Whitaker's WORDS JSONisator

The main purpose of this Python script is the conversion of each dictionary and inflection entry into an appropriate JSON representation.

WORDS

The late col. William Whitaker created a large dictionary of the Latin language, which contains about 39500 entries gathered from various sources. He also made a very useful program to aid in dictionary search.

Motivation

Whitaker wrote this program a long while ago, unaware of the technologies that we - for the better or the worse - deal with today. Thus, the original program has lots of room for improvement and modernisation, and as of this moment there are several independent projects doing exactly that. I have resolved to undertake one such project myself.

Therefore, I have found organising the data my first priority. The original version read the lines from the plaintext source files (DICTLINE.txt and INFLECTS.txt), processed them and finally saved them in a binary format for easy reading/writing from/to the disk.

Back then, when computers used to have major memory limitations, this was perfectly reasonable. Nowadays, there is no reason not to store all this data in a widely used and supported data format like JSON. This makes it easier to build a new, modern, more powerful implementation of WORDS; easily integrated in modern languages and technologies.

Structure

Each dictionary entry and each inflection represents a single JSON entry and each one of them has certain attributes which depend on the entry/inflection in question.

Below is a series of table documenting all entries with explanations for each attribute.

Common attributes

Common dictionary attributes

But first, there is a series of attributes which are the same for all dictionary entries. In the tables below, I shall omit them, but you should assume that all entries have them:

Attribute	Description
`pos`	Type of word
`stems`	List of all stems the word has*
`age`	Approximate time of word's origin
`geography`	Approximate location word's usage
`area`	Area of study the word pertains to
`frequency`	How often the word appears in texts
`source`	Dictionary the word was taken from
`senses`	Word definitions and meanings

* Depending on word type, the number of stems ranges anywhere from 1 to 4. In the tables below, each table entry will have a detailed explanation.

Common inflection attributes

The same goes for attributes in the inflection entries:

Attribute	Description
`pos`	Type of word the inflection is applied to
`stem`	Stem the ending should be applied to
`characters`	How many characters the ending has
`ending`	Ending itself
`age`	Approximate time of inflection's origin
`frequency`	How often the inflection appears in texts

Dictionary entries

Nouns

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Nominative stem
`stems`(2)	Genitive stem*
`declension`	Noun declension
`declension_variant`	Specific type of noun declension
`gender`	Grammatical gender of the noun
`noun_kind`	What the noun refers to

* May be empty for some (rare) nouns, such as abbreviations

Example entry:

    {
        "stems": ["abac", "abac"],
        "pos": "N",
        "declension": "2",
        "declension_variant": "1",
        "gender": "M",
        "noun_kind": "T",
        "age": "E",
        "area": "E",
        "geography": "X",
        "frequency": "C",
        "source": "E",
        "senses": "small table for cruets, credence, buffet;"
    }

Pronouns

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Nominative stem
`stems`(2)	Genitive stem*
`declension`	Noun declension
`declension_variant`	Specific type of noun declension
`gender`	Grammatical gender of the noun
`pronoun_kind`	Specific type of pronoun

* May be empty for some pronouns

Example entry:

{
        "stems": ["qu", "NO_STEM"],
        "pos": "PRON",
        "declension": "1",
        "declension_variant": "3",
        "pronoun_kind": "ADJECT",
        "age": "X",
        "area": "X",
        "geography": "X",
        "frequency": "A",
        "source": "O",
        "senses": "any; anyone/anything, any such; (after si sin/sive/ne);"
}

Verbs

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	First principal part minus `-o`*
`stems`(2)	Second principal part (minus infinitive ending)
`stems`(3)	Third principal part (minus `-i`)
`stems`(4)	Fourth principal part (minus `-us/um`)
`conjugation`	Verb conjugation
`conjugation_variant`	Specific type of conjugation
`verb_kind`	Type of action the verb represents

* May be the only stem in (rare) Biblical/Aramaic verbs

Example entry:

{
    "stems": ["put", "put", "putav", "putat"],
    "pos": "V",
    "conjugation": "1",
    "conjugation_variant": "1",
    "verb_kind": "TRANS",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "X",
    "senses": "think, believe, suppose, hold; reckon, estimate, value; clear up, settle;"
}

Adjectives

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Nominative stem
`stems`(2)	Genitive stem
`stems`(3)	Comparative stem*
`stems`(4)	Superlative stem*
`declension`	Adjective declension
`declension_variant`	Specific type of adjective declension
`gender`	Grammatical gender of the noun
`comparison`	Comparison this adjective is in

* Some adjectives are incomparable and therefore have no 3rd and 4th stems

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["bon", "bon", "meli", "opti"],
    "pos": "ADJ",
    "declension": "1",
    "declension_variant": "1",
    "comparison": "X",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "O",
    "senses": "good, honest, brave, noble, kind, pleasant, right, useful; valid; healthy;"
}

Adverbs

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Positive stem
`stems`(2)	Comparative stem*
`stems`(3)	Superlative stem*
`declension`	Adjective declension
`declension_variant`	Specific type of adjective declension
`gender`	Grammatical gender of the noun
`comparison`	Comparison this adverb is in

* Adverbs that are derived from adjectives are comparable and have all three stems. Other adverbs are incomparable and have only the 1st stem.

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["bene", "melius", "optime"],
    "pos": "ADV",
    "comparison": "X",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "O",
    "senses": "well, very, quite, rightly, agreeably, cheaply, in good style; better; best;"
}

Prepositions

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Preposition
`case`	Case it determines

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["ad"],
    "pos": "PREP",
    "case": "ACC",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "O",
    "senses": "to, up to, towards; near, at; until, on, by; almost; according to; about w/NUM;"
}

Interjections

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Interjection

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["vae"],
    "pos": "INTERJ",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "B",
    "source": "X",
    "senses": "alas, woe, ah; oh dear; (Vae, puto deus fio. - Vespasian); Bah!, Curses!;"
}

Numbers

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Cardinal number stem*
`stems`(2)	Ordinal number stem
`stems`(3)	Distributive stem
`stems`(4)	Numerical adverb stem
`declension`	Numeral declension
`declension_variant`	Specific type of numeral declension
`numeral_sort`	Specific type of number
`numeral_value`	Value the number holds (an integer)

* Depending on the number, some may have all stems while others will lack some.

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["undeviginti", "undevicesim", "undevicen", "undevic"],
    "pos": "NUM",
    "declension": "2",
    "declension_variant": "0",
    "numeral_sort": "X",
    "numeral_value": "19",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "D",
    "source": "X",
    "senses": "nineteen;"
}

Conjunction

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	Conjunction

Example form:

{
    "stems": ["ubi"],
    "pos": "CONJ",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "X",
    "senses": "where, whereby;"
}

Packons

(Artificial constructs used for the dictionary software. More specifically, they are used to represent all the -qu-/-cu- pronouns.)

Attribute	Description
`stems`(1)	`-qu` packon
`stems`(2)	`-cu` packon*
`declension`	Declension inflections required
`declension_variant`	Variant of the inflections
`packon_kind`	Which pronoun type it pertains to

* Some packons have no -cu stem.

{
    "stems": ["qu", "cu"],
    "pos": "PACK",
    "declension": "1",
    "declension_variant": "0",
    "packon_kind": "REL",
    "age": "X",
    "area": "X",
    "geography": "X",
    "frequency": "A",
    "source": "X",
    "senses": "(w/-cumque) who/whatever, no matter who/what, in any time/way, however small;"
}

Inflections

Nouns

Attribute	Description
`declension`	Noun declension the ending is applied to
`declension_variant`	Specific declension variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents
`gender`	Gender the ending represents

Example form:

{
    "pos": "N",
    "declension": "2",
    "declension_variant": "1",
    "case": "GEN",
    "number": "S",
    "gender": "X",
    "stem": "2",
    "characters": "1",
    "ending": "i",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

would correspond to the -i ending of the 2nd declension.

Pronouns

Attribute	Description
`declension`	Pronoun declension the ending is applied to
`declension_variant`	Specific declension variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents
`gender`	Gender the ending represents

{
    "pos": "PRON",
    "declension": "4",
    "declension_variant": "2",
    "case": "NOM",
    "number": "P",
    "gender": "N",
    "stem": "2",
    "characters": "1",
    "ending": "a",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Verbs

Attribute	Description
`conjugation`	Conjugation the ending is applied to
`conjugation_variant`	Conjugation variant for the ending
`tense`	Tense the ending represents
`voice`	Voice the ending represents
`mood`	Mood the ending represents
`person`	Person the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents

Example form:

{
    "pos": "V",
    "conjugation": "1",
    "conjugation_variant": "1",
    "tense": "PRES",
    "voice": "ACTIVE",
    "mood": "IND",
    "person": "1",
    "number": "S",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "1",
    "ending": "o",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Verb participles

Attribute	Description
`conjugation`	Conjugation the ending is applied to
`conjugation_variant`	Conjugation variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`tense`	Tense the ending represents
`voice`	Voice the ending represents
`mood`	Mood the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents

Example form:

{
    "pos": "VPAR",
    "conjugation": "1",
    "conjugation_variant": "0",
    "case": "NOM",
    "number": "S",
    "gender": "X",
    "tense": "PRES",
    "voice": "ACTIVE",
    "mood": "PPL",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "PPL",
    "ending": "1",
    "age": "3",
    "frequency": "ans"
    }

Adjectives

Attribute	Description
`declension`	Adjective declension the ending is applied to
`declension_variant`	Specific declension variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents
`gender`	Gender the ending represents
`comparison`	Adjective comparison the ending represents

Example form:

{
        "pos": "ADJ",
        "declension": "1",
        "declension_variant": "1",
        "case": "NOM",
        "number": "S",
        "gender": "M",
        "comparison": "POS",
        "stem": "1",
        "characters": "2",
        "ending": "us",
        "age": "X",
        "frequency": "A"
}

Numbers

Attribute	Description
`declension`	Number declension the ending is applied to
`declension_variant`	Specific declension variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents
`gender`	Gender the ending represents
`numeral_sort`	Sort of the number this ending is applied to

Example form:

{
    "pos": "NUM",
    "declension": "1",
    "declension_variant": "1",
    "case": "NOM",
    "number": "S",
    "gender": "M",
    "numeral_sort": "CARD",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "2",
    "ending": "us",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Supines

Attribute	Description
`conjugation`	Conjugation the ending is applied to
`conjugation_variant`	Conjugation variant for the ending
`case`	Case the ending represents
`gender`	Gender the ending represents
`number`	Number (singular/plural) the ending represents

Example form:

{
    "pos": "SUPINE",
    "conjugation": "0",
    "conjugation_variant": "0",
    "case": "ACC",
    "number": "S",
    "gender": "N",
    "stem": "4",
    "characters": "2",
    "ending": "um",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Adverbs

Attribute	Description
`comparison`	Adverb comparison the ending represents

Example form:

{
    "pos": "ADV",
    "comparison": "COMP",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "0",
    "ending": "NO_ENDING",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

* Adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections are not inflected. Thus they all have NO_ENDING and barely any additional attributes.

Prepositions

Attributes	Description
`case`	Case the prepositions determines

Example form:

{
    "pos": "PREP",
    "case": "ACC",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "0",
    "ending": "NO_ENDING",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Interjections

Attributes	Description
N/A	N/A

Example form:

{
    "pos": "INTERJ",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "0",
    "ending": "NO_ENDING",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

Conjunctions

Attributes	Description
N/A	N/A

Example form:

{
    "pos": "CONJ",
    "stem": "1",
    "characters": "0",
    "ending": "NO_ENDING",
    "age": "X",
    "frequency": "A"
}

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README.md

README.md

Whitaker's WORDS JSONisator

WORDS

Motivation

Structure

Common attributes

Common dictionary attributes

Common inflection attributes

Dictionary entries

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Prepositions

Interjections

Numbers

Conjunction

Packons

Inflections

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Verb participles

Adjectives

Numbers

Supines

Adverbs

Prepositions

Interjections

Conjunctions

Files

README.md

Latest commit

History

README.md

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Whitaker's WORDS JSONisator

WORDS

Motivation

Structure

Common attributes

Common dictionary attributes

Common inflection attributes

Dictionary entries

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Adjectives

Adverbs

Prepositions

Interjections

Numbers

Conjunction

Packons

Inflections

Nouns

Pronouns

Verbs

Verb participles

Adjectives

Numbers

Supines

Adverbs

Prepositions

Interjections

Conjunctions