Computers and Medieval English Lexicography

Dictionaries and related language reference works constitute a rich but underexploited resource for the history of languages and of language study in the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the size and complexity of typical medieval dictionaries make editions and analyses by traditional methods prohibitive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Computers and the humanities 1978-01, Vol.12 (1/2), p.53-60
Main Author: Huntsman, Jeffrey F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abacuses
Algorithms
Bibliographies
Data models
Dictionaries
Lexicography
Linguistics
Orthographies
Printing
Textual criticism
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Summary:Dictionaries and related language reference works constitute a rich but underexploited resource for the history of languages and of language study in the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the size and complexity of typical medieval dictionaries make editions and analyses by traditional methods prohibitively expensive in time and money. Using as an example the Latin-Middle English dictionary Medulla grammatice, the paper describes some central problems in the study of medieval English lexicography and the solutions provided by computers, which, with their immense speed, profound memory, and perfect accuracy can help scholars analyze, edit, and promulgate medieval documents and the linguistic data they contain.
ISSN:0010-4817
1572-8412
DOI:10.1007/BF02392916