|
How to use this Chinese English Dictionary based on Chinese Markers
|
|
|
|
PRINCIPLE
|
This dictionary is equivalent to the part of a traditional dictionary where words are ordered according to the pinyin transcription of their anchor character.
To lookup the entry of an unknown character, it is both necessary and sufficient to know how to pronounce its anchor character.
For students, such a dictionary is today the only available way to combine two key benefits which are normally incompatible:
|
- SIMPLICITY:
It is a modular lexicon whose vocabulary is strickly limited according to the student's level.
three levels are programmed, for instance according to the progression of a textbook series.
in this case, the three books of 'Méthode de Chinois' published by L'Asiathèque (Paris).
.
- EXTENDED STUDY:
starting from the anchor character of the word just looked up, the curious student can effortlessly discover
not only the other words associated with this anchor, but also all the characters in its marker neighborhood,
i.e. those which share with it a common element (部件), which brands them with its mark, either phonetic, semantic or, in few instances, purely graphic.
|
This unique combination is based on an original method which analyzes chinese characters according to their markers (部件).
Available today is the framework, illustrated with a few entries prepared in French by Prof. Jing Guo, Maître de Conférences à l'INALCO, based on the 'Méthode de Chinois' of L'Asiathèque
The entries to complete a dictionary need to be written by an appropriate organization such as a publishing house, a university or an association.
This framework also supports the recording of characters and words in mp3 format but no actual recording have been performed todate.
If interested in developping such a dictionary, please send an email to: 'chinois ampersand eprivacy.com'
|
|
|
WORD LOOKUP
|
Look up a word in five quick steps:
- find the transcription of the anchor character of the word to be looked up in the list of pinyin sounds
- click on it to display all the chinese characters of that sound, without regard to the tone
- find the anchor character of the word to be looked up in this list of characters
- click on the code written on its right to display all the words anchored by this character
- find the word to be looked up in this list of words
e.g. to find the word 质量
- find the sound 'zhi' and click on it
- find the anchor character 质 and click on its code Mx-01
- find the entry for the word 质物
with its different meanings, examples of its usage, and page references to the textbook followed if any
Notes:
- by default the anchor of a chinese word is its first character. But for pedagogical purposes, any of its characters can also anchor a word.
e.g.
- word 质量 can be found indexed under 质 but also under 量.
- words 量体温 and 衡量 are both indexed under the anchor character 量.
- the underlying character search engine does not take tone into account. If the anchor character displayed does not have the correct tone:
- click on 'character neighbors' to find all other possibilities
- click on the character with the correct tone to display the word list wanted.
e.g.,
- if one looks up 数量 (shùliàng) by way of anchor character 量, character 量(liáng) is displayed;
- one will find the true character anchor 量(liàng) among its neighbors and, by clicking on it, the word wanted.
- the unique feature of this dictionary is to allow studying the neighborhood of each character. For a given character, this concept covers two different sets:
- all the characters which share with the given one a common marker - e.g. 企 and 肯 are both neighbors of 正 with which they share marker 止
- all the characters of which it is itself a common building block, i.e. a marker - e.g. 正, 政, 证, et 整 are all mutual neighbors sharing marker 正
the underlying character search engine distinguishes between these two types of neighborhood and, if both exist for a given character, lists the latter twice.
If one is not interested in neighborhoods, clicking on either occurrence will lead to the desired character entry, except perhaps for the tone.
e.g. to find 正常, one is given two copies of anchor character 正, with two different codes
- clicking on code Bm-01 (for marker 止) leads to character 正 (zhèng) under which one finds 正常
- clicking on code Bn-01 (for marker 正) leads to character 正 (zhēng): display its neighborhood to reveal 正 (zhèng) and click on the latter to find 正常.
|
|
|
CHARACTER NEIGHBORHOOD STUDY
|
As stated above, this dictionary promotes studying the neighborhood of each character. For a given character, this concept covers two different sets:
- all the characters which share with the given one a common marker - e.g. 企 and 肯 are both neighbors of 正 with which they share marker 止
- all the characters of which it is itself a common building block, i.e. a marker - e.g. 正, 政, 证, et 整 are all mutual neighbors sharing marker 正
A neighborhood is thus defined by a particular marker.
This marker becomes the focus if one clicks on button 'Character neighbors' or by default, when there is no entry yet for the character being looked up.
The list of characters which contains this marker corresponds to a certain vocabulary level, level III by default. Click on button 'No filter - I - II - III' to cycle between levels.
Click on a character within the neighborhood of a given marker should lead to its dictionary entry. If it does not exist yet, nothing happens.
The 'no filter' level displays all neighbors listed in the Pocket Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary. For each it gives a single, indicative translation, short of the missing character entry.
The principal benefit is to allow students to study each marker phonetic influence. One only needs to click on button 'advanced mode' and avail oneself of the resources of the marker dictionary.
Click on button 'phonetic map' to reach down the page, if need be, to see the phonetic map summarizing this influence over a phonetic spread background.
For more information, please refer to the help page for the advanced mode, reachable from the home page.
|
|
|
|