The treatment of affixes in the 'big four' Efl dictionaries

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the quantity and quality of the information provided on affixes in the 1995 editions of OALD, LDOCE, COBUILD and CIDE. The comparative analysis is based on the entries for two prefixes, dis-and pro-, and two suffixes,-ish and-or, which are evaluated against the following ten required entry components: Spelling, Pronunciation, Input/Output units, Sense distinctions, Definitions, Cross-references, Usage labels, Productivity, Examples and Terminology. The analysis shows that all four dictionaries paint only part of the expected picture, and that there is ample room for improvement in the realization of most components, for which a number of suggestions are made. Also discussed in some depth are (1) essential differences between affixes and other lexical units, (2) various approaches to the delimitation of affixes, and (3) the factors determining the establishment of a criterial set of affixal properties. © 1999 Oxford University Press.