tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Sep 26 07:46:17 2014

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Re: [Tlhingan-hol] Sorting

SuStel ([email protected])



On 9/26/2014 10:02 AM, [email protected] wrote:

The sort field replaces some characters with others in order to
force the database to be sorted according to the rules that Okrand
uses in TKD:

I did mine in Excel (which let me port it to Word for formatting and printing). I created a field that automatically transformed the Klingon word to make it English-sortable. If A2 contains the Klingon word, then this is the formula for the Sort Order column on row 2:

=SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"ch","cz"),"gh","gz"),"ng","nz"),"Q","Qz"),"tlh","tz"),"'","z")

I used z instead of a number or symbol because some alphabetizing systems might swap whether those come before or after letters. Likewise, I transformed the glottal stop to a z.

So a term like {bIQ ghaywI' pa'} has a Sort Order value of "bIQz gzaywIz paz." Sort the spreadsheet by the Sort Order field, and you're done!

For best use of space in a digest-sized printout, my dictionary's pages have two columns. This is here illustrated using the words {bep} and {boq}, using HTML-style markup to show how it's formatted (wrapped lines have a 1-em indentation starting with the second line):

K-E
<b>bep</b> <i>n.</i> agony<br>
<b>bep</b> <i>v.</i> complain, object, gripe<br>
<b>boq</b> <i>n.</i> alliance, bloc, coalition<br>
<b>boq</b> <i>v.</i> ally with, form an alliance with; also used in math for addition<br>

E-K
agony <i>n.</i> <b>bep</b><br>
alliance <i>n.</i> <b>boq</b><br>
ally with, form an alliance with <i>v.</i> <b>boq</b><br>
complain <i>v.</i> <b>bep</b><br>
gripe <i>v.</i> <b>bep</b><br>
object <i>v.</i> <b>bep</b><br>

Derivative words that appear in lexical form by Okrand, e.g., {boqHa'}, {boq'egh}, have their own entries.

Most of this formatting was done simply by importing from Excel to Word, with a bit of finding and replacing to abbreviate parts of speech and changing styles (italics, bold). In Word I can therefore also have word guides at the tops of the pages, which are very helpful.

The whole, completely updated dictionary, with both E-K and K-E, is still small enough to print as a digest-size booklet and staple in the middle.

Most of the effort went into typing all the data into Excel, including various synonyms like "complain," "gripe," and "object." Certain categories of words required special treatment. For instance, there are a ton of animals, some of which aren't described. Here's how I did those, using "animal," "bird," {Qogh}, and {cha'bIp} as examples:

K-E
<b>bo'Degh</b> <i>n.</i> bird (general term)<br>
<b>cha'bIp</b> <i>n.</i> type of animal, a bird noted for its speed<br>
<b>Ha'DIbaH</b> <i>n.</i> animal, meat<br>
<b>Qogh</b> <i>n.</i> krog, type of animal<br>

E-K
animal <i>n.</i> <b>Ha'DIbaH</b><br>
animal, list of (see also bird, list of) <i>n.</i> <b>boqrat, chemvaH, jajlo' Qa', 'er, 'IghvaH, Hun, Qa'Hom, Qaj, qa'raj, QIncha', Qogh, qa'vam, lIngta', lung, la'SIv, pIpyuS, mIl'oD, Sargh, Suy', tangqa', teghbat, tI'qa' vIghro', tIqnagh, to'baj, topvIr lung, toppa', vIghro'</b><br>
bird (general term) <i>n.</i> <b>bo'Degh</b><br>
bird, list of <i>n.</i> <b>borghel, cha'bIp, cha'Do', cha'qu', cha'naS, cha'par, Da'nal, Da'vI', jentu'</b><br>
chabip, type of bird <i>n.</i> <b>cha'bIp</b><br>
krog, type of animal <i>n.</i> <b>Qogh</b><br>

--
SuStel
http://www.trimboli.name/

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