Eesti oskussõnastikud 2001–2010
Estonian LSP dictionaries 2001–2010

Summary/Abstract: The relationship between words and their meanings can be approached from either side, studying either what words mean (semasiology) or how concepts are named (onomasiology). since dictionary users habitually look for answers to the former question, semasiology is the method of choice for presenting dictionaries to the user. In dictionary compilation, however, semasiology unavoidably leads to internal inconsistencies such as hanging references, synonym conflicts and unsystematic definitions, as can be observed in published dictionaries. This article presents a classification of such inconsistencies and discusses technical onomasiology as a method for preventing them, including software requirements and available tools. As a case study, a dictionary project is described, where 21 authors agreed to use a technically onomasiological compilation environment with the hope of improving dictionary quality. The conclusion was that replacing the software is not enough; for onomasiology to work, the authors have to understand the philosophy behind it. Otherwise it is still possible to circumvent its quality-enhancing features and manually introduce inconsistencies.

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