Representing information about words digitally

Jane Simpson, Linguistics, University of Sydney

Indigenous language material is increasingly stored and presented in digital form. Digital presentations of language material allow the linking of words and texts to each other, and also allow linking to sound, image and map location. These linking possibilities transform the idea of what dictionaries and thesauruses are. They do away with some of the traditional concerns of lexicographers: representing sounds, explaining in words what is better done with a picture, providing information about words which is accessible to a wide range of users. But the seductiveness of these possibilities can detract from other traditional concerns of lexicographers: ensuring that many words are covered, that the information given about each word is reliable and useful, that the same types of information are given for each word.

I will survey some digital dictionaries of indigenous languages in the light of how they address the uses for which dictionaries originally arose, as well as of how they open new possibilities for users. I will also consider practical issues of creating such dictionaries, and of training users in their use.