Digitization of Old and Middle English dictionaries

Abstract

Tato diplomova price si klade za cil jednak navrhnout postup ph elektronizaci slovnikU stare a st!edni anglictiny, jednak popsat realizaci konkretniho projektu elektronizace. Autor price se domniva, ze elektronizace starych slovniku je pHnosna, jelikoz muze b)rt jedinym zpusobem, jak zptistupnit informacni bohatstvi techto zdroju sirSlmU publiku. Price se nejprve pokousi 0 vycerpavajid soupis lexikografickych zdroju stare a st!edni anglictiny, z nichZ je pote detailneji porovnano nekolik nejvhodnejsich kandidalli k elektronizaci. Dale pak price navrhuje, jake vlastnosti by elektronickJ slovnik mel mit. Na tomto zaklade je jako nejzpusobilejsi slovnik k elektronizaci vybran Staroanglickj slovnik (An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary) autorU J. Bosworthe a T. N. Tollera. Nasledne jsou pops any vsechny kroky vedoud k prevodu tohoto slovniku do elektronicke podoby: skenovani, rozpoznani znaku, rucni opravy, ptiprava data a vJvoj slovnikove aplikace. Price take pfedstavuje soucasny staY projektu elektronizace staroanglickeho slovniku a navrhuje dva hlavni smery budoudho rozvoje: preznackovani dat a vytvofeni morfologickeho analyzatoru stare anglictiny.

The aim of the paper is both to outline the methodology of digitizing Old and Middle English dictionaries as well as to describe its successful implementation. It is argued that the digitization of old dictionaries is generally desirable, because it increases accessibility of valuable resources, which may be the only way of presenting their data to a wider audience. The paper first briefly and comprehensively surveys the field of Old & Middle English lexicographical resources, comparing in greater detail the most promising candidates for digitization. Possible and desirable features of a digitized dictionary are then explored and on that basis An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary of J. Bosworth & T. N. Toller is chosen for the digitization project itself. All the phases of the digitization are then described: scanning, character recognition, hand-corrections, data preparation and application development. The current state of the Bosworth-Toller digitization project is explained and presented, while two major suggestions are made for its future development: the re-tagging of its data and the development of a morphological analyser of Old English.