Language Studies

Language Studies

A Critical Analysis of Monolingual Persian Dictionaries: A User Satisfaction Perspective

Document Type : Research original ,Regular Article

Authors
Saghar Sharifi 1
Mostafa Assi 2
1 Assistant Professor in Linguistics, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch
2 Professor in Linguistics, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies
.
Abstract
 
User satisfaction has unfortunately been neglected in the compilation of Persian dictionaries. This paper was aimed to study five general monolingual Persian dictionaries, namely Dehkhoda, Mo’in, Amid, Farhang-e Farsi-ye Emrooz and Sokhan in terms of user satisfaction. A questionnaire, based on Assi’s (1995) research project, has been designed and users were asked to answer the questions. Some of the participants were also randomly interviewed. The collected data were analyzed statistically, and tests such as the chi-square significance test, were applied. The objectives of this study were to identify the users' needs along with the relationship between their needs and social variables such as their age, level of education and also field of study. Upon analysis, it became clear that the users' field of study was the only determining factor in the amount of dictionary use, the success rate in finding information and in user’soverall satisfaction.
Keywords
Lexicography
Persian
General monolingual dictionaries
User
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Language Studies
Volume 4, Issue 8 - Serial Number 8
October 2014
Pages 95-114

  • Receive Date 18 September 2013
  • Revise Date 12 October 2013
  • Accept Date 17 October 2013