Data tools
An important aspect of NO 2014 is the development of new data-processing tools. These are being developed in cooperation with the Unit for Digital Documentation (EDD) at the University of Oslo. The aim of this initiative is to introduce IT-based editing procedures for the dictionary. These procedures should make the editing process quicker, the training of new editors easier and should give us a more consistent dictionary.
EDD has digitised most of Norsk Ordbok’s source material and stored it in databases. It is now possible to search for headwords or other categories of information and in most cases you will be able to see a facsimile of the source material on screen.
Meta Dictionary
To coordinate all the different parts of the language collections EDD and NO 2014 have also created a standard catalogue – an index – of all the headwords. We have called this index the Meta Dictionary. The Meta Dictionary now has 545 933 separate entries. There can be anything from one to several thousand instances of a word as well as separate pieces of information relating to each headword. We therefore have, for the first time, an accurate overview of the vocabulary the dictionary is made up of. As the electronic word collection grows, the Meta Dictionary will be extended and updated with, amongst other things, dialect vocabulary.
Text Corpus
An important addition to the Meta Dictionary is the Nynorsk Text Corpus of Norsk Ordbok. The corpus is being extended, but at the moment contains around 32 million words. Some texts have been taken from the Nynorsk classics, but most of the material is from recent publications. A range of genres is represented, eg. print journalism, fiction, texts for children and technical language. The text corpus will provide a better basis from which to edit modern written Nynorsk. It may also be used for other research purposes, not only lexicographical.
Editing programme
EDD has developed an editing programme for Norsk Ordbok which is connected to the Meta Dictionary and the Nynorsk Text Corpus. Using this programme it is possible to find the source material for each entry, sort it, define it and write a finished entry. Entries are saved in a database, field by field. Editors work with the help of menus that guide them through the process. As far as is possible the programme deals with typography and punctuation.
Literature available in English about NO 2014 and the data tools (please see the pages in Norwegian for a fuller literature list):
Bakken, Kristin 2004: Turning a dictionary around – Norsk Ordbok 2014. Paper to be given at Euralex 2004, Lorient, France.
Ore, Christian-Emil et al. 2002: The Meta Dictionary. Paper given at ALLC/ACH 2002, Tübingen, Germany.
Vikør, Lars S. 1996: Norsk Ordbok – the Crown of Nynorsk Lexicography? In M. Gellerstam et al. (eds.): Euralex ’96. Proceedings I-II. pp. 705-713.
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