The Lexicographic Treatment of Days in Sepedi, or When Mother-Tongue Intuition Fails*

Abstract

Abstract:Since May 2001 the Sepedi National Lexicography Unit officially started the actual dictionary-writing of a pioneering Explanatory Sepedi Dictionary (PyaSsaL). The compilation is undertaken within the theoretical framework of Simultaneous Feedback, is fully corpus-based, and follows an onomasiological approach to the Sepedi lexicon. In this article the various compilation aspects are examined and illustrated by means of one onomasiological sub-field, namely the days of the week. It is shown how a balanced combination of mother-tongue intuition, data from existing (bilingual) dictionaries, fieldwork results, corpus queries, and grammarians' conjectures can and should lead to a sound lexicographic treatment. Leboa e thomile semmušo go ngwala Pukuntšutlhaloši ya Sesotho sa Leboa (PyaSsaL). Thulaganyo ya yona e laolwa ke teori ya Simultaneous Feedback, e theilwe godimo ga sešegontšu (khophase), gape e latela tsela ya go hlaloša manšu a Sesotho sa Leboa go ya ka direrwa tše di fapanego. Mo taodišwaneng ye go tsinkelwa mekgwa ya go fapanafapana ya thulaganyo gape mekgwa yeo e šupetšwa ka karolwana e tee ya direrwa tša PyaSsaL, e lego matšatši a beke. Go bontšhwa ka fao tekanelo ya kopanyo ya dikakanyo tša mmoledi wa Sesotho sa Leboa, tshedimošo go tšwa go dipukuntšu (tša malemepedi) tšeo di šetšego di le gona, dipoelo tša nyakišišontle, diphatišišo ka gare ga sešegontšu, le dikakanyo tša borapopapolelo di ka kgonago ebile di swanetše go fihliša tshekatshekong ya kgonthe go ya ka dinyakwa tša go ngwala pukuntšu.