Some Considerations concerning Encoding and Concording Texts

Suggested are the dos & donts of producing concordances to natural language texts of a literary or folkloristic nature. Examples are from Medieval & Renaissance English literature, although significant reference is made to other historical states of language & literature. Several conventional humanist practices are sharply questioned, & evidence opposing current practices brought forward. UNICORN, a new concordance-generating system at the U of Colorado is described, together with various in-process projects, some of which involve two or three million words of heavily coded natural lang text. Publishing concordance & similar compilations are considered, asserting that only the best be published, making others available on magnetic tape or through a microfilm-like medium. 3 Figures. AA