Official Swedish dictionary completed after 140 years
The definitive record of the Swedish language has been completed after 140 years. A total of 137 employees contributed to the document – but the job isn't quite done yet with 10,000 new words still to be added.
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The Swedish Academy Dictionary (SAOB), drawn up by the Swedish Academy which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, counts 33,111 pages across 39 volumes.
"It was started in 1883 and now we're done," Christian Mattsson told French news agency AFP.
Despite reaching the major milestone, volumes A to R are now so old they need to be revised to include modern words.
"One such word is 'allergy', which came into the Swedish language around the 1920s but is not in the A volume because it was published in 1893," Mattsson said.
"Barbie doll", "app", and "computer" are among the 10,000 words that will be added to the dictionary over the next seven years.
The dictionary's final volume was sent to the printer last week, its editor said.
Only 200 copies published
The SAOB is a historical record of the Swedish language from 1521 to modern day. It is available online and there are only around 200 copies published, used mainly by researchers and linguists.
The academy also publishes a regular dictionary of contemporary Swedish.
The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III to promote the country's language and literature, and work for the "purity, vigour and majesty" of the Swedish language.
(with AFP)
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