interlinear word processing

[Laszlo Dienes]

Hello Seelangers,

Following Ben Rifkin's questions on good bibliography software and
Russian spell checkers for the Macintosh, I would like to know if anyone
knows of any interlinear word processor for the Mac (to produce and print
bilingual annotated text where your annotations neatly align--vertically--
with the words of the primary text)?

I know IT which, although serviceable, is clunky, clumsy and good only by
the stone age standards of 1989 or so. I also understand that LaTex can
do absolutely everything, including the complexities of interlinear
texts, but I suspect one has to be (or become) a "Unix guru" to use that.
I am looking for something easier and simpler that I can use on my own
Mac (and not only on a mainframe).

Has anyone tried to produce this kind of document using simply the
tables in Word (or WordPerfect or Nisus or FrameMaker or PageMaker)? If
so, what are the pitfalls, problems (advantages)?

Thanks for sharing any information and/or experience!

It doesn't matter to me where you send your answer (directly to me or to
the list). If I get enough interesting information privately, I'll be
happy to post a summary for the list. (I am sure I am not the only person
interested in such a program.)

Laszlo Dienes
dienes at slavic.umass.edu