A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms
Cultural information has long been recognised as an integral part of bilingual dictionaries. However, previous studies have generally exhibited an insufficient treatment of cultural information, particularly of culture-bound words. As the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture, Confucianism has...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Heliyon |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025004670 |
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| author | Jinyan Li |
| author_facet | Jinyan Li |
| author_sort | Jinyan Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cultural information has long been recognised as an integral part of bilingual dictionaries. However, previous studies have generally exhibited an insufficient treatment of cultural information, particularly of culture-bound words. As the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture, Confucianism has contributed significantly to the formation of the Chinese mind and character. Accordingly, the representation of Confucianism in bilingual dictionaries is of great value for cultural dissemination and Chinese-language acquisition. Thus, the present study investigates how key Confucian terms are presented in three Chinese-English dictionaries: Wuche Yunfu (Morrison 1819), A Chinese-English Dictionary (Giles 1912) and New Age Chinese-English Dictionary (Pan 2014). The purpose of this study is threefold: i) to understand the lexicographic practice of Chinese-English dictionaries in their treatment of culture-bound words (Confucian terms); ii) to explore the diachronic changes in bilingual dictionaries at the macrostructural and microstructural levels; and iii) to investigate the user-friendly features of bilingual dictionaries. The study's findings shed light on the presentation of cultural information in Chinese-English dictionaries, which could help non-native users improve their learning of Chinese language and culture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-37492d2101c4426babce2703bc4f4488 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2405-8440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Heliyon |
| spelling | doaj-art-37492d2101c4426babce2703bc4f44882025-02-09T05:00:38ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402025-02-01113e42087A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian termsJinyan Li0School of Languages and Cultures, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise, PR ChinaCultural information has long been recognised as an integral part of bilingual dictionaries. However, previous studies have generally exhibited an insufficient treatment of cultural information, particularly of culture-bound words. As the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture, Confucianism has contributed significantly to the formation of the Chinese mind and character. Accordingly, the representation of Confucianism in bilingual dictionaries is of great value for cultural dissemination and Chinese-language acquisition. Thus, the present study investigates how key Confucian terms are presented in three Chinese-English dictionaries: Wuche Yunfu (Morrison 1819), A Chinese-English Dictionary (Giles 1912) and New Age Chinese-English Dictionary (Pan 2014). The purpose of this study is threefold: i) to understand the lexicographic practice of Chinese-English dictionaries in their treatment of culture-bound words (Confucian terms); ii) to explore the diachronic changes in bilingual dictionaries at the macrostructural and microstructural levels; and iii) to investigate the user-friendly features of bilingual dictionaries. The study's findings shed light on the presentation of cultural information in Chinese-English dictionaries, which could help non-native users improve their learning of Chinese language and culture.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025004670Bilingual dictionariesChinese-English dictionaries for non-native usersConfucian termsCultural informationCulture-bound words |
| spellingShingle | Jinyan Li A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms Heliyon Bilingual dictionaries Chinese-English dictionaries for non-native users Confucian terms Cultural information Culture-bound words |
| title | A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms |
| title_full | A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms |
| title_fullStr | A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms |
| title_full_unstemmed | A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms |
| title_short | A diachronic study on the treatment of culture-bound words in Chinese-English Dictionaries (1819–2014): A case study of confucian terms |
| title_sort | diachronic study on the treatment of culture bound words in chinese english dictionaries 1819 2014 a case study of confucian terms |
| topic | Bilingual dictionaries Chinese-English dictionaries for non-native users Confucian terms Cultural information Culture-bound words |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844025004670 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jinyanli adiachronicstudyonthetreatmentofcultureboundwordsinchineseenglishdictionaries18192014acasestudyofconfucianterms AT jinyanli diachronicstudyonthetreatmentofcultureboundwordsinchineseenglishdictionaries18192014acasestudyofconfucianterms |