An Iideographic Dialectal Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language – the Concept and Structure.

Abstract

In its structure and conception the ideographic dialectal dictionary of the Bulgarian language differs considerably from all interpretative dialectal dictionaries published so far. The words offered in it make it possible to present from another aspect a complete picture of the lexical wealth and the denotative resources of the Bulgarian dialects. The choice of different motivational features in the formation of derivatives created in the various dialects to denote the same entity is related to the ethnocultural specificity of the native speakers (or users) of Bulgarian. 

The completion and publication of the first volume (A–D) are preceded by the make-up of the vocabulary of the whole dictionary, which gives an idea of its structure and character. The collected material, which is yet to be structured into dictionary entries, is arranged according to the semantically corresponding literary designations presented alphabetically.

While collecting and processing the material, an endeavour was made to encompass diachronically the whole territory of the Bulgarian language, making use not only of Bulgarian published sources. This is the first generalizing lexicographical work which includes data from all the dialects representing the lexical system both from the Bulgarian language region and from the Bulgarian diaspora. The ideographic dictionary will make it possible to use the collected and lexicographically processed material for academic purposes by making it accessible to Bulgarian and foreign linguists in studying the history of the Bulgarian language and the tendencies in its development. It will contribute as well to the scientific explanation of the peculiarities which not only connect but also differentiate the Bulgarian language from the other Slavic and Balkan languages.