Fachwörterbuch, Autorenwörterbuch und Wörterbuchhybride. Zu einem Problem der Fachlexikographie

Abstract

Specialized lexicography is an important and dynamically developing branch of lexicography today, and specialized dictionaries are frequently used reference works. Generally speaking, specialised dictionary users form a heterogeneous group–ranging from experts to semi-experts and laypersons. Since every dictionary should meet the needs of its users, a more precise definition of the target group is an important stage in dictionary planning. The situation becomes more complex when a dictionary is a hybrid, which is shown in the article using the example of the ‘Dictionary of Lexicography and Dictionary Research’ (2010–2020), which has the characteristics of both an ordinary specialized dictionary and a specialized author dictionary. An examination of this dictionary from the user’s perspective leads to more general conclusions relevant to specialized lexicography. Even an analysis of the lemma list provides information on whether a specialized dictionary hybrid is useful for all targeted user groups. This is the case if entries that can be assigned to the author dictionary and entries that can be assigned to the specialized dictionary correspond approximately to the same needs and subject-specific competences of the users. A large discrepancy in this respect leads to the utilisation value of the reference work being impaired. It must therefore be considered for each dictionary that has characteristics of two or more dictionary types whether this combination represents added value in terms of user needs.

Keywords

• specialized lexicography
• specialized dictionary
• author dictionary
• dictionary hybrid
• dictionary user
• metalexicography