The Computer in Lexicography.

Proposals for the use of the computer in the humanities often ask more of the machine than it can reasonably yield, and the enthusiastic generation of data for dictionary projects may well overburden the editors who must eventually cope with it. Procedures in lexicography are not well enough defined for a substantial burden to be placed on the logical capabilities of the computer. Most data collection must still be left in the hands of human readers, though editing of the data may be carried on with the use of on-line devices in which man interacts with machine. The use of the computer in the final stages of producing a dictionary, however, may yield important results in speeding production and in making available a reservoir of data for other purposes. This paper will be published as part of a "Festschrift" for Hans Kurath later this year. (Author/FB)