DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas

* Email: maxorl@outlook.com

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

Fecha de recepción: 07/08/2023

Fecha de aceptación: 03/10/2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17979/digilec.2023.10.0.9886

e-ISSN: 2386-6691

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ONLINE ENGLISH

LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES AND ONLINE PORTUGUESE

LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF

LEARNING PORTUGUESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

UN ANÁLISIS COMPARATIVO DE DICCIONARIOS EN LÍNEA DE

LENGUA INGLESA Y DE LENGUA PORTUGUESA DESDE UNA

PERSPECTIVA DEL APRENDIZAJE DE LA LENGUA PORTUGUESA

COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA

Maximiliano Eduardo ORLANDO*

English Montreal School Board. Adult Education

Abstract

There are studies that have analysed Portuguese language dictionaries and that have

highlighted the importance of the presence of examples in dictionaries (Santiago, 2012;

Lu, 2018). Owing to this importance, it was decided to compare the frequencies of

examples of two sets of words, namely, contrastive words and verbs that may convey

recommendation or advice. These frequencies were obtained from a sample of the main

body of Portuguese language dictionaries that are available online and from a sample of

the main body of online English language dictionaries that have an orientation towards

learning English as a foreign language. This comparison was carried out by using a search

bar and a software application created by the author. From the analyses of the data which

had been collected, it was argued that, in some cases, learners of Portuguese as a foreign

language would have to make use of other sources of examples to learn to use the target

words. On the other hand, in similar cases, the need to use sources of examples apart from

those presented in the main body of the target English language dictionaries, while

learning the English language, could be reduced. The pedagogical implications of this

argument for learning and teaching Portuguese as a foreign language were presented. The

limitations of the present study and future research possibilities were also discussed.

Keywords: online dictionaries; frequencies of examples in dictionaries; English

language; Portuguese language; contrastive words and verbs that may convey

recommendation or advice

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 75

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

Resumen

Hay estudios sobre diccionarios de lengua portuguesa que han subrayado la importancia

de la presencia de ejemplos en diccionarios (Santiago, 2012; Lu, 2018). Debido a esta

importancia, se decidió comparar las frecuencias de ejemplos de dos grupos de palabras,

a saber: palabras adversativas y verbos que pueden expresar recomendación o consejo.

Se obtuvieron estas frecuencias de una muestra del cuerpo principal de diccionarios de

lengua portuguesa que están presentes en la web y de una muestra del cuerpo principal de

diccionarios en línea de lengua inglesa que tienen una orientación hacia el aprendizaje de

la lengua inglesa como lengua extranjera. Esta comparación fue realizada empleando una

barra de búsqueda y un programa de aplicación desarrollado por el autor. A partir de los

análisis de los datos, se podría sostener que, en algunos casos, los estudiantes de portugués

como lengua extranjera tendrían que hacer uso de otras fuentes de ejemplos para aprender

a usar las palabras meta. Por otro lado, en casos similares, la necesidad de buscar ejemplos

además de los presentes en el cuerpo principal de los diccionarios de lengua inglesa

analizados en el aprendizaje de esta lengua podría ser menor. Las implicaciones

pedagógicas de este razonamiento en referencia al aprendizaje y a la enseñanza de la

lengua portuguesa como lengua extranjera, las limitaciones del presente estudio y la

posibilidad de futuras líneas de investigación en la presente área de estudio fueron

tratadas.

Palabras clave: diccionarios en línea; frecuencias de ejemplos en diccionarios; lengua

inglesa; lengua portuguesa; palabras adversativas y verbos de recomendación o consejo

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 76

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

1. INTRODUCTION

In a discussion and review of the use of dictionaries, Welker (2008) mentioned a

sample of fifteen books whose titles were all written in English and in which there was

no mention of dictionaries, even though their topic was second or foreign language

teaching. Nevertheless, where teaching and learning English as a foreign language is

concerned, there is a selection of online dictionaries that are available at the time of

writing. Indeed, despite the fact that dictionaries may not have been dealt with in several

books on second or foreign language teaching, some publishers of English language

dictionaries have not hesitated to offer online dictionaries on sites which have a focus on

English language learning. In an article on mixed dictionary genres, for example,

Hartmann (2005) mentioned the category dictionary cum textbook and illustrated it with

the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. The online version of the

Macmillan English Dictionary was launched in 2009.

As far as learning Portuguese as a foreign language (PFL) is concerned, it is a well-

known fact that there is a range of online Portuguese language dictionaries that are also

available. Nonetheless, it may be observed that whereas the above-mentioned selection

of online dictionaries are hosted on sites that focus on teaching and learning English and

that appear to consider the language needs of learners of English whose first language is

not English, a variety of online Portuguese language dictionaries that could be defined as

general language dictionaries are on sites that do not necessarily focus on teaching and

learning PFL. The existence of online dictionaries that show an interest in English as a

foreign language (EFL) learning may be explained by the large number of EFL learners

internationally. On the other hand, it could be argued that the smaller number of PFL

learners internationally as compared to the number of EFL learners worldwide would not

justify the creation and maintenance of an array of online PFL dictionaries.

Owing to the situation that online monolingual general Portuguese language

dictionaries may be used by PFL adult learners, an analysis that centres on a comparison

of these dictionaries and of online dictionaries that are hosted on sites that focus on

English language learning and that have an interest in EFL seems to be a useful

endeavour. Indeed, the study of general language dictionaries from a second or foreign

language learning perspective has already been tackled. Welker (2008) mentioned

Yorkey’s (1969) examination of five North American desk dictionaries aimed at native

speakers. In this study, Yorkey (1969) aimed to decide which of these dictionaries would

be the most suitable one for a proficient speaker of English who was not a native speaker

of English and who was a student in a North American university (Welker, 2008, p. 4).

However, since the advent of the internet, online general language dictionaries have been

brought into play and have proved to be of research interest as will be shown in the next

section. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that in spite of the importance of research on

the use of dictionaries, in the above-mentioned review, Welker (2008) also argued for

studying dictionaries themselves, and went on to mention general monolingual

dictionaries and learners’ dictionaries, amongst others (p. 12).

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 77

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

Taking into consideration the context described above, the author of this paper has

decided to focus on the following research objective: to compare a sample of online

general Portuguese language dictionaries that may be used by PFL adult learners with a

sample of online dictionaries which may also have an adult readership and which are

hosted on sites that contain materials on English language learning that have a focus on

EFL. This comparison will be carried out by looking at the following feature of the

microstructure of dictionaries: frequencies of examples. The discussion of this paper will

tackle important pedagogical implications of this micro structural aspect of dictionaries

for learning and teaching PFL.

With respect to the structure of this paper, a literature review of research on

lexicography will follow, and the methodology used will then be described. Afterwards,

the findings will be presented and discussed, and conclusions will be drawn.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This section has been divided into subsections that are relevant to the theoretical

background of the present study. The first subsection will place this study within a general

framework of categories and purposes in the study of dictionaries. The second subsection

will discuss the use of examples from corpora in the making of dictionaries and will

introduce the question of whether the target dictionary sections provide examples of the

words that are dealt with in this paper. The third subsection will tackle the importance of

having competence to deal with examples provided by dictionaries when teaching and

learning a foreign language. It will also discuss the significance of this competence in

reference to the words that are approached in this study. The fourth subsection will present

concerns regarding the use of online dictionaries as discussed in previous research. The

fifth subsection will look into previous research on dictionaries of the Portuguese

language and will relate these studies to the present one.

2.1. Studies on lexicography: some cathegories and purposes

Welker (2006b) suggested three categories regarding recent studies that report

research findings concerned with the use of dictionaries. In the first one research reflects

users’ opinions and habits regarding the use of dictionaries; in the second one research

deals with real use of dictionaries; in the third one research tackles the effect of using

dictionaries (Welker, 2006b, p. 177). However, Welker (2006b) argued that a fourth

category could be added. This category tackles dictionaries as objects that can be accessed

by potential users and includes studies that look into what users may see when using a

given dictionary (Welker, 2006b, p. 177). To illustrate this category Welker (2006b)

mentioned studies that analyse learners’ dictionaries (p. 177). The present paper falls into

this fourth category.

As advanced in the introduction, the analyses of this paper will focus on the

comparison of two samples of online dictionaries. These analyses will tackle pedagogical

implications of one aspect of the microstructure of dictionaries, namely frequencies of

examples, for learning and teaching PFL. More specifically, these implications consider

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 78

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

adult learners of Portuguese who are taking international PFL examinations at an

advanced or proficiency level. In an article which reports the findings of two studies

concerning the use of electronic dictionaries, Leffa (2006) mentioned three purposes of

using a dictionary: decoding, encoding and a pedagogical purpose. Decoding involves

text comprehension, encoding entails the production of text, and the pedagogical purpose

refers to lexical acquisition (Leffa, 2006, p. 335). Considering the wide range of language

skills that may be required in the context that has just been mentioned, namely

international PFL examinations at an advanced or proficiency level, two specific subskills

will be borne in mind. These subskills may be required, for instance, to carry out some of

the tasks that are present in the writing sections of sample tests of the following PFL

examinations: Diploma universitário de português língua estrangeira and Diploma

avançado de português língua estrangeira offered by Universidade de Lisboa

(https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/exames). Both subskills imply the use of dictionaries for

encoding purposes. These subskills are contrasting ideas in writing and making

suggestions in writing.

2.2. Studies on lexicography: dictionaries, corpora and examples

Biderman (2003) explained that, in modern dictionary making, a corpus that is

computerized is used in the selection of dictionary entries (p. 62). In the About section of

the online Cambridge Dictionary, for example, it is explained that two corpora have

provided information in the construction of the publisher’s dictionaries

(https://dictionary.cambridge.org/about.html). Another About section that is worth citing

is that of the Collins Dictionaries. In it, the user is informed that the first Cobuild

Dictionary for learners of English “was the first dictionary to be based in full on research

carried out using the Collins corpus” and that this dictionary was published in 1987

(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/about/). Therefore, language samples from corpora

that lexicographers use to make dictionaries are expected to be reflected in the examples

that dictionaries contain.

In the present paper, for example, two very specific sets of words will be targeted:

contrastive words and verbs that may convey recommendation or advice. Examples of

the former are nonetheless and however in English and contudo and todavia in

Portuguese. Examples of the latter are suggest and advise in English and sugerir and

aconselhar in Portuguese. These language items have been selected for three reasons.

One is the idea that some complexity in the use of contrastive words and verbs that may

convey recommendation or advice in both English and Portuguese, namely in word order

as regards the former and in patterns as regards the latter, makes them interesting features

that justify observing ways in which they are covered in dictionaries. More specifically,

these observations may be useful to learn about the component of the microstructure of

dictionaries that can illustrate these complexities and that is tackled in this paper: the use

of examples.

Indeed, it is known that dictionaries contain data from corpora, but it would be

interesting to observe whether dictionaries also provide the user with a corpus of

examples that come from these corpora or from other sources. Leffa (2006), for example,

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 79

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

highlighted the possibility of including examples of language use in a pedagogic

dictionary even though the electronic dictionary used in Leffa’s (2006) research is

different from those that are analysed in this paper. Within the context of the present

paper, it would be interesting to discuss what pedagogical implications the observation

regarding the presence of examples in the target dictionaries may have for learning and

teaching to develop the above-mentioned subskills, namely contrasting ideas in writing

and making suggestions in writing in the Portuguese language.

2.3. Studies on lexicography: dictionaries, language learning, language

teaching and the use of examples

It has also been shown that dictionaries have been a useful instrument to learn a

language. Duran (2008) explained that the lexical approach (Lewis, 1993) has introduced

the use of dictionaries as a supplementary tool in teaching methods and that in this

approach activities centre on the notion of learning sets of words that co-occur (p. 200).

Furthermore, owing to the possible benefits of teaching foreign language learners to use

this tool, Duran (2008) also argued for the inclusion of training in the use of dictionaries

in foreign language teaching training courses. This training should be thought to enhance

the development of various skills. Pontes and Santiago (2009), for example, had argued

that a language teacher should be able to compare dictionaries critically (Santiago, 2012,

Considerações finais section). As regards the topic of this paper, namely examples, Duran

(2008) cited Nesi (1999) and mentioned acquiring the skill of obtaining information from

them (p. 206). It can be claimed that one type of information that can be obtained from

dictionaries is that which the examples these dictionaries contain provide.

The notion of considering a dictionary a learning tool that may provide useful

examples and that requires teachers’ and learners’ competence to deal with these

examples leads to the second reason why contrastive words and verbs that may convey

recommendation or advice have been selected for analysis: they are likely to be necessary

in the performance of the above-mentioned subskills, namely, contrasting ideas in writing

and making suggestions in writing in the Portuguese language. As a result, it is thought

that learners can profit from examples that illustrate the patterns and collocations of verbs

while learning to make suggestions in the Portuguese language, as well as from examples

that indicate the possible place or places of contrastive words within a sentence while

learning to contrast ideas also in this language. Nonetheless, the last reason why these

words have been targeted still needs to be discussed. This reason also concerns the use of

examples and will be dealt with below.

2.4. Studies on lexicography: concerns regarding the use of online

dictionaries

In Biderman’s (2003) review of Portuguese language dictionaries, it is also asserted

that dictionaries should include vocabulary from a given speech community while

recording meanings and uses of this community’s linguistic norm (p. 61). Nonetheless,

contrastive words and verbs that may convey recommendation or advice have come under

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 80

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

scrutiny because they may be employed by PFL learners in exam practice for the above-

mentioned context, namely international PFL examinations at an advanced or proficiency

level, regardless of the geographical location where this exam practice takes place.

Consequently, examples from different online Portuguese language dictionaries will be

examined irrespective of the linguistic norm these dictionaries record.

So far, it can be deduced that, in the context of the present paper, an online

dictionary can be seen as a learning tool which, by providing examples, can help users in

the process of learning to contrast ideas in writing or to make suggestions in writing.

However, several disadvantages of using electronic dictionaries have been presented.

Finger-Kratochvil and Carvalho (2016) mentioned the wrong selection of a meaning in a

given entry and also possible fast searches owing to the fact that electronic dictionaries

may include much information (pp. 299-300). Leffa (2006) cited Cobb (1997), who also

argued that online dictionaries or dictionaries on CD-ROM may have more information

than paper dictionaries and that this may increase the amount of information that

dictionaries users skip (Leffa, 2006, pp. 334-335).

Nonetheless, as explained above, the potential target user in the present paper learns

PFL in an advanced or proficiency international PFL examination context, and this user

needs to have access to complex language. This would considerably reduce the

disadvantages of using electronic dictionaries that were mentioned above, and justify the

usefulness of the analyses of the microstructure of online dictionaries as approached in

the present paper. Three studies that deal with Portuguese language dictionaries and

whose findings are thought to be relevant to the present research will be cited.

2.5. Studies on lexicography: dictionaries of the Portuguese language

The first study and the present paper share methodological features. In the former,

Santiago (2012) compared aspects of the microstructure of two Brazilian school

dictionaries. The author compared a set of individual entries of both dictionaries

representing different semantic fields. In the entry for grampo, for example, it was noted

that there were no examples, in spite of the fact that examples may come in useful in the

production of written language (Santiago, 2012, Metodologia e análise das

microestruturas section). In the comparisons, Santiago (2012) observed that the aim of

the study was not for a dictionary to be marked as the best or worst one, but to analyse

dictionaries while regarding them as important didactic tools (Considerações finais

section). The use of these tools in specific language areas has been asserted by other

authors. Welker (2006a), for example, cited Höfling et al. (2004) to show that the authors

had suggested activities in the domain of pronunciation and grammar (p. 233). Rodrigues

Liska (2015) suggested that learners use one of six dictionaries which are available online

to do activities that deal with aspects of lexical items.

The second study reports aspects of the inclusion of dictionary entries that it is

thought are relevant to the present paper. In this study, Barbosa (2021) reported on the

findings from an internship at a company that provides an online Portuguese language

dictionary: Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa. These findings are concerned

with the influence and role of dictionary users in the making of dictionaries (Barbosa,

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 81

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

2021, p. 5). Barbosa (2021) observed that 660 of the users’ suggestions regarding the

inclusion of new entries were accompanied by information (p. 19). Within this

subcategory, Barbosa (2021) reported that users made use of different means to support

their suggestions, and one of these was examples (p. 20). It was explained that the

pedagogical implications of the present paper consider adult learners of Portuguese who

are taking international PFL examinations at advanced or proficiency level. Nonetheless,

it could be claimed that the findings of the present paper are interesting where the use of

the target dictionaries by other dictionary users is concerned. This is because Barbosa’s

(2021) study, which examined a large number of suggestions that had been provided by

users of an online dictionary, indicated that these users themselves may make use of

examples to substantiate their requests. However, it needs to be highlighted that the exact

number of suggestions that had been accompanied by examples out of the 660 suggestions

was not provided in this study.

The following study will be cited for the same reasons that the previous two studies

were included. Like Santiago’s (2012) study, Lu’s (2018) work dealt with features of the

microstructure of dictionaries. Indeed, Lu (2018) not only examined aspects of the use of

Portuguese language dictionaries by Chinese learners, but also analysed Portuguese

language dictionaries themselves. Like Santiago (2012), Lu (2018) looked into specific

dictionary entries to make some interesting observations. For example, in the entry of

escola in two monolingual dictionaries, Lu (2018) pointed out that the absence of

examples may confuse Chinese learners regarding the meanings of this noun (p. 84). In

the entry of the verb entender, Lu (2018) argued that the lack of examples and

collocations in one of the monolingual dictionaries can make it difficult to learn to use

this verb (p. 82). Like Barbosa (2021), Lu (2018) collected data which are relevant to the

present paper and which refer to the users of the dictionaries under scrutiny.

Lu (2018) found out that examples are the third element amongst ten categories that

are searched for the most in a dictionary when a word is looked up, whereas examples are

also the third element that the learners search for but cannot find in the dictionaries they

often use (amongst seven categories). It is worth highlighting that this data came from

132 participants, in order to be aware of the dimension of Lu’s (2018) study. Lu (2018)

also observed that the frequency of use of monolingual dictionaries is higher amongst

advanced than amongst elementary learners (p. 57), and this preference agreed with

several studies that Lu (2018) cited and that indicated that advanced learners tended to

use monolingual dictionaries more often than bilingual ones.

The last three studies present information that can justify the objective of the present

research. The first justification is how important it is that dictionaries provide examples

that come in useful when learners consult them for written production in the Portuguese

language. Therefore, to find out if the target dictionaries contain examples may prove to

be an interesting endeavour. Moreover, the decision to analyse monolingual Portuguese

language dictionaries in the present paper by envisioning advanced or academic

Portuguese language learning contexts is thought to be justified by previous findings

regarding the use of monolingual dictionaries of the Portuguese language by more

proficient users (cf. Lu, 2018, p. 58). In the next section, the methodology of the present

research will be described.

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 82

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

3. METHODOLOGY

In the introduction, it was explained that the objective of this paper is to compare a

sample of online general Portuguese language dictionaries that may be used by PFL adult

learners with a sample of online dictionaries which may also have an adult readership,

which are hosted on sites that contain materials on English language learning and that

focus on EFL. In order to place these dictionaries in a given typology, the following will

be borne in mind.

In a study on the histories of dictionary types, Podhajecka (2009) argued that “many

researchers dealing with lexicographical typologies have commented on the complex task

of matching dictionaries to the typological scheme” (p. 162). For example, it can be

argued that some of the dictionaries that are analysed in this study belong to more than

one of the hybrid dictionary genres presented by Hartmann (2005): An online dictionary

may contain aspects of the dictionary cum dictionary genre because it includes

information from different dictionaries and of the print dictionary cum electronic

dictionary because it uses information from previously printed dictionaries in an

electronic form. Nonetheless, the sample of Portuguese language dictionaries can be

defined as predominantly general and monolingual, whereas that of English language

dictionaries have the following in common: they are hosted on sites that contain English

language learning sources and have an EFL learning orientation. Consequently, the

sample of Portuguese language dictionaries and the sample of English language

dictionaries will be regarded as two different varieties of the same genre: online

dictionaries.

The former are Dicionário Online Caldas Aulete, Dicionário Online de Português

(Dicio), Dicionário Priberam Online de Português Contemporâneo, Dicionário

Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (em linha) and Dicionário Michaelis On-line. The latter

are Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, English Cambridge Dictionary, Collins

English Dictionary, Macmillan Dictionary, and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary

English Online. These dictionaries have an important presence on the Web, where their

amount of content is concerned. Moreover, the presence of these dictionaries in the first

decades of existence of the Web makes them a significant landmark in the history of

English lexicography and Portuguese lexicography.

In the introduction, it was also said that the objective of this paper would be

achieved by looking at the following feature of the microstructure of dictionaries:

frequencies of examples. In the Literature Review section, it was added that two sets of

words would be targeted: contrastive words and verbs that may convey recommendation

or advice. The following contrastive English words will be tackled: nonetheless,

nevertheless, and however. As for the contrastive Portuguese words, the following will

be dealt with: todavia, porém and contudo. The following English verbs will be analysed:

recommend, advise and suggest. As regards the Portuguese verbs, these are recomendar,

sugerir and aconselhar.

Like Santiago’s (2012) study, this paper does not aim to select the worst or the best

dictionary. Indeed, the following data will not provide details about any dictionary in

particular, as it will aim to reveal whether PFL learners who are proficient in Portuguese

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 83

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

can obtain information regarding the use of the target words from the sets of Portuguese

language dictionaries by means of examples all together. In addition, the pedagogical

implications of these data for learning and teaching PFL will be discussed. As a result,

the analyses will be carried out in the following way.

Firstly, it has to be clarified that an example was a sentence or phrase containing a

target word. If the same sentence or phrase contained the same target word more than

once, this was regarded as one example. These examples were spotted by using the ctrl +

f search bar in the analyses of each dictionary site. However, it was observed that some

examples were used in the same dictionary more than once. Whenever the number of

examples on a given dictionary site was too large, a software application that eliminated

the frequencies of the repeated examples from the total frequencies was used. This

application was created by the author of this paper using Python programming language

and the Tkinter interface. The total number of examples of each entry corresponding to a

contrastive word in each of the dictionaries was calculated. These figures were then added

to calculate the total frequencies of each word in a dictionary set. For example, the total

number of examples of nevertheless in the five English language dictionaries was n = 47.

On the other hand, the total frequency of examples of contudo in the five Portuguese

language dictionaries was n = 8. Comparisons between the frequencies in the English

language dictionaries and in the Portuguese language dictionaries were made by using

ratios. The same steps were followed in the analyses of the target verbs.

Secondly, the total number of definitions of each entry corresponding to a

contrastive word in each of the dictionaries was calculated. These figures were then

added, to calculate the total frequencies of definitions corresponding to each word in a

dictionary set. For example, the total number of definitions of nevertheless in the five

English language dictionaries was n = 10. On the other hand, the total number of

definitions of contudo in the five Portuguese language dictionaries was n = 8. Mean values

corresponding to the number of examples per definition were worked out. For example,

the arithmetic mean of contudo was x

 = 1. This gave a clearer idea of the distribution of

contrastive words in both dictionary sets. The same steps were followed in the analyses

of the verbs that may convey recommendation or advice.

The data obtained from the operations described in the last two paragraphs provided

a picture of differences between the English language dictionaries and the Portuguese

language dictionaries where the frequencies of examples are concerned, and made it also

possible to discuss possible pedagogical implications of these frequencies for learning

and teaching PFL. Nonetheless, several items need to be clarified regarding the

limitations of the present study.

The first one is that the examples were obtained from the main body of each entry.

Indeed, the contents of hyperlinks to other web pages or any possible presence of

examples on these pages were ignored. The second is that no generalisations can be made

about the whole content of the dictionaries under scrutiny. Indeed, the analyses of the

present paper apply only to the target words in the present research context. The third

limitation lies in the circumstance that different languages may require focus on different

parts of speech and that this hinders comparisons between entries from different language

dictionaries. For example, the spelling of the plural forms of Portuguese adjectives may

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 84

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

be significant in a Portuguese language dictionary, whereas this does not apply to an

English language dictionary. However, in this study, this limitation has been reduced in

the following way: it was made sure that the sets of words could be comparable in at least

one respect. On the one hand, the target verbs are used in patterns that are thought to bring

about some complexity where both PFL learning and EFL learning are concerned. On the

other hand, the target contrastive words may be thought to raise doubts about the nuances

of meaning they convey and the position they may have in a sentence in comparison to

frequent contrastive words such as but in English or mas in Portuguese. Several findings

and observations regarding the target words were discussed in the following section.

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This section will have two parts. The first part will deal with contrastive words and

the second part will look into verbs that may convey recommendation or advice.

4.1. Contrastive words

Table 1 will show the frequencies of examples of contrastive words in the online

English language dictionaries. Since the objective of this paper is not to choose the best

dictionary, and since this research is meant to discuss pedagogical implications regarding

the content of Portuguese language dictionaries as a whole after comparing this content

with content of English language dictionaries also as a whole, no reference will be made

to any dictionary in particular. Therefore, the English language dictionaries will range

from ED1 to ED5 and the Portuguese language dictionaries will range from PD1 to PD5.

Table 1

Frequencies of examples of contrastive words in the OELD

ED1

ED2

ED3

ED4

ED5

Total

nonetheless

nevertheless

however

119

Total

199

Note. OELD (Online English Language Dictionaries)

The presence of examples containing at least one of the three contrastive words in

the five English language dictionaries may be observed. However, if learners were using

ED4 and wanted a variety of examples of the use of nonetheless and nevertheless, they

would have to make use of other sources as well. It is also interesting to highlight that the

total frequency of examples of however (n = 119) is much higher than that of nonetheless

(n = 33) or nevertheless (n = 47). The reason for this is that the entry of however does not

only include the contrastive adverb but also includes other uses. Nonetheless, the figures

for however have been kept as is since a similar situation may be observed in the case of

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 85

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

porém in the Portuguese language dictionaries. Indeed, in the set of Portuguese language

dictionaries, porém is described not only as a conjunction or as an adverb that expresses

contrast, but also as a noun that conveys inconvenience. As explained below, examples

of all the uses of porém have also been kept. Table 2 will present the frequencies of

examples of contrastive words in the online Portuguese language dictionaries.

Table 2

Frequencies of examples of contrastive words in the OPLD

PD1

PD2

PD3

PD4

PD5

Total

contudo

todavia

porém

Total

Note. OPLD (Online Portuguese Language Dictionaries)

Several interesting issues may be pointed out regarding Table 2. On the one hand,

the high frequencies in PD5 as compared to the other dictionaries. On the other hand, the

absence of examples of the three words in PD4 and in some cases in PD1, PD2 or PD3.

This would indicate that a learner learning to use any of these three words to contrast

ideas, say, in an essay in Portuguese, who was not using PD5, and who wanted a range of

examples, might have to consider looking for sources of reference in addition to PD1,

PD2, PD3 or PD4. It may also be noted that the frequencies of porém (n = 15) are higher

than those of contudo (n = 8) and of todavia (n = 10). This is due to the fact that the entry

of porém includes examples of the noun porém.

By comparing the figures from Table 1 and Table 2, it may be noted that the ratio

of the total frequency of English examples to Portuguese examples stands at 6.03:1. If the

skewed figures were eliminated, namely those of however and of porém, this ratio would

still reflect a much higher frequency in the English language dictionaries, i.e. 4.44:1. This

shows that, in total, the main bodies of the English language dictionaries which are hosted

on sites that have an English language learning focus and an EFL learning orientation

contain a larger number of examples of the target words than those of the online

Portuguese language dictionaries. Therefore, if PD5 were left out, it could be argued that

a PFL learner learning to use contrastive words in writing in Portuguese would need more

training with regard to using alternative sources of examples than EFL learners. This

claim is also supported by the fact that, leaving aside PD5, the totals in the Portuguese

language dictionaries range from n = 0 to n = 4 (or from n = 0 to n = 1 if porém were

omitted), whereas the totals in the English language dictionaries range from n = 19 to n =

68 (or from n = 4 to n = 29 if however were omitted). Nonetheless, another factor that

needs to be taken into consideration is the number of definitions and, consequently, the

mean values of the number of examples by the number of definitions. Table 3 shows the

mean values of examples by the number of definitions of contrastive words in English

language dictionaries and Portuguese language dictionaries.

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 86

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

Table 3

Mean values of examples by the number of definitions of contrastive words

English language dictionaries

Portuguese language dictionaries

Examples

def.



Examples

def.



nonetheless

3.66

contudo

nevertheless

4.70

todavia

1.66

however

119

2.90

porém

1.07

Total

199

3.31

Total

1.17

Note. (x

 = mean value; def. = frequency of definitions)

Table 3 indicates that the mean values of examples by the number of definitions

never goes over 1.70 in the sample of Portuguese language dictionaries, whereas in the

English language dictionaries this value starts at 2.90 and goes up to 4.70. Consequently,

the mean value of the total is much higher in the latter (x

 = 3.31) than in the former (x

 =

1.17). If however and porém were left aside, the mean in the English language dictionaries

would still be higher than in the Portuguese language dictionaries: x

 = 4.21 and x

 = 1.28

respectively.

It is true that the data in Table 3 give no information about mean values in each

dictionary. It is also true that examples may not always pertain to definitions in the target

dictionaries: examples may be used to illustrate grammar points or collocations outside

definitions, for instance. Nonetheless, these examples may still be used to illustrate and

to understand definitions, and the mean values in Table 3 would indicate that if their

frequencies were similar in both dictionaries, the Portuguese language dictionaries would

need to have around 93 examples in total (n = 28 * 3.31).

Still, it could be argued that differences between the Portuguese language and the

English language lead to a situation in which fewer examples are required in a Portuguese

language dictionary than in an English language dictionary. Nonetheless, the comparisons

with the English language dictionaries have been interesting, since they highlighted some

differences between online dictionaries that have traditionally had a foreign language

learning orientation (the English language ones) and dictionaries that are more general in

nature (the Portuguese language ones). In this particular instance, it can be claimed that

the figures presented in Table 2 and in Table 3 reveal that PFL learners who were using

the main body of some of the target dictionaries to learn to use the three contrastive words

to contrast ideas in writing in Portuguese would be at a disadvantage in comparison with

EFL learners where the frequencies of examples are concerned.

Therefore, it could be claimed that PFL teacher training courses should also make

trainee teachers aware of the possibility of, first, finding no examples or few examples

accompanying some of the definitions of the target words and perhaps other words in

some online Portuguese language dictionaries and, second, of having to get advanced

learners of PFL ready to look for sources of examples beyond the main body of some of

the online Portuguese language dictionaries that have been tackled in this paper. This

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 87

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

notion relates directly to Pontes’s and Santiago’s (2009) argument that a language teacher

should be able to compare dictionaries critically (Santiago, 2012, Considerações finais

section) and to Duran’s (2008) reference to Nesi (1999) regarding the acquisition of skills

to obtain information from them (p. 206).

4.2. Verbs that may convey recommendation or advice

Table 4 shows the frequencies of examples of the analysed verbs in the English

language dictionaries.

Table 4

Frequencies of examples of verbs that may convey recommendation or advice in

the OELD

ED1

ED2

ED3

ED4

ED5

Total

Recommend

173

Suggest

205

Advise

148

Total

113

112

152

108

526

Note. OELD (Online English Language Dictionaries)

Table 4 displays a number of examples in the five English language dictionaries,

even though in ED4 these frequencies are notably lower. As in the case of contrastive

words, frequencies in the sample of Portuguese language dictionaries are much lower. As

shown in Tables 4 and 5, totals range from n = 7 to n = 26 in the Portuguese language

dictionaries and from n = 41 to n = 152 in the English language dictionaries.

Table 5

Frequencies of examples of verbs that may convey recommendation or advice in

the OPLD

PD1

PD2

PD3

PD4

PD5

Total

recomendar

sugerir

aconselhar

Total

Note. OPLD (Online Portuguese Language Dictionaries)

Like Table 2, Table 5 shows that there are entries where n = 0. However, as opposed

to Table 2, in Table 5 all Portuguese language dictionaries contain examples of at least

one entry. Like in Table 2, PD5 presents a relatively high frequency of examples.

Nonetheless, in the case of the verbs, PD1 also has a relatively high frequency. If PD5

and PD1 were left out, in some cases, users of the other three dictionaries might have to

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 88

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

make use of sources of examples other than the main body of these dictionaries in order

to learn to use one of the three verbs to make suggestions in writing in Portuguese. For

example, PD2, PD3 and PD4 contain no examples of the verb sugerir. On the other hand,

the need to supplement the examples of the target verbs reported in the main bodies of

the target English language dictionaries with those included in other sources would be

reduced considerably. Table 6 introduces interesting data regarding mean values of

examples by the number of definitions of the analysed verbs.

Table 6

Mean values of examples by the number of definitions of verbs that may convey

recommendation or advice

English language dictionaries

Portuguese language dictionaries

Examples

def.



Examples

def.



recommend

173

5.24

recomendar

0.70

suggest

205

5.39

sugerir

0.57

advise

148

4.62

aconselhar

1.95

Total

526

103

5.10

Total

0.95

Note. (x

 = mean value; def. = frequency of definitions)

From Table 3, it may be asserted that the ratio of number of definitions of

contrastive words in English language dictionaries to Portuguese language dictionaries is

2.14:1. Table 6 indicates that the ratio of number of definitions of the verbs under scrutiny

in English language dictionaries to Portuguese language dictionaries is more even: 1.18:1.

As a result, the mean value of number of examples per definition is much lower in the

Portuguese language dictionaries (x

 = 0.95) than in the English language dictionaries (x



= 5.10). This is explained by the lower frequency of examples in the former than in the

latter (0.15:1). The data on the number of examples of the target verbs reinforce the

argument for raising trainee teachers’ awareness in PFL teacher training courses of the

possibility of encountering few or no examples accompanying some of the definitions of

the target words and perhaps other words in some online Portuguese language

dictionaries. In addition, the argument for training advanced learners of PFL to look for

sources of examples beyond the main body of some of the online Portuguese dictionaries

would be better grounded. Another interesting implication may be put forward.

Given that there may not be enough examples of the target words in the main bodies

of the online Portuguese language dictionaries under scrutiny, PFL learners might have

to rely more on the information and examples provided by textbook materials. This might

be a disadvantage in a PFL course where teaching or learning beyond a textbook is

considered. What is more, the examples presented in textbooks may not always

compensate for the lack of examples in an online Portuguese language dictionary. For

example, PFL learners may be doubtful whether the verb recomendar may be used in a

pattern that is different from the one or ones that are presented in a textbook. This adds

to the assumption that training learners to use corpora or other online learning resources

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 89

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

beyond the collection of textbook materials and the main body of online Portuguese

language dictionaries might also have to be considered.

5. CONCLUSION

The comparison of a set of online English language dictionaries that have a foreign

language learning orientation and that are hosted on sites that focus on language learning

with a set of online Portuguese language dictionaries which could be defined as more

general in nature has led to very interesting observations.

After looking at the data, it can be concluded that the following patterns may be

established as far as the frequencies of the target words are concerned. This study

observes that there are examples of all the target words in the main bodies of the online

English language dictionaries, whereas these examples are sometimes missing in those of

the online Portuguese language dictionaries. Furthermore, the mean of examples per

definition in the former is higher than in the latter. Owing to this, advanced or proficient

PFL learners who are learning to use the target Portuguese words by means of examples

to contrast ideas in writing or to make suggestions in writing in Portuguese may

sometimes have to consult other sources of examples depending on the target dictionary

they use and on the target word they look up. Where EFL learners who are learning the

target English words in the same situation are concerned, the possibility of having to use

different sources of examples is more remote.

It has also been argued that this may also have pedagogical implications for PFL

teacher training courses. The argument for raising trainee teachers’ awareness in PFL

teacher training courses of the possibility of encountering few or no examples

accompanying some of the definitions of the target words and perhaps other words in

some online Portuguese language dictionaries was also put forward. The few examples in

some cases in the online Portuguese language dictionaries has also led to the assumption

that PFL learners would have to rely more on the information and examples provided by

textbook materials. Since both of these may not always be sufficient, it was assumed that

training learners to use corpora or other online learning resources beyond the collection

of textbook materials and online Portuguese language dictionaries might also be

beneficial while learning to contrast ideas in writing or to make suggestions in writing in

Portuguese.

Further research possibilities are open. It would be interesting to see how the

frequencies of examples in online Portuguese language dictionaries can be sufficient to

learn to acquire other skills that may also be required to take advanced or proficiency

international PFL examinations. It would also be interesting to compare these frequencies

with those in online language dictionaries that are more oriented towards learning foreign

languages. In addition, research into the use of online dictionaries in real preparation

courses for international PFL examinations would also be an interesting endeavour.

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 90

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

REFERENCES

Barbosa, R. A. (2021). Os dicionários eletrónicos e a importância dos seus utilizadores.

Master’s thesis. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Retrieved from:

https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/130844

Biderman, M. T. C. (2003). Dicionários do português: da tradição a contemporaneidade.

Alfa: Revista de Linguística, 47(1), 53-69. Retrieved from:

https://periodicos.fclar.unesp.br/alfa/article/view/4232

Cobb, T. (1997). From concord to lexicon: Development and test of a corpus-based

lexical tutor. Doctoral thesis. Concordia University.

Duran, M. S. (2008). O ensino do uso do dicionário aos aprendizes de língua estrangeira:

Quem se importa? Revista do Gel, 5(2), 199-212. Retrieved from:

https://revistas.gel.org.br/rg/article/view/123

Finger-Kratochvil, C., & Carvalho, M. G. M. de (2016). O uso do dicionário como

estratégia metacognitiva de aquisição lexical na leitura em mídia virtual e impressa.

Letrônica, 9(2), 295-309. Retrieved from:

https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/ojs/index.php/letronica/article/view/23815

Hartmann, R. R. K. (2005). Pure or hybrid? The development of mixed dictionary genres.

Facta Universitatis Series: Linguistics and Literature, 3(2), 193-208. Retrieved

from: http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal2005/lal2005sadrzaj_n.html

Höfling, C., Silva, M. C. P. Da, & Tosqui, P. (2004). O dicionário como material didático

na aula. Intercâmbio, 13.

Leffa, V. J. (2006). O dicionário eletrônico na construção do sentido em língua

estrangeira. Cadernos de Tradução, 2(18), 319-340. Retrieved from:

https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/traducao/article/view/6976

Lewis, M. (1993). The lexical approach: the state of ELT and the way forward. Language

Teaching Publications.

Lu, Q. (2018). O uso dos dicionários pelos aprendentes chineses de PLE. Master’s Thesis.

Universidade de Lisboa. Retrieved from:

http://hdl.handle.net/10451/35584

Nesi, H. (1999). The specification of dictionary reference skills in higher education. In R.

R. K. Hartmann (Ed.), Dictionaries in language learning. Recommendations,

national reports and thematic reports from the thematic network project in the area

of languages, sub-project 9: Dictionaries (pp. 53-67). Freie Universität Berlin.

Podhajecka, M. (2009). Historical Development of Lexicographical Genres: Some

Methodological Issues. In R. W. McConchie, Alpo Honkapohja, & Jukka Tyrkkö

(Eds.), Selected Proceedings of the 2008 Symposium on New Approaches in English

Historical Lexis (HEL-LEX 2) (pp. 153-170). Cascadilla Proceedings. Retrieved

from: http://www.lingref.com/cpp/hel-lex/2008/index.html

Pontes, A. L., & Santiago, M. S. (2009). Crenças de professores sobre o papel do

dicionário no ensino de língua portuguesa. In F. J. Costa dos Santos (Ed.), Letras

DIGILEC Revista Internacional de Lenguas y Culturas 91

Digilec 10 (2023), pp. 74-91

plurais: crenças e metodologias do ensino de línguas (pp. 105-123). Câmara

Brasileira de Jovens Escritores.

Rodrigues Liska, G. J. (2015). O dicionário online de língua como importante recurso

didático. Anais do Congresso Nacional Universidade, EAD e Software Livre, 1(6).

Retrieved from:

http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/ueadsl/article/view/8622

Santiago, M. S. (2012). Análises contrastivas de microestruturas em dicionários

escolares. Pesquisas em Discurso Pedagógico, 1. Retrieved from:

https://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-

rio.br/rev_pdpe.php?strSecao=fasciculo&fas=26794&numfas=1

Welker, H. A. (2006a). Pesquisando o uso de dicionários. Revista Linguagem & Ensino,

9(2), 223-243. Retrieved from:

https://periodicos.ufpel.edu.br/ojs2/index.php/rle/issue/view/837

Welker, H. A. (2006b). Pesquisas sobre o uso de dicionários para aprendizes. Cadernos

de Tradução, 2(18), 175-194. Retrieved from:

https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/traducao/issue/view/441

Welker, H. A. (2008). Sobre o uso de dicionários. Anais do Celsul 2008, 1-17. Retrieved

from:

http://www.leffa.pro.br/tela4/Textos/Textos/Anais/CELSUL_VIII/Herbert_Welke

r.pdf

Yorkey, R. (1969). Which desk dictionary is best for foreign students of English? TESOL

Quarterly, 3, 257-271.

ONLINE DICTIONARIES AND EXAMINATION SITES CONSULTED

Centro de Avaliação e Certificação de Português Língua Estrangeira. Universidade de

Lisboa. https://caple.letras.ulisboa.pt/exames

Collins English Dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/

DICIO, Dicionário Online de Português. https://www.dicio.com.br/

Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa.

https://www.infopedia.pt/dicionarios/lingua-portuguesa

Dicionário Michaelis On-line. https://michaelis.uol.com.br/

Dicionário Priberam Online de Português Contemporâneo.

https://dicionario.priberam.org/

English Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Dicionário Aulete. https://www.aulete.com.br/index.php

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online. https://www.ldoceonline.com/

Macmillan Dictionary. https://www.macmillandictionary.com/

Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/