• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.45
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• pp.195-218
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• 2016

This paper focuses on the terminology of the dictionary as an encyclopedic element in the Buddhist language. The previous study on Buddhist language can be divided into a philosophical approach to the language itself, a review of the linguistic perspective of a specific monk, and a linguistic examination of the Buddhist language. The linguistic examination of the Buddhist language is further divided into analysis of certain Buddhist scriptures, and a study of vocabulary used throughout the Buddhist sphere. The Buddhist vocabulary in the existing Korean dictionary is found in specialized areas such as name, place name, history, and Buddhism. By advancing the generalized words of the terminologies, the meanings of the terminologies and the general words are described as polysemy. It is possible to identify the degree of transition from terminology to general word depending on the distribution of senses. In the case of Buddhist vocabulary, the usage as a general language and as a Buddhist term was given priority, and vocabulary was also derived from a Buddhist term, although it was described as a general language. If a dictionary is changed according to the language unit it contains, the difference in a Buddhist terminology for each dictionary, and a conflict between the existing academic research result and the prior description, will need to be resolved through the collaboration of religious experts, linguists, and lexicographers.