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REVIEWSNicola Zingarelli: Vocabolario della lingua italiana. Bologna, Zanichelli, 1970. Pp. xxxi+2,064. Carlo Passerini Tosi: Dizionario della lingua italiana. Milano, Principato, 1969. Pp. xii +1,744.When the ninth edition of the Vocabolario della lingua italiana di Nicola Zingarelli appeared in 1965, Zanichelli Scuola (the magazine edited by the Zanichelli Publishing House) devoted its entire issue, N. 27 (May 1965), to various problems of lexicography. Discussing the most recent addition to its lexicographical collection, it boasted of a " new" edition, but was at the same time careful to note that the really new part consisted of 2,600 words that had been added as an appendix to the old body of the book. In 1965 the Zingarelli house had the alternative of either resting on its laurels and allowing its famous dictionary to become obsolete or to recast the entire work, starting with its very foundation. Zanichelli decided to follow the second path and chose furthermore to use new lexicographical methods that would place Italian lexicography within the mainstream of the great European lexicographical tradition.Whether this last objective has been reached is, as we shall see, open to discussion; it is undeniable, however, that the Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Decima edizione, is an entirely new work. If size alone were a criterion of excellence the "Nuovo Grande Zingarelli " as the authors call it, would be first among Italian dictionaries: in comparison with the 113,315 entries comprising the ninth edition, the tenth boasts a total of 118,000. If " customer acceptance " were to be another criterion, the Zingarelli would again be first among Italian dictionaries, since 100,000 copies were sold in four months, a figure that could be compared with the sales record of the American Heritage Dictionary. Neither size nor sales record, though, are standards of perfection, especially in the field of lexicography. The Zingarelli dictionary, however, can pride itself on many other merits, principally on having recognized the importance of the concept of " living language." In a country that is still fighting the " questione della lingua," the influence of the ' puristi ' is a force that still makes itself felt.
