The Readability, Relevance And Practicability——The Optimal Design Of Etymological Information In Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionaries

There is no denying that learner’s bilingual dictionaries are useful tools for language learners. The etymology is very significant for the English users since it can help learners not only to memorize the vocabulary, but also to get acquaintance of the evolved history and culture of words. Therefore, to offer the etymological information is indispensable for the English-Chinese dictionaries. After skimming through most of bilingual learner’s dictionaries at home and abroad, we can easily find out that scarcely any of them offer etymological information. Even if few dictionaries offer it, what they offered is too simple. What’s worse, some use too many complicated symbols and abbreviation so as that few people pay attention to etymological information. They even do not know what is etymological information.In term of the introduction, bilingual learner’s dictionary has more advantages over monolingual learner’s dictionary in that Chinese is available in the presentation of etymological information, so it’s necessary to improve the English-Chinese Dictionaries by offering the etymological information. The author sifts the words at first and makes sure what kinds of word need to be added etymological information and then discusses the basic elements of etymological information which are readability, relevance, practicability, based on cognitive linguistics, social linguistics and intercultural communication.