The official publicaiotn of the Dictionary of the Dutch language (WNT). Fourty enormous books with around 400.000 words. The Dutch language is discribed from the year 1500 till 1921. In the dictionary articles 1,6 million quotes are used. The WTN has 45.805 pages and is easily the largest dictionairy in the world.
The preparations for the WNT started in 1864. When the first linguistic Matthias de Vries got the assignment he thought he needed 25 years. The whole project is drawn out 125 years, 106 years after De Vries died. The editorial staff never used a computer, everything is done by hand. Still scientific- and dirty words are absent in the WNT. There are even words that are forgotten, like the word February. The rest of the year is in.
In 1999 three extra apendixes will be published with another 25.000 to 30.000 extra words. The Institute for Dutch Lexicology already started up a new mega-project: a scientific dictionary that discribes the language of the 20th century. Will it be ready, as planned in 2024?
A ARD Tagesthemen reportage.
Activities: suggest item idea, research, set-up & planning, direction & interviews.