Dictionary of contemporary German

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Klappenbach Dictionary 1974.jpg

The dictionary of contemporary German ( WDG ) was developed in Berlin at the German Academy of Sciences (from October 1972: Academy of Sciences of the GDR ) between 1952 and 1977 under the direction of Ruth Klappenbach . The dictionary appeared in 6 volumes and was reprinted in staggered volumes until the end of the GDR . The WDG has over 4,500 pages and contains almost 100,000 keywords. In terms of conception and source selection, it was far ahead of its time and was therefore used as a model for many dictionary projects, such as the Large Dictionary of the German Language published by Dudenverlag (1976–1981).

In the West, during the GDR era, the work was hardly reviewed or even recognized and appreciated for its importance. This was certainly also due to the fact that from Volume 4 it was adapted to the Marxist-Leninist worldview . Keywords such as “Nation” and “Production” in volumes 4 to 6 published from 1970 onwards are shaped by the new specifications, and the new editions of volumes 1 to 3 (so the keyword “German”) have been revised accordingly. Overall, around 3% of the definitions of terms and comments appear to be ideologically influenced in this sense.

In February 2002 the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences started the project to digitize the six-volume WDG and make it electronically usable. In March 2003 the first version of the digital WDG was activated for test use. After various revisions, a second version of the digital WDG was presented in July 2009, and the digitization project was largely completed. The content of the WDG together with parts of the Great Dictionary of the German Language from Duden form the core of the Digital Dictionary of the German Language of the 20th Century (DWDS). The DWDS offers the possibility to access the contents of the DWG with search terms.

literature

  • Helene Malige-Klappenbach (Hrsg.): The "Dictionary of German Contemporary Language". Report, documentation and discussion (= Lexicographica, Series maior, Vol. 12). With the collaboration of Franz Josef Hausmann . Niemeyer, Tübingen 1986. ISBN 3-484-30912-1 .
  • Georg Stötzel , Thorsten Eitz (Hrsg.): Contemporary history dictionary of contemporary German. Keywords and vocabulary for orientation . With the collaboration of Astrid Jahresling-Marienfeld, Lea Plate and others. Olms, Hildesheim, 2nd, expanded and updated edition 2003, ISBN 978-3-487-11759-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information on the WDG and the digital WDG dwds.de
  2. ↑ Resources of the DWDS: Dictionaries , see first section “DWDS dictionary”.
  3. ↑ Resources of the DWDS: Dictionaries , see input field in the second section “Dictionary of contemporary German”.