Van Dale

Van Dale's Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language
(14th edition)

“Dikke Van Dale”
Author	drs. C. A. den Boon, prof. dr. D. Geeraerts (editors)
Original title	Van Dale's Groot woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal
Country	Netherlands
Language	Dutch
Subject	Dictionary
Publisher	Van Dale Lexicografie b.v.
Publication date	2005
Pages	4464[1]
ISBN	90-6648-427-6
OCLC	697452253
Dewey Decimal	439.3
LC Class	PF625 .G44 2005
Preceded by	13th edition

Van Dale's Great Dictionary of the Dutch Language (Dutch: Van Dale Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal, Dutch pronunciation: [vɐn ˈdaːlə ˈɣroːt ˈʋʊːrdə(n)ˌbuk vɐn də ˈneːdərˌlɑntsə ˈtaːl]), called Dikke Van Dale for short,^[2] is the leading dictionary of the Dutch language. First published in 1874, as of 2005 it lists definitions of approximately 90,000 headwords.^[3]

History

J.H. van Dale (1828-1872)

Van Dale's dictionary was first published in 1874 after J.H. (Johan Hendrik) van Dale^[3] started work on the New Dictionary of the Dutch Language (Dutch: Nieuw woordenboek der Nederlandsche taal, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈniu ˈʋʊːrdə(n)ˌbuk dər ˈneːjərˌlɑntsə ˈtaːl]) in 1867.^[4] This was built upon the original same-named 1864 dictionary of I.M. Calisch en N.S. Calisch. Van Dale did not see the new work published in his lifetime, as he died in 1872. It was finished by his student Jan Manhave. Today it is published by the Van Dale Lexicografie.^[3][5]

Commonly named Dikke Van Dale (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪkə vɐn ˈdaːlə]), or Fat Van Dale due to its size, the dictionary is published in three volumes (A-I, J-R, S-Z). It is usually updated every 7–8 years, and the 15th edition was published on 23 September 2015.^[6] Today there are compilations, pocket editions, electronic editions on CD-ROM and an online edition on the Van Dale website. The latter includes a free version for more common words and a subscription-based professional version which gives access to the full 90,000 word dictionary.^[7]

Positioning

The Van Dale Dictionary is a private endeavor, to be distinguished from the official "Green Booklet" published by the government. The latter defines the spelling which is mandatory for schools and government employees. Van Dale may be used to find the official spelling of words as well, but its distinguishing feature is that it gives the meaning of words (in a short definition, to be distinguished in turn from an encyclopedia).

There have been arguments whether inclusion in Van Dale should be understood as an approval, in particular for words considered discriminatory like "neger" ("negro", but traditionally not used in a derogatory sense in Dutch). The position of the editors is clear: the actual use is decisive. Disapproved words are marked as such, but not omitted. The purpose is to inform the reader and therefore the responsibility of using certain words lies solely on them.

Editions

Company

Apart from publishing the authoritative Dutch language dictionary Van Dale Lexicografie also publishes bilingual dictionaries for other languages, translated from and to Dutch, and also offers language courses and translation services.

See also

• Dutch Language Union
• Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal
• Word list of the Dutch language

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Van Dale Lexicografie bv.

• (Dutch) Official website
• Van Dale 14th edition at the Library of Congress
• Van Dale 14th edition at WorldCat