From paper dictionary to elaborate electronic lexicographical database

By November 17, 2016,
Page 758-763
Author Marc Van Mol
Title From paper dictionary to elaborate electronic lexicographical database
Abstract At the 2000 Euralex conference we presented a paper on the development of a new learner's dictionary for Modern Standard Arabic, based on a corpus linguistic approach. In 2001 this dictionary was published in two volumes: a Dutch-Arabic volume and an Arabic-Dutch one. After the publication of the two dictionaries, we started new projects to work on both the existing corpus on which the dictionary was based (at that time 3,000,000 words) and the internal extension of the lexicographical database. We did not limit ourselves to additional lexical information and expressions, but included very detailed grammatical information. In recent years, the evolution of language technology has led to increased possibilities for lexicographical exploration of databases, especially in Arabic. In this paper we present the elements that we added to the contents of the lexicographical database: new words and expressions, 646 detailed POS tags, the technological changes it underwent (for example, the transformation from 4th Dimension (4D) to Mysql). This resulted this year in the development of the first full online consultable Arabic-Dutch/Dutch-Arabic dictionary. This Arabic dictionary is the first of its kind, not limiting itself to mere lexical information, but allowing a much greater variety of searches for all kinds of grammatical information. In this paper we offer an overview of some of the possible searches. One of the next challenges is the production of an online dictionary with a clear layout in order not to be forced to skip much of its detail and accuracy.
Session Reports on lexicographical projects
Keywords Arabic database driven lexicography, Arabic tagset development, online dictionaries
BibTex 
@InProceedings{ELX12-069,
	   author = {Marc Van Mol},
	   title = {From paper dictionary to elaborate electronic lexicographical database},
	   pages = {758--763},
	   booktitle = {Proceedings of the 15th EURALEX International Congress},
	   year = {2012},
	   month = {aug},
	   date = {7-11},
	   address = {Oslo,Norway},
	   editor = {Ruth Vatvedt Fjeld and Julie Matilde Torjusen},
	   publisher = {Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies, University of Oslo},
	   isbn = {978-82-303-2228-4},
	}
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