| Abstract: |
Dictionaries have often been mentioned as being an indispensible tool for language cultivation. However, in many countries, the attention only focuses on monolingual dictionaries. Bilingual dictionaries are rarely, if at all, used as one of the tools for language cultivation. Given the prevalence of English in Indonesia, it is more common for Indonesian people to have English-Indonesian dictionaries than the Indonesian Comprehensive Dictionary (Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia). Consequently, it is recommended that the National Center for Indonesian Languages should produce an English-Indonesian dictionary to strengthen language cultivation. This dictionary production should be based on modern lexicographical theories in order to ensure that the main function of the dictionary can be fulfilled satisfactorily. The discussion in this paper is divided into three parts. The first part examines the most popular printed and online English-Indonesian dictionaries among Indonesian people, and shows how those dictionaries may have a negative effect on language cultivation efforts. The second part explains the problems associated with the descriptive and prescriptive approaches, and proposes a new approach which allows both the fulfilment of the dictionary function and the inclusion of an empirical basis. The third part demonstrates how to implement this new approach, along with the
modern theory of lexicographical function to create a better English-Indonesian
dictionary for Indonesian people, which can be used as one of the tools for language cultivation. |