Thursday, May 13, 2010

ADJECTIVE FINDER OR REVERSE DICTIONARY OF ADJECTIVES SUMMARY OF CONCEPT AND LAYOUT

REVERSE DICTIONARY OF ADJECTIVES OR ADJECTIVE FINDER

CONCEPT: To help non-native speakers to get the word they want from the word they know.

ORGANISTION and FORMAT: I am arriving at the required word by using a basic word which I term as KEYWORD and as and when required supplementing it with connective word/phrase, Then the required word is mentioned followed by a further clarification with a brief meaning or explanation of the required word. So in all there are four columns
Keyword Connective word ADJECTIVE Meaning

The criteria for the selection of the key word and connective word/phrase are:
1) Both must be simple and easily comprehensible.
2) Both must effectively lead to the required word.
3) Both must be highly relevant to the required word meaning wise i.e. the word that would strike to a person requiring to express a particular thought, description, emotion, action, event etc.
Thus the entry of required word would appear not only under the key word connecting word combination but also under the reversed form wherein the connective word would act as the keyword and the key word would become a connective word. This ensures optimum user-friendly method wherein the user gets at the word whether the keyword or the connecting word comes to his mind.

keyword Connecting word Adjective Meaning

Pain ear OTALGIC UTI pain in the ear
Ear pain OTALGIC UTI pain in the ear
Pain ear due to noise DYSACOUSIC UTI pain in ear caused by noise
Noise cause pain in the ear DYSACOUSIC UTI pain in ear caused by noise
Ear pain caused by noise DYSACOUSIC UTI pain in ear caused by noise
Enclosing a sample entry for the word pain for your kind perusal.

ABBREVIATIONS USED:
1) UTI – Used to indicate:
This I have arrived at after working for days together to find out a single suitable simple expression to explain or define adjectives and doing away with several introductory words/phrases used by dictionaries in defining adjectives, a comprehensive list of 37 such words and phrases like ‘able to ,apt to, capable of, pertaining to,’ etc are well compiled and mentioned by SIDNEY I LANDOU in the book ‘Dictionaries: The art and craft of lexicography.’
2) N-for indicating all negations be it a noun bearing prefixes –non, -in, etc or suffix –less, or for referring to contrary of an action or condition.
3) V-for indicating all intensities to avoid use of all the following terms such as :very, too, excessive, enormous etc either before and/ or after the noun or verb.
4) F-for indicating any fear or phobia.
5) S-for indicating any science, study, technique, art etc.
6) L-for indicating all likeness and avoid use of words like similar, shaped, like , form etc.

TARGETED READERSHIP, SCOPE, AND COVERAGE:

Primarily more useful for writers, journalists and teachers of English who are especially non-native speakers of English as well as any avid learner of English. It is basically useful for clearing the block caused due to want of exact / appropriate word while expressing an idea or describing something.

WHAT IT DOES NOT CONTAIN
It does not contain any encyclopedic, or linguistic or etymological information or detailed definition or Pronunciation guide.

CONFESSION:

To be honest and candid, this work like any other dictionary is not independent of its predecessors. In fact I have practically read several dictionaries as a school boy would read a text book for exams. I was able to do so because I was bedridden for some months due to a major accident. I will provide the bibliography of the dictionaries and books that I have read for the preparation of this work, if necessary later on.
NOTES PREPARED FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THIS WORK
I was guarding almost 35000 sheets of paper I have written for the preparation of this work but due to lack of space I had to destroy them.


SOURCE OF INSPIRATION:

My loving parents especially my father whose range of vocabulary was something that I always envied and my mother though she did not have much of formal schooling could converse in several languages very fluently it was they who inspired me to produce a work of this nature.

WHY ONLY ADJECTIVE AND NOT NOUNS OF VERBS

In most of the dictionaries only a passing reference is made for adjectives under a primary heading, definition or information of a verb or noun. Thus adjectives have always received only a step motherly treatment . This in spite of this fact that it is only the use of adjectives that embellish and flavor any expression, narration or description.
I feel a dictionary must not only contain the potential raw materials for great writings but must also be a potential source of inspiration for such writings.

WORDS NORMALY USED FOR DESCRIBING OR DEFINING ADJECTIVES

1.Able to 
2.Apt to 
3.Associated with 
4.Being 
5.Befitting 
6.Belonging to 
7.Capable of 
8.Characterized by 
9.Consisting of 
10.Denoting 
11.Describing 
12.Designating 
13.Exhibiting 
14.Expressing 
15.Expressive of 
16.For 
17.Fuel of 
18.Given to 
19.Having
20.Having the quality of
21.Having to do with
22.Inclined to
23.Indicating
24.Involving
25.Like
26.Likely to
27.Made of
28.Marked by
29.Of
30.Of the nature of
31.Pertaining to
32.Producing
33.Relating to
34.Resembling
35.Showing
36.Tending to
37.Used (for, with, in, etc)

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