Lexicography

Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: Practical lexicography is the compiling, writing, and editing of dictionaries. Theoretical lexicography is the scholarly study of semantic, orthographic, syntagmatic, and paradigmatic features of lexemes of the lexicon (vocabulary) of a language, developing theories of dictionary components and structures linking the data in dictionaries, the needs for information by users in specific types of situations, and how users may best access the data incorporated in printed and electronic dictionaries. This is sometimes referred to as "metalexicography" as it is concerned with the finished dictionary itself. There is some disagreement on the definition of lexicology, as distinct from lexicography. Some use "lexicology" as a synonym for theoretical lexicography; others use it to mean a branch of linguistics pertaining to the inventory of words in a particular language. A person practicing lexicography is a lexicographer.