Re: Arabic -- qawsitaliyya?

From: Herb Martin (news_at_LearnQuick.com)
Date: 06/22/04 

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 19:14:43 GMT

"LEE Sau Dan" <danlee@informatik.uni-freiburg.de> wrote in message
news:m3d63sx9z5.fsf@mika.informatik.uni-freiburg.de...
> >>>>> "Herb" == Herb Martin <news@LearnQuick.com> writes:
>
> Herb> Ideally, a dictionary would let you look up words by all of
> Herb> these: root, phonetic, pattern-match (grep), synonyms, etc.
>
> Herb> With paper dictionaries that is impractical for serious
> Herb> dictionaries
>
> Why not? Except for pattern-match, all the others are possible.

Sorry, size is the main problem, either repeating everything or
using "limited indexing" which separates index from the body of
the definitions.

Paper is inherently two dimensional -- computers can be programmed
to work in arbitrary dimensions.

Ideallly, all human languages would be linked through hypertext
dictionaries so that you may search any subset or crosslink from one
to another -- look up an English word in Arabic, click to link on an
Arabic word in that definition to see it's meaning in either/both Arabic
and English side by side.

Then of course there is pattern matching which just isn't feasible on
paper.

> Root
> can be the primary order. Then, an index can be added for the
> phonetics. Synonyms? Add a "see also" clause to each entry.

One can improve on the current dictionaries but paper has limits
past which it isn't possible to progress without additional and
unconnected volumes.

> Herb> but for computer versions we will hopefully see a quality
> Herb> Arabic dictionary like this.
>
> Pattern-match is possible with computers. Otherwise, a paper-based
> one can do the job. I don't like having to turn on a computer just to
> look up a word. I'd rather not look it up.

I (almost) never turn on compters -- leaving them running keeps
them happy. <grin> 

-- 
Herb Martin
>
>
> -- 
> Lee Sau Dan                     ???                          ~{@nJX6X~}
>
> E-mail: danlee@informatik.uni-freiburg.de
> Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee

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