Project presentation

Makki's Lexicon is a large-scale lexical compilation dedicated to the Lebanese dialect. Consisting of over 3,000 typewritten pages, this unique compilation was initiated by Hassan Makki, who collected lexical data over a period of fifteen years starting in the late 1990s. Originally from Erkay, near Saida, Mr. Makki wrote down what he heard during his travels within Lebanon. Some words or expressions have fallen into disuse, others have evolved semantically over time, while a few have been resurrected and put back into circulation by the advent of Turkish series and their dubbing into the Syrian dialect, or have been introduced through contact with other countries in the region, including Syria, Turkey, Palestine, Iraq and Iran.

The vocabulary related to the Lebanese agricultural environment (Jabal Amil, the Bekaa, the Chouf, etc.) is equally present, particularly through its fauna and flora, as well as its craftsmanship, especially that related to tobacco, which was once the leading industry in Southern Lebanon. Another point of interest is the significant number of children's games' names, many of which have now disappeared.

The corpus therefore constitutes a perfect reflection of Lebanese society, its evolution, influences and interactions with the world. It is a valuable document for linguists and sociolinguists.

This database is mainly intended for students and researchers in Arabic linguistics and sociolinguistics, as well as related disciplines, whether French-speaking or Arabic-speaking. It is also intended for the Lebanese diaspora to create an interaction allowing the increase of lexical data but also the recognition of words that remained unidentifiable during the fieldwork conducted by Salam Diab-Duranton. Due to its wealth of intangible heritage, Makki's Lexicon constitutes a valuable resource for the study of Lebanese dialects. It also targets a wider audience, curious to deepen their understanding of the Lebanese lexicon and eager to discover the linguistic diversity of this region. Therefore, the database constitutes a tool for the preservation of this intangible heritage.

FYI: the content of the lexicon is NOT available in English.