Van Dale Basiswoordenboek Nederlands
Een Nieuw Woordenboek Voor het Basisonderwijs.
Van Dale Basiswoordenboek Nederlands (Elementary Dictionary of Dutch), to appear in May 1987, differs from existing school dictionaries in a number of ways.
The number of entries is considerably larger. It contains ± 25.000 entries, whereas the currently most frequently used school dictionary (Dijkstra' School Dictionary) contains ± 14.000 entries.
The definitions are characterized as follows. Usually a logical definition is given. The definition of the word in a rather arbitrary context as in Dijkstra, is not very practical because for a child it is difficult to ascertain what part of the explanation is paraphrased by this context and what part is a definition of the entry. Synonymous definitions are only used to define difficult words by means of an easy one; in the position of the easy word a logical definition is provided. In this way circular definitions are avoided. In order to demonstrate the relation of a cluster of derivations to a root word we employ a morphosemantic definition for words belonging to such a cluster.
The Basis woordenboek pays attention to usage in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. It contains ± 1200 entries, meanings and expressions that are typical of the Dutch language as spoken in Belgium.
Proverbs and expressions are to be found at a fixed location, i.e. in the entry of the first noun that occurs in the proverb or expression. If there is no noun, the (first) adjectives, and if there is no adjective either, the first verb is the entry where the proverb or expression is to be found. Approximately six months after the publication of the Basis-woordenboek a lesson series on how to use a dictionary will be marketed by the same publisher, specifically aimed at how to use this dictionary.
Article language: Dutch