Diccionario de Autoridades

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First edition title (1726)

The Diccionario de Autoridades was the first dictionary published by the Royal Spanish Academy . Already thirteen years after the establishment of this language-standardizing institution ( 1713 ) it appeared from 1726 .

Structure of the dictionary

In the foreword, the lexicographical criteria that the academy followed in its work were explained and the motto for it was named: " Cleans, determines and gives shine" ( limpia, fija y da esplendor ). It relates to the task to which the first members of the Academy felt obliged: to ensure the purity of Spanish . They believed that the Spanish language reached its apogee with the authoritative writers ( autoridades ) of the Golden Age ; Since then, it has been corrupted by the passage of time and poor usage, not least in the form of the increasing use of French foreign words , which was viewed with suspicion - which was particularly aimed against the Spanish ( afrancesados ) who were oriented towards France .

The dictionary bears the term autoridades in the title because quotes from writers in the articles substantiate and support the respective definitions as examples. In order to determine the spelling , ortografía , the Academy examined the linguistic history of a keyword. Since most of the Spanish words come from Latin , some Latin spellings were revived. For example, the ct was introduced - something like doctor instead of dotor , which was the general spelling in Spain during the Renaissance period. These regulations were summarized in an appendix on orthography ( Orthographia , 1741); some of the rules established at the time are still valid today, such as the spelling of b versus v or of c and z . The cédille diacritical mark (used in Ç and ç ) has also been abolished.

Bibliography of the Diccionario de Autoridades

The Diccionario de Autoridades appeared in 6 volumes between 1726 and 1739:

  • Volume 1 (1726): Dictionary of the Spanish language, in which the true meaning of words, their nature and quality is explained, with sentences or ways of speaking, the proverbs or idioms and other things useful for the use of the language […] Compiled by the Royal Spanish Academy. First volume containing the letters A and B. Madrid. Printed by Francisco del Hierro. 1726.
  • Volume 2 (1729) contains the letter C printed by Francisco del Hierro.
  • Volume 3 (1732) contains the letters D – F, printed for the Royal Spanish Academy by the widow Francisco del Hierros.
  • Volume 4 (1734) contains the letters G – N, printed for the Royal Spanish Academy by the heirs of Francisco del Hierros.
  • Volume 5 (1737) contains the letters O – R, printed for the Royal Spanish Academy by the heirs of Francisco del Hierros.
  • Volume 6 (1739) contains the letters S – Z, printed for the Royal Spanish Academy by the heirs of Francisco del Hierros.

The most important dictionary of the Spanish language today, the Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española , was initially created as a one-volume edition of the Diccionario de Autoridades . The Diccionario de Autoridades itself has not been updated since 1793 .

See also

literature

  • Barbara von Gemmingen: 'Limpia, fija y da esplendor': on the question of good language use in the Diccionario de Autoridades . In: Studia Romanica et Linguistica . Vol. 15. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main and Bern 1982, pp. 61-75.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Margarita Freixas Alas: Las autoridades en el primer Diccionario de la Real Academia Española. "Tesis Doctoral, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, ​​defendida en 2003. Versión electrónica: http://www.tesisenred.net/TDX-0611104-150443
  2. ↑ Margarita Freixas Alas: "Las autoridades en el primer Diccionario de la Real Academia Española." Tesis Doctoral, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, ​​2003
  3. ↑ cf. Illustration: Diccionario de la lengua castellana, en que se explica el verdadero sentido de las voces, su naturaleza y calidad, con las phrases o modos de hablar, los proverbios o refranes, y otras cosas convenientes al uso de la lengua […] Compuesto by the Real Academia Española. Tomo primero. Que contiene las letras AB Imprenta de Francisco del Hierro, Madrid 1726