The Large Georgian Dialect Lexicographic Database and the Georgian Electronic Dialect Atlas (GEDA)

Abstract

The project “The Large Georgian Dialect Lexicographic Databaze and The Georgian Electronic Dialect Atlas GEDA” is a continuation and elaboration of comprehensive activities undertaken within the framework of the project Linguistic Portrait of Georgia.

At its initial stages, significant platforms for representation of Georgian dialect linguistic data were designed: working and user applications of text corpora and electronic dictionaties, a two- million text base; the lexicographic base was initiated. The system of morpho-syntactic parsing was developed; partial annotation was conducted. Several electronic dictionaries were compiled and published.

Based on the dialect corpus and the lexicographic editor, the present project was aimed at developing of the comprehensive Georgian dialect lexicographic base and at providing for the cartographic visualization of linguistic data.

As an interactive instrument, the Georgian dialectological lexicoghraphic base and its cartographic component (Electronic Atlas of Georgian Dialects) is a significant accomplishment both owing to great amount of information and its effective usage functions and to the fact that it is a open resource and accessible to everyone.

The base is apt to become a powerful teaching/learning and scholarly resource. It is applicable both at various levels of teaching/learning and as for scholarly purposes – as a tool for diverse linguistic and interdisciplinary studies.

Project activities were undertaken in two directions: 1)Developring of the comprehensive Georgian dailect lexicographic base and of the technological framework for the cartographic visualization; 2)Elaboration of the comprehensive Georgian dailect lexicographic base (publication of new electronic dictionaries, their multi-level annotation, compilation of electronic maps).

Elaboration of the markup system of dictionaries qualitatively changed opportunities of customary queries in them – a user is able to generate a desired dictionary from a sizeable massive of data and develop various sub-dictionaries (a dictionary of foreign words, a dictionary of compounds, a dictionary of proper names, a dictionary of idioms, etc.).

As a result of the implementation of the project, the information potential of the Georgian Dialect Corpus increased twice. A user can enjoy the universal and unique text and lexicographic reference system both with a wide and flexible query system and with unique opportunities to self-generate various kinds of dictionaries and to cartographically visualize corpus data.