Legal lexis in online learner’s lexicography
To What Extent are the ‘Big Five’ English Online Monolingual Learner’s Dictionaries Fit for the Particular Purpose of Legal ESP Classes?
This book explores the practical application of e-lexicography as a vital teaching tool in English for Special Purposes (ESP) classes focused on law. It is interdisciplinary, encompassing lexicography, metalexicography, law, ESP teaching, and linguistics. The work begins with a detailed methodology based on research conducted with law students at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Initial discussions focus on dictionary ownership and usage among students, alongside technological considerations such as Internet access and hardware availability for utilizing online lexicographic tools. The study meticulously analyzes the inclusion and portrayal of around 700 legal lexical items in five leading online pedagogical dictionaries, known as ‘Learner’s Dictionaries’. It examines diatechnical labeling in the legal field, considering user requirements at every level. The analysis covers all structural elements of the dictionaries, from macrostructure to microstructure, incorporating mediostructural aspects. The work adopts a critical perspective, concluding with proposals for enhancing online dictionaries regarding lemma stock, microstructure, and mediostructure. These improvements aim to create a more effective pedagogical dictionary for English learners in legal ESP classes and potentially other specialized fields with expert contributions from terminographers.
