Version 1.6.0 of PAWS is now available
for download at https://software.sil.org/paws/download/.
It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.
The Parser and Writer for Syntax (PAWS) has two purposes. The
Writer produces about a 100 page long rough draft of a grammar of
the syntax of your language, based on the answers to the questions
in each section of PAWS. The draft can be in English, French,
and/or Spanish. The Parser can optionally produce all the files
needed for using the PC-PATR syntactic parser for parsing and
disambiguation within FieldWorks Language Explorer or CARLA
Studio. For both the Writer and the Parser, we expect PAWS to
cover about 80% of what a specific language needs.
This version has several enhancements:
There are some enhancements in the prose explanations in both the
PAWS interface pages and in the writer output. In addition, more
consistency checks were added throughout PAWS.
Both the interlinear information and
the word information you key in response to the questions have at
least two fields: one for keying the vernacular language data and
one for keying the free translation/gloss data. This has two
advantages:
- It makes it possible for a
consultant to review the writer output as you go and
especially before leaving PAWS. The consultant can then give
you feedback on any changes to make in PAWS before you begin
the editing process.
- It makes less work for you when
editing the output.
Interlinear information has two
possible styles for interlinear text output:
- vernacular words (presumably in a roman orthography)
literal word glosses
morpheme glosses
free translation
- vernacular words (presumably in a non-roman orthography)
words in IPA
IPA with morpheme breaks
morpheme glosses
free translation
state language free translation (presumably in a non-roman
orthography)
The Windows version also allows a user
to specify which keyboard to use for the following kinds of
fields:
- vernacular language data
- IPA
- free translation/gloss
- custom text to be inserted into
the writer when the language being documented has something
PAWS does not cover
PAWS will automatically switch to
the keyboard selected for each of these fields.
Please email me with any questions.
--Andy Black