Enhancing the role of culture-specific constructs in Chinese (-English) dictionaries for international learners

Abstract

Abstract The growing number of people learning Chinese as a second language (CSL) appears to precipitate an increasing demand for Chinese dictionaries for international learners (CDIL). However, many of these dictionaries are not accepted by Chinese learners around the world. This paper, starting with the status quo and the current challenges of the CDIL, attempts to highlight the role of culture-specific constructs (CSCs) in compiling dictionaries for learners from various perspectives. The discussion is directed to the inseparable relationship between CDIL and Chinese CSCs from the viewpoint of cultural differences, the characteristics and classification of CSCs in the light of cultural anthropology and lexicography, as well as the culture enhancement in entry-word selection and definition according to the characteristics of second language acquisition and users’ dictionary needs. Finally, based on the analysis of the CSCs extracted from the Chinese-Related English Corpus, the translational definition method and principles of the CDIL are proposed. In addition, the conceptual integration mechanism for cross-cultural memetic calque of CSCs is profiled with practical instances drawn from the Corpus.