LIETUVIŲ KALBOS IŠTEKLIŲ INFORMACINĖ SISTEMA „E. KALBA“: NUO KŪRIMO ISTORIJOS, PAIEŠKOS GALIMYBIŲ IKI PLĖTROS PERSPEKTYVŲ

Abstract

This article presents the Lithuanian Language Resources Information System "E. kalba" ("E-Language"), which was developed at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. The article therefore introduces the history of the development of "E. kalba", discusses the advantages of the system, shows how to perform a quick search in all or selected language resources, how to search for information of interest using wildcards, and briefly presents the statistics on the use of the system. The paper concludes with an introduction to the possible development perspectives of the system. From 2021, the system is freely available to the professionals and general public at https://ekalba.lt. The "E. kalba" provides access to 39 language resources, which are divided into three major groups: 1) e-dictionaries ("Dictionary of the Standard Lithuanian Language", "Dictionary of the Modern Lithuanian Language", "Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language", "Database of Lithuanian Language Neologisms", "Dictionary of Synonyms", "Lithuanian-English Dictionary", "German-Lithuanian Dictionary", etc.), 2) e-catalogues ("Main Catalogue of the ‘Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language’", "Catalogue of New Additions of the ‘Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language’", "Catalogue of Riddles", etc.), databases ("Database of Surnames", etc.), and 3) e-services ("WordNet search", "E-terms", "E-names", "Sentiment Analysis", "Word Formation Guide", "Language Advice", "Educational Language games", etc.). In addition to being a treasure trove of linguistic resources, "E. kalba" is also a multi-criteria search tool, with an effective and sophisticated search mechanism (quick and detailed search, search across all resources or within each resource, etc.). "E. kalba" offers a user-friendly way to view search results – results can be downloaded and saved in PDF and XML formats, and results can be shared on "Facebook". The system is also mobile-friendly.