Search in several databases at once

A complete list of fields included in the selected database. In lexicostatistical databases, most fields fall into two types: (a) primary language fields, containing the primary wordlist entries for specific languages, (b) note fields, containing notes (such as bibliographical, grammatical, etymological etc. information) on said wordlist entries. By default, search procedures take into account the information that is stored in both types of fields.

In the «Search in several databases at once» option, since it covers all the lexicostatistical databases on the site, the list of fields is naturally not available.

Enter the word / word form / character string that you are searching for in this line. The basic «Search» (in one database) option allows you to look for any string in any particular field (primary language field or note field). The «Search in several databases» option has two sub-options: «In any primary language field» or «In any field» (i.e. primary language or note fields). Using the second option will yield more results, but can also yield «noise», since note fields often contain a lot of additional commentary text that will be confused with proper data.

Note that you can send in complex queries, entering different values in different fields; e. g. entering "kaka" in one language field and "papa" in another language field will yield all the records where Language 1 has "kaka" and Language 2 has "papa", etc. (The "or" function, however, is not yet supported).

If you simply want to look at one Swadesh item and its forms in various languages (in one database or all databases), all you have to do is select the corresponding item in the "Word" window and send in the query.

Virtual keyboard: If you want to enter a search query that contains special symbols, used in the UTS (Unified Transcription System), you can use a semi-concealed «virtual keyboard» by clicking the mouse on the empty space between the «Value» and «Query method» columns next to the field for which the value is being entered. The «virtual keyboard» contains most of these symbols, including diacritics. Hide the «virtual keyboard» away by clicking on the same empty space one more time.

There are four different ways in which the search algorithm can understand the input strings of characters (we will illustrate this with examples drawn from the Ejagham language in the Ekoid database):

Match substring:

By default, the algorithm just gives you all the entries in which the string has been encountered. Thus, looking for the string y in Ejagham will yield such words as ò=yà ʽbellyʼ, yûm ʽbiteʼ, è=yǜg ʽcoldʼ, yûi ʽkillʼ, ɛ̀=yâ ʽyearʼ, etc.

Match beginning:

The algorithm only returns the entries in which the string has been encountered in the initial position. Therefore, looking for y in Ejagham will yield such words as yûm ʽbiteʼ, yûi ʽkillʼ, but not ò=yà ʽbellyʼ or è=yǜg ʽcoldʼ, since the latter do not begin with y.

Like beginning:

The algorithm returns the entries whose beginning is not only identical with the input string, but is also phonetically similar to it. (See help info on the «Highlight phonetically similar items» for the definition of what constitutes «phonetic similarity» in StarLing algorithms). Thus, looking for the string at in Ejagham will yield such words as ɛ̀tí-ɛ̀tî ʽmanyʼ and ɛ̂d ʽweʼ, since they are judged by the machine as phonetically similar to at.

Like substring:

The algorithm returns the entries any part of which (not just the beginning) is phonetically similar to the input string. Thus, looking for the string t in Ejagham, in addition to ɛ̀tí-ɛ̀tî ʽmanyʼ and ɛ̂d ʽweʼ, will yield such words as =kpídì ʽnearʼ and =sǝ́dɛ́ ʽsayʼ, because their middle parts (-di, -dɛ) are phonetically similar to t.

If this option is checked, the search algorithm will only return those results in which the string that you have entered forms an entire word, not part of the word. For example, looking for the string ka in the Ejagham (Ekoid) language with the option Whole words unchecked will return two results: =kárè ʽgiveʼ and ka- ʽnotʼ. If the option Whole words is checked, the algorithm will only return ka-, but not =kárè. If you are looking for a short (e.g. monosyllabic) word, checking this option will help get rid of additional «noise».

This is a special condition that will filter out records with one or more empty fields; it is useful for queries oriented at comparative data (e. g. «find all the instances of the /sub/string ka in Language 1 that have parallels in Language 2»). By default, the option is unchecked. If you check it for all the fields in the database, the query will only return records that are completely filled, i.e. each field contains at least some information.