Word Type
For those interested in a little info about this site: it's a side project that I developed while working on Describing Words and Related Words. Both of those projects are based around words, but have much grander goals. I had an idea for a website that simply explains the word types of the words that you search for - just like a dictionary, but focussed on the part of speech of the words. And since I already had a lot of the infrastructure in place from the other two sites, I figured it wouldn't be too much more work to get this up and running.
The dictionary is based on the amazing Wiktionary project by wikimedia. I initially started with WordNet, but then realised that it was missing many types of words/lemma (determiners, pronouns, abbreviations, and many more). This caused me to investigate the 1913 edition of Websters Dictionary - which is now in the public domain. However, after a day's work wrangling it into a database I realised that there were far too many errors (especially with the part-of-speech tagging) for it to be viable for Word Type.
Finally, I went back to Wiktionary - which I already knew about, but had been avoiding because it's not properly structured for parsing. That's when I stumbled across the UBY project - an amazing project which needs more recognition. The researchers have parsed the whole of Wiktionary and other sources, and compiled everything into a single unified resource. I simply extracted the Wiktionary entries and threw them into this interface! So it took a little more work than expected, but I'm happy I kept at it after the first couple of blunders.
Special thanks to the contributors of the open-source code that was used in this project: the UBY project (mentioned above), @mongodb and express.js.
Currently, this is based on a version of wiktionary which is a few years old. I plan to update it to a newer version soon and that update should bring in a bunch of new word senses for many words (or more accurately, lemma).
I'm a language enthusiast with a deep understanding of lexical semantics, word types, and linguistic databases. My expertise in this domain comes from hands-on experience working on projects like Describing Words and Related Words. These projects, focused on words and their relationships, provided a foundation for my latest endeavor: a side project dedicated to explaining word types.
In developing this site, I encountered challenges and made informed decisions to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. Initially considering WordNet, I shifted to the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary for its extensive coverage of word types. However, faced with data errors and inconsistencies, especially in part-of-speech tagging, I turned to Wiktionary, leveraging the UBY project to parse and compile the vast linguistic resources available.
The UBY project, a commendable effort, played a crucial role in extracting and unifying Wiktionary entries, forming the backbone of my project. It required meticulous work to integrate this data into a user-friendly interface, but the result is a platform that provides insights into word types akin to a specialized dictionary.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the contributors of open-source code, particularly the UBY project, @mongodb, and express.js, for their invaluable support in bringing this project to life. While the current version is based on a slightly dated Wiktionary, I have plans to update it soon, bringing in a wealth of new word senses and lemmas.
Now, let's delve into the concepts mentioned in the article:
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Describing Words and Related Words: These are likely other projects by the author that focus on exploring the descriptive and relational aspects of words.
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WordNet: Initially considered for the project, WordNet is a lexical database of the English language, providing semantic relationships between words.
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1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary: This edition, now in the public domain, was explored for its comprehensive coverage of word types, but data errors led to reconsideration.
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Wiktionary: The primary data source for the project, Wiktionary is a collaborative multilingual dictionary, and its entries were parsed for word types.
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UBY Project: An ambitious initiative that parsed Wiktionary and other sources, unifying linguistic data into a single resource, contributing significantly to the project.
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MongoDB and Express.js: Open-source technologies used in the development of the project, indicating a commitment to leveraging robust tools for effective implementation.
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Updating to a newer version of Wiktionary: The author plans to enhance the platform by incorporating a more recent version, promising additional word senses and lemmas.
This comprehensive approach reflects a dedication to creating a valuable resource for understanding word types, demonstrating a fusion of linguistic knowledge and technological proficiency.
