Lemma un sublemma: daži teorētiskie aspekti

Lemma is considered to be one of the most important elements of the dictio-nary, yet understandings of lemma differ. In the lexicography of both Latvian and other languages, the term “lemma” is often used as a synonym for the term “entry word.” However, the dictionary entry does not always define a word. The dictionary entry may also explain morphemes, word groups and other language units. In various interpretations a lemma is considered a single word, a language sign, a lexicographic unit, a position in which a dictionary entry is found, or a metalexicographic index. There are also discussions in theoretical literature on what part of the dictionary article is considered to be a lemma ‒ in some interpretations, it is only a word or lexical item on which some infor-mation is provided, while in others the lemma is considered to be everything preceding the first explanation or sense number in an entry. In writings about sublemma, two aspects are often emphasized ‒ the arrangement of the lemmas and the representation of the lemmas (sublemmas are arranged next to another lemma and are often abbreviated). In practical lexicography, dictionary entries are often designed in such a way that sub-lems are not shown (they are omitted). So it is also important to mention entries with zero sublemmas ‒ cases where entry starts without lemma. In Latvian and Lithuanian lexicography, the understanding of the lemma is still largely based on general-type, printed dictionaries. Practical analysis shows that the distinction between lemmas and sublemmas de-pends on the dictionary itself and its structure. There is no single understanding that could be applied to all dictionaries. However, from a practical perspective, one of the main differences between a lemma and a sublemma relates to search options ‒ sublemmas can be searched by the entry word that introduces a dictionary article, and they do not appear in the main list of dictionary entries.