A8. More About Variants

Summary: A8. More About Variants

This lesson is the second in a two-part series on lexical variation in language, expanding on the previous lesson about lexical variants in FieldWorks Language Explorer (FLEx). It focuses primarily on morphological variation and how to represent different types of variants in dictionaries using FLEx.

Key Concepts Covered:

1. Types of Variants:

• Previously introduced types:
  
  

  • Pronunciation, Dialect, Spelling, Free, and Contractions
    
    

• New types introduced in this lesson:
  
  

  • Morphological
    
    

    • Inflectional: Adds grammatical meaning (e.g., jump, jumped)
      
      

    • Derivational: Creates new words (e.g., nation → national)
      
      

  • Unspecified
    
    

2. Displaying Variants in Dictionaries:

• Through:
  
  

  • Multiple variations listed under entries
    
    

  • Cross-referencing
    
    

  • Minor entries with links
    
    

  • Combination of the above
    
    

3. Regular vs. Irregular Inflection:

• Regular: Follows predictable rules (e.g., dogs)
  
  

• Irregular: Deviates from rules (e.g., children, feet)
  
  

4. Derivational Variants:

• Includes affix changes such as:
  
  

  • Prefixes (un-, in-), including phonological variants (il-, im-, ir-)
    
    

• Display options:
  
  

  • Main entries with cross-referencing
    
    

  • Minor entries
    
    

  • Custom fields
    
    

5. Managing Variants in FLEx:

• Linking entries as variants
  
  

• Creating new variant types
  
  

• Associating variants to main entries or specific senses
  
  

• Reversing or deleting links between entries
  
  

• Ordering variant forms in display (e.g., showing present before past)
  
  

• Adjusting summary definitions for better representation
  
  

Practical Activities:

• Add and customize variant types (e.g., Present, Plural)
  
  

• Create or link entries as variants
  
  

• Link to specific senses (e.g., dialectal variation)
  
  

• Reorder variants in the dictionary view
  
  

• Remove or correct variant relationships
  
  

• Delete variant entries
  
  

Tools and Resources:

• Variant Type Lists for customizing classification
  
  

• FLEx Tools Menu: Changing variant type behavior
  
  

• Configure Dictionary Tool for adjusting how entries appear
  
  

• Sample projects and quizzes reinforce practical application
  
  

Let me know if you'd like this translated into French, Spanish, or Portuguese!