applications of computers in linguistics

1. APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS
IN LINGUISTICS RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES
Dr.VMS

2. COMPUTERS
use of the computer can bring
speed, convenience and accuracy.

3. FILE PROCESSING
handling of large files of data or large
quantities of text.
accuracy in sorting and copying.
error checks and controls based on
known regularities in the data entries

4. DATABASES
Data is the name given to basic facts
and entities such as names and
numbers. Good examples of data are
dates, weights, prices, costs, number
of items sold, employee names,
product names, addresses, tax codes,
registration marks etc.

5. TYPES OF DATA
o Numeric
o Alphabetic
o Alphanumeric

6. DATA PROCESSING
 Making arithmetic calculations like addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division and exponentiation etc.
 Making logical decision like comparing two values to find
out which one is greater.
 Manipulating alphabetic or alphanumeric data like word
processing, letter writing,
 sorting in alphabetic or alphanumeric orders, editing,
making catalogues etc.
 Converting data of one form into another.
 Communicating data to far off distances.
 Sorting the data temporarily and retrieving it as and
when required

7. ELECTRONIC DATA PROCESSING (EDP)
 system consists of various input and output
devices connected to an electronic
computer. The latter systems can process
very large amounts of data in very little time.
One major difference between the two
categories is that the punched-systems
usually require manual intervention between
the different data processing operations,
whereas the electronic processing systems
perform the different operations
automatically.

8. TEXT HANDLING
extraction of vocabulary from text and
the counting of words, morphemes, or
other items
dictionary and glossary making, as
well as in areas of literary and textual
criticism and stylistics.
searches of the text according to
complex search criteria

9. DIALECT SURVEY
 programs would have to be developed
for grouping and summarizing the data
according to techniques of set theory
or statistics.

10. TESTING OF LINGUISTIC STATEMENTS
 Paradigmatic descriptions, historical statements
and all other methods of linguistic description that
are sufficiently explicit and precise are amenable to
computer testing.
 sentences conforming to the grammatical
constraints expressed in the grammar are
synthesized at random.
 If the generated structures do not conform to the
language, the linguist knows that his statement is
inaccurate in certain respects. He is thus enabled to
make the appropriate corrections.

11. WORD PROCESSOR
 The word processor is a program that helps in
making letters and other documents. We can
convert the computer into a typewriter and use its
printer for printing the text matter in a number of
styles, sizes. We can preserve the copy of letter in
computer for a number of years and get it typed
after a gap of years. The most popular word
processor program is MS Word of Microsoft Office
and StarWriter of StarOffice. Word star was very
popular before the introduction of MS Word and
StarWriter.
 Indian Languages :- ILipi, and Akshar

12. DATA BASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (DBMS)
 It is a complex software system which constructs,
expands and maintains the data base. It also
provides interfaces between the user and the data
in the base. The DBMS allocates storage to data.
It maintains indices so that any required data can
be retrieved, and so that separate items of data in
the base can be cross-referenced. As mentioned
above, the structure of a data base is dynamic and
can be changed as needed. The DBMS maintains
the data in the base by: adding new records,
deleting ‘dead’ records, and amending records.

13. SPREAD SHEET
 A spreadsheet is a software package to enter and manipulate
data in tabular form in a table form in a table having columns
and rows. It helps in analyzing data, and can set up complex
relationships between individual items in this table. A
spreadsheet program uses a computer’s memory capacity to
solve mathematically oriented problems. With a spreadsheet
program, columns of numbers can be set up to keep track of
money or objects. These items are stored in a place known as
cells. The user may set up relationships and see the effect of
varying independent quantities. With the high speed computing
power of the digital computer, complex problems can be
modeled on the computer and various options can be tried.
 Example: Lotus 1-2-3, MS Office’s Excell, Star Office

14. HYPERMEDIA
 Hypermedia refers to similar links to those used in
hypertext, but instead of simply linking text to text,
hypermedia involves linking various media, such as
sound, images, animation and/or video. For
example, a word or picture might have a link to a
sound file giving its pronunciation. A video of a
language-learning opportunity, such as a shopping
excursion, might be linked to an animation that
shows the same exchanges simplified, omitting the
distracting elements around the interactions
between the shopper and the sales clerk. Or, an
animation might focus on

15. CORPUS LINGUISTICS
 The corpus in corpus linguistics refers to a
body of text. The text can be made up of
different examples of spoken or written
language or a combination of both. Corpora
(corpora = plural of corpus) can be based
on simple and brief texts on a narrow topic
or run into the millions of words, such as the
British National Corpus
(http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk), a 100-million
word corpus of British English.