O léxico tradicional no campo semántico das partes da cabeza: proposta de recuperación nos dicionarios normativos

Abstract

This article analyses standard common vocabulary relating to the semantic field of parts of the head. Thus the study pertains to the field of lexicography rather than terminology. To this end, the two lexical resources employed were the Diccionario de la Real Academia Galega and the Vocabulario Ortográfico da Lingua Galega, considered major works of reference in normative terms. Words occurring in a number of textbooks, manuals and literary works are also taken into account, given that such publications may exert an influence on the wider use of one lexical item or another. Following an analysis of these references, two particular situations are noted in relation to the inherited lexicon. First, some traditional words or senses have been overlooked, or survive only as technical terms. Secondly, some native terms have been displaced and relegated to a secondary status, preference having been given to competing terms with the same meaning. The last section argues in favour of efforts to recover or revitalise normatively certain traditional terms, in view of their presence in the lexicographic tradition, historical and dialectal considerations and information from neighbouring languages.