Open Access

Carolin Müller-Spitzer

• Wiegand’s opus magnum „Wörterbuchforschung“ ends with a chapter on the state and the relevant taslcs for research into dictionary use in the middle of the 1990s. This article aims at reflecting the taste and the relevance of dictionary usage research 20 years later. I will argue that the fundamentally changed lexicographic landscape makes it necessary to shift the focus of research. In my view, the most important aim of research into dictionary use can no longer be limited to improving dictionaries. Research into dictionary use should also raise more awareness for user- orientation in general and should provide methodological reflection to enlighten the increasingly important usage statistics for online dictionaries. Another goal should be to look behind the scenes of collaborative dictionaries in order to provide background data to classify their relevance in relation to dictionaries elaborated by lexicographic experts. The crisis of lexicography makes it also necessary to broaden our view and concentrate on situations in which linguistic questions arise. In this context, we could examine in which of these situations the consultation of lexicographic data helps. In summary, the aim of research into dictionary use is to identify the fields where sound lexicographic work is really helpful for potential users.