Two Ways of Representing Specialist Knowledge: Analysing the Botanical Lexicon in Diccionario de la Lengua Española and Diccionario del Español de México

Abstract

This article explores the lexicographic codification of botanical knowledge in two general dictionaries: Diccionario de la lengua española (2014 [2021]), produced by the Real Academia Española in Spain, and Diccionario del español de México (2019), published by El Colegio de México. It begins with a historical overview of the inclusion of botanical terminology in general dictionaries by the Real Academia Española and by other authors. Then, it analyses the degree to which the botanical terms included in each dictionary meet the inclusion criteria established. Finally, it focuses on diatechnical labelling and the differences between the two dictionaries in terms of the disciplines to which terms are assigned. This allows us to draw conclusions regarding the representation of this field of knowledge in the two dictionaries and the lexicographic techniques used to produce them.