In:Lexical Variation and Knowledge Construction across Historical, Methodological, and Cultural Ecologies
Edited by Rossella Latorraca, Rita Calabrese, Jacqueline Aiello and Dirk Geeraerts
[Terminology and Lexicography Research and Practice 25] 2026
► pp. 108–122
Quantifying lexical variation in Dutch
Case studies in lexical lectometry
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Lexical lectometry takes lexical variation as
input variable to quantify the linguistic distance between language
varieties or the degree of change between chronological periods.
Drawing on the research line in lexical lectometry that was pursued
in the Quantitative Lexicology and Variational Linguistics research
team at the University of Leuven in the past three decades, the
paper presents four case studies that illustrate successive periods
in the history of Dutch, and that at the same time provide examples
of developments and elaborations of the methodology of lexical
lectometry.
Keywords: lexical variation, lectometry, onomasiology, uniformity, Dutch
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Case study 1: Butcher
- 3.Case study 2: Football
- 4.Case study 3: Clothing
- 5.Case study 4: Sports and other fields
- 6.Conclusion
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