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The Indiana Dictionary Database (IDD)

The Indiana Dictionary Database (IDD) is an NSF-Sponsored Project.

IDD is now available for download (password protected)

A multimedia dictionary database program in Microsoft Visual FoxPro that has been created specifically for compiling dictionaries of American Indian languages. The program, now in its final stages of development, is designed to support standard textual linguistic material as well as sound data, graphical images, and video clips.

You may wish to view a brief tutorial of the dictionary database program. This web based mock-up of the program simulates some of the functionality of the actual program. Features of the program include:

It structures data in one-to-many relationships, in contrast to the standard flat-file format of most databases used by linguists.
It provides sound recordings. This innovative feature allows sound recordings of native speakers pronouncing entry forms as well as grammatical forms and examples of words in phrases and sentences. The recordings supplement the written record by providing a comprehensive oral record of the lexicon as well.
It allows graphical images and video clips. This feature provides for illustrations of entries that are critical for clarifying cultural objects and actions for which there are no standard English translations.
It is designed so that the user can export the database to any one of a number of specially formatted output files, enabling the user to provide the data in HTML/world-wide-web format, WordPerfect format, or standard ASCII format. Thus the dictionary database can be readily published both as a professionally formatted printed version and as a state-of-the-art professionally formatted electronic version.

View a paper writen by AISRI members about Multimedia Dictionary Databases. The paper is in PDF format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader will need to be installed to read this paper. Expanding the Lexical Record: Creating Multimedia Dictionary Databases for Northern Caddoan and Siouan Languages. This paper will open in a new window.

Acknowledgements: Development of IDD was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. SBR-9514516 and BCS-9875895.

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