Chapter One Introduction 1
1．What is lexicography? 1
2．What is a dictionary? 4
3．What to learn in English lexicography 10
4．Why EFL students must study English lexicography 12
Chapter Two Types of English Dictionaries 14
1．Typology 14
2．Our typology 17
3．Functions of English dictionaries of different types 30
Chapter Three A History of General English Dic-tionaries 32
1．The developing stages 32
2．Trends of general English dictionaries 48
Chapter Four The Monumental Achievements 51
1．Johnson's Dictionary,an 18th century standard 51
2．Noah Webster's American Dictionary 57
3．OED,the most complete of English dictionaries 60
4．W3,the"masterpiece"of descriptivism 65
Chapter Five Content and Structure of General English Dictionaries 69
1．The front matter 69
2．The dictionary proper 72
3．The back matter 82
Chapter Six Describing the Form of the Word 85
1．Written forms 85
2．Spoken form:pronunciation 91
Chapter Seven Describing the Meaning of the Word 99
1．Description of meaning:general consideration 99
2．Defining methods 99
3．Principles of defining 107
4．Defining by part of speech 110
Chapter Eight Usage Indication 113
1．What is usage? 113
2．Traditions in usage indication 115
3．Devices used in usage indication 116
4．Using questionnaires before usage orientation 121
5．The inconsistency in labeling words 122
Chapter Nine Verbal and Pictorial Illustrations 124
1．Verbal illustrations 124
2．Pictorial illustrations 134
Chapter Ten Grammatical Information'Etymological Information 138
1．Grammatical information 138
2．Etymological information 147
Chapter Eleven Medium-sized General Dic-tionaries:British and American 155
1．The advantages of medium-sized dictionaries 155
2．Some best-known British medium-sized dictionaries 156
3．Some best-known American college dictionaries 158
4．Distinctive features of British medium-sized general dictionaries 163
5．Distinctive features of American medium-sized general dictionaries 165
Chapter Twelve EFL(ESL)Learner's Dictionaries 168
1．A general survey 168
2．Commonly shared features 171
3．Unique features of the"Big Four" 176
Chapter Thirteen Special Language Dictionaries 182
1．Pronouncing dictionaries 182
2．Etymological dictionaries 184
3．Synonym dictionaries 185
4．Dictionaries of idioms 186
5．Dictionaries of usage 192
6．Dictionaries of slang 193
7．Dictionaries of abbreviations 194
8．Dictionaries of neologisms 196
9．Other special language dictionaries 197
Chapter Fourteen Dictionary Making and Computer Use 198
1．Planning the dictionary 198
2．Writing the dictionary 205
3．Revising a dictionary 207
4．Computer uses in lexicography 208
English Dictionaries Coded 214
Bibliography 218