“Este diccionario es su uso para leer libros”: The Vocabolarium Sinense–Hispanicum at the Biblioteca Universitaria di Genova

Daniele Quaggiotto
Independent researcher

This article provides some preliminary observations on the Vocabulario de Lengua Mandarina (1702) held at the Biblioteca Universitaria di Genova, which, to my knowledge, has not been studied before. It proposes hypotheses about its arrival in Genova, its likely authorship and examines the prologue, which provides helpful information about the intended use of the dictionary. An analysis of the contents of the Vocabulario yields insights into its romanization, the languages used in its translations, and the words it selects. The article includes a brief comparison with two other dictionaries compiled in the 17th century. Throughout the article, an attempt is made to place the Vocabulario in its historical context — that is, its production in Manila at the beginning of the 18th century — and to consider critically the claim that the Vocabulario’s use was for the reading of books.

Publication history

Date received: 2 January 2023

Date accepted: 26 March 2025

Published online: 28 April 2025

Table of contents

The Vocabulario is a Mandarin-Spanish dictionary consisting of 415 folios and containing approximately 7,831 Chinese characters. It measures 150 mm × 100 mm and has a parchment cover. The title of the dictionary as it appears on the cover is Vocabularium Sinense–Hispanicum, whereas on the first page the title reads Vocabulario de lengua Mandarina. The ‘Nota al lector’, an introductory note which precedes the list of characters, refers to the Vocabulario as “diccionario”. This ‘Nota’ states that the Vocabulario was written in 1702 in Manila and the same date also appears beneath the title on the first page. Both the ‘Nota’ and the first page bear the same date and the handwriting of the ‘Nota’ is identical to that in the rest of the dictionary, which seems to confirm that it was part of the Vocabulario from the outset. This, in turn, indicates that the author used the words “diccionario” and “vocabulario” interchangeably.

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