Dictionary Writing System (DWS) + Corpus Query Package (CQP): The Case of "TshwaneLex"

In this article the integrated corpus query functionality of the dictionary compilation software TshwaneLex is analysed. Attention is given to the handling of both raw corpus data and annotated corpus data. With regard to the latter it is shown how, with a minimum of human effort, machine learning techniques can be employed to obtain part-of-speech tagged corpora that can be used for lexicographic purposes. All points are illustrated with data drawn from English and Northern Sotho. The tools and techniques themselves, however, are language-independent, and as such the encouraging outcomes of this study are far-reaching. Keywords: lexicography, dictionary, software, dictionary writing sys-tem (dws), corpus query package (cqp), tshwanelex, corpus, corpus anno-tation, part-of-speech tagger (pos-tagger), machine learning, northern sotho (sesotho sa leboa

From Corpus to Dictionary: A Hybrid Prescriptive, Descriptive and Proscriptive Undertaking

Despite some heroic efforts over the past few years, Lusoga remains mostly underdeveloped. It is under continuous pressure from more prestigious languages, such as the neighbouring Luganda and especially the only official language in Uganda, English. Lusoga is undergoingrapid language shifts, with new concepts entering the language daily. Ironically, this process is taking place before Lusoga has even been properly reduced to writing. There is no single official orthography that is truly being enforced; people who do write, write as they think fit. Languagedata is needed for the production of reliable reference works. In the absence of a substantial body of published material in Lusoga, the researcher can resort to recording and transcribing the living language. This opens Pandora's box, in that spoken language (which is meant to be heard, and is typically less formal) is far more complex than written language (which is meant to be read, and is typically more formalised). Spoken and written variants are, by definition, different. And yet onewants to move the language forward, in a way, before the time is ripe. But then, with over two million speakers, how much longer can one wait? This article reports on the building of a new Lusoga corpus, nearly half of which consists of transcribed oral data. The writing problems encounteredduring the transcription effort are given detailed attention. Dealing with those writing problems in lexicography requires a multipronged approach. While most could be solved by laying down a norm, and thus through prescriptive lexicography, others need a more cautionary approach,and thus descriptive lexicography. Others still can only sensibly be solved when the lexicographer proposes certain options in defiance of existing norms and assumptions, at which point proscriptive lexicography needs to be called in

From "TshwaneLex to TshwanePedia": Creating and Flexibly Maintaining Online Encyclopaedias*

The addition of a restricted number of features to the dictionary (compilation) soft-ware TshwaneLex suffices to turn this application into a tool for the creation and maintenance of encyclopaedias. This article gives a brief overview of those extra features, using the online encyclo-paedia of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) as case study. Keywords: lexicography, dictionary, encyclopaedia, software, online, tshwanelex, tshwanepedia, james randi educational foundation

From "TshwaneLex to TshwaneTerm": Tailoring Terminology Management for South Africa*

The addition of a restricted number of features to the dictionary (compilation) soft-ware TshwaneLex suffices to turn this application into a terminology management system. This article gives a brief overview of those extra features, using the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) AIDS list as case study. Keywords: lexicography, terminology list, terminology management system, software, tshwanelex, tshwaneterm, dac aids lis

Generation-Dependent Energy Dissipation in Rigid Dendrimers Studied by Femtosecond to Nanosecond Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Intramolecular kinetic processes in a series of second- generation polyphenyl dendrimers with multiple peryleneimide chromophores attached to the para position of the outer phenyl ring were investigated by steady-state and femtosecond to nanosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The results obtained were compared to the ones of the corresponding first- generation dendrimer series. The energy-hopping rate constant, k(hopp), observed from anisotropy decay times was found to be 5 times smaller than that of the first-generation series and scales well with the difference in average distance between the chromophores. In addition to the processes observed in first- generation dendrimers in the ultrafast time domain by fluorescence up-conversion, a second. annihilation process is found in the second-generation multichromophoric dendrimer. The observation of two singlet-singlet annihilation processes in this compound can be explained by the presence of a mixture of constitutional isomers leading to a broader distribution of distances between neighboring chromophores compared to first- generation multichromophoric dendrimers