Americanismos léxicos en las lenguas española e inglesa documentados en textos sobre América anteriores a 1700: AMERLEX-DATABASE

PROJECT REFERENCE: PID2019-104199GB-I00

DURATION: 06/01/2020 - 05/31/2023

REALIZATION ENTITY: University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

FINANCIAL ENTITY / S: Ministry of Science and Innovation, Government of Spain.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:

  • Mª Teresa Cáceres Lorenzo (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Alicia Rodríguez Álvarez (ULPGC, IATEXT)

PROJECT MEMBERS:

  • Mª Victoria Domínguez-Rodríguez (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Miguel Ángel Perdomo Batista (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • María Cristina Santana Quintana (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Verónica Cristina Trujillo González (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Ana Ruth Vidal Luengo (ULPGC, IATEXT)

WORKGROUP

  • Isabel Cristina Alfonzo de Tovar (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Rita Queiroz de Barros (University of Lisbon, Portugal)

EXTERNAL COLLABORATORS

  • Yaiza Santana Alvarado (ULPGC, IATEXT)
  • Gabriel Valdés-León (Silva Henríquez Catholic University, Chile)
  • Sara Isabel von der Fecht Fernández (ULPGC)

 

ABSTRACT:

As of 1492, a communication process begins in which what is happening in the New World is described by means of new designations that European languages ​​progressively assimilate. Spain and England in this period represent two nations that compete, from different positions of power, for American wealth, which entails the knowledge and subsequent incorporation of this vocabulary to designate the new reality. The new American voices are not only documented in different textual typologies that are characterized by the general purpose of truthfully reporting on the discovery, exploration, conquest and colonization of America, but they also become part of the inventory of entries in Spanish and English dictionaries.

The general objective of this project is the development of an online and open database (AMERLEX-DATABASE) that systematically gathers the lexical Americanisms (Amerindian and from Spain) present in a selection of Spanish and English texts on America. published during the 16th and 17th centuries. This research follows a documentary foundation methodology that is based on the compilation of the following data of the identified Americanisms: motto, spellings, work, year of publication, edition number, textual typology, author and origin, grammatical category, lexical area , language of origin, area where it is registered, sample in Spanish and English texts, definition in dictionaries of the time (if registered), in addition to other fields that are considered of interest.

The data obtained from AMERLEX-DATABASE will allow the achievement of the following specific objectives:

  • Identify and collate the lexical Americanisms collected in a selection of Spanish and English texts and dictionaries from the 16th and 17th centuries.
  • Analyze the comments and linguistic ideas expressed by Spanish and English authors on lexical Americanisms in general.
  • Study the vitality and frequency of use of American words that appear in a selection of Spanish and English texts.
  • Establish what we could call the canon of Spanish authors used by English authors in the composition of original and translated works on America.​