ABSTRACT
In the most commonly used type of dictionaries, words are presented alphabetically. However, the lexicon of a language is a much more complex structure than a simple list of words. Lexical items relate to each other in both form and semantics.
Alphabetical dictionaries can be classified as semasiological since they organize information based on its form and present the corresponding meaning with a definition. They contrast with onomasiological dictionaries, which organize information from the meaning to the form. Ideological dictionaries, described in this chapter, belong to the latter group. Ideological dictionaries present the different lemmas of a language grouped according to the ideas they evoke. In turn, these ideas are presented hierarchically as part of a semantic structure; the primary areas are placed at the top of the hierarchy. Each of the last conceptual nodes of the semantic hierarchy connects, at a linguistic level, with a word. The network relationships between ideas and words at different levels is difficult to present in printed form and is done, as we will see, in parts.
When consulting an ideological dictionary, a user intends to identify the form or forms that correspond or relate to a particular concept. For example, if we search for words associated with the trade of crafting pottery, by consulting the entry of the concept ‘pottery’ (or a similar one), we can locate the word that designates the person who performs that activity (potter).
The use of this kind of dictionary is, undoubtedly, not easy and requires training. It is essential to know which semantic category an idea is ascribed to and where in the dictionary to locate it. Nevertheless, the lexicographical design of these dictionaries is considered to be much more coherent than that of an alphabetic dictionary, since alphabetic order is an arbitrary criterion (Alvar Ezquerra 1993a). The semantic design responds to the logical order of conceptual relationships, similar to that naturally established in the human mind.
The primary purpose of ideological dictionaries is to support linguistic coding tasks, i.e., in the wording of ideas, while semasiological dictionaries are especially useful for decoding. Thus, ideological dictionaries are an appropriate source to achieve expressive variety and lexical precision, since they provide users with items that they might have been unaware of or passively maintained. Thus, this type of resource is considered to be especially useful to writers, journalists, or speakers. Besides, it can also be helpful in the fields of translation and language learning.
In the case of Spanish, the first ideological dictionary, although only for verbs, was created by José Ruiz León, Inventario de la lengua castellana (1879). The second, more complete one, is that of Benot, Diccionario de ideas afines y elementos de tecnología (1898–1899). However, in modern Spanish, the reference is Casares, Diccionario ideológico de la lengua española (1942; from now on, Casares). In the bibliography, this work is usually considered paradigmatic and will receive special attention in this chapter. There is also a consensus that “los repertorios ideológicos posteriores solo son herederos, adaptaciones y compendios simplificados para el público escolar” (García Aranda 2017, 135). These dictionaries include, for example, the Diccionario ideológico de la lengua española by Vox (1995) and the Diccionario ideológico de la lengua española (2001, RBA-Larousse).
In this chapter, we describe the characteristics and prototypical structure of the most important ideological dictionaries of Spanish and what differentiates them from other lexicographic works with which connections are established. We review the most recent paper-based lexicographic works and electronic or Internet-based resources, including lexical-conceptual databases, and the Spanish version of the Lexical-conceptual network WordNet.
