Comprehensive Dictionaries and the Delimitation of the Argentine Variety of Spanish

Abstract

The lexicographical production is an indication of the degree of peripheral character of an Non Dominant variety; the distinction between differential and integral dictionaries should contribute to further specify this gradation. In this paper we are interested in investigating how the integral dictionary defines the features of a NDV of Spanish: that of Argentina.We preliminarily describe the lexicographic treatment of the Argentine variety and the tensions it implies regarding other varieties of Spanish in a series oflinguistic instruments, i.e. the style guide and the design of the "Diccionario integral del español de la Argentina" (DIEA), the DIEA itself, the online version of this dictionary, and its adaptation for a multivolume edition: the "Gran diccionario de los argentinos". In particular, we analyze the macrostructure and microstructure and their impact on the notion of variety.