LEXICC: The Design and Development of an Online Dictionary Writing System

Abstract

The Instituto Caro y Cuervo (Caro and Cuervo Institute, ICC) was initially founded to complete Rufino José Cuervo's Diccionario de Construcción y Régimen (Dictionary of Construction and Usage) (Cuervo and ICC 1998) and has since expanded its mission to include the research and promotion of Colombia's linguistic heritage. Following this lexicographic tradition, the Institute developed the Diccionario de Colombianismos (Dictionary of Colombianisms, DiCol) (ICC 2018) using the proprietary software TshwaneLex, which facilitated the production of its print version but created a dependency on third-party resources, the need for a more flexible and independent solution became apparent. In response, this report introduces LEXICC — Diccionarios y Lenguajes (Dictionaries and Languages, LEXICC), a new, tailored online Dictionary Writing System (DWS) developed from scratch as an open-source solution. LEXICC empowers researchers, linguists, lexicographers, and anyone interested in dictionaries to create and manage their lexicographic resources separately. This paper details the design and development process of LEXICC, highlights its main functionalities, and discusses the electronic adaptation of the DiCol, now accessible online through LEXICC. Keywords: electronic dictionaries, dictionary writing system, Colombian Spanish, Caro and Cuervo Institute, Dictionary of Colombianisms, non-functional requirements, functional requirements, demo dictionary, lexicographer director