Branches of linguistics. Synchronic vs diachronic approaches to the language study. Lexicology – ‘the science of the word’ Lexicon

A special dictionary provides information limited to one particular linguistic aspect. Special dictionaries may be further subdivided depending on whether the words are chosen according to:

-the sphere of human activity in which they are used (linguistic dictionary, medical dictionary);

-the type of the units (phraseological dictionary, dictionary of abbreviations);

-the relationships existing between them (dictionary of synonyms and antonyms).

A concordance (O.Fr. concordance (12c.) ‘agreement, harmony’) is a list of all the words which are used in a particular book or in the works of a particular author, together with the contexts in which each word occurs, e.g. The Concordance of the Bible, The Concordance to Shakespeare.

One and the same dictionary can be described as general and special, e.g. a pronouncing dictionary.

45. Important milestones in the history of British and American lexicography.