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This paper examines the methodology of lexicographical inquiry, focusing on the status and evolution of research on Basque dictionaries, and using as a reference point Etxebarria & Etxebarria's work (1990) on Odriozola's dictionary (compiled before 1856). We analyze Etxebarria & Etxebarria's methods and results, reflecting on various aspects of dictionary research and exploring the character and contents of Odriozola's dictionary.
The present work focuses on two questions: 1) what is the value of dictionaries as linguistic evidence? and 2) how can this value be verified? The answers to these questions are crucial for languages like Basque, whose textual corpus is small and arose quite late (1545, in our case), and whose early works consist largely of religious subjects and of low-level style books (such as catechisms and books of prayers).
Although there is no doubt that dictionaries contain useful information, they are usually employed in the patchy and misleading way (Osselton 1995) secondary sources -and particularly early dictionaries- used to be employed. Additionally, in the case of Basque dictionaries, there is a tendency to go from one extreme to the other without critical analysis, either completely ignoring stigmatized dictionaries like Larramendi's, or taking others, such as Odriozola's, to be indisputable and genuine evidence of folk language.
