Lexicography study of the macrostructure and microstructure of sign language dictionaries from six different countries as a basis

Abstract

The subject of this article is the study of sign language dictionaries from different countries as a basis for research. We present as theoretical foundations the concepts of the sciences of Lexicography, Metalexicography, discussing macrostructure and microstructure with emphasis on the studies of dictionaries and the systematization of these studies, as well as concepts referring to educational and linguistic aspects. We present a description of the compositional elements of the textual structure of the following sign language dictionaries published in different countries: Gebärden-Lexikon Grundgebarden (Maisch; Wiscr, 1990); Bilingual Dictionary Elementare della Lingua Italiana dei Segni (Radutzky, 1992); American Sign Language Dictionary (Sternberg, 1998); Diccionario de la Lengua de Signos Española (Pinedo Peydró, 2005); Practical Dictionary of Guinean Sign Language (Martins; Morgado, 2017) and Dictionary of Brazilian Sign Language (Capovilla; Raphael, 2001). Furthermore, we approach educational and linguistic aspects in the fields of Lexicography and Metalexicography, prioritizing authors such as Barbosa (1995); Welker (2004); Costa and Nascimento (2015); Henriques (2018); Tough (2018); Durão, Boldo, Lohn and Vieira (2018); Martin, Stumpf and Martin (2018); Tuxi and Felten (2018). In the research carried out within the scope of studies that analyze lexicographical materials, their macrostructure and their microstructure, we can highlight the focus on dictionaries and their relevant aspects, productivity in languages in relation to cultural issues, the use of the lexicon and culturally marked expressions. By analyzing data from the organization's units in sign language dictionaries in different countries, we believe that, in addition to registering productions in selected languages, they also help deaf and hearing consultants to better understand the possibilities of the languages in use.