The edifying dimension of German-Polish dictionaries of the 19th century

Bogusław Nowowiejski

Uniwersytet w Białymstoku

Abstract

Analysing the content of Complete German-Polish Dictionary by K. C. Mrongovius from the middle of the 19th century, the author draws a conclusion that apart from a didactic nature typical of bilingual dictionaries, this lexicographic work contains features of a pedagogical text, whose purpose is not just limited to providing a reader with an adequately rich set of lexical equivalents but to instruct and educate him or her at the same time. Numerous persuasive devices as well as normative instructions and encyclopaedic-like information all serve this purpose. The edifying dimension of Mrongovius’s dictionary is, most of all, a result of the intersection of its features that are characteristic of both a translation-based and a general dictionary, which Mrongovius’s work aspires to be.