The entry race, ethnicity [etnia] and ethnicity in different editions of two Portuguese language dictionaries

the question of the definition

Abstract

The dictionary, in different historical periods, and according to the needs of its users, records the lexicon of a language conveyed in different instances of communication. This paper discusses the results of a study that aimed to examine the extent to which the dictionary translates, through the definitions presented to the entries, changes that have taken place in society, based on the analysis of the definitions of the lexical items race and ethnicity [etnia] in two general Portuguese-language dictionaries: Ferreira (1986; 2010) and Aulete (1987; 2011). The study also analyzed the entry ethnicity, which does not appear in the first edition of both dictionaries. It was taken as a theoretical-methodological basis was studies of Anthropology (LARAIA, 2008); Ethnolinguistics (COSERIU, 1978; VELARDE, 1991), Linguistic Anthropology (DURANTI, 1997) and Lexicography (BIDERMAN, 1984; 1993; 1998; REY, 1989). The study therefore examined the concepts of race and of ethnicity [etnia] in the light of Anthropology, verifying to what extent they are reflected in the meanings attributed to these lexical units by the dictionaries consulted. The analysis of the entries and the comparison between the two editions of the lexicographical works showed a relative concern of lexicographers regarding the updating of meanings and the consequent assimilation of new meanings acquired by the lexicon as a result of cultural changes that have taken place in society. This could be observed in some of the meanings that make up the entries under examination in the most recent editions of the consulted works, in which the authors insert, between square brackets, additional explanations.