June 16 – August 31
Don’t forget to visit! A unique exhibition dedicated to the “Lithuanian Language Dictionary” is on display at Vilnius Town Hall. You will have the opportunity to see all 20 volumes of the dictionary and learn about its creation history and its importance to our culture. The exhibition is open until September 1.
Let’s read, take pride, and cherish it!
Many scholars, cultural, and public figures have written about the value of the “Lithuanian Language Dictionary.” Here are a few insights:
Viktorija Daujotytė-Pakerienė: “Let’s be clear: this dictionary is the most important work in Lithuanian linguistics; it is a fundamental text of Lithuanian culture. We are all (or will be) recorded in it, both the dead and the living, and those who will come into this world as Lithuanians.”
Vladimiras Toporovas: “It is important to emphasize that such a large-scale lexicographic work is rare in many countries where the traditions necessary for such work were established much earlier, where the abundance of sources (not only old written texts but also those recorded in dialectological expeditions) far exceeds the possibilities available to the compilers of this dictionary (it must be said in their honor that they managed to ‘squeeze out’ everything that was possible from the available sources), where the number of speakers of ‘their’ language and ‘producers of words’ is much greater, which, of course, provides broader opportunities for lexicographic research.”
Vaclovas Aliulis: “I am grateful to fate, or rather to Providence, that I was able, even in some small way, to contribute to this epochal work.”
Romualdas Granauskas: “Man, why don’t you rest your chest on the Great Lithuanian Language Dictionary? Why don’t you stick your nose in it, why haven’t you read it at least three times before preparing to write? What language, what half-language are you using? Maybe you’d understand that the Lithuanian nation has created nothing more valuable or noble? It will vanish, but IT will remain. You may not have that dialect – and don’t, you can’t get it now, but at least try to write in such a way that others won’t be ashamed of you.”
The last, 20th volume of the “Lithuanian Language Dictionary” was published in 2002, completing the largest Lithuanian linguistic work of the 20th century. Its text was written and edited by several generations of linguists, over 70 lexicographers, 23 editors, and several thousand word collectors.
The dictionary spans 22,000 pages, contains more than 11 million words, and approximately 236,000 lexicographic articles. It was written over 100 years based on a card index of 5 million slips. It is a treasure trove of various lexicons, covering around 1,000 sources.
Dictionary History:
- The first notebook of the Dictionary, started by Kazimieras Būga, was published in 1924.
- The first volume was published in 1941, edited by Juozas Balčikonis.
- Since the third volume in 1956, the dictionary writing instructions changed, and the first two volumes were hidden in a special fund.
- From 1956, volumes were published every 3-4-5 years.
- The last 20th volume was published in 2002, with Professor Vytautas Vitkauskas as the chief editor.
The twenty volumes of the dictionary cover the lexicon of Lithuanian written works from 1547 to 2001 and the living language (dialects) lexicon, collected since 1902. About half a million Lithuanian words are described. This is an invaluable heritage of our language, preserving the nation’s memory and culture.
