Structured data + automated selection and sorting = dictionary

By November 17, 2016,
Page 303-310
Author Rik Schutz
Title Structured data + automated selection and sorting = dictionary
Abstract Van Dale have used and experimented with automated procedures in the dictionary making process. This paper describes and discusses three examples of the reuse of existing lexical material for new (editions of) dictionaries. 1. Distribution of fixed phrases (where will the user find the phrase national anthem: under the article anthem, national or both?); Sorting word meanings; in a relational database, the order of lexical items like word meanings is not necessarily fixed, whereas a dictionary is always ordered in a particular way; 2. We maintain two data files/dictionaries for each language pair, for example English-Dutch and Dutch-English. It would of course be ideal to have a single data set from which both dictionaries can be generated. We investigated the possibility of reversing and integrating the existing files. Our preliminary conclusion is that the dictionary producing process could be much faster and better if previous work is recycled. Creating circumstances under which existing material can be reused in a useful and costefficient manner is a complicated matter that requires serious investment. The reason we should do it anyway is that in a rapidly changing environment it is impossible to say which properties make dictionaries fit for survival in an uncertain future. The best option therefore is to be flexible.
Session The Dictionary-Making Process
Keywords
BibTex 
@InProceedings{ELX04-031,
	   author = {Rik Schutz},
	   title = {Structured data + automated selection and sorting = dictionary },
	   pages = {303-310},
	   booktitle = {Proceedings of the 11th EURALEX International Congress},
	   year = {2004},
	   month = {july},
	   date = {6-10},
	   address = {Lorient, France},
	   editor = {Geoffrey Williams and Sandra Vessier},
	   publisher = {UniversiteĢ de Bretagne-Sud, FaculteĢ des lettres et des sciences humaines},
	   isbn = {29-52245-70-3},
	}
Download