So-called dictionary equivalents confronted with parallel corpora (and the consequences for bilingual lexicography)

Abstract

The study considers the question of whether (and how) bilingual dictionaries may be improved. The information presented in dictionaries has been confronted with textual reality (i.e., with examples of actual translations), based on the German expression fassungslos and its Polish equivalents in parallel texts. The author assumes that bilingual dictionaries are mainly used by language learners, while professional translators may consider them as one of many possible sources. In teaching, multiplying the possible equivalents or suggesting ad hoc solutions is generally not recommended. Despite the attempts at objectivizing lexicographic descriptions, which are made possible by using language corpora, it often turns out that the decisions made by dictionary authors are (and need to be) arbitrary.