THE DICTIONARY OF THE SOUTHERN DUTCH DIALECTS (DSDD): DESIGNING A VIRTUAL RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT FOR DIGITAL LEXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH.

Abstract

The southern Dutch dialect area consists of four dialect groups: (1) the Flemish dialects, spoken in French Flanders (France), West and East Flanders (Belgium) and Zeeland Flanders (the Netherlands); (2) the Brabantic dialects, spoken in Antwerp and Flemish Brabant (Belgium) and Northern Brabant (the Netherlands); (3) the Limburgian dialects (spoken in the Limburg provinces of Belgium and the Netherlands); (4) the Zeeland dialects, spoken in Zeeland and Goeree-Overflakkee (the Netherlands). The vocabulary of the Flemish, Brabantic and Limburgian group is brought together in three comprehensive thematically arranged dictionaries in a joint international and inter-university effort. The dictionaries are based on their own dialect questionnaires, but the very big - and older - collection of Ludovic Grootaers, father of Willem Grootaers, is added. Thus, the results of the lexicographic efforts of the father of Willem Grootaers, are brought to light at last (after more than 50 years!). The dictionaries were set up in parallel in order to make possible the aggregation of the data, thus fulfilling the objectives of the founders of the projects (Toon Weijnen in Nijmegen, and Willem Pee in Gent). A project to this effect, the Dictionary of the Southern Dutch Dialects (DSDD) was launched in 2017. In our article, we will propose the plan for the aggregation and the state of affairs of the DSDD, the structure of the database and dwell on the different editorial problems that have to be solved. The different dictionaries / database were indeed composed over a very long period of time, at different places (Nijmegen, Leuven, Ghent) and by different editors, hence a great number of inconsistencies arose over time. In order to compose an aggregated DSDD-database, a number of standardization activities have to be carried out.