LexText: Cultural Heritage in Words and Sources

Lexicographic theory and practice

The group’s overall commitment to the Ømålsordbogen, Jysk Ordbog, Bornholmsk Ordbog, ordnet.dk, Lexicon Poeticum  and the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose with their respective collections of material provides us with a unique opportunity for diachronic and synchronic studies in Danish/Nordic written and spoken language. We are interested, among other things, in how to link the resources more intelligently, for example on the basis of conceptual fields. 

Norm, variation and language development in time and space

We study regionally and chronologically conditioned linguistic variation at both the form and content levels, whether manifested at the level of phonology, morphology, word-formation (including in names), syntax and/or semantics. We are interested, among other things, in the relationship between writing and speaking, as well as standardization processes and their relation to social and cultural processes.

Words, things and society

We uncover factors of particular relevance to the semantic and conceptual development of words, including language contact and foreign influence in different linguistic varieties, and the relationship between concept, word and things (Wörter & Sachen). To understand this relationship, we must relate it to the social conditions of a given time.

Digital scholarly editing

We develop and exploit research infrastructures that, among other things, facilitate the elucidation of lexical-textual relationships, including the relationship between genre/style and lexicon, and between foreign sources and their Nordic counterparts, with a particular focus on new word formation and cultural influence in the Middle Ages.

Runology

We are working on a content and technical update of the runic database Danske Runeindskrifter. Our focus is on the optimal representation of linguistic data at different levels of text representation and on the most appropriate use of the runic corpus in the preparation of actual dictionaries of Ancient Nordic, Runic and Medieval Danish respectively. We are also concerned with the exploitation of new forms of dissemination and teaching.

Onomastics

We publish the series Danmarks Stednavne (the place-names in about ⅔ of Denmark have been published) in parallel with the development of the database with the same title. We are working to make the digitised records of the Name Research Archive more accessible to a wider audience. In collaboration with Ordnet.dk, we are further developing the Dansk Navneleksikon (2021), and we are working on linking further lexical onomastic resources with other dictionaries.

Research infrastructure and dissemination

Much of our research is based on NorS’ unique physical and digital collections, and we are developing innovative research infrastructures and linguistic tools to make these collections more accessible to researchers and other interested parties. One way we do this is by integrating various external resources in the form of a shared meta-dictionary with related digitised resources.