Orð og tunga - 01.06.2005, Qupperneq 42

40
Orð og tunga
Even if bilingual dictionaries are structured in such a way that word meanings
take a central place, users are not able to actively approach the material from a se-
mantic point of view. But by giving the material an electronic form, different kinds of
access can be offered to users and they may thus have a variety of search options not
formerly available to them. The combined contents of the dictionaries Orðastaður
and Orðaheimur in electronic form comprises an independent Icelandic word base
which can appeal to foreign users in many different ways and can i.a. give phrases
far more weight than can be done in a printed dictionary. By carefully organising
and analysing the material, ready access can be given to specific grammatical and
semantic phenomena within the Icelandic vocabulary without necessarily having to
specify words as search strings. Concept heads constitute a factor of classification,
so instead of presuming that each Icelandic word and phrase has its equivalent in
a foreign language, concept heads in different languages which correspond to the
Icelandic concepts make it possible to group together semantically related words and
phrases in the electronic dictionary.
Keywords:
bilingual lexicography, phraseology, onomasiological lexicography
Jón Hilmar Jónsson
Orðabók Háskólans
Neshaga 16
IS-107 Reykjavík
jhj@lexis.hi.is