Date:     Tue, 3 Aug 1993 00:14:19 -0400
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<br>From: David Heap  heap[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]EPAS.UTORONTO.CA 
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<br>Subject:   atlas software?
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<br>
<br>
<br>My current research into Romance clitic clusters will involve
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<br>setting up a database of forms drawn primarily from linguistic
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<br>atlases of France, Italy, Spain etc. I am presently having some
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<br>difficulty in deciding on a software package which suits my
<br>
<br>needs. Ideally, I would like to be able to design a database that
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<br>allows me to enter and process largish amounts of heterogenous
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<br>and variable data, and then display the results in ways that
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<br>allow me to draw both geolinguistic generalizations (which
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<br>clitics occur where etc.) and morphosyntactic generalizations
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<br>(what clusters occur in which positions etc.). My statistical
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<br>needs are fairly basic, and there are no sociolinguistic
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<br>variables (apart from location) to factor in. Right now, I am
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<br>trying to evaluate the following choices:
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<br>
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<br>1. Database packages designed for social scientists (SAS, Systat
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<br>etc.), which have far more sophisticated statistical capacities
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<br>than I foresee needing, but which do allow rather easily for
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<br>redisplaying results on geographic maps.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>2. Commercial database packages (Quatro, Paradox, etc.), which
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<br>seem rather simpler to get up and running, but which do not
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<br>provide in any obvious way to display results on maps.
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<br>
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<br>I have also seen a few references to G[eographic] I[nformation] S[ystems],
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<br>but at this point, it is not quite clear to me what sorts of databases
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<br>they can use as input.
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<br>
<br>
<br>  Any comments on these choices? What about other options
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<br>which I haven't mentioned (I'm sure these are at least as
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<br>numerous)? Or a combination of approaches? I apologize if this
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<br>query sounds like reinventing the methodological wheel; I need to
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<br>make a fairly firm decision before the end of August.
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>   Any other practical information about Romance dialectology,
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<br>particularly in Spain, would be greatly appreciated. Please reply
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<br>to me personally, since I may have to set my subscription to
<br>
<br>NOMAIL in the near future; I will post a summary eventually if
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<br>there is enough interest.
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<br>
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<br>Many thanks in advance,
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>David Heap
<br>
<br>University of Toronto
<br>
<br>heap[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]epas.utoronto.ca
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<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>Date:     Wed, 4 Aug 1993 10:02:00 GMT
<br>
<br>From: ENG0997[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]VAX2.QUEENS-BELFAST.AC.UK
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<br>Subject:   Re: atlas software?
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<br>
<br>
<br>See:
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<br>
<br>
<br>J.M. kirk and W.A. Kretzschmar, Jr. 'Interactive Linguistic Mapping of
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<br>Dialect Features', in Literary and Linguistic Computing, vol. 7, no. 3,
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<br>1992, pp. 168-175
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>and
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<br>
<br>
<br>Vol. 1 of the Proceedings of the International Congress of Dialectologists,
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<br>Bamberg, 29.7-4.8.1990, edited by W. Viereck (ZDL Beiheft 74), especially
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<br>paper be Hans Geisler for Romance Languages
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<br>
<br>
<br>John Kirk
<br>
<br>The Queen's University of Belfast
<br>
<br>ENG0997[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]QUB.AC.UK
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>.
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<br>