The Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía (Igalex) and the Academia Dominicana de la Lengua have officially launched the second edition of the Diccionario del Español Dominicano. The dictionary provides cultural insights into special ways Dominicans communicate. Online access is now possible as part of the second edition launch at https://www.igalex.org.
The launch ceremony took place at the Pedro Henríquez Ureña National Library auditorium in Plaza de la Cultura. María José Rincón, a member of the academy, presented the new edition, which features over 4,000 particular Dominican expressions and proverbs.
Rincón, who is originally from Spain but now resides in the Dominican Republic, emphasized the significant responsibility involved in dictionary creation, both academically and personally. “However, we have given in to the temptation of making dictionaries,” she remarked.
First published in 2013, the Diccionario del Español Dominicano is the first academically rigorous dictionary of its kind, crafted using modern lexicographic methodologies. Nearly a decade after its inaugural edition, the second edition was unveiled to the public, now available in both physical and digital formats via the Igalex portal.
“This second edition represents a milestone in our lexicographic bibliography. It is an academic dictionary, the result of teamwork, developed using cutting-edge lexicographic methodologies,” Rincón stated.
She noted that reflecting on the history of Dominican lexicography, acknowledging its achievements while also recognizing its shortcomings, has guided the development of the current edition. The dictionary now contains over 20,000 meanings, with more than 300 new expressions and proverbs added to the original 4,000.
The second edition also expands the number of examples, incorporating approximately 3,000 citations from literary works, periodicals, and digital platforms. In total, the 2024 edition offers around 10,000 examples illustrating how each word functions in real life.
Rincón pointed out that the history of Dominican lexicography is relatively brief and not widely known. “As far as we know, its roots trace back to the mid-19th century in small glossaries embedded in the historiographical works of Antonio del Monte Tejada, who published the first history of Santo Domingo in Cuba. This continued with José Gabriel García’s Memorias para la Historia de Quisqueya in 1876,” she explained in her presentation.
“These early works were modest and few, yet they laid the groundwork for the first recognition by Dominicans of the lexical variety of Spanish spoken on this island. Along the way, these dictionaries provided valuable insights,” she added.
They documented pre-Hispanic words and offered rich information on various lexical categories that, at the time, were not the focus of study.
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Diario Libre
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Instituto Guzmán Ariza de Lexicografía
25 September 2024