Entry-Internal Navigation in Dictionaries: A Review of the Literature
Entry-Internal Navigation in Dictionaries: A Review of the Literature

Summary/Abstract: Selecting the correct sense in a polysemous entry may cause difficulty for languagelearners. Poor dictionary reference skills of users may account for the problems that studentsencounter in dictionary consultation. In addition, some dictionary users may have a tendencyto consult the first sense of an entry and not the remaining senses [Tono 1984], althoughthe information required for understanding the meaning of a word might be situated in themiddle or end of an entry. For these reasons, lexicographers have started introducing sensenavigation devices in dictionaries: menus and signposts. The main role of these devices is toassist dictionary users in entry consultation by helping them find the right meaning of a wordas quickly as possible. The present paper is a review of nine empirical studies [Tono 1992,1997, 2011; Bogaards 1998; Lew 2010; Lew et al. 2013; Lew and Pajkowska 2007; Lew andTokarek 2010; Nesi and Tan 2011] focusing on the effectiveness of sense navigation devicesin dictionaries. In general, the studies investigate how menus and signposts in dictionaryentries affect sense selection accuracy and entry consultation time. Furthermore, observationsare made regarding the effect of entry length and proficiency level of users on sense selectionaccuracy and entry consultation time in the context of menus and signposts. Also, menu andsignpost systems are compared.

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