Role Of Computers In Linguistics

As we all know that computers have a marked influence on linguistics.In near future computers would provide more help to linguists. Computational linguistics studies how computers are related to linguistics and also deals with techniques of computers that assist us in perceiving language.

Aims/Purpose Of Using Computers In Linguistics

To facilitate linguists to explore and interpret natural language with the help of computers.

To grasp/comprehend (by comparing with computers) how people perceive natural language.

Use of computers in Linguistics

There are many benefits of computers in linguistics. They give us opportunities so that we can deeply examine the role of computer science in linguistic research. Some are listed here:-

1. Recovery of Documents

An advantage for a linguist to use a computer is to get back the data that has been erased or removed. If we have deleted a document and want to retrieve it so computer software would preferably be of service.

2. Extraction of Data/Material

To conserve our time and energy, computers can lend a helping hand to extract the required texts or material. The system of computers could also scan newspaper articles or some other paper forms to assist us in getting the kind of information we are looking for.

3. Translation gadgets

Machine interpreters are very beneficial and are used around the globe. They help us in translating texts of different languages such as from Spanish to English or vice versa.

4. File processing

In linguistic procedures, we have bundles of files that contain huge amounts of texts. The computer can take care of this bundle without any difficulty. It assists us to pile up and deal with the contents of files in a computer disk. Computer handling makes frequent updating very easy for us which takes into account the interlining of new texts and then with each updating, the complete document can be sent to press in a new form/arrangement.

Other than this, we also have an advantage such as copying the text accurately which reduces the efforts of linguists. They can easily arrange and display data in manageable format from where we can download, copy-paste, arrange or send in print the data with ease.

4. Softwares

Systems that recognize speech are applications of computers in linguistics. Other than this the speech recognition tools such as Apple’s Siri feature, Spell check tools or programs related to speech formation often tell us pronunciation of different words. Dictionaries that can be saved on your computer helps the linguists to look for transcription of words. . Furthermore a student of linguistics can check for plagiarism in the content of his thesis or assignments. The same is the case with teachers who use software to check for plagiarism.

5. Writing Books

Linguists also take the help of computers for storing/retrieving examples from human language that are in written form or spoken (orally). These are then used by lexicographers to write dictionaries and by syntax, experts to write books of grammar.

6. Filters On Web search

Computers also provide assistance in using filters on websites e. g; In schools, we use filters so that websites with some particular words are blocked so that children can not see them.

7. Talking Computers

A lot of efforts have been made so that computers can identify/apprehend certain voice commands. The computers can not identify the novel commands. Furthermore, it can not understand the terms that are spoken differently i. e the way of pronunciation of the person is different. In addition, different software has been installed in computers to bring out some definite sounds. One program in a computer-related to phonetics can replicate all the sounds of IPA alphabet with great reliability.

8. Dialogue based applications

There are many applications of computers that are related to language. First of all we can talk about the automatic services provided to customers over telephones e. g; To tell about bugs or trouble in the device or for order booking.

9. Lexicography

The basic aim of lexicography in computers is to find the structure, pattern and applications of E-books such as dictionaries in the processing of natural language.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we can say that computers are vital in linguistics. A lot of research work in linguistics has been done using computers. These appliances have helped in the survey and interpretation of language.