PrefaceDictionaries are containers and transmitters of knowledge and they do not serve the user through language alone: pictures can be an aid since they provide information some of which may defy words. Dictionary illustration has a history of almost two millennia, at least in China. English dictionary illustrating began nearly five centuries ago, EnglishChinese dictionary illustrating is nearly one hundred years old, and even the youngest member of the dictionary world, the monolingual learners dictionary, was illustrated when it came into being seventy years ago.Although pictorial illustration enjoys such a long history and almost no encyclopedia goes without pictures and more and more dictionaries utilize them as a complement, pictorial illustration is only a peripheral topic in lexicographical literature and only a few scholars have discussed this issue by expending very little space. Pictorial illustration is even ignored in the front matters of most dictionaries in which it has fulfilled its functions. English and Chinese literature on pictorial illustration did not appear until the 1980s, which is far too late compared with the emergence of pictorial illustration itself.AlKasimi (1983: 97) bemoaned the fact that the use of pictorial illustrations was rarely dealt with in the literature on lexicography. This situation has not changed considerably two decades later. Li and Zhou (2001: 116) have the opinion that we not only have very little experience in illustrating but also have hardly done any research into it.Not only is discussion of pictorial illustration sporadic, most of the scholars who touch upon this topic also have devoted scant space to a simple classification of illustrations and most of the functions of pictorial illustration have not been given due consideration. It is therefore necessary to pursue the topic of illustration from a theoretical point of view and improve upon the practical aspect that has been explored.In this book, the author explores language and picture, elaborates on pictorial illustration from the viewpoints of psychology, offers as complete a classification as possible of pictorial illustrations, discusses the functions of pictorial illustrations, and considers pictorial illustration in electronic dictionaries. This study is far from conclusive. Especially, more research will be done into the use of pictorial illustrations in both printed and electronic dictionaries and how the present situation of illustration can be improved. More challenging is what kinds of word need pictorial illustrations.
