[Lexicog] using Lexique Pro from scratch

[Wayne Leman]

I have wondered if it is possible to use Lexique Pro from scratch, that is,
to bypass using Shoebox or Toolbox. I have just experimented and the answer
is yes. For any of you who might wish to use only Lexique Pro (downloadable
for free from http://www.lexiquepro.com), here is one way that you can begin
to create a lexical database for a language:

Create a text file with one line in it, as follows:

\lx

(I put in one single space after the "\lx " marker.)

Give that file some name with a filename extension of ".db". Typically you
will want to give the file the name of the language you are working on, such
as "crow.db" for the Crow language. Save this file to a folder on your
computer. If you were making a dictionary of the Crow language, you could
save the file to a "Crow" or "CrowDictionary" folder.

Install the Lexique Pro program on your computer, if you have not done so
already. Start the Lexique Pro program. There will be a yellow link in the
middle of the screen asking if you want to start a lexical file (or
something like that). Click on that link. Go through the Installation steps
the program's Configuration Wizard gives you, including specifying the
location and name of the lexical database you have begun (e.g. crow.db).

For now you can, if you wish, use the default setting for all of the other
Configuration Wizard steps. Complete the Configuration Wizard. You should
see a blank (no word) or maybe a dotted line in the left margin of the
Lexique Pro program after you have completed the Configuration Wizard. Click
on the Edit button on the Lex. Pro menu. Enter some vernacular language
word, such as "itchik" (which is the Crow word for 'good').

Hit your <Enter> key and type \ps for part of speech. Enter a part of speech
abbreviation, such as n or v or adj.

After you enter any field marker (called Standard Field Marker or
abbreviated as SFM) add a blank space after it, just as you did when you
created the database file with the first field marker "\lx ".

Hit your <Enter> key and type \ge for English gloss (if you are using
another national language, you may be able to use an abbreviation for that
here, or else you may specify it in the Configuration Wizard (which can be
run again, anytime you need it). Type the gloss, such as "good".

That's the minimum of what you need. You can, if you wish, add a field for
\xv (vernacular example) followed by a field for \xe (translation of
vernacular example).

Click on the Save button on the Edit toolbar (which shows up after you click
on the Edit button on the main program toolbar).

It sounds more complicated than it is. Once you have the program open in
front of you, it will actually be quite simple.

There is much more you can do with your database, adding various semantic
links, semantic domains, sound files, etc. Read the Lexique Pro
documentation file and other documentation recommended on the Lex. Pro
website.

Many people have found Shoebox and Toolbox difficult to configure and use
from the start, without the help of a consultant. Others have been able to
manage the process OK. I just thought some might find it helpful to know
that it is possible to start your database using only Lexique Pro which is
really a great step forward for user-friendliness compared to the widely
used programs Shoebox and Toolbox which are good, but not so user-friendly.

This method of using Lexique Pro is probably not recommended by the experts
but it will work.

It would be nice if someday the program itself could simply prompt you to
enter categories of data, such as having a popup window that says
"Vernacular form?" I suspect that other lexical programs such as TshwaneLex
(see information on it in the Links section of the Lexicography list
website, address in the footer to this message) do prompt for lexical
information.

Simply,
Wayne
-----
Wayne Leman
Cheyenne website: http://www.geocities.com/cheyenne_language



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