Do I still need to look through the dictionary in the Internet age? (Cultural Eyes)
Recently, the latest revised "Xinhua Dictionary" (12th edition) came out. This revision lasted 5 years, including 8 items including prefixes, appropriate additions of new words, and new meanings and new usages. It is scientific, standardized and practical. Sex and other aspects are more adapted to the needs of readers. As soon as the news of the new edition of "Xinhua Dictionary" came out, it caused widespread concern in the society and appeared in hot searches on Weibo. Many netizens left messages, fondly recalling the great role this "national dictionary" played in their own language learning. However, some people think that in the Internet age, it is very convenient to use the Internet to retrieve information and access materials. It is no longer a crime to use the "primitive" method of hand-checking the dictionary to look up new words; some netizens frankly said that although the "Xinhua Dictionary" accompanied their own When I was a student, but now in the workplace, I rarely see a colleague who still has it on his desk. In the Internet age, has the "Xinhua Dictionary" been far away from our lives?
It is true that searching for the sound, form and meaning of Chinese characters on search engines is more convenient, but there will also be problems such as confusion of information, difficulty in screening, conflicting content, and inability to distinguish between true and false, especially when users are allowed to modify entries. Next, it increases the possibility of error in search results. And some small programs, APPs or search websites that use "Xinhua Dictionary", "Modern Chinese Dictionary", "Cihai", etc. as databases are only electronic versions of these dictionaries and dictionaries. In terms of content, they are no different from the paper version. . "Xinhua Dictionary" is still irreplaceable.
As a basic dictionary used by the whole people, the standardization, reliability and authority of "Xinhua Dictionary" are very prominent, which not only reflects the national language standards, but also tries to keep up with the times. Therefore, its regular revision not only ensures the accuracy of the content, but also connects with the current Chinese teaching and the popularization of Chinese characters. It also ensures that the phonetic, form, meaning and usage of Chinese characters are affected or even misinterpreted by Internet buzzwords. The stability. Especially for elementary and middle school students, they are in the stage of language learning. Standardization and accuracy are very important. The Xinhua Dictionary has naturally become an important reference book.
Some people think that the revision of the dictionary takes a long time and is lagging, and it cannot reflect the latest language development in time. For some fashionable buzzwords in the Internet age, they are not in the dictionary and can only be retrieved from the Internet. In fact, all previous revisions of "Xinhua Dictionary" have focused on practicality and tried to reflect the characteristics of the language. In terms of the number of words received, the 1998 version of "Xinhua Dictionary" received more than 10,000 words, while the latest version of this year received more than 13,000 words; from the perspective of the number of words received, the 2011 version added "House Slave" and "Harmony" Words such as "academic qualifications" and "salary" have been added in the latest edition, such as "beginning", "like", "screenshot" and "QR code", which are the manifestations of the changing times in language and reflect the close relationship between language and life . Compared with these new words or internet hot words that are deeply integrated into social life, "囧", "wo dizzy", "cupware" etc., although they have become popular for a while, and even become annual buzzwords, they are short-lived and are not used frequently. high. These Internet buzzwords need to be discriminated. If you can’t just look at their popularity, they should be included in the dictionary. There is a problem of canonization. As Liu Danqing, director of the Institute of Language Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, the revision process of "Xinhua Dictionary" is very rigorous. It should be based on investigation and research, reflect the changes of the times, take into account the needs of readers and the academic norms of the dictionary itself, and fully implement the national standards. Item language specification. Each entry must be well-founded and conform to the theory, history and reality of Chinese characters.
For these reasons, "Xinhua Dictionary" has become the most influential modern Chinese dictionary in China. After 70 years of unfailing and vigorous existence, it has printed more than 600 million copies so far, and won two Guinness books in April 2016. World records: "Most popular dictionary" and "Best selling book (regularly revised)".
Aiming at the characteristics of information retrieval in the Internet era, "Xinhua Dictionary" has continuously promoted the "paper and electricity integration". From the launch of the "Xinhua Dictionary" app in 2017, to the launch of the language resource knowledge service platform (Hanfen APP) of the Commercial Press in March this year , Integrating "Xinhua Dictionary", "Modern Chinese Dictionary" and other fine dictionaries, the old dictionary is stepping into the Internet age. The latest version of "Xinhua Dictionary" has a QR code attached to each page of the main text. Use the "Xinhua Dictionary" APP to scan the code, you can see the radicals, strokes, structure and other information of all the prefixes on the page, and listen to the standard pronunciation and watch of the characters for free With stroke order animations, inspection knowledge explanations, etc., this "wordless teacher" can also speak.
The age-old "Xinhua Dictionary" has accompanied the growth of generations of Chinese people. In the Internet age, although we may not always check it at any time, the high-quality language knowledge service provided by "Xinhua Dictionary" is still indispensable.
Zhang Pengyu