“What is not in the dictionary does not mean that it is incorrect, but in any case what appears is correct.” Mercè Lorente said it while with her colleague from the Philological Section of the IEC Magí Camps they were presenting the new additions to the Diccionari de l’Institut d’Estudis Catalans (DIEC); 21 new articles and 619 modifications or extensions of existing articles.
Among the new additions are acotxador/acochadora, cis, cisgender, feminicide, metabolize, resilient, trans the neologism of 2021. In the case of trans, Lorente explains that although the DIEC does not usually collect abbreviations, they found that the trans law in no case uses the words transgender or transsexual, and therefore they have considered it necessary.
Regarding the modifications, Lorente and Camps explain that many novelties are the product of the systematic work of the lexicographical commission, also in the revision that is being made of its Diccionari essencial, which will be available online next year.
With the update they have incorporated common uses such as when talking about an aplicación , the màrfega that is used to do yoga or as a mattress in nurseries, or the ibèric , which, in addition to the íberos, now also refers to the pig from this breed and its derivatives. Also series as a program with chapters, or trienni as a salary supplement.
In the case of a witch, for example, the previous meaning of “old, ugly, bad woman” has been replaced to give context: in addition to the “woman who practices witchcraft”, it now refers to a “bad woman, of bad intention or suspicious behavior, often said contemptuously”. Or also the “personage of fairy tales traditionally characterized as an old woman, ugly and bad, endowed with magical powers”.
In the case of homosexual or homophobic entries, now they do not refer to “als homosexuals”, but to “les persones homosexuals”. Because for years we have been working with collectives on gender discourse and we have also worked with the Department of Feminisms and Equality of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
A word like sidral also calls attention, now referring explicitly to a “situation of a lot of disorder, noise and confusion”. During the presentation, the writer Enric Gomà, who was part of the audience, pointed out the opportunity to incorporate this usage into the Dictionary now that there is a football world cup, since it originates from Valentí Castanys and his country of the sidral to refer to this sport in the humorous sports magazine Xut, born in November 1922, exactly one hundred years ago.
Seventy locutions have also been incorporated, within the corresponding meanings, such as “and a black one (with red legs)”, “having a stomach”, “in black”, “with piss in the belly”, “like sardines ” or “pull the chain” even if what we do is press a button.
In this section, those related to collar and egg stand out for their quantity, which dictionaries did not usually include out of shame, as Lorente explains, because “the history of lexicography often avoided extremes”. For her, “the border between vulgar and colloquial is blurring, but the dictionary has to reflect these uses too”. This is how they are collected, for example “to be up to the necks”, “and a neck (of a monkey)”, “and an egg”, “by necks” “to have necks” or “to have eggs”.
But of course, as Lorente pointed out, they are not locutions that should be used in the newspapers. correct? Yes. Adequate or not, it will depend on the context.
Catalan version, here
