On Entries for Neologisms in English-Chinese Learner’s Dictionaries

Abstract

New words are entering the English language at an ever-increasing rate. This paper specifically discusses how neologisms are presented in an English-Chinese learner’s dictionary to cater for the learners’ needs. Based on Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), the researcher analyzes how these new words are used in the main five genres: spoken texts, fiction, magazines, newspapers and academic journals. In light of the results of the discussion and analysis, several practical suggestions are put forward to optimize the entries for neologisms in EnglishChinese learner’s dictionaries.