Presentation Of Fuzzy Meanings Of Lexical Units In Chinese-English Dictionaries For Foreign Learners

There exist a great number of fuzzy uses,i.e.loose uses in daily communication,which could not be understood by the literal or prototypical meanings. The hearer should use his or her encyclopedic knowledge,conduct contextual enrichment for a lexical unit,choose the most optimal referent among a collection of possible referents and finally identify the true communicative information which the speaker really wants to convey.This thesis studies the presentation of fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of lexical units represented by numbers in Chinese-English dictionaries for foreign learners(CEDFLs).First,this study makes a comparison of the fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of ten numbers between Chinese and English.The results show that there exists a great deal of difference between them due to different cultures.Second,a qualitative study was conducted to survey how five CEDFLs present fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of those numbers.It is noted that they have paid great attention to the presentation of the fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of some numbers,especially one.They,however,fail to attach the same emphasis on the presentation of other important fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of other numbers.They simply ignore or roughly give their presentation.This,however,is where CFL learners find it difficult to learn and use Chinese language and where they tend to make mistakes. Thus,CEDFLs should present these important fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings. Thirdly,this study also compares five influential English learner's dictionaries which are considered to be more advanced than CEDFLs.The latter could and should learn from them in terms of definition,exemplification,usage note,etc.The strong points of the English learner's dictionaries should be incorporated in the presentation of fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of lexical units in CEDFLs represented by numbers. In short,CFL learners who just know the literal or prototypical meanings of lexical units will find it inadequate to communicate correctly and appropriately with Chinese native speakers.Therefore,it is necessary for CEDFLs to take into consideration the presentation of some fuzzy or non-prototypical meanings of lexical units.