International Journal of Philology

The problem of designing electronic dictionaries, researching their various aspects is timely and remains relevant to modern computer lexicography. The paper focuses on the structural aspect of designing electronic dictionaries. In accordance with the purpose of the article, modern approaches to designing the structure of the electronic dictionary in the context of studies in traditional and computer lexicography are analyzed. Based on the analysis of the scientific literature, it is established that there is no single point of view on the levels of the structure of electronic dictionaries among researchers, as the organization of the array of information in such dictionaries has a complex structure. Some scholars believe that the structural components of the electronic dictionary in a linear sequence follow the structure of a traditional paper dictionary, within which from two to four levels of hierarchy (macrostructure, megastructure, mediostructure, and microstructure) are differentiated; others consider the electronic dictionary a fundamentally new object, and therefore the conceptual apparatus of classical lexicography should not be applied to describe its structure. Іn the structural aspect, domestic theoretical lexicography distinguishes three interrelated levels of hierarchy: macro-, medio- and microstructure of the dictionary. However, in English-language sources, the “macrostructure” means the principle of organizing vocabulary entries in the corpus or main body of the dictionary, the “mediostructure” of a dictionary involves various means of access to links, and the term “megastructure” is used to describe the composition and interaction of parts of an electronic dictionary. Despite the differences in terms, most researchers rely on traditional concepts of macrostructure and microstructure, taking into account the specifics of the nonlinear organization of the text, zoning information. In particular, the development of the macrostructure involves the design of the general structure of the dictionary as a complex system in the set of internal and external relations, the organization of its components, the development of the microstructure involves the design of the structure and format of the dictionary entry. Thus, electronic dictionaries are developed as a complex system, an open discrete structure with automatic capabilities to perceive input signals, search for information, design results and provide them to the user in a convenient form

electronic dictionary; structure; levels; macrostructure; microstructure