Tres diccionarios a la conquista del mercado americano (1912-1927)

Abstract

Dictionaries are commercial products developed in a specific time and place to satisfy specific needs. During the first years of the 20th century, circumstances favoured the publication of three important dictionaries for the Spanish lexicographic landscape: the Pequeño Larousse Ilustrado (1912), the Diccionario de la lengua española de Sopena (1917) and the Diccionario manual e ilustrado de la lengua española by the Real Academia Española (1927). These three initiatives, very successful during the 20th century, were not planned to stay just within the Spanish lexicographic market, but aimed to expand among the American one, until then forgotten, but emerging and immense. This paper describes the circumstances that led to the publication of these editorial proposals and analyses, through advertisements in the press, the strategy and arguments used to penetrate into the American market. Studying and contrasting these works also claims the important role played by the Sopena editorial for Spanish lexicography.