NSM-LDOCE Non-Circular Dictionary

Can every word in a dictionary be explained using Natural Semantic Metalanguage?

The NSM-LDOCE research dictionary was created to test the expressive power of Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) and its tiny set of semantic primes. In this dictionary, NSM was used to paraphrase definitions for each word in the controlled defining vocabulary of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE). The definitions were written using mostly NSM primes, mixed with a few other words from the LDOCE defining vocabulary.

Chains of circular definitions were detected using a computer program. Most were resolved by rewording one of the definitions in the chain, but three were resolved by adding tentative semantic primes (colour, number and shape).

The resulting NSM-LDOCE dictionary is non-circular, and by extension provides non-circular definitions for all the words in the LDOCE.

The NSM-LDOCE research dictionary served as the basis for creating Learn These Words First. New non-circular definitions for colour, number and shape were written and tested, so these three tentative primes could be removed. Other definitions were improved to eliminate more than half of the 700 words used as "semantic molecules" in NSM-LDOCE.

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Longman Defining Vocabulary

One way to reduce circularity in dictionary definitions is through the use of a controlled vocabulary. In the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE), the definitions for over 80,000 words and phrases are written using only the central senses of around 2000 words in the dictionary's core defining vocabulary. This core vocabulary was developed from the General Service List of high-frequency words and their most common meanings (West, Michael. 1953. A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman).

The words appearing in LDOCE definitions are restricted to non-idiomatic uses of only their higher-frequency classes and senses. If a reader understands the 2000 words in the LDOCE's core defining vocabulary, the remaining 78,000 definitions in the LDOCE can be understood without encountering a circular reference.

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Natural Semantic Metalanguage

An ideal dictionary definition explains the meaning of its headword using only words that are simpler and easier to understand than the headword being defined. If you repeat this process of "reductive paraphrase" for every headword in the dictionary, you will ultimately find a core subset of headwords that cannot be further reduced to simpler terms. These irreducible words are "semantic atoms" (also called "semantic primes").

By finding and comparing the semantic atoms of many languages, linguist Anna Wierzbicka and colleagues have developed Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM), which identifies a common set of concepts appearing as the semantic atoms in all languages. You can find more information about NSM at Griffith University's Natural Semantic Metalanguage Homepage.

NSM semantic atoms and reductive paraphrase are used by Learn These Words First to create a dictionary without circular definitions. Lessons 1 and 2 introduce the 61 NSM semantic atoms in English (the atoms identified as of 2002). These are used to explain 300 "semantic molecules" in Lessons 3 through 12. The rest of the words in the dictionary are defined using only the semantic atoms and molecules.

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Why learn these 360 words first?

Many language courses teach vocabulary in topical lessons of about 30 words each (food, animals, clothing, colors, family, etc.). After learning 360 words in your first 12 lessons, you may understand words for about 12 topics, but the words you know will probably be inadequate for explaining most ideas outside of these limited topics.

Instead of arranging words by topic, the lesson vocabulary of Learn These Words First was carefully selected to maximize the explanatory power of your first 360 words:

• The lessons teach most of the highest-frequency words in English. After learning these 360 words, you will know more than half of the words you see on any typical page of English text.
• These 360 words are powerful for explaining things: They can explain all the other words in the dictionary. (They are used to define all 2000 words in the Longman Defining Vocabulary, which is used to define every word in the Longman Dictionary.)
• By learning these words first, you can use an English-English dictionary, so you can be immersed in English instead of relying on a bilingual dictionary.

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What is in each layer?

The Learn These Words First dictionary is arranged in layers to eliminate circular definitions and make the dictionary accessible for beginning-level ESL students:

 

• Lessons 1 and 2 use captioned illustrations to explain essential words (NSM universal linguistic concepts). Translations are given in multiple languages.
• Lessons 3 through 12 build the vocabulary one word at a time. Each word is explained in English, using only words that have already been introduced. Lessons include example sentences and questions to help review new vocabulary.
• The alphabetical index lists the 2000 words in the Longman Defining Vocabulary. Each of these words is defined using only the 360 words from the lessons.
• Using the 2000 words from the layers above, students can read any definition in the Longman English Dictionary Online.

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The problem of circular definitions

Here is an example of a circular definition. The word easy is used to define difficult, and the word difficult is used to define easy:

• difficult = Not easy.
• easy = Not difficult.

Here is another example. If you do not already know any of these words (illness, sick, sickness), you will not get a helpful explanation of what they mean from these circular definitions:

• illness = Sickness of body or mind.
• sick = Suffering from an illness.
• sickness = The condition of being sick.

Most dictionaries contain thousands of circular definitions like these, especially for the most basic words. This may not be a problem for someone who already has a large vocabulary, but circular definitions are frustrating for beginning-level learners.

The Learn These Words First dictionary is structured in a new way to eliminate circular definitions. The 360 words in the lessons are arranged in an order that allows each new word to be explained using only words that were explained earlier in the lessons. The rest of the words in the dictionary are defined using only the 360 words from the lessons. A computer program was used to check that the lessons and definitions contain no circular definitions.

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British spelling and American spelling

For some words, the British spelling is different from the American spelling.

The Learn These Words First dictionary uses British spellings, but headwords are listed with both spellings: first the British spelling, followed by the American spelling in parentheses.

Here are some examples of headwords where the British and American spellings differ:

• colour, (color).
• centre, (center).
• metre, (meter).

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