Zur Struktur der biografischen Einträge in deutschen und polnischen Lexika und Enzyklopädien am Beispiel von Heinrich Laube
About the Structure of the Biographical Entries in Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Using Heinrich Laube as an Example

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to examine the lexical structure of the biographical entries in lexicons and encyclopedias. In the light of previous research questions, there’s no existing treatment of biographical encyclopedic keywords. The analysis is based on encyclopedic entries of a biographical character using the example of Heinrich Laube, the German writer and theater director. For the purposes of the study, the following terms were defined: biography and encyclopedic reference works (lexicons and encyclopedias), entries (lemma articles/dictionary articles). The goal is to examine how the biographical entries in such reference works are structured in terms of content and syntax. The question of whether they have a complex and regular construction and if a sample of the biographical text type can be created on this basis is investigated. The research material consists of printed German and Polish lexicons and encyclopedias, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries, and also includes current online reference works for comparison. The analysis proves that the biographical entries in encyclopedias form a visible and regular structure. The Polish and German documents are compared with one another and, based on the analysis of 18 German and 24 Polish reference works, it is determined that none of the research sources contain any major deviations and that they are structured similarly in terms of both content and syntax. Finally, it is proven that the articles consist of six following thematic parts: Brief introduction (surname, first name, pseudonyms), dates of birth and death, main title (occupation), chronological presentation of facts from life, performance and works and in the case of Online Sources – Additional Notes on His Death and Grave. The analysis could have a practical implementation in further treatment of biographical text types or text variants and complements the previous examination of dictionary articles.

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