In our discussion on Thursday, Bas sensibly looked up the entry for the noun economy in a dictionary, which I'm guessing was the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (LDOCE). This dictionary lists four distinct uses of the word, all having in common the word "money" ("economy, noun", n.d.). My first reaction was not very positive: it seemed to me that a definition of the word economy which focussed on money was a bad definition; it would certainly not fit a traditional society such as the Sami, who did not use money. Surely we do not want to say that they did not have an economy simply because they did not use money, although something like this is exactly what Frank did suggest. When I did a bit more research, asking Bas how many definitions were listed and to then read them out, I felt a lot better about it. At least it's not wrong. But is it useful? Does it give us a good definition of the word?
Back home, I checked to see what the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (OALD) says. It's very similar to the LDOCE's entry for the noun economy, except that the OALD has three definitions to the LDOCE's four. Two of the three OALD definitions include the word "money" ("economy, noun", 2011).
As we have already seen, in order to answer our questions about the Sami, and other questions, we need to clarify exactly what we are talking about when we use words like economy. This is not a particularly uncommon word. I am sure it's a word we all use and hear frequently in the daily news and elsewhere, and have been doing so for years. But as our discussion on Thursday showed, we might not have a very precise idea of what we mean when use this word. And none of the dictionary definitions I referred to above really agree with the definition that we agreed on when we started reading chapter 2 of Hartmann.
- So which definition of the word economy is better: ours or one of the dictionary definitions? Why?
- Do the Sami have an economy? Do they have an economic system? If yes, how does it work?
As you share your ideas and supporting reasons on this question, a number or related questions, all of which are likely important for students in an academic English class, will probably also come up. Feel free to ask these questions and share your responses to them. They are also likely to be a bit deeper and more interesting than the useful dictionary exercises coming up in Quest next week.
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References
economy, noun. (n.d.). In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online. Pearson Longman. Retrieved October 7, 2011 from http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/economy_1
economy, noun. (2011). In Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (8th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved October 7, 2012 from http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/economy
I thought that economy was not related with money. However, I had another question at that time. I want to know money means, I checked it. This means “a person's wealth including their property (OALD). So, I think that the Sami has an economy.
ReplyDeletehttp://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/money
Thank you Mori, but I'm not sure that I agree with your chosen definition of money from the OALD.
DeleteHow would you answer the question: Did the Sami use money in their traditional society? Yes or no?
Would we say something like: "The old Sami hunter lost all the family money in the 15th century"? Why or why not?
I like the questions you've raised. Now, I'm wondering what others think about this. So I'm looking forward to more comments.
But I do very much like the way Mori proceeded to answer the question of whether the Sami had an economy or not. I also agree with his answer. It's just the reasons I'm not sure that I agree with.
Deletewhich definition of the word economy is better: ours or one of the dictionary definitions?
DeleteA.
I'm not sure. But I think the dictionary and our definition are not different.
Why?
A.
The dictionary shows that economy means "the use of the time, money, etc. that is available in a way that avoids waste".
I think that this is same as our definition.
Do the Sami have an economy?
A
Yes.
If yes, how does it work?
A
They exchanges their property.
How would you answer the question: Did the Sami use money in their traditional society?
A.
Yes. I think their money means their property, so They use it.
"The old Sami hunter lost all the family money in the 15th century"?
A.
I have no idea.
I'm sorry, Peter. I'm not good at English, Sometimes, I cannot understand your questions. My answer might be wrong, but I want to try to answerer your questions. If you thought that I misunderstood, please help me, Peter or my classmates.
Mori,
DeleteI disagree, especially with your chosen dictionary definition of the word economy as "the use of the time, money, etc. that is available in a way that avoids waste". On our definition, waste is irrelevant and there is no requirement that economic decisions try to "avoid waste". And in many economies, waste is common and massive. For example, French spending on nuclear weapons that they know will never be used and which is wholly unnecessary seems to me to be waste. Similarly, massive spending on funeral ceremonies such as pyramids seems like waste. And isn't luxury food thrown out uneaten after parties deliberately planned waste?
In Longman's LDOCE, the first definition, that economy means "the system by which a country's money and goods are produced and used, or a country considered in this way", is closest to ours. But our definition disagrees with the requirement that it be a country. The Sami are not and were a country, but they had an economy. And I think it does make sense for us to talk about things like the Bangkok economy; Bangkok is not a country.
And as the Sami example, along with the Ainu, show us, any definition that makes money an essential element of an economy must fail.
I think that the definition we agreed on is better than any of the dictionary definitions.
So what does this tell us about dictionaries?
Peter, I think you will be curious that what economy means in Cambridge advanced learner dictionary, won't you? There are two definitions in this dictionary. The first meaning is "the intentional saving of money or, less commonly, the saving of time, energy, words, etc" and second meaning is "the system of trade and industry by which the wealth of a country is made and used". Which dictionary you like the definition of economy the most?
ReplyDeleteHowever, Oxford dictionary is not my choice because when it defines meaning of words, its explanation is difficult to understand for me. Conversely, I choose to use Cambridge and Longman dictionaries. I think both mostly give quite similar meaning in different ways. When I find meaning of words, firstly I search in Cambridge; it will give me some meaning which is easy to understand, and then I will check again in Longman dictionary; mostly it gives me shorter definition or synonyms. It is really useful because it make me easily understand and remember word meanings. However, I am not a good memory, so I always forgot the meaning of words. Consequently, when I read some articles, I always see many words that I checked in the dictionary, but I do not know what the meanings are. Do you have any tricks to lengthen many words I checked stay in my mind?
Aor,
DeleteHartmann has a suggestion on page 45 of Quest, which is to keep a word journal, a record of new words you come across that you think might be useful to remember (2007). Hartmann's detailed suggestions are a good idea, but she does say "spend ten to twenty minutes each day" working on it.
I would agree with Hartmann that to learn new vocabulary, you have to see it in context and use it. The best way is to read, noting new words, and to write often so that you get a chance to use new words that you have come across. For example, in the discussion here, you should have opportunities to use words like economy, econnomics, money, and so on.
Reading and writing are like learning to play football, cook a French meal, or play computer games: if you want to do well at any of these things, constant, regular practice is probably the most important thing you can do. David Beckham did not become good at football by learning the rules of the game, and Julia Child did not learn to cook Cassoulet de Canard and other delights without a lot of frequent practice.
Reference
Hartmann, P. (2007). Quest 2 Reading and Writing (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
I still think that the definition we agreed on before we started the readings in "The Global Economy" is better than any of the dictionary definitions in any of the dictionaries we've checked so far.
DeleteWhat do you think?
It sounds wrong to say that "the old Sami hunter lost all the family money in the 15th century" because money does not mean (cannot mean) "property" in such contexts, or normally.
ReplyDeleteMoney is ... what exactly?