Herbert Wiegand with a "Metalexicographical Panga" in the Jungle: An Unlocking of "Wörterbuchforschung"

Abstract

This article discusses volume 1 of Wiegand' Wörterbuchforschung, which contains a section on the structure of the research field of lexicography, and a section on research on dictionary use. Wiegand firstly discusses different aspects of language lexicography and dictionary research to determine whether this type of research constitutes a scientific discipline. He concludes that it is a scientific research field on its way to become a scientific discipline. In the second section, Wiegand puts forward a theoretical framework for research on dictionary use, based on action theory, and a detailed methodology which includes empirical research. Such a theoretical and methodological foundation, which also takes into account the systematic research on dictionary structure, can be informative to lexicographers and enable them to plan the microstructures of future dictionaries in a more systematic way. This might also lead to a more scientific concept of user-friendliness in dictionaries.

Keywords: dictionary research, metalexicography, dictionary use, language lexicography, computer lexicography, action theory, methodology, empirical research, access actions, user actions, questionnaires, user tests, protocols, experiments.