From field notebooks to automatic mapping: the ‘Atlas Lingüístico Galego’ database

Abstract

Abstract The use of computerized systems for geolinguistic data processing began in the 1970s with the production of maps for linguistic atlas projects. From that moment, dialect studies have continuously benefitted from the innovations that took place in the field of digital technologies. At present, linguistic geography projects are fully integrated within the Digital Humanities and are governed by the same principles that guide studies in this discipline: the interoperability of applications, free reuse of data and interdisciplinarity. This paper provides a brief outline of the structure and design of the database that currently houses the Atlas Lingüístico Galego materials, a linguistic atlas of Galician begun as a project in the 1970s. This database is being used as an information source for the publication of the project’s volumes, for research into variation and change of Galician varieties, and to contribute to the elaboration of geolinguistic projects that are greater in scope.