The Dictionary and Its User

Abstract

The present paper deals with the functions of the dictionary in their relation
to the users’ expectations, according to the purpose of their consultation as being
for comprehension or expression. Thus, one might question the extent to which
the structure and content of the dictionary article meet the users’ needs. For this
purpose, we take the French dictionary as a basis to analyse what the user, whether
being a French native speaker, a speaker of French as a second language, or as a
foreign language, can find as he seeks to check the orthography of a word, to learn
its pronunciation or definition, to define its use conditions, to select a synonym,
to discover its derivatives, etc.