Fw: [Lexicog] finding new words in polysynthetic languages

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----- Original Message -----
From: "John Roberts" <dr_john_roberts at sil.org>
To: <lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 2:13 AM
Subject: Re: [Lexicog] finding new words in polysynthetic languages


> As well collecting words from texts and exploring semantic domains, when I
> was working with the Amele people (PNG) in the 1970s I used a "word
> generator" to produce possible words in the language. Most noun and verb
> roots are one or two syllables with possible CV patterns of: C, V, CV, VC,
> CVC, VCV, CVCV, etc. A computer program matched consonants and vowels to
CV
> patterns and then printed out lists of possible words, which I then gave
to
> different Amele people to scour for real words. It was a word finder game
> and they soon found many words which we may not have found in the normal
> course of events. Of course, each word found had to be checked with other
> speakers that it was a genuine word (and that the finder wasn't cheating!)
> and then the meaning explored.
>
> Other SIL members, such as René van den Berg (below), have used similar
> methods to quickly collect a large percentage of the lexicon of a
language.
> But word generators only work if the phonological structure of the words
in
> the target language are amenable to this approach.
>
> van den Berg, René (1996) Lexicography in the field: methods and results
of
> the Muna dictionary project. Paper for the KITLV workshop, Leiden,
December
> 9-13, 1996.
>
>
> Basically, René is saying there are a whole range of methods you can use
to
> quickly collect a large percentage of the words in a language. What takes
> the time is exploring the meanings (senses), usage, and lexical networks
of
> those words.
>
> John Roberts
> Linguistics Consultant
> SIL WEG
>
>
>
>
>
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