Dialect dictionaries in Japan: comparison with Alcover's dictionary (DCVB)

Exhaustive dialect dictionaries in Japan are compared with Alcover’s dictionary and the coincidences and divergences between them are explained. The first group of dialect dictionaries, edited by Misao Tojo, Masanaka Oiwa, and Munemasa Tokugawa, were compiled based on previous documents reporting dialects. The second group of dialect dictionaries, edited by Teruo Hirayama and Yoichi Fujiwara, were edited mostly based on fieldwork. Both types are useful to consider the geographical distributions and historical changes of Japanese dialects. Digitalization and publication of the data from these dictionaries and description of lexical systems in local dialects should be advanced to promote lexicography of Japanese dialects.