Dictionary Writing System (DWS) + Corpus Query Package (CQP): The Case of "TshwaneLex"

Abstract

In this article the integrated corpus query functionality of the dictionary compilation software TshwaneLex is analysed. Attention is given to the handling of both raw corpus data and annotated corpus data. With regard to the latter it is shown how, with a minimum of human effort, machine learning techniques can be employed to obtain part-of-speech tagged corpora that can be used for lexicographic purposes. All points are illustrated with data drawn from English and Northern Sotho. The tools and techniques themselves, however, are language-independent, and as such the encouraging outcomes of this study are far-reaching.

Keywords: lexicography, dictionary, software, dictionary writing sys-tem (dws), corpus query package (cqp), tshwanelex, corpus, corpus anno-tation, part-of-speech tagger (pos-tagger), machine learning, northern sotho (sesotho sa leboa)