WordNet is a database comprised of nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives in a lexical relational structure. These words are then grouped by synonyms call synsets that are easily used to find related words and usage. The result of these synsets can be navigated and explored using a web browser. This basic structure of WordNet allows it to be easily used and researched for computational linguistics and language processing for a variety of applications such as voice recognition software and dictation software. WordNet is free to use and has a downloadable version for UNIX, Linux, PC, and Mac computers.
WordNet has been developed by Professor George A. Miller at the Cognitive Sciences Laboratory at Princeton University. The WordNet database is also available from MIT Press and a Windows interface called WordNet TreeWalk which helps users not familiar with UNIX based pages and command lines. Using WordNet online is as simple as using a browser search function. A simple form is presented on the page and any word may be searched from there. The page includes links to the WordNet home page, the glossary, and a help section with information on how to use WordNet. WordNet is made up of lexicographer files, code to transfer the files into a database, and protocols for searching the database. Synsets are also related to other synsets creating an even easier and wider encompassing list of language devices and terms for the searched word.
Two kinds of relations are used in WordNet, semantic and lexical. The lexical relationships hold between semantically related forms of words and the semantic relationships hold between related word definitions. These relationships point towards related words and synsets after searching a word; different types of words are arranged differently in the database. People who use WordNet can be from a diverse number of fields as language is used in every aspect of every business and industry, but is primarily used in the research of and development of cognitive hierarchies that will give insight into the way humans use language and how the brain interprets it. Specifically it applies to the research of ontology which deals with the idea of what entities exist and how they are related; it was once part of metaphysics and is derived from the Greek philosophies of the Golden Age of civilization. Recently this idea of relating that which exists has been applied to information as in the case of WordNet, and ISPs.
WordNet is supported and used by various organizations and associations for a myriad of reasons and designs. The National Science Foundation is currently supporting the Evocation project at WordNet which aims to connect all the parts of speech in the database. This will allow phrases, exclamations, and the like to be related to the existing nouns, verbs, and adjectives. The American Resort Development Association is also a large supporter of the WordNet database and has given monetary support for the project over the last several years.
External links
- The WordNet Home Page
- Wordnet Related Projects – comprehensive list of interfaces and extensions
- Global Wordnet + DEBGrid (Global Wordnet web interface)
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