词典释义的三个悖论

Three Paradoxes in Dictionary Definition

单语词典的"避免循环释义的原则""简单原则""闭环原则"以及双语词典的"等值原则"是词典释义的四个原则。文章基于理论推演和词典调查,揭示了这些释义原则内部或相互间存在的深层悖论及其形成原因。造成悖论的根本原因在于对以下两点的认识不足:一,词典释义的元语言系统具有双重依赖性,是不自足的;二,完全的意义等值从哲学和语言学上都是不可能实现的。

'Avoiding definitional circularity','using simple language for definition ' and'closed loop definition'in monolingual dictionary definition,and 'finding equivalence'in bilingual dictionary definition are the four essential principles of lexicographic definition. Lexicographic investigations and theoretical analysis show that the four principles are either self-contradictory or mutually conflicting,thus giving rise to three paradoxes,which,if not clarified,may negatively affect,or even hinder the development of dictionary compiling. The paradoxes are rooted in the inadequate understanding of the following two facts: first,definitional circularity is unavoidable since the metalanguage system in dictionary definition is not self-contained and is dependent both on the language itself and on the extra-linguistic world; second,absolute equivalence in meaning is unattainable either in the philosophical or in the linguistic sense.