Man-Machine Integration in a Lexical Processing System

Abstract

LEXICO is a computer system that may be used for dictionary construction and other areas of lexical analysis. Textual material may be stored, edited, concorded, and lemmatized to assist the researcher. The system is designed to facilitate use by three types of users: (1) the novice, who has had no previous experience with the system, (2) the sustained user, who has learned how to accomplish desired tasks, and (3) the occasional user, who has used the system, but sometimes forgets a specific command or procedure. Despite the many and varied tasks which can be performed, the system appears to the user as a single, unified entity with a consistent means of communication. Many of the automated capabilities, such as homograph separation, reduce the amount of work that would be required by manual procedures. The system has many features that facilitate its maintenance; in addition, monitoring of user and system behavior allows continual refinement of system capabilities.