Dictionary of Contemporary Icelandic

Kjarni tungumálsins

Abstract

Íslensk nútímamálsorðabók (A Dictionary of Contemporary Icelandic - islenskordabok.is) is a new dictionary designed for the web. It is largely modelled on the multilingual ISLEX project (www.islex.is), inheriting its lemmalist as well as its general structure, such as division into meanings, examples of use, information on the valency of verbs and prepositions, the use of labels, pronunciations, illustrations etc. The fact that a living language is always open to change has affected the work, so the dictionary’s lemma list and other contents reflect the spoken and written Icelandic of today, this also entails regular updates and additions to the material. The article first discusses the predecessors of Íslensk nútímamálsorðabók, it also briefly deals with the publishing history of Icelandic dictionaries. A description is given of the dictionary’s framework,
linguistic approach, contents and its main features, as well as the editorial policy of the work as reflected in its vocabulary and definitions, and the way it deals with loan words and slang. Three important aspects of the dictionary come into focus which all can be said to be groundbreaking in Icelandic lexicography. These are: the processing of all articles according to the lemma’s semantic fields, a heavy use of corpora, and
the dictionary’s original design for the web. Finally, some information is given on the use of the dictionary since its opening in late 2016.