Orð og tunga - 01.06.2006, Page 47

Matthew Whelpton
Argument Structure -
For Mental Dictionaries Only?1
1 Introduction
There has been a long- standing division of interest between diction-
ary-makers and researchers in theoretical linguistics. This is reflected
in the status of the grammatical information in the "dictionaries" de-
veloped by each group. Developments over the last 15 years’ have
however opened up active areas of interaction. In this paper, I would
like to look at that division and point to some of the interesting ways
in which it has been breaking down.
2 Of lexicographers and linguists
2.1 The lexicon
At its minimum, a traditional dictionary is a list of citation forms and
word senses. It may also include a range of other information, typi-
cally: broad phonemic transcription; information on inflectional mor-
phology; part of speech; examples of use; and etymologies. The tra-
ditional conception of a dictionary is as an encyclopaedia of words.
'This paper is based on a lecture that I gave at the Orðabók Háskólans on Friday
lst April 2005.1 would like to thank the participants in that seminar for their com-
ments and insights. Needless to say, all faults and follies that remain are mine solely!
Orð og tunga 8 (2006), 45-57. © Orðabók Háskólans, Reykjavík.