Wiedza kulturowa a opis leksykograficzny w jednojęzycznym słowniku języka polskiego

The paper speculates whether the lexicographic description in a general dictionary of Polish should contain explicit information about cultural knowledge petrified in the language. The author believes that this kind of commentary is important from the point of view of mediation between generations and cultures, and it can help create an active dictionary. An analysis of words from various fields (Wielkanoc ‘Easter’, szlachta ‘nobility’, dzwony ‘bell-bottoms’, bezpieka ‘security services’, orzeł ‘eagle’, magiel ‘mangle’, trzepak ‘carpet hanger’, and others) illustrates and justifies this desideratum, assuming that cultural information will be only partially connected with the semantic description. Such information should be incorporated in different fields within the microstructure of an entry, including material illustration. For many units, the introduction of an explanation in an extrasemantic section “cultural knowledge and competence” can be used as an alternative or supplementary solution.