Abstract: By comparing New English-Chinese Dictionary (Fourth Edition) (2009) (hereinafter referred to as “NECDF”) with New English-Chinese Dictionary (Century Edition) (2000) (hereinafter referred to as “NECDC”) based on the macrostructure and microstructure, the paper mainly has analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of NECDF. In this paper, it is noted that NECDF is a commonly used learner-based dictionary for English learners. And based on macrostructure, NECDF has three main advantages: (1) more vocabulary entries; (2) compared with the pure language tradition that some learner-based dictionaries for English learners only cover the linguistic entries, New English-Chinese Dictionary is much more useful for readers because it is encyclopedic; (3) it is more aggressive in embodying new words and changes in meaning. Based on the microstructure and compared with NECDC, NECDF also has two advantages, namely, (1) it provides more detailed descriptions for the meaning of some words or entries in terms of lexical meaning; (2) it is much more meticulous in making a detailed analysis for various entries of some words in the aspect of specific analysis and description on the meaning of words, which is in accordance with the language comprehension and demand of Chinese readers. Its disadvantages contain: (1) sometimes it is thoughtless in combining some entries in the process of revision; (2) on the whole, the breadth and depth of lexical meaning descriptions is not balanced; (3) as the identification sign for “semantic difference”, to some extent, semicolon “;” has been used in a casual way.
Key words: New English-Chinese Dictionary; Century Edition; Fourth Edition; comparative research
摘要：文章主要从宏观结构和微观结构两个方面对《新英汉词典》(第四版)(2009)和世纪版(2009)进行对比，重点分析了《新英汉词典》(第四版)的优势和不足。文章指出，宏观结构方面，《新英汉词典》(第四版)是较通行的英语双语学习型词典，优势有三：(1)收词量更大；(2)与英语单语学习型词典只相比《新英汉词典》兼收百科的传统对读者更为实用；(3)对新词新义的收录力度更大。微观结构方面,《新英汉词典》(第四版)较世纪版，优势亦有二：(1)在词义的整体处理上,某些语词的词义描述或者说义项提供更为完备；(2)在词义的具体分析和描述上,对某些语词和词条的义项分析更为精细,也更符合中国读者的语言理解和产出需要。《新英汉词典》(第四版)也有不足之处，表现在:(1)修订过程中对某些义项的合并考虑不周；(2)整体而言，词义描述的广度和深度不够均衡； (3)标点符号“；”作为语义差异标识号的使用在某种程度上显得有些随意。
关键词：《新英汉词典》；世纪版；第四版；比较研究
