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<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I've
been using Shoebox to work on a dictionary of Koine Greek. It isn't
multilingual, but I've had to set up multiple levels for etymological
information. I've also managed multilingual wordlists in Shoebox. So it can
handle both types of parameters. Since Shoebox permits the user to set up his
own fields, you aren't limited by an inflexible code. So you could set up a
record structure such as:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\key
Key field for organizing the database, e.g. a proto-Mayan form or a reference
number</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\pm
Proto-Mayan reconstructed form</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\pp
Proto-Mayan part of speech</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\pd
Proto-Mayan definition</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\lx1
current lexical item of language 1</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\ps1 part of speech</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\de1
definition</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>\ra1 reconstructed form at level
'a'</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>\rb1 reconstructed form at level
'b'</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>etc.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\lx2
current lexical item of language 2
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\ps2 part of speech
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\de2
definition</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>\ra2 reconstructed form at level
'a'</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>\rb2 reconstructed form at level
'b'</SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>etc.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN> </DIV></FONT></SPAN>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\lx3
current lexical item of language 3
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT
face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\ps3 part of
speech</FONT></SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>etc.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>\lg4
Language 4</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>As long as each field has a unique code, you
can use all of Shoebox's power to display, sort, and filter. I've used such
databases to do a lot of morphological and historical anaylsis. Shoebox wasn't
designed for this purpose, so it won't do everything you might want. For
instance (with the database structure above) it won't line up cognate forms
in a column. However it would be easy to manipulate the database so it
would.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=582071717-29032004>Ron
Moe</SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV></FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=582071717-29032004><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> David Frank
[mailto:david_frank@sil.org]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 29, 2004 8:43
AM<BR><B>To:</B> lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Lexicog]
Re: Etymological dictionaries<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Andy --</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Having just one level of depth for an etymology shouldn't be
a problem, e.g. "from Proto-Mayan <EM>lek</EM>" or "from Spanish
<EM>retrato</EM>". Having multiple levels of depth (e.g. X < Y< Z) is
where it starts to get more complicated, and especially if you don't want to
have to specify in advance how many levels you might need. Work-arounds are
always possible, but I don't know of any dictionary software that is
especially designed to work with complex etymologies.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In our dictionary of St. Lucian Creole we did include
etymologies, but we kept them very simple because of the complication in
getting the dictionary software to deal with multiple levels of etymological
depth.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>-- David Frank</FONT></DIV><BR>
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