APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS

IN LINGUISTICS RESEARCH
ACTIVITIES

Dr.VMS
COMPUTERS
useof the computer can bring speed,
convenience and accuracy.
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
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.
TYPES OF DATA
o Numeric
o Alphabetic
o Alphanumeric
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
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.
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
DIALECT SURVEY

 programs would have to be developed for

grouping and summarizing the data
according to techniques of set theory or
statistics.
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.
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
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.
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
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
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 com­
bination 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.
Thank you