘to act or behave in such a way that the action denoted by the base verb takes place’. Cf.: to cool, cools, cooled verb (what, with what) to cause something to cool, become cold: To cool milk. An air-cooled capacitor (tech.). Cooling liquid (tech.). | negative imperative (what): Don’t cool the sauna; close the door quickly. | reflexive: The plant cools itself by evaporating water (bot.). to cool, cools, cooled verb 1. (what) to make cool (sense 1), cold (weather): The rain cooled the air. The sea cools the climate. 2. (what) to make cool (sense 2), to cool down: To cool the soup. 3. (what) to make cool (a room), to cool down: To cool the sauna. Rooms cooled by the wind. 4. (what) to make overheated body cool, refreshed by coolness: Fruits and vegetables cool the body. 5. (what) to make cool (sense 4), to reduce ardor: To cool enthusiasm [anger]. When words are described by semantic themes, their meanings are distinguished more uniformly. One example is the meanings of the aforementioned adjectives (Kazakh, Mozambican, etc.). As we have seen, they have at least two. Other lexical-semantic groups are also presented: if the meaning (or shade of meaning) ‘music’ is indicated for dance names rumba, tango, waltz, the same meaning also applies to other words denoting dance names, such as foxtrot, quadrille or rock ’n’ roll. 5 Fitting verbs into schemes is rather complicated and often entirely unnecessary. Their explanations frequently follow other principles. For one group of verbs, see also Įsionytė, Zaikauskas (2006: 146–169). D. LIUTKEVIČIENĖ. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos 143 Cf.: rùmba noun (1) a lively social ballroom dance of Cuban origin, performed by couples. | its music. tángo noun, masculine, indeclinable, a passionate, medium-tempo social ballroom dance of Argentine origin, with abrupt pauses: This year they chose a passionate tango for the free dance. | its music. válsas noun (1) a graceful, medium-tempo social ballroom dance, performed by turning in a circle. | its music or a piece of similar music: J. Strauss's waltzes. fokstròtas noun (2) a fast-tempo social ballroom dance, performed with a gliding step: The foxtrot spread after World War I. | its music. kadrìlis noun (2) a medium-tempo dance with various figures, performed by an even number of couples. | its music. rokenròlas noun, singular (2) a fast-tempo social ballroom dance of American origin, performed by couples. | its music. Working with this method makes it easier to select the words that should be included in the BŽ (for more on word selection, see also Lazauskaitė, Liutkevičienė 1998: 205–207; Naktinienė 2006: 19). If the dictionary includes anesthesia, diabetes, cataract, users will probably expect to find anesthetic, diabetic, or glaucoma as well. If the dictionary contains the names of the inhabitants of all currently existing states, then it should also contain all the adjectives derived from nouns of this type, not just some of them. The next stage was to describe the remaining words alphabetically. Words described by topic were also edited by topic. The groups of words were then combined in alphabetical order. The Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian has abandoned the nesting of word entries (for a fuller discussion of some advantages and disadvantages of nested entries, see Jakaitienė 2005: 50, 55–56; Vaskelienė 2006: 55–71; Melnikienė 2009: 168–179), which is characteristic of many explanatory dictionaries: derived verbs and adjectives, adverbs, and so on are described in separate entries. The use of cross-reference definitions has been reduced (for further discussion of some problems with cross-reference definitions, see Svetikienė 2006: 181–191). Diminutives and negative forms have been retained in the same dictionary entry, but in the future it would probably be appropriate to place them in separate entries as well (for more on the drawbacks of this approach, see Šepetytė 2006: 209–219). For interest, the entries for several words in this dictionary can be compared with those in The Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian (hereafter DŽ₆ₑ 2006)6, one of the main sources for The Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian. 6 The compilers of the BŽ used all editions of The Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian as sources, but the main one was, of course, the latest—the sixth (electronic) edition. 144 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 83 DŽ₆ₑ BŽ clear, ~à (4) 1. cloudless, bright, sunny: C. sky, weather, morning. 2. pure, clear: C. water. 3. fig. cheerful: ~à mood. ~os hours.~aĩadv.~ỹnadv.~ýbė (1) cheerfulness (2) clearly adv. 1. → clear 1: The sun shines brightly. 2. → clear 2: The brook babbles clearly. | Somehow, it feels sadly clear in my heart. 3. → clear 3: And though they are poor, they manage to live cheerfully and carefree. clear, bright adj. (4) 1. cloudless, not overcast; bright, sunny, clear: A clear sky. Swallows darted in the clear sky. • ant. overcast, gloomy, cloudy. | when the sky is cloudless and not overcast; bright, sunny: It is good to watch the stars on a clear night. Yesterday was a clearer day. I enjoy both clear and stormy weather by the seaside. • ant. overcast, gloomy, stormy. clear weather neut. clear weather: If it is clear tomorrow, we will tidy the graves. • ant. overcast, cloudy. 2. pure, transparent, clean: Clear water. | bright, lucid, pure: The girl looked at him with a frank, clear gaze. | resonant, ringing, clear: From afar came the clear ringing of little bells. 3. cheerful, pleasant: I was rewarded with a cheerful smile. A happy childhood. brightness noun (1) (usually large) clarity, brightness: Oh, the brightness of the sky, the clarity of the air! more clearly adv. 1. → c l e a r 1: As we travelled, we rejoiced at the brightening sky—it grew ever brighter and clearer. | The days grew progressively clearer, and the weather improved. 2. → c l e a r 2. 3. → c l e a r 3: With every song, the mood grew brighter. clarity noun (2) 1. → c l e a r 1: The day’s clarity from early morning was indescribable. 2. → c l e a r 2: Until then, I had experienced such serenity of spirit only in church. 3. → c l e a r 3: The little artist charmed everyone with the brightness of his smile. D. LIUTKEVIČIENĖ. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos 145 DŽ6e BŽ Russian, ~a (1) → R u s s i a n: Russian word. Russian letters. ~ly adv.: Speak ~ly. ~ness (2) in Russian adv. → R u s s i a n 3: Speak Russian. Russian adj. (1) 1. characteristic of Russians, their culture, or Russia: Russian bathhouse [stove]. 2. made in Russia: Russian kettle. Russian cosmetics. Russian airplanes. 3. of the Russian language, written in Russian: Russian letters. Russianness noun (2) → R u s s i a n 1: The critic emphasizes that he is most interested in Dostoevsky’s Russianness. When words are presented in separate entries, it is easier to show their meanings and shades of meaning and to include examples. We would think that this presentation is more convenient for users. As can be seen from the examples, for the sake of clarity the dictionary dispenses with the tilde, which stands for part of a word. In the examples, all words—not just the headword—are accented. In the BŽ, the part of speech is indicated for all words; in some cases, number or gender is also given, and for verbs and some adjectives or nouns (in more difficult cases), syntactic valency is shown7. It is marked by the cases of the interrogative pronoun “who/what” (with or without a preposition, in parentheses). The semantic valency of words is illustrated with examples. Cf.: vinegar noun singular (2) a sharply sour liquid obtained from wine and other sources, used as a seasoning and for preserving and pickling food: Vinegar essence [concentrate]. Vinegar seasoned the salads. maintenance payments noun plural (2) funds that parents are legally required to pay for the support of children, or children for the support of parents: To extend maintenance payments. to vote, votes, voted verb (for what, against what, in favor of what, what) to cast a vote in an election or when making a collective decision, to express an opinion by voice (ballot) or by raising one’s hand: The deputies voted on ratification of the treaty. Two people voted against his proposal. Who votes in favor of the publication being approved for printing? Today we will vote on the draft resolution. 7 BŽ sudarytojai naudojosi Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynu (Sližienė 1994, 1998, 2004), Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika (DLKG), Kalbos patarimais (KP S1, KP S2, KP S3) ir kt. Beje, kai kurių žodžių ar reikšmių junglumą teko nustatyti patiems. 146 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 83 pìlnas, pilnà adj. (3) 1. (what) completely filled, occupied: I gathered two baskets full of mushrooms. 2. (what) containing much, having a lot of something: The road is full of potholes. 3. (what) filled, full (of a feeling, concern, quality): I am full of joy [love, fear]. representation noun (1) (to whom) → represent: Representation for a client. Marking valency will undoubtedly be useful to users: it will not only provide grammatical information but also help avoid certain language errors. One of the innovations in the BŽ is the inclusion of frequently used two- or multi-word terms, or simply names of realia, as headwords. Cf.: Afghan hound – a tall hunting dog with a tapered muzzle and long, silky hair; American football – a sport played by two teams of 11 players with an oval ball, resembling rugby; black magic – magical acts performed to achieve an evil purpose, with the aid of evil spirits; The Last Judgment – in some religions, the judgment God will hold over humanity at the end of the world. The headword list includes not only common nouns but also many proper nouns—more widely known place names in Lithuania and around the world, principal religious names, and so on. In the BŽ editors’ view, such information is very useful to users. The dictionary text is now nearing completion, with the thematic drafting and editing almost finished. Next comes the continuous, alphabetical editing of the entire text. The dictionary editors will undoubtedly find this work easier thanks to the recently completed development of the Dictionary of the Standard Lithuanian Language working database, into which the dictionary text is entered and arranged alphabetically. Individual words in the database can already be corrected and supplemented. Of course, the database will still need to be improved in the future. It will undoubtedly make the work easier for the editors preparing both the first and subsequent editions of the BŽ. ŠALTINIAI DŽ₆ₑ 2006: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Vyr. red. S. Keinys. Elektroninis leidimas, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. D. LIUTKEVIČIENĖ. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos 147 LITERATŪRA DLKG 1994: Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos gramatika. Red. V. Ambrazas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla. GK 1999: Pristatome rengiamą bendrinės kalbos žodyną. – Gimtoji kalba 7, 1–10. Jakaitienė E. 2005: Leksikografija, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. Jasionytė E., Zaikauskas E. 2006: Ilokucinių veiksmažodžių reikšmės aiškinimas bendrinės kalbos žodyne. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 149–169. KP S1 2003: Kalbos patarimai. Sintaksė: linksnių vartojimas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. KP S2 2003: Kalbos patarimai. Sintaksė: prielinksnių ir polinksnių vartojimas, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. KP S3 2003: Kalbos patarimai. Sintaksė: įvairūs dalykai, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas. Lazauskaitė V., Liutkevičienė D. 1998: Valgių ir gėrimų pavadinimai „Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyne“. – Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai 40, 205–217. Liutkevičienė D. 2006: Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas. Siekiamybė ir realybė. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 9–18. Melnikienė D. 2009: Dv tomar? Murmulaitytė D. 2006: Kai kurių daiktavardžių apibrėžimas „Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyne“. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 34–54. Naktinienė G. 2006: Svarbesnieji Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno semantikos aspektai. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 19–33. Paulauskas J. 1987: Sisteminis lietuvių kalbos žodynas, Vilnius: Mokslas. RSS I–II 2002: Русский семантический словарь 1, 2. Ред. Н. Ю. Шведова, Москва: Азбуковник. RSS III 2003: Русский семантический словарь 3. Ред. Н. Ю. Шведова, Москва: Азбуковник. Sližienė N. 1994: Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynas 1, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla. 148 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 83 Sližienė N. 1998: Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynas 2(1), Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla. Sližienė N. 2004: Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynas 2(2), Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas. Svetikienė D. 2006: Kai kurios išvestinių būdvardžių ir iš jų padarytų prieveiksmių pateikimo aiškinamuosiuose lietuvių kalbos žodynuose problemos. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 181–191. Šepetytė R. 2006: Dėl žodžių iliustravimo jų vediniais aiškinamuosiuose lietuvių kalbos žodynuose. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 209–220. Vaskelienė J. 2006: Dėl kai kurių darinių pateikimo „Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyne“. – Leksikografija ir leksikologija 1: Aiškinamųjų bendrinės kalbos žodynų aktualijos, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 55–71. Gauta 2010 09 14 THE STRUCTURE, AIMS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS OF THE DICTIONARY OF STANDARD LITHUANIAN Summary The Centre of Lexicography at the Institute of the Lithuanian language is currently compiling the Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian. It is a prescriptive general dictionary whose editors aim to register the correct usage of contemporary Lithuanian. An attempt has been taken to achieve a balance between formal and colloquial uses of words. The compilers have also seeked: 1) to apply a more systematic approach, and 2) to gradually modernize the process of compilation by implementing insights from modern lexicographic publications of other languages into the context of the Lithuanian lexicographic tradition. To achieve systematicity, the Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian is not only edited but also written by dealing with separate lexico-semantic or derivational word groups. A complete view of similar words allows to formulate definitions more accurately and, when necessary, to create defining patterns as well as distinguish the senses more precisely. Systematicity also makes the process of word selection easier. The compilers give preference to shorter dictionary entries hence verbal, adjectival, adverbial etc. derivatives of nouns are presented in separate entries rather than in one entry of the nominal headword. Compounds that are D. LIUTKEVIČIENĖ. Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodyno struktūra, tikslai ir perspektyvos 149 special terms are also presented as separate headwords. Every entry contains information about word class, sometimes gender and number of the headword, verbal and some other headwords may have information about their syntactic combinability which is also illustrated in the example sentences. All the words in the examples, not just the headwords, are stressed. The headword is reproduced in full form rather than partly replaced by the tilde symbol. The list of the headwords includes both common and proper names, among which the most popular Lithuanian and foreign placenames, religious names etc. can be found. The database of the Dictionary has already been completed. It contains the alphabetically listed entries. Individual entries in the database can be further edited and supplemented. The compilers hope that the database will be particularly useful for the preparation of later editions of the Dictionary. DANUTĖ LIUTKEVIČIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected] 150 KALBOS KULTŪRA | 83