Glossary

Aligned segment: These are the segment aligned in the alignment, in the reconstruction module.

Alignment: An alignment contains all the aligned elements in the reconstruction module.

Assumed reconstruction: A reconstruction is a form made with the reconstructed segments from the alignments, in the reconstruction module.

Bibliographic reference: A reference can contain several sources (if it contains several languages).

Comment: It is a free text of a user on an object.

Cognate: A cognate is a lexical record that is included in a series of presumably related forms (i.e. that are thought to have a common etymological origin). This series is called a cognate set. The concepts "cognate" and "cognate set" only make sense within the reconstruction module : from a cognateset, you can carry out phonological alignment and create correspondence sets. Outside the reconstruction module, a series of records is simply called a recordset.

Cognate set: A cognate set is a serie of cognates brought together by a user in the reconstruction module. The concepts "cognate" and "cognate set" only make senses within the reconstruction module : from a cognate set, you can carry out phonological alignments and create correspondence set. Outside the reconstruction module, a series of records is simply called a recordset.

Correspondence: A correspondence is a list of corresponding segments (i.e symbols coding sounds / phonemes) within a cognate set. Once a cognate set has been aligned, some symbols are grouped together into columns, which in turn may be labelled by the user. These labelled columns are called "correspondences". NB: The label you give to a correspondence may be a true reconstruction, a reconstucted segment (in which case it is supposed to be marked with a star - *) or a mere hypothesis, or even anything you may find useful. Also note that the aligned elements may be composed of several symbols : for instance, multigraphs like ‘gb’, ‘nt’ or even whole morphemes like noun class prefixes. This means that you may work on morphological correspondences and morphological reconstructions.

Correspondence set: This is a set of Correspondences brought together by a user in the reconstruction module, from cognate set alignments, are gathered in a correspondence set. A correspondence set is made of correspondences sharing the same label.

Correspondence label: A label is proposed by the user for a correspondence set in the alignment, in the reconstruction module. A correspondence label can group several correspondence sets.

Dataset: A dataset is a set of sources selected by a user to carry out various tasks (eg. retrieval, comparison, reconstruction, statistics).

Language : A language is referenced in WebCal . Several sources can be published for one language.

Module : A module is a set of tools and operations available in tab. RefLex contains several modules: a Data module, a Reconstruction module, a Statistics module, a Wordlist module, a Management module.

Natural dataset: A natural dataset is composed of sources from a same bibliographic reference, i.e. from a single publication.

Note: A note is a free text from the owner of the object.

Object: RefLex contains two types of objects: original objects (sources and records) and objects constructed by the user (datasets, recordsets, cognate sets, alignments, correspondence sets, queries and inventories). To act on these objects, several modules, tools and operations are available.

Query: There are two kinds of queries: statistic queries and searches in database.

Record: A record is a lexical entry.

Recordset: A recordset is a set of records.

Reconstructed form: A reconstructed form is the resulting form of the reconstructed segment in the reconstruction module.

Reconstructed segment : A reconstructed segment is a reconstruction proposal for a given correspondence set. The label of a correspondence is preceded by a star (*).

Reconstruction hypothesis : A reconstruction hypothesis is a correspondence label non validated as a reconstructed segment.

Source: A source is the combination of a bibliographic reference and a language. For example, the reference 22993 (Carlton, Elizabeth M. & Sharon R. Rand (1994)) provides data for 21 Joola languages, resulting in as many sources. The bibliographic reference is represented by its ID in WebBall , and the language by its ID in WebCal .

Source set : A source set is a set of sources for one language, usually from several bibliographic references.

Tag: A tag is a set of characters associated with an object. The aim is to give information that is not provided by the database.

Webball: Bibliography for African Languages and Linguistics (See WebBall online)

WebCal: Web Catalogue of African Languages (See WebCal online)