The following information is about Dictionaries: What is a dictionary? types of dictionaries Usage Information we can find in a dictionary.

1. COMPOSITION CLASS
Topic:
Dictionaries: Terms and
abbreviations

2. OBJECTIVE:
To demonstrate
understanding of using
dictionaries and the
importance of using
them as tools in writing

3. CONTENT:
What is a
dictionary?
For what
purposes are
dictionaries
typically used?
Types of
dictionaries.
Abbreviations.

4. What is a dictionary? • A dictionary is a reference
book about words and as
such it describes the
functioning of individual
words (sometimes called
lexical items). It does so by
listing these words in
alphabetical order in the form
of headwords, the words
listed as entries in the
dictionary. ( AWELU,2021)
• Such collections are usually
printed as books, but some
are now designed for use on
computers.

5. Why do we use a dictionary
comprehension uses are:
 Looking up unknown words that are
encountered when listening or reading.
 Confirming the meanings of partially known
words
 Conforming guesses from context.
production uses are:
 Looking up unknown words needed to speak or
write
 Confirm the spelling, pronunciation, meaning, etc.
of known words.
 Finding a different word to use instead of a known
one (a synonym)

6. types of dictionaries
• Bilingual dictionary is a dictionary
that has the word you are looking
for translated into your own
language.
• Monolingual dictionary: These
dictionaries have lots of information
about grammar and pronunciation.
• Learner dictionary: is a little bit
easier to use than a standard
monolingual dictionary and has
clear examples and simplified
language

7. Terms and
Abbreviations:
• An abbreviation is a shortened form of a written word or
phrase. Abbreviations may be used to save space and time, to
avoid repetition of long words and phrases, or simply to
conform to conventional usage. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.).
Dictionaries show you the part of speech or word class
of each word using abbreviations such as det., adv., and
pl., so make sure you know what these mean.

8. Information that we can be
found in a dictionary 1. Spelling: the headword itself is
given in its normal spelling, printed
in bold. Headwords are arranged
alphabetically in a dictionary.
2. Frequency information: For
example, a box saying W2 means
that the headword in question
belongs to the second thousand
most common words in written
English.

9. Information that we can be
found in a dictionary
3. Pronunciation: phonetic script,
given within parentheses ( ) or slash
/ / brackets, tells us how to
pronounce the word
4. Word class: the word class (also
called part-of-speech)
5. Sense(s): when a word has more
than one meaning, then the different
senses are numbered.
6. Collocations, phrasal use, and
the syntactic operation of the word:
examples are given of how the
headword may be combined with
other words to form idiomatic
language usage.