The Lexicographic Treatment of Days in Sepedi, or When Mother-Tongue Intuition Fails

Abstract

Abstract: Since May 2001 the Sepedi National Lexicography Unit officially started the actual dictionary-writing of a pioneering Explanatory Sepedi Dictionary (PyaSsaL). The compilation is undertaken within the theoretical framework of Simultaneous Feedback, is fully corpus-based, and follows an onomasiological approach to the Sepedi lexicon. In this article the various compilation aspects are examined and illustrated by means of one onomasiological sub-field, namely the days of the week. It is shown how a balanced combination of mother-tongue intuition, data from existing (bilingual) dictionaries, fieldwork results, corpus queries, and grammarians' conjectures can and should lead to a sound lexicographic treatment. Keywords: SEPEDI NATIONAL LEXICOGRAPHY UNIT (NLU), SIMULTANEOUS FEEDBACK (SF), PRETORIA SEPEDI CORPUS (PSC), ONOMASIOLOGICAL APPROACH, DAYS OF THE WEEK, MOTHER-TONGUE INTUITION, FIELDWORK, QUESTIONNAIRES, INTERVIEWS, GRAMMARIANS' CONJECTURES, NOUN CLASSES, REPETITIVE INSERTED TEXTS KakaretÅ¡o: Tshekatsheko ya matÅ¡atÅ¡i polelong ya Sesotho sa Leboa go ya kadinyakwa tÅ¡a go ngwala PukuntÅ¡u, goba ge dikakanyo tÅ¡a mmoledi wapolelo ye di sa atlege. Go thoma ka Mei 2001 Yuniti ya BosetÅ¡haba ya PukuntÅ¡u ya Sesotho saLeboa e thomile semmuÅ¡o go ngwala PukuntÅ¡utlhaloÅ¡i ya Sesotho sa Leboa (PyaSsaL). Thulaganyoya yona e laolwa ke teori ya Simultaneous Feedback, e theilwe godimo ga seÅ¡egontÅ¡u (khophase),gape e latela tsela ya go hlaloÅ¡a manÅ¡u a Sesotho sa Leboa go ya ka direrwa tÅ¡e di fapanego. MotaodiÅ¡waneng ye go tsinkelwa mekgwa ya go fapanafapana ya thulaganyo gape mekgwa yeo eÅ¡upetÅ¡wa ka karolwana e tee ya direrwa tÅ¡a PyaSsaL, e lego matÅ¡atÅ¡i a beke. Go bontÅ¡hwa ka faotekanelo ya kopanyo ya dikakanyo tÅ¡a mmoledi wa Sesotho sa Leboa, tshedimoÅ¡o go tÅ¡wa go dipukuntÅ¡u(tÅ¡a malemepedi) tÅ¡eo di Å¡etÅ¡ego di le gona, dipoelo tÅ¡a nyakiÅ¡iÅ¡ontle, diphatiÅ¡iÅ¡o ka garega seÅ¡egontÅ¡u, le dikakanyo tÅ¡a borapopapolelo di ka kgonago ebile di swanetÅ¡e go fihliÅ¡a tshekatshekongya kgonthe go ya ka dinyakwa tÅ¡a go ngwala pukuntÅ¡u. MantÅ¡u a bohlokwa: YUNITI YA BOSETÅ HABA YA PUKUNTÅ U YA SESOTHO SALEBOA (YBP), SIMULTANEOUS FEEDBACK (SF), KHOPHASE YA SESOTHO SA LEBOA YA TSHWANE (KST), DIRERWA, MATÅ ATÅ I A BEKE, KAKANYO YA MMOLEDI WA SESOTHOSA LEBOA, NYAKIÅ IÅ ONTLE, MANANEOPOTÅ IÅ O, DIPOLEDIÅ ANO, DIKAKANYO TÅ A BORAPOPAPOLELO,MAGORO A MAINA, KHII YA GO TSENYWA KA GO BOELETÅ WA