Talk at Guangxi University (廣西大學):
Linguistics.Net: Analyzing
Language in the Age of ITEvaluating Language
Resources on the Internet
在資訊科技年代分析語言 –
評價網上語言資源
Dr. Adams Bodomo
University of Hong Kong
abbodomo@hku.hk
December 5, 2007 (Wednesday).
Introduction
導言

The Internet因特網



A massive surge of the Internet and allied Information
and Communication Technologies (ICTs)
a powerful tool for research analysis, dissemination,
and documentation
Aim目的

To examine how the Internet can be used as a good
source of information for learning and doing research
about language and linguistics
2
Outline of Lecture
大綱
 Survey
of Topics on Language and IT
 Basic Terms
 Language Web Sites
 Designing Language Web Sites
 Evaluation of a Web Site
 Summary and Conclusion
3
Survey of Language and IT Topics
語言及資訊科技主題的調查











Examples of topic from my draft book’s Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Definitions and Basic Conceptual Notions
Chapter 2: Is Technology Changing the Way we Communicate
(Speak, Read and Write)?
Chapter 3: Some Students Still Read in the Age of IT: Print and
Digital Literacies
Chapter 4: TeLCU: A Model for Technology-conditioned
Language and Literacy Change
Chapter 5: Insights from Email and ICQ data
Chapter 6: Insights from Mobile Phone Communication
Chapter 7: The Grammar of Mobile Phone Language
Chapter 8: New languages, New Literacies and the School
Curriculum
Chapter 9. Learning Technologies (WebCT)
Chapter 10: Evaluating Learning Technologies
4
Internet
URL
Webpage
BASIC TERMS
基本術語
HTML
Website
Hypertext
WWW
Homepage
HTTP

Internet 因特網



‘a worldwide network of interconnected networks, connected together using
recognized standards to enable electronic communication and the exchange of
information’(Cooke 1999:155)
HTTP – Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hypertext 超文本

Contains cross-references or links to different parts of the same page or to
different pages
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
 WWW: World Wide Web
 URL: Uniform (or Universal) Resource Locator
 Website 網站: a collection of linked HTML
 Webpage 網頁: an individual HTML page
 Homepage 主頁: the opening of any site on the WWW

6
LANGUAGE
WEBSITES
語言網站
What is a language website?
甚麼是語言網站?

A collection of linked html pages available via
the World Wide Web for the purpose of
providing information about some aspects of
language and linguistics
 Authors:


Individuals or groups of linguists or other language
experts and enthusiasts
Example: the Linguist List

http://www.linguistlist.org
8
E-books
E-journals
Bibliographies
TYPES OF
LANGUAGE WEBSITES
語言網站的類型
E-dictionaries
E-libraries
Online Language Courses
Language and Linguistic
Association websites
語言及語言學組織的網站
Linguist List (http://www.linguistlist.org)
 Linguistic Society of Hong Kong

(http://lshk.ctl.cityu.edu.hk/)

Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
(http://www.lsadc.org)

Linguistics Association of the Great Britain (LAGB)
(http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/aboutlag.htm)
10
University and Institutional
Departmental websites
大學及有關部門的網站

HKU Department of Linguistics

Stanford University Department of Linguistics

NTNU Department of Linguistics
(http://www.hku.hk/linguist)
(http://www-linguistics.stanford.edu)
(http://www.ling.hf.ntnu.no/index_en.php)
University of Ghana Department of Linguistics
(http://www.ug.edu.gh/deptdetails.php?recordID=56)
 Guangxi University
(http://www.gxu.edu.cn/administration/gjc/index-e.htm)
 Guangxi University for Nationalities
(http://english.gxun.cn/)

11
Theoretical Linguistics websites
理論語言學的網站
LFG (http://www-lfg.stanford.edu/lfg/)
 HPSG (http://hpsg.stanford.edu)
 Minimalism

(http://minimalism.linguistics.arizona.edu/)

OT-LFG
(http://www.essex.ac.uk/linguistics/LFG/wwwlfg.stanford.edu/ot-lfg/ot-lfg.html)

GB
(http://www.jtauber.com/linguistics/synthinar/)
12
Dictionary and Glossary websites
(e-dictionaries and e-glossaries)
字典及詞匯表的網站
(電子字典及詞匯表)
SIL Linguistic Glossary
( http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTer
ms/ )
 Oxford English Dictionary (OED Online)
(http://www.oed.com)
 Cobuild (http://www.cobuild.collins.co.uk/)
 Merriam Webster
(http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm)
 Web of Online Dictionaries
(http://www.yourdictionary.com)

13
Individual or Language Group
(Grammar) websites
個別語言(文法)的網站
Chinese
(http://pears.lib.ohio-state.edu/China/linguist.html)
 Japanese
(http://www.jgram.org/)
 French
(http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/index.html)
 English
(http://www.chompchomp.com/)
 Swahili
(http://www.yale.edu/swahili/)
 Dagaare
(http://www.hku.hk/linguist/staff/_ab.DagaareProfic
ient.html)

14
Online Language and
Linguistics Course websites
網上語言及語言學課程的網站
 WebCT
course websites
(http://webct.hku.hk/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct)
 The
Use of IT in Teaching Language and
Linguistics Courses
(http://www.hku.hk/linguist/staff/TDGBodomo.html)
 Online
phonology course
(http://www.stir.ac.uk/epd/celt/staff/higdox/stephen/phono/pho
nolg.htm)
 Internet
Grammar of English
(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm)
15
Bibliographical Databases
文獻數據庫
 Bibliography
of Dagaare Studies
(http://www.hku.hk/linguist/staff_ab.DagaareBibliog.html)
 Lexical-Functional
Grammar
(http://www.ims.uni-
stuttgart.de/~cahillae/LFGBib/bibliography.html)
 Chinese
studies
(http://deall.ohio-state.edu/chan.9/g-bib.htm#c-bib)

(others: see Linguist list)
16
E-linguistic resource websites
語言學電子資源的網站:
e-libraries電子圖書館

The World-Wide Web Virtual Library:
Linguistics
(http://www.unikoblenz.de/~compling/Navigationshilfen/Library/)

Linguistics bookshelf
(http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/Linguist.html)

Lancaster University Library
(http://libweb.lancs.ac.uk/g47.htm)

UCLA Library Collections and Internet
Resources in General Linguistics
(http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/colls/ling)
17
E-linguistic resource websites:
e-books / e-encyclopedia電子百科
全書
 MSN
Encarta
(http://encarta.msn.com/)
 Encyclopedia.com
(http://www.encyclopedia.com)
 Wikipedia
(http://www.wikipedia.com)
18
E-linguistic resource websites:
e-journals電子文獻

Language and Linguistic Science Electronic
Journals
(http://www.york.ac.uk/services/library/ejournal/linguist.htm)

Penn Library: Electronic Journals
(http://www.library.upenn.edu/webbin5/resources/ejspublic5.cgi?home
page=http://www.library.upenn.edu/&community=Linguistics)
UM Library: Electronic Journals & Newspapers
(http://www.lib.umich.edu/ejournals/)
 UCL Library: Linguistics Internet resources

(http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Resources/Arts/lings.shtml)

Journal of Dagaare Studies
(http://www.hku.hk/linguist/staff/Bodomo/JDS/all.html)
19
DESIGNING
LANGUAGE WEBSITES
設計語言網站
Designing a language website
設計語言網站
 Design
of website:
 The
creation of a website and the
subsequent arrangement and
rearrangement of its contents
 A good
design of a language website
depends on how adept we are at
manipulating the technology involved
and how artistically sophisticated we are
21
Tools for creating language
websites
製作語言網站的工具

Hypertext
 HTML editors
 WYSIWYG-editors
 Netscape Communicator
 Dreamweaver
 Microsoft Frontpage
 WebCT
 Any more?
22
Creating a webpage by using
Microsoft Frontpage editor
用微軟Frontpage製作網頁
 What
do you need?
 The
editor: Microsoft Frontpage
 The software for uploading your pages (e.g.
CuteFTP, WsFTP)
 A server for storing your pages (e.g.
YahooGeocities)
 Pedagogical tools

Web-based course tool e.g. WebCT
23
HOW TO EVALUATE A
WEBSITE
如何評價網站
Searching for websites
搜尋網站

Evaluating a website begins with locating it
on the internet
 Search engines





Excite (http://www.excite.com)
Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com)
Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.com)
Google (meta-search engine)
(http://www.google.com)
WebCrawler (meta-search engine)
(http://www.webcrawler.com)
25
Criteria for Evaluating a
Language Website
評價網站的標準(Cooke 1999, Alexander and Tate 1999)
 Authority
權威
 Accuracy
 Objectivity
 Currency
 Coverage
AUTHORITY
•Is it clear who is responsible for the contents
of the page?
•Is there a link to a page describing the
purpose of the sponsoring organization?
•Is there a way of verifying the legitimacy of
the page's sponsor? That is, is there a phone
number or postal address to contact for more
information? (Simply an email address is not
enough).
•Is it clear who wrote the material and are the
author's qualifications for writing on this topic
clearly stated?
•If the material is protected by copyright, is the
name of the copyright holder given?
26
Criteria for Evaluating a
Language Website
評價網站的標準(Cooke 1999, Alexander and Tate 1999)
 Authority
 Accuracy
精確性
 Objectivity
 Currency
 Coverage
ACCURACY
•Are the sources for any factual information
clearly listed?
•Is the information free from grammatical,
spelling, and other typographical errors?
(These kinds of errors not only indicate a lack
of quality control, but can actually produce
inaccuracies in information).
•Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility
for the accuracy of the content of the material?
•If there are charts and/or graphs containing
statistical data, are the charts and/or graphs
clearly labeled and easy to read?
27
Criteria for Evaluating a
Language Website
評價網站的標準(Cooke 1999, Alexander and Tate 1999)
 Authority
 Accuracy
 Objectivity
客觀性
 Currency
 Coverage
OBJECTIVITY
•Is the information provided as a public
service?
•Is the information free of advertising?
•If there is any advertising on the page,
is it clearly differentiated from the
informational content?
28
Criteria for Evaluating a
Language Website
評價網站的標準(Cooke 1999, Alexander and Tate 1999)
 Authority
 Accuracy
 Objectivity
 Currency
流通性
 Coverage
CURRENCY
•Are there dates on the page to indicate
•when the page was written?
•when the page was first placed on the Web?
•when the page was last revised?
•Are there any other indications that the material
is kept current?
•If material is presented in graphs and/or charts,
is it clearly stated when the data were gathered?
•If the information is published in different
editions, is it clearly labeled what edition the page
is from?
•If the material is from a work which is out of
copyright (as is often the case with a dictionary or
thesaurus), has there been an effort to update
the material to make it more current?
29
Criteria for Evaluating a
Language Website
評價網站的標準(Cooke 1999, Alexander and Tate 1999)
 Authority
 Accuracy
 Objectivity
 Currency
 Coverage
覆蓋
COVERAGE (and INTENDED AUDIENCE)
•Is there an indication that the page has been
completed, and is not still under construction?
•If the page is still under construction, is the
expected date of completion indicated?
•If there is a print-equivalent to the Web page, is
there a clear indication of whether the entire
work is available on the Web or only parts of it?
•Is the intended audience for the material clear?
30
Further Criteria
其他標準(Bodomo 2002)

Evidence of Patronage


Evidence of Collaboration / Corroboration


How many ‘customers’ patronise a website
Whether the author(s) collaborate(s) with other
linguists and language experts in that area of
language and linguistics
Multilingual Retrievability

Related to online dictionaries/glossaries
31
An Optimal Model for Language Website Evaluation
- e.g. Online English language learning
Criterion ACC ATH OBJ CUR
COV
PAT COL MR Ranked
Output
Candidate website
Internet Grammar of English 
  
 
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internetgrammar/
English4us
    

http://www.english4us.com/
English for Internet
 
http://www.study.com/
BBC English
   
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservic
e/learningenglish/
Key to abbreviations:
COV: Coverage
ACC: Accuracy
PAT: Evidence of Patronage
ATH: Authority
COL: Evidence of Collaboration
OBJ: Objectivity
MR: Multilingual Retrievability
CUR: Currency
2

1
4
3
32
Summary and Conclusion
結論
The web is an important source of data
 But the web can also contain a lot of
inaccuracies and unethical material
 Hence the need for quality control and
consequently evaluation
 In this lecture we have provided information
about language webpage creation before
discussing criteria for Language webpage
evaluation, and ended with proposals
towards a model of language website
evaluation.

33
References 參考書目
Alexander, Jan. E. and Marsha Ann Tate. 1996. Checklist for an Informational Web
Page. USA: Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University. URL:
http://www3.widener.edu/659/
 Alexander, Jan. E. and Marsha Ann Tate. 1999. Web Wisdom: How to Evaluate and
Create Information Quality on the Web. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Inc., Publishers.
 Bodomo, A. B. in preparation. Languages, Literacies, and Technologies: Forms
and Ways of Communication in the Age of Information Technology and their
Educational Implications. [250 page book draft]








Bodomo, A. B. 2002. Linguistics.com: Evaluating Language Resources on the
Internet. In: Reflecting on Language in Education, edited by V. Crew, C. Davison, and
B. Mak. Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Institute of Education. pps. 153-167.
Cooke, Alison. 1999. Authoritative Guide to Evaluating Information on the Internet.
New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Grassian, Esther. 1997. Thinking Critically about Discipline-based World Wide Web
Resources. USA: UCLA College Library. Available URL:
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/discipline.htm
Kapoun, Jim. 1998. Teaching Undergrads Web Evluation: A Guide for Library Instruction.
URL: http://www.ala.org/acrl/undwebev.html
Landsberger, Joe. 2000 Evaluating Website Content. URL:
http://www.studygs.net/evaluate.htm
Skillman & Kirby Libraries. 2000. Evaluating Websites for Academic Use.
URL: http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/guides/evaluating.html
Wolinsky, Art. 1999. Locating and Evaluating Information on the Internet. USA: Enslow
Publishers, Inc.
Referencing Internet Resources
引用互聯網資源



Many different accepted formats
Information to be included for citing web resources
 Name(s) of author(s)
 Date/year of publication
 Title of the website/webpage
 Date of retrieval/access
 URL i.e. the address of the document
Useful resources:
 Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American
Psychological Association (http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html)
 MLA Style: How do I document sources from the World Wide
Web in my works-cited list? (http://www.mla.org/style_faq4)
 Evaluating and Citing Web Resources for Research (HKUST)
(http://library.ust.hk/serv/lin/evaluate-cite.html)
35