Lexicological Section
Head: Janoš Ježovnik
+386 1 470 61 71
janos.jezovnik@zrc-sazu.si
Location: Novi Trg 4, first floor
Section Purpose and Activity
The section currently employs seventeen researchers that are engaged in lexicographic and research activities, particularly for contemporary Slovenian. Language content is prepared for professional and general users, and in recent years special attention has also been directed to younger language users. Members are engaged in research on phonology, semantics, morphology, word formation, syntax, lexicology, phraseology, paremiology, genrefication, stylistics, etymology, normativity, sociolinguistics, and dialectology. Some members teach at the ZRC SAZU Graduate School, the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Arts, and the University of Nova Gorica’s Faculty of Humanities, and they also frequently appear as guest lecturers in Slovenia and abroad.
The following five growing dictionaries are being compiled within the section: eSSKJ – Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika (eSSKJ: Standard Slovenian Dictionary, 2016–), Šolski slovar slovenskega jezika (Slovenian School Dictionary, 2019–; editor-in-chief Špela Petric Žižić), Sprotni slovar slovenskega jezika (Contemporary Slovenian Dictionary, 2014–; editor-in-chief Domen Krvina), Slovar neglagolske vezljivosti (Nonverbal Valency Dictionary, 2020–; Andreja Žele), and Slovar pregovorov in sorodnih paremioloških izrazov (Dictionary of Proverbs and Related Paremiological Expressions, 2020–; Matej Meterc).
Members of the section are involved in creating, editing, and improving the Fran and Franček language portals. In addition to adding and editing language content, they are also responsible for educational activities, technical support, visualization of language data, and promotion of language content and linguistic research in general. They are members of the organizing committees of research conferences (the Obdobja symposia, International Dictionary Day, Skrabec Days, etc.).
The section is compiling the Lemma Database and developing ZRCola 2, and its members also compose the answers and serve on the editorial board for the Language Advisory Service, which operates under the auspices of the Orthgraphic Section.
Within the section, some seminal works for Slovenian have been and are being created, including:
- General explanatory dictionaries: Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika (Standard Slovenian Dictionary, 1970–1991), Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, 2., dopolnjena in prenovljena izdaja (Standard Slovenian Dictionary, Second, Expanded, and Partly Revised Edition, 2014), and Slovar novejšega besedja slovenskega jezika (Dictionary of New Slovenian Words, 2013, online: 2014)
- Sinonimni slovar slovenskega jezika (Slovenian Synonym Dictionary, 2016, online: 2018)
- Slovar slovenskih frazemov (Dictionary of Slovenian Phrasemes, 2011, online: 2015) by Janez Keber
- Vezljivostni slovar slovenskih glagolov (Dictionary of Slovenian Verbal Valency, 2008, online: 2018), by Andreja Žele
Members of the section also perform editorial work for:
- the series Rastoči slovarji (Growing dictionaries)
- the journal Slovenski jezik / Slovene Linguistic Studies
- the journal Jezikoslovni zapiski (Linguistic Notes)
Current Projects
Members of the Lexicology Section have been or are involved in the following programs and projects:
- Slovenian in Synchronic and Diachronic Development (January 1st, 2015 – December 31st, 2021)
- Development of Slovenian in the Digital Environment: Language Resources and Technologies (May 4th, 2020 – August 31st, 2022)
- Heritage on the Outskirts: New Perspectives on Heritage and Identity within and beyond the National (Janoš Ježovnik, January 1st, 2019 – December 31st, 2024
Media Presence
Achievements by members of the section also appear in the media, where they frequently present their work:
- iZBRANE BESEDE (Choice Words), an educational documentary film about lexicographic work and Slovenian on RTVSLO.SI (2022)
- Pogovorni jezik v slovenskem filmu (Colloquial Language in Slovenian Film), featuring Boris Kern on the podcast Filmarija #034 (2022)
- Infodrom: Franček, video (2021)
- Predstavitev in otvoritev portala Franček in igrice Besedoboj (Presentation and Launch of the Franček Portal and the Game Besedoboj), video (2021)
- Franček: slovarski portal po vzoru Frana, a za mlajše uporabnike (Franček: A Dictionary Portal Modeled after Fran, but for Younger Users), article on RTVSLO.SI (2021)
- Ričota, jogalates, drečka, kočerja, burkini (Barley Risotto, Yoga Pilates, Poop Bag, Early Supper, Burkini), featuring Tanja Mirtič on the radio program Jezikanje on VAL 202 (2021)
- Plavi razgovori (Blue Dialogues), featuring Boris Kern on Radio Dubrovnik (in Croatian, 2021)
- Kaj je v slovenskem jeziku prav in kaj je res? (What Is Right and What Is True in Slovenian?), featuring Marko Snoj on Radio Prvi (2021)
- Razbijati si glavo s frazeologijo v slovarjih: SSKJ in eSSKJ (Banging Your Head on Phraseology in Dictionaries: SSKJ and eSSKJ), Zoom presentation by Nataša Jakop on International Dictionary Day 2021
- O Sinonimnem slovarju slovenskega jezika (The Slovenian Synonym Dictionary), featuring Jerica Snoj in the Besedna postaja series at the Faculty of Arts (2017)
They help create the Beseda tedna (Word of the Week) column in the print and online editions of the newspaper Delo.