FUNCTION OF THE SEMICOLON IN DEFINITIONS IN SELECTED PUBLICATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY DIALECT LEXICOGRAPHY

Анотація

Introduction. The article analyzes the delimiting role of semicolons in the definitions of entry articles in dialectal dictionaries, which consist of two types of definitions and in the definitions of two different referents. The material for analysis was extracted from “Ilustrowany Leksykon Gwary i Kultury Podhalańskiej” by Józef Kąś (t. I: “A–B”), “Słownik gwary i kultury Kujaw” (t. A–H), by Zofia Sawaniewska-Mochowa and selected dictionaries published as part of the “Wielkopolskie Słowniki Regionalne” series. The material base consists of entries in which a semicolon was used when defining headwords – in the vast majority this punctuation mark was used once, more rarely twice or three times.
Purpose of the article. The aim of the article is to analyze the functional value of one of the punctuation marks – the semicolon – in the definitions in the entry articles of selected dialectal dictionaries. The description of the material takes into account the recurrent use of the semicolon in definitions.
Methods. In the analysis, I consider headword definitions, i. e. meanings enclosed in definitional inverted commas. I also note the occurrence of a semicolon in those cases where a headword article has more than one definition, separated by numbered meanings. I use Witold Doroszewski’s division when determining the types of definition. In describing the material, I distinguish the repeated use of a semicolon in definitions.
Results. The presence of a semicolon was included in the collected material: due to the structure of the definitions (in definitions of one referent, which consist of two types of definitions; in definitions of two different referents) and due to the purpose of separation (to separate unnumbered meanings of one entry; to separate references to other entry articles from definitions).
Conclusion. The authors within the definitional inverted commas refer to a single designator using two types of definition, but also point to two different designators that have semantic relations with each other. The functioning of the semicolon in definitions in dictionaries and dialect lexicons thus allows the lexicographic (scientific) definition to be combined with additional information and the definition of the dialect user given in the referenced fragments of the villagers’ statements. The repeated patterns of use of the delimitation mark also indicate the formation of a fixed lexicographical practice in dialect dictionaries.