SIL International Media Release
Bilingual dictionary-making seminar uses FLEx
Mbula-Engish Dictionary example page; click to view a larger version
(November 2008) Robert Hedinger, Ph.D., is conducting a three-week dictionary-making seminar as part of SIL's European Training Programme (ETP). Participants studying at the UK campus in Horsleys Green, England, 17 November–5 December, will learn the basic principles and methods of making bilingual dictionaries.
An accurate and insightful dictionary is a great help to the local language community and non-native speaker alike. In addition, it is a key element of literacy development for any preliterate or semiliterate community. A good dictionary also lays a foundation for any effective translation project. The focus will be on designing a dictionary for a particular audience, gathering and organizing vocabulary data and using appropriate software to store and publish a dictionary.
Prerequisites for attending this annual three-week seminar include a good grasp of basic linguistic concepts such as are included in other courses offered by ETP and some familiarity with SIL FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx) software.
Participant objectives of the dictionary-making course
- Distinguish a dictionary from other reference material
- Discuss the principles used for designing dictionaries for a specific audience
- Specify the elements that may go into a dictionary
- Determine what type of information (phonological, grammatical, semantic, pragmatic) may go into a dictionary
- Become aware of different methods for collecting data for building a dictionary
- Become familiar with Ron Moe's Dictionary Development Process (DDP) for eliciting lexical data
- Write dictionary entries (definitions, grammatical information, cross references, etc.)
- Set up a dictionary database in FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx)
- Use the FLEx program for dictionary data entry, editing and clean-up
- Export a database from FLEx and print bilingual dictionaries and reverse indexes
- Make backups of dictionary databases using FLEx's backup feature
Related links of interest
- Dictionary-making seminar official website
- SIL FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx) software
- Dictionary Development Process DDP
- Dictionaries completed with SIL involvement
- Publications by Robert Hedinger
- FieldWorks Language Explorer 1.0, online publication by Ron Moe, 2008
- Dictionary Development Program, online publication by Ron Moe, 2007
- Other publications by Ron Moe
- European Training Programme homepage
- Academic training in SIL