On dictionary treatment of words with a significant pragmatic meaning component (based on ethnographic and anthropological terms)
Abstract
The paper deals with the possibilities of the dictionary treatment of words whose meanings include a significant pragmatic component. Firstly, the formal lexicographical tools for their treatment are outlined, including (style) labels, glosses, and usage notes.
Furthermore, the paper concentrates in detail on words referring to the ethnic and racial identity of people, representing the type of words whose meanings include a significant pragmatic component. The issues connected with their use and their dictionary treatment are analysed, e.g. shifts in their meaning and perception, complicated and unclear terminology, and the difficulty of capturing particular connotations.
The analyses are illustrated using examples from the Czech National Corpus and from dictionaries of contemporary Czech, and selected dictionaries of Slovak and English. The paper also introduces and explains some decisions made by the authors of Akademický slovník současné češtiny (Academic Dictionary of Con-temporary Czech) related