Lexicographic Metalanguage as (a) Specialized Language

l'abstract non è previto in questa pubblicazione, ma la prima parte dell'introduzione, riportata di seguito, equivale a un aabstract This contribution analyses the features that allow the conventionalized system(s) used to present and describe different types of information in lexicographic products, in particular English monolingual Learner’s Dictionaries (LDs), to qualify as metalanguage and as a particular form of specialized language. In general, the concept of metalanguage partakes of some of the constitutive elements of specialized language and of terminology, but the linguistic status and the purposes of lexicographic metalanguage present specific metalinguistic features. This article will evaluate differences and similarities in the metalanguages adopted in different editions of three LDs, namely, in alphabetical order, the Collins Cobuild English Dictionary1 (COBUILD); the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE); and the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD). The main aim is to assess the extent to which their descriptive, conceptual and communicative role makes it possible to identify each of their metalanguages as (a) specialized language.