The Lemma and Database Design: Redesigning Representative Poetry Online, Lemmatizing Lexicons of Early Modern English, and Envisioning the Lemmatic Web

Authors

  • Marc Plamondon Department of English at Nipissing University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22230/src.2012v3n2a80

Keywords:

Database, Lemma, Lemmatic web, Text analysis, Language-based systems, Reading environments, Lexicons

Abstract

This article argues for the usefulness of the lemma as the base element for constructing large databases of texts for digital textual analysis and for providing a new hypertextual reading experience.  Support for this is based on the author’s experience designing and developing two major Web initiatives: Representative Poetry Online and the Lexicons of Early Modern English.  The basic database features of the two websites are delineated, but the latter website, in particular, is described with a view toward showing the importance of a shift away from envisioning the database as constructed upon word entries to one constructed upon lemmata.

Author Biography

Marc Plamondon, Department of English at Nipissing University

Marc R. Plamondon is Professor in the Department of English at Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay, ON, Canada P1B 8L7

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Published

2012-09-04

Issue

Section

Articles