Re: [SHOEBOX] importing a text

> From: dirk elzinga
>
> Hey.
>
> Amazing what you find when you look in the online documentation. The
> problem was that I was using \t as the marker for importing texts; I
> should have been using \id. I just tried it with \id and it worked
> fine. but now I have to convince Shoebox that I really want to analyze
Great!  I figured it had to work.  It's much too important a feature to not
work.

> fine. but now I have to convince Shoebox that I really want to analyze
> _echwosom_ as
>
> \t echwosom
> \m echwo -es -om
> \g horse -PL -ACC
>
> and not as
>
> \t echwosom
> \m e-    echwo -i    -os  -om
> \g IMPF- horse -PAST -GEN -ACC
How is the IMPF 'e-' prefix defined in the lexicon?  Is there an underlying
form that reduces to null before 'e'?  e.g.

\lx e-
\ge IMPF
\a e-
\u e+e

If so, you might have to introduce some ambiguity into the mix so that
Shoebox allows you to intervene.  I don't know enough about the morphology
you're dealing with to suggest an option here.  Ditto on the PAST and GEN
suffixes.  I'd have to see the lexical entries for those.

I've found that entering irregular plurals as alternate forms works for me.
Something like:

\lx -es
\ge PL

\lx echwo
\ge horse
\a echwos
\u echwo -es{PL}

Or if the plural form always reduces to '-s' before 'o':

\lx -es
\ge PL
\a -s
\u o+es

should work, but the definitions of PAST and GEN may be blocking this parse.
One of the 'features' of Shoebox that I often find my self struggling with
is its penchant for selecting the longest affix.  Trying to get it to select
'-i -el' instead of '-iel' for example can be challenging.  Actually, I've
found working through these parsing problems quite fun, though I can
appreciate that unlike me, you are trying to get some "real" work done.

Hope you work it out.  When it works, it really is a very useful tool.

David

David E. Bell
The Gray Wizard
    dbell@graywizard.net
    www.graywizard.net

"Wisdom begins in wonder." - Socrates