论双语词典的横组合释义原则——兼评《新时代英汉大词典》

Syntagmatic-Relation Principle for Defining Words in Bilingual Dictionaries——Exemplified by New Age English-Chinese Dictionary

双语词典乃对译词典,即在译语中寻找理想的全同概念来替代源语词目;源语词目实质上被转化为该词目在译语中的对应词。译语对应词因此具有双重身份:一是充当原有词目的译义;二是被转化为实质被解释词目。这种双重身份要求例证既须以某种方式来界定或补充实质词目的词义,还须承载源语词目在语法、搭配、语用等方面的信息。在例证中,源语词目与其它词汇单位之间往往呈现出某种横组合关系,它体现了二者之间在词条、语法、语义等方面的选择或制约关系;词汇之意义主要寓于横组合关系之中。在释义中充分利用横组合关系,可确立为双语词典的释义原则之一。

Bilingual dictionaries are generally conceived as translation dictionaries, in which entries are converted into their equivalents in target language, and are explained in terms of those equivalents. The equivalents, in this situation, become the substantial entries to be defined. This dual-identity of equivalents requires that the examples adopted in bilingual dictionaries be perceived primarily as the definiens of original entries, and as examples manifesting the grammatical, collocational, and pragmatic information of those entries. Original entries relate syntagmatically to other lexical units in the examples; these accompanying lexical units that the original entries keep manifest the meaning （s） of those entries. Thus, full use of syntagmatic relation in definitions can be perceived as a principle for meaning manifestation in bilingual dictionaries.