Critical Analysis of Chinese Lexicographical Discourse: A Case Study of -zhuyi : 主义 Entries in the Xiandai hanyu cidian 现代汉语词典

This paper adopts the theoretical framework of critical analysis of lexicographical discourse to carry out a diachronic analysis of the lexicographical treatment of selected -zhuyi -主义(-ism) entries in the 1973, 1996, and 2016 editions of the Xiandai hanyu cidian 现代汉语词典. The present research aims to investigate the ways in which a certain meaning is constructed in the definitions as a neutral core meaning of the selected headwords, by also detecting forms of evaluation in the definitions, as well as discussing changes in the successive definitions.