WordNet

[Lynne Murphy]

> I am just beginning to learn about WordNet. Have any lexicographers here
> made use of it?
>
> Bethany

I've written a lot of criticism on it, and have used it some.  I like to
use it through Lexical FreeNet, because it offers more things to do with
it, and you can print out nice flowcharts of how two words are connected.

My criticism of it is not lexicographical but lexicological.  It was
originally claimed to be an experiment in 'psycholexicography' -- modeled
on how the mental lexicon is structured, and I think there are big
problems with that claim.  To do the shameless plug thing, some of my
criticism of it is in a chapter called "Knowledge _of_ Words versus
Knowledge _about_ Words: The Conceptual Basis of Lexical Relations" in the
forthcoming _The Lexicon/Encyclopedia Interface_ ed. by Bert Peeters.
(The rest is in chapter 3 of my book in progress.)

Lexical FreeNet is at:
http://www.raisch.com/lexfn/

Lynne


Dr M Lynne Murphy
Lecturer in Linguistics
School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

phone +44-(0)1273-678844
fax   +44-(0)1273-671320