Exploring the Documentation and Preservation of African Indigenous Knowledge in a Digital Lexical Database

IF 0.9 2区 文学 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS
Lexikos Pub Date : 2020-10-29 DOI:10.5788/30-1-1603
Sonja E. Bosch, Marissa Griesel
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引用次数: 3

Abstract

Transcending the boundaries of printed lexicographic resources is becoming easier in the digital age, with e-resources facilitating restrictions on the size and type of information that can be included. In this article we explore innovative ways of documenting and preserving African indigenous knowledge, often underrepresented in traditional dictionaries, in an existing digital lexical database. Our approach is based on the extension of the African Wordnet, a lexical database under construction for nine African languages, in this case applied to isiZulu. This article addresses the challenge of consolidating dispersed indigenous knowledge collected from a variety of sources such as conventional dictionaries, interdisciplinary publications and a flat-structured online database, in a digitised hierarchical wordnet structure. A representative sample of traditional domestic utensils in Zulu culture is used to demonstrate the conversion into a set of typical semantic relations in a wordnet structure. By focusing on filling lexical gaps between isiZulu and English as found in the Princeton WordNet, with culturally relevant synsets, the African Wordnet also becomes a useful resource for natural language processing. Finally, it is shown how the hierarchical classification of selected domestic utensils is visually presented in wordnet graphs in the WordnetLoom interface.
在数位词汇资料库中探索非洲原住民知识的纪录与保存
在数字时代,超越印刷词典资源的界限变得越来越容易,电子资源有助于限制可以包含的信息的大小和类型。在这篇文章中,我们探索了在现有的数字词汇数据库中记录和保存非洲土著知识的创新方法,这些知识通常在传统词典中没有得到充分的代表。我们的方法是基于非洲Wordnet的扩展,这是一个正在为九种非洲语言构建的词汇数据库,在这种情况下应用于isiZulu。本文解决了将从各种来源(如传统词典、跨学科出版物和扁平结构的在线数据库)收集的分散的土著知识整合到数字化分层词网结构中的挑战。本文以祖鲁文化中具有代表性的传统餐具为例,说明了在词网结构中,这种语义关系转化为一组典型的语义关系。通过专注于用与文化相关的同义词集填补普林斯顿WordNet中发现的isiZulu和英语之间的词汇空白,非洲WordNet也成为自然语言处理的有用资源。最后,介绍了如何在WordnetLoom界面中以wordnet图形的形式直观地呈现所选的家用器具的层次分类。
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来源期刊
Lexikos
Lexikos Multiple-
CiteScore
1.00
自引率
25.00%
发文量
15
审稿时长
7 weeks
期刊介绍: Lexikos (Greek for "of or for words") is a journal for the lexicographical specialist. It is the only journal in Africa which is exclusively devoted to lexicography. Articles dealing with all aspects of lexicography and terminology or the implications that research in related disciplines such as linguistics, computer and information science, etc. has for lexicography will be considered for publication. Articles may be written in Afrikaans, English, Dutch, German and French.
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