The center for digital lexicography : Grapefruit instead of grapefruit

Since when do the Germans prefer to Grapefruit instead of grapefruit? What was that again Fronvogt the meaning of the word "the"? And when the steep career of the Verb "like"? These are just some of the questions which can be answered by the newly established centre for digital lexicography of the German language (ZDL) in the future. Thanks to the funding of two million euros annually, approved by the German Federal Ministry of education and research starting in 2019, over a period of a maximum of eight years, the research on the German vocabulary to finally get back on a solid Basis.
Preceded by years of Anxiety. A serious "crisis of lexicography" gave it to to 2013, says Alexander Geyken, working head of the Digital dictionary of the German language (DWDS) at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW). All of the significant dictionary projects had been, or altogether reduced. New not in sight. The German, considered to be one of the word richest languages of the world is changing, constantly. The associated science looks back on a proud Tradition: The lexicographic entry in the 19th century. A century, the Grimm brothers; they founded the "German dictionary", which consisted in the completion in 1961, 32 volumes. In the GDR, we worked since 1952 in a "dictionary of the modern German language". In Germany, the multi-volume "Great dictionary of the German language appeared from the 1970s in the Duden Verlag". At last, however, all of that was not simply affordable.

In the Wake of the digital revolution, had survived expensive dictionaries

the digital transformation came. Expensive printed dictionaries had survived; the free availability via the Internet appeared to be far more contemporary. The "Digital dictionary of the German language was created in 2007, at the BBAW" as an Academy project, with a changing third-party funding. In 2012, the Website related to it www.dwds.de online went. The construction work of a digital lexical information system is managed, because you have to rely on the entries in the old dictionaries, and this could feed into the new database. "First of all, the DDR-dictionary was very helpful," says Geyken. Without this preparatory work, "we would have had to literally start from scratch."
Since then, you can visit the DWDS how diverse the modern lexicography. Not just spelling, pronunciation, meanings, origins, grammatical features, or regional varieties are explained, but also the statistical Tools offered. So a curve diagram showing the emergence and Disappearance of individual words produced by a click. "Excellent" is, for example, are clearly on the descending Branch, while the "Populist" has increased since 2012 in the use of language massively. The Grapefruit overtook the grapefruit at the beginning of the 1990s, "like" was from 2008, abruptly popular.
a long time, it was clear that the DWDS with his ten employees for the mammoth task, the transformation process of the contemporary German language of the 20th century. and 21. Century map, much too small. Because the German is a language with seemingly infinite vocabulary. Although the spelling Duden dictionary lists only 140,000 words, but that is only a small part. Around 20 million different words in different text sources to prove. Geyken explains how this number came about: "language, in particular German vocabulary, proceeds according to the so-called Zipf's distribution," a towering peak that drops to a long rat tail. The majority of the words in the text collections of the DWDS less than three times. "This has to do with the morphological peculiarity of the German." Almost any compound words, compound words, form. The least interested, for the long term. A counter-example, "Rent control": To 2010 from three well-known word ingredients stirred together, since everyone is talking about.

The text collection is to be significantly expanded

It is due to, among other things, BBAW President Martin Grötschel, a self-confessed Digital Humanities advocate, that the DWDS-Team can plan to years under very modest conditions, and for the first time, long-term, and research. Grötschel had stressed in the summer of 2018, individual Academy to secure projects and partly to the principle of a permanent research Institute return.
How this could work, now on the basis of the digital dictionary is clear: For the next five (plus a maximum of a further three) years the funds from the Federal budget allow for the construction of the center for digital lexicography. The TPP builds on the work of the DWDS in terms of content and in terms of personnel, can now create 15 new jobs in Berlin. The center of a first of the BBAW, as well as three other science academies in Göttingen, Mainz and Leipzig. Until 2027, then the fossils should be consolidation succeeded. An institution must provide the institutional framework, the power of the PSP in the long term.
Whether that will succeed depends in part on the evaluation. Some of the milestones you must reach the scientists in the coming years. Among other things, the text collection is to be expanded significantly. So far, the lexicographic work of the DWDS is based on 15 million newspaper articles and just as many online texts. That alone gives a complete picture of the German language. "We also want to be able to advice literature, fiction and non-fiction books to evaluate," explains Geyken. To tough negotiations with many publishers. "This is one of the task we have set ourselves."
The other big goal: the content to expand and extend the coverage. The existing of 170,000 dictionary entries are not all up to date. A further 30,000 words on a list of candidates, which means they should also be quickly incorporated. For the millions of compounds semi-automatic solutions are planned: The digital dictionary to recognize can unusual compositions and explain.

The term "witch-hunt" was re -

focus, it Is possible to the ZDL, to make the digital dictionary to the operation of a fixed size in the German science? Is also clicking on the Public Website on a regular basis? After Geykens view also depends on whether and how the PSP can in the future respond to society's debates.
As in the autumn of 2018 the whole of Germany about the meaning of the word "witch-hunt" was discussed, revised, the scientists of the old entry prompt. The word comes from the hunter language, is known. But it can also Pursue "a witch hunt-like, physical and life-endangering and body mean a physical Press of one or more people through a group or crowd of people" – so it is now in the DWDS. "Unfortunately, we came just too late, as the discussion had already died down." With the larger Team of the ZDL seeks to change that. In the future, the Berlin-based lexicographer language debates want to be able to map almost in real time, or comment on.
1. January has recorded the BMBF-funded centre for digital lexicography of the German language in his work. 29. January will be a public kick-off event (14 hrs presentation of project and scientific program, may 19, at the evening lecture, Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, the Goethe-Institut). Location: Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Markgrafenstraße 38, 10117 Berlin. Admission is free; registration requested: [email protected]