SOUTHERN LISU DICTIONARY - Book Review - David Bradley

Sep 28, 2026

Book review of David Bradley’s “Southern Lisu Dictionary” (STEDT Monograph 4, University of California, 2005), evaluating its structure, scope, and usability for linguists and readers unfamiliar with Lisu. The review compares it with earlier Lisu dictionaries in English, estimates headword counts, and explains the entry format: Lisu alphabet ordering with phonemic transcription, word class, English glosses, and associated forms. It highlights practical features such as the alphabet-symbol guide at page bottoms, large readable typography, and the intended research-focused audience.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background on the Lisu language and varieties

Context: comparison with earlier Lisu dictionaries

Dictionary Structure and Contents

Headwords, sub-entries, transcription, and glosses

Usability features in layout and reference symbols

Intended Audience

Who the dictionary is for and how it supports research

BOOK REVIEW SOUTHERN LISU DICTIONARY BY DAVID BRADLEY Berkeley, CA, STEDT Monograph 4, University of California, 2005. [Hardcover 346 pages body + xxxiv front-matter. ISBN: 0-944613-43-8] Thomas M. Tehan and William J. Hanna Linguistics Department, Payap University and SIL International 1. INTRODUCTION “Yes,” you might say, “now that you mention it, I have been wondering about where I could get a good dictionary of Southern Lisu.” Well, this is the best one, and it just might be more relevant to your work than you would at first suppose. But first a bit of background: Who are the Lisu and where did they come from? The Lisu speak a Tibeto-Burman language, of the Loloish branch. This branch also includes the Akha and Lahu. The Lisu can be traced back to what is now Yunnan Province in China, and they have been moving south for centuries. Traditionally the Lisu are divided into the Northern, Central and Southern varieties. Practically all Southern Lisu speakers now reside in Thailand, with a few in Myanmar. The author of this dictionary, David Bradley, is a professor at La Trobe University in Australia. He is an established researcher in Tibeto-Burman (TB) languages and in linguistics. Bradley has published numerous articles on Lisu and other TB languages, as well as a previous dictionary on Northern Lisu. So what is this rather large dictionary? Perhaps it would help to put it in some context. We have before us three Lisu dictionaries in English, 1 each of a different scope. Ngwazah 2007 is a modest popular-level work of 254 small pages2 containing around 11,000 English words with Lisu glosses and almost 80 pages of front and back matter, including an eight-page picture dictionary at the end. Bradley 1994 is a much more accomplished academic work, with 207 medium-sized pages3 and perhaps 15,000 Lisu head words (written in the approved Chinese orthography), with many other associated words in many of the head word entries and example sentences. Each is glossed in English, with a word class (i.e. part of speech) associated. At the end of the dictionary, there is a 44-page finding list of English words indexed to the Lisu words with word class and 1 Editor‟s note: The Li-Han Cidian (ed. by Xu Lin et al., Yunnan Minzu Chubanshe, 1984) is a Lisu-Chinese dictionary, available on line: [http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/7764551.html](http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/7764551.html). 2 About 14cm X 20cm. 3 About 17cm X 25cm. Lisu gloss from the main part of the dictionary, and a short introduction at the beginning. It is based the language ofthe Lisu of NW Yunnan. The third is the present work, which represents another level yet in thoroughness and accessibility for linguists and those who do not know the Lisu alphabet. It contains 346 rather large pages4 of Lisu head words, each followed by a phonemic transcription, a word class, an English gloss, and usually a few associated Lisu words with glosses. Each page contains between 10 and 20 headwords, depending on the number of sub-entries. I estimate the total number of head words to be around 6,000, with more than 13,000 lines (representing head words and sub-entries) . It is a little hard to come up with a count of total lexemes in the dictionary. Most of the indented entries are illustrative sentences, but a few of them are clearly headwords, and at least one is a second sense of the non-indented headword. For example, 􀁸 p. 94 has 15 indented entries. One is a headword: /ku za tshi/ „meteorite ‟. 􀁸 p. 80 has 24 indented entries. One is a second sense: G: /ga/ „zigzag ‟. o Headwords are: /a ga/ „burial hill ‟, /ga ga le/ „on tiptoes ‟, /tshi wy gaga le/ „bowlegged ‟, and /a ga ma/ „spider ‟. It would have been useful if there were a clearer distinction made between headwords and sub-entries based on lexical criteria, and to have these criteria explained. A fuller explanation of the lexicographical decisions involved in making the dictionary wo

FAQs

What makes Bradley’s Southern Lisu Dictionary different from earlier Lisu dictionaries?

The review describes it as more thorough and accessible, with 346 large pages of Lisu headwords in the Lisu alphabet plus phonemic transcription, word class, English glosses, and associated items—aimed at linguists and readers who cannot follow Lisu alphabet-only sub-entries.

How are dictionary entries organized and what information does each entry include?

Entries are arranged by Lisu alphabetical order, and each entry is followed by phonemic transcription. Sub-entries and examples use the phonemic script, with word class and English glosses, and often additional related Lisu words with glosses.

What practical features help readers use the dictionary efficiently?

A line at the bottom of every page lists Lisu alphabetic symbols with phonemic equivalents, helping readers move forward or backward to locate words. The book also uses large readable font and clear column layout to improve ease of access.

Sep 28, 2026

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