Abstract:The following chapter provides a review o f research literature on the use o f electronic dictionaries. Because the central terms electronic dictionary and re search into dictionaiy use are sometimes used in different ways in the research, it is necessary first o f all to examine these more closely, in Order to clarify their use in this research review. The main chapter presents several individual studies in chronological order. The chapter is completed by a summary.Keywords: dictionary typology, user studies, questionnaire, experiment, test, usability study, eye-tracking, log file A ntje Töpel: Institut für Deutsche Sprache, R 5, 6-13, D-68161 Mannheim, +4940)621-1581434, toepel@ids-mannheim.de 1 Clarification of terminology Electronic dictionaryThe term electronic dictionary (ED) is defined by Nesi as follows:" The term electronic dictionary (or ED) can Ire used to refer to any reference material stored in electronic form that gives Information about the spelling, meaning, or use of words. Thus a spell-checker in a word-processing program, a device that scans and translates printed words, a glossary for on-line teaching materials, or an electronic Version of a respected hard-copy dic tionary are all El )s of a sort, characterised by the same System of storage and retrieval." (Nesi 2000 a: 819; her italics) Electronic dictionaries are therefore distinguished from printed dictionaries firstly by the way in which the data are stored, and secondly by the way in which these data are accessed (cf. also Engelberg/Lemnitzer 2009: 271). In addition, Müller-Spitzer restricts the term electronic dictionary to human users, as this conveys the precondition for transferring in a meaningful way the basic properties o f a printed dictionary to an electronic dictionary (cf. Müller-Spitzer 2007: 31 Hausmann (cf. Hausmann 1989). From that, they use the medium-independent criteria o f number o f languages and degree o f specialization, according to which they differentiate between monolingual, bilingual and multilingual dictionaries, as w ell as between general and specialist dictionaries (which are then further subdivided). In addition to this, they add some medium-specific typological features (publication form, discreteness, hypertextualization, multimediality and access modes) in order to do justice to the medial peculiarities o f electronic dictionaries.Nesi distinguishes between four main categories o f electronic dictionary -the internet dictionary, the glossary for on-line courseware, the learners' dictionary on CD-ROM und the pocket electronic dictionary (PED) (cf. Nesi 2000 a: 842 f.). However, she herseif acknowledges the blurred boundaries between the individual types. Further attempts from the 1990s to typologize electronic dictionaries are pre- format, pop-up mode interface, parallel format und pocket e-dictionaries. One criticism o f this typologization is that two different criteria, namely how the content is presented and the device on which the dictionary is accessed, are mixed up together: dictionarie...

Abstract:In this paper, we present the concept and the results of two studies addressing (potential) users of monolingual German online dictionaries, such as www.elexiko.de. Drawing on the example of elexiko, the aim of those studies was to collect empirical data on possible extensions of the content of monolingual online dictionaries, e.g. the search function, to evaluate how users comprehend the terminology of the user interface, to find out which types of information are expected to be included in each specific lexicographic module and to investigate general questions regarding the function and reception of examples illustrating the use of a word. The design and distribution of the surveys is comparable to the studies described in the chapters 5-8 of this volume. We also explain, how the data obtained in our studies were used for further improvement of the elexiko-dictionary.

Once a new word or a new meaning is added to a monolingual dictionary, the lexicographer is to provide a definition of this item. This paper focuses on the methodological challenges in writing such definitions. After a short discussion of the central terminology (method and definition), the article describes factors which inform this process: linguistic theories, linguistic and lexicographical methods, and types of definitions. Using the example of elexiko, a dictionary project of the Institute for the German language (IDS) in Mannheim, Germany, the paper finally showcases the compilation of definitions in a monolingual online dictionary of contemporary German.

Seit Jahrzehnten fordern zahlreiche Metalexikografen und Lexikografen immer wieder eine umfangreichere Beschäftigung mit Wörterbüchern im muttersprachlichen Deutschunterricht, auch in der gymnasialen Oberstufe. Trotzdem spielen die Wortschatzarbeit und der Umgang mit Wörterbüchern in Lehrplänen, Didaktiken und Lehrwerken in den meisten Fällen allenfalls eine marginale Rolle. Im Anschluss an eine überblicksartige Bestandsaufnahme dazu untersucht der vorliegende Beitrag, inwieweit elexiko, ein Onlinewörterbuch zur deutschen Gegenwartssprache, sinnvoll in den muttersprachlichen Deutschunterricht der Sekundarstufe II integriert werden könnte. Am Beispiel des Angabebereichs der Bedeutungserläuterung wird überprüft, ob Schüler der gymnasialen Oberstufe als Zielgruppe für elexiko infrage kommen und für welche linguistischen Themen sich die Wortschatzarbeit mit den semantischen Paraphrasen für elexiko anbietet. 3 Vereinfachend wird hier von Lehrplänen oder Bildungsplänen gesprochen, obwohl die ministeriellen Vorgaben in den deutschen Bundesländern unterschiedliche Bezeichnungen tragen: Bildungsstandards, Bildungspläne, Rahmenpläne, Lehrpläne, Rahmenlehrpläne, Rahmenrichtlinien oder Richtlinien. 4 Für einen kurzen Überblick zum unterschiedlichen Prestige von Wörterbüchern im englischsprachigen Raum und in Deutschland vgl. Töpel (2011a, S. 137f.).

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