Lexicographical examination of English-Turkish bilingual dictionaries

The desire for communication brought by humanity has created the need for languages, and the globalizing world has created the need for relationships and connections between languages. Dictionaries, one of the most important elements in this process, have also been a source of reference for individuals, and lexicography has served languages and humanity for centuries. Bilingual dictionaries, which provide a connection between two different languages, have developed together with other types in the dictionary family. Academic lexicography, which is a science and an art like lexicology, also examines and criticizes these works and pursues continuous research. Throughout this study that is a part of this field, five English-Turkish bilingual dictionaries that were published by institutions known as experts in the field of dictionary-making were observed. The appearance of these dictionaries was examined in terms of academic lexicography, and evaluations, criticisms and suggestions were made about their macro- and microstructures. A systematic random sampling method was used in the data collection and analysis process, so that the data set was prepared as free from prejudice as possible. As a result, even if the publishers of dictionaries are well-known and experienced institutions, the desire to be original can lead to the creation of incomprehensible and useless works. Considering the fact that the focus of a dictionary is always the user, being up-to-date, and attention to detail are required. In this study, solutions and suggestions are presented to eliminate the observed problems and deficiencies; these will help all studies in the field of lexicography, especially Turkish lexicography and the process of preparing a bilingual dictionary.