NSM-based Cultural Dictionaries

For Language Learners and Beyond

Abstract

For language learners, the transition from classroom to immersion is an exhausting and difficult one. Not least because of how language is used differently “in the real world” to how it is taught in classrooms. There are many “insider” dictionaries of language but few dictionaries which take a closer look at the important words and explain them in ways that learners can understand. Natural semantic metalanguage (NSM)’s way of defining culturally important terms and combining them with cultural scripts gives us an opportunity to go beyond the standard realm of definitions and explore the possibilities of what I am calling “cultural dictionaries”. This paper will discuss the current opening in learner lexicography to include emic cultural information. It will then discuss how NSM can contribute to such lexicographical practice. Finally, drawing on the first NSM-based cultural dictionary project—the Australian Dictionary of Invisible Culture for Teachers—it provides reflections, advice, and recommendations for future cultural dictionary projects.