The Problem of Updating Meaning: Semantic Shifts and Technological Vocabulary in Azerbaijani Online Dictionaries
Khatira Mammadova
Abstract: This study aims to evaluate the extent to which the advantage of frequent updates provided by online dictionaries is utilized in monolingual Azerbaijani dictionaries. The words “axın”, “bulud”, “çərəz”, and “tətbiq”, all belonging to the technology semantic field, were selected as samples and examined in the “Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti (2006). Dörd cilddə. Bakı: Şərq-Qərb.” dictionary. The explanatory dictionary of the Azerbaijani language (2006, four volumes, Baku: Şərq-Qərb) remains the most recent comprehensive printed edition, and no subsequent updated edition has been published. Therefore, the observed limitations in reflecting recent semantic changes are not only related to lexicographic methodology, but also to the absence of an updated or revised edition after 2006. The English equivalents of the sample entries in the Cambridge and Oxford online monolingual English dictionaries were evaluated comparatively with the definitions in the Azerbaijani examples. This article investigates the problem of reflecting semantic shifts in online monolingual dictionaries. The author emphasizes that the language has a dynamic character and the meanings of the words change over time and gain new meanings. However, adherents of spiritual lexiconism have difficulty in reflecting these changes in an operational and academic way. The study shows that, although the numerical environment creates ample opportunities for the renewal of dictionaries, the selection, standardization and introduction of new meanings is still problematic. This creates particular complexity in the teaching process, because dictionaries are one of the main sources of reference for language learners and it is important for them to avoid using the actual language. The article concludes that online dictionaries should move towards more agile, user-oriented and corpus-based approaches. This will allow semantic changes to be traced more precisely and contemporary understandings to be properly presented in dictionaries.
Keywords: semantic shift, lexicography, online dictionaries, technological vocabulary, monolingual dictionaries, language change