Search

In this article, reflections are made on some specialized lexicographical/terminographical resources being produced in African languages. The resources are produced in order to contribute towards the intellectualization of those languages for expanded functional usage. The article focuses on lemma selection, provision of data/information for included lemmata and structural aspects of the surveyed resources. With regard to the first area of focus, the article identifies the lack of a systematic approach to lemma selection, which undermines the potential of the resources as communicative and cognitive tools in specialized subject fields and disciplines. Secondly, regarding the provision of data categories, instances of insufficient information and cases of inclusion of irrelevant information are identified, both of which have implications for the functional value of the resources within specialized domains. Finally, reflections on aspects of dictionary structure indicate sub-standard structural designs which affect the user-friendliness of the resources, but some innovative structural designs are also identified. Overall, the article argues for a stronger lexicographic orientation in terms of the theoretical underpinnings guiding the production of specialized lexicographical/terminographical resources in African languages.

This article critically evaluates the ChiNdau–English and English–ChiNdau Vocabulary: With Grammatical Notes, a bilingual dictionary published in 1915 by the American Board Mission (Rhodesian Branch), with a view of determining its suitability for use as a point of departure for modern Ndau lexicography. More than a century after its publication, it remains the only diction-ary in the language. The language has been treated as a dialect of Shona for close to a century, until its emergence as one of the country's sixteen officially-recognized languages in the 2013 Constitu-tion of Zimbabwe. This landmark development requires practical work that can transform Ndau into a fully-fledged and intellectualized language. Lexicography is one of the key intellectual enter-prises that can contribute in this regard. It is therefore the contention of this article that the existing dictionary be considered as a vital point of reference for future lexicographic work in Ndau. An analysis of various aspects of the dictionary indicate that, notwithstanding some limitations, this dictionary indeed managed to set some standards that may be incorporated in current and future lexicographic works in this less documented language.Keywords: Dictionaries, Missionary Lexicography, Chindau, Chindau Vocabulary, Ndau, Ndau Lexicography, Ndau Orthography, Language Intellectualization, Marginalized Languages, Officially-Recognized Lan-Guages, Zimbabwean Lexicography