[Lexicog] TshwaneLex dictionary compilation software

[David Joffe]

Hello,

We would like to briefly introduce you to TshwaneLex.

TshwaneLex is a new software application for the compilation of
dictionaries. TshwaneLex supports Unicode throughout, allowing it to
handle virtually all of the world's languages, and includes features
such as immediate article preview, customisable fields, automatic cross-
reference tracking, automated lemma reversal, online and electronic
dictionary modules, export to MS Word format, the ability to link sound
recordings to dictionary fields, a filter function, and teamwork
(network) support.

A primary design goal has been to produce a user-friendly tool that is
easy to learn and use, and allows lexicographers to get up and running
quickly with a new dictionary project. Lexicographers work with a
familiar abstraction, namely that of dictionary articles, rather than
at a level where they are exposed to unnecessary technical
implementation details. Thus, lexicographers do not need to have an
advanced level of computer literacy in order to perform the general day-
to-day tasks of compiling a dictionary. This makes dictionary
compilation more accessible to less technically literate
lexicographers, and also has the benefit of lowering training time.

TshwaneLex also efficiently handles large databases, and a search
function allows the entire database to be rapidly searched for some
given text. Search options such as case-sensitivity and "find whole
word only" are available. Regular expressions may also be used in the
search function.

Among the more advanced features are the "linked view mode" and the
"dictionary compare/merge function". When in linked view mode, the
language window for the target language automatically displays those
lemmas that are related to the selected lemma in the source language.
With this feature the consistency across the two sides of a bilingual
dictionary can be safeguarded. The dictionary compare/merge function
allows different versions of a dictionary database to be compared with
one another. This function is especially useful in situations where
lexicographers are split up geographically, where it may not be
possible to have a high-speed network connection to the main database.
Changes may then be made "offline", and periodically merged back into
the main database.

The default sorting method supported by TshwaneLex is a configurable
four-pass table-based sorting system based on the ISO 14651 standard.
The four different passes are used for various characteristics that may
take precedence over one another, e.g. the so-called "base alphabet",
diacritics, uppercase/lowercase differences, and so-called "ignorable"
characters (typically non-alphabetic characters such as spaces and
punctuation marks). TshwaneLex includes an extendibility mechanism
whereby users can create TshwaneLex "plugins" to add new sorting
methods.

TshwaneLex provides several methods for placing a dictionary online.
There are two basic methods. The first is to generate static output,
where the dictionary is placed online as a pre-generated file (e.g.
HTML, XML, RTF, PDF, MS Word .doc, etc.). It is also possible to export
to XML format from TshwaneLex. An XML stylesheet transform may then be
applied to generate an HTML page. The second method, using the online
dictionary software module, dynamically generates output, and provides
far greater flexibility and functionality, such as advanced dictionary
usage tracking and analysis. These dictionary usage statistics can be
used in many ways to improve the dictionary; for example, one can
quickly see what the most frequent not-founds are.

TshwaneLex allows new data exporters and importers to be created via a
plugin system. A plugin for importing dictionaries stored in the
Shoebox/Toolbox dictionary format is under development.

TshwaneLex is currently used for the compilation of mono- and bilingual
dictionaries at several of South Africa's National Lexicography Units,
and copies have been acquired by Macmillan, as well as by a number of
lexicography projects based in Europe.

For detailed information, screenshots and articles on TshwaneLex, we
would like to refer you to http://tshwanedje.com/tshwanelex/

David Joffe & Gilles-Maurice de Schryver - Creators of TshwaneLex

==========
David Joffe has a BSc Computer Science (1998) degree from the
University of Pretoria. He has five years full-time C/C++ software
development and project management experience, and over ten years
software development expertise. He has managed several complex
simulator software systems, and was manager for such projects as the
Haul Truck and Shovel Mining Training Simulators for AngloPlatinum, and
a flight simulator visualisation system for the South African Air
Force.

Gilles-Maurice de Schryver has an MSc in microelectronics (1995), an MA
in African-language linguistics (1999), and is currently finalising a
PhD revolving around Fuzzy Simultaneous Feedback applied to Bantu
lexicography (Ghent University, Belgium). He is the author or co-author
of several books and peer-reviewed articles dealing with African-
language corpus and dictionary topics.
==========



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