Sense relations in the treatment of meaning in "Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele"

Abstract

This article evaluates how meaning has been treated in Isichazamazwi SesiNdebele (2001) through the application of the sense relations hyponymy, meronymy and synonymy. It attempts to establish the adequacy of meaning presentation in definitions given to headwords. It assesses how the application of sense relations contributes to the user-friendliness of the defini-tions, the accessibility of the dictionary contents and the semantic analysis of lexemes in dictionar-ies. It aims to give insights that will help refine and improve future dictionary definitions. The article reveals that hyponymy and meronymy facilitate the formulation of more user-friendly and accessible dictionary definitions. On the other hand, synonym definitions reduce the user-friendli-ness and accessibility of the definitions in dictionary types that are not dictionaries of synonyms. As dictionary making is a part or a form of standardizing a language, it ought to be as accurate as possible in the presentation of semantic facts which is a reflection of the cultural values and ideolo-gies of the society.

Keywords: hyponymy, meronymy, synonymy, user-friendly, accessibility, defining format, defining principle, circularity, onomasiological, sema-siological, cross-referencing