The Notes Panel

The Notes Panel is very important. It’s a place where you can give the entry a richer meaning by giving it a definition, recording cultural knowledge and also linguistic information.

The information in these fields can also be included into the resources you create such as dictionaries, word lists and apps.

Remember you can control which of your fields appear in the resources you create and in the different areas of Miromaa, by using the settings in the Control Panel and when you create dictionaries, wordlists and apps.

Extra Information Field

Give the word a definition and description here. This field will appear as the definition when you create dictionaries and word lists with the default settings. To record extra information:

1. Click in the box below ‘Extra Information’
2. Type your definition here

Knowledge Field

This is a place to record cultural knowledge relating to each entry. This field is not included in the dictionary and word list export settings by default but you can chose to include this field when giving exports to people that you trust. For ‘Berabakaan’ we found the knowledge, that Awabakal people did not eat the sperm whale (only the black whale) because they believed that long ago berabakaan had swallowed a man, and so to eat a sperm whale was act of cannibalism. We have referenced the page numbers of the books in which we found this information here in the field.

To record cultural knowledge:

1. Click in the box below ‘Cultural Knowledge’
2. Type any cultural knowledge about this word or concept here

Linguistic Comments

Here you can record some of your language detective work. We also have the Linguist screen to expand on this for those who are interested.

The Reference Panel

The reference panel lets you classify your words according to their conceptual and grammatical categories. This is very important later on when you create word lists and dictionaries to serve specific purposes.

We hear often from the Miromaa community that they are asked for specific language requests, for example the local pre-school would like a list of the parts of the body so they can sing ‘Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes’. Classifying your entries via the Reference Panel makes sure you can service language requests quickly and easily.

Miromaa lets you use filters to select by Word Category or Part of Speech whether you would like a word included or excluded in your dictionaries and word lists. This also helps you to find and organise your work.

Entering A Word Category

To enter the Word Category:

1. Click ‘Add’, this will bring up a list of categories.
   
   
   
   Miromaa comes with a pre-set of basic default categories for Part of Speech and Word Categories already installed for you. The Word Categories are based on the Semantic Domains for Australian Aboriginal languages: http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/aust/domains.html For more information about these categories see About the Pre-Set Word Categories and Parts of Speech
   
   
2. Find the category that relates to your word in the list.
   
   If there is a box with a + next to the category name (as with the category ‘Wildlife’ that relates to our example) this means there are sub-categories available. Click on that box to reveal the sub-categories.
   
   
   
   
3. If there is a sub-category that matches your word click on it, if not click on the category
   
   
4. Click ‘Add’
   The category (and sub-category if applicable) will be visible in the Word Category field for your entry.
   
   
   We have added the Word Category ‘Wildlife’ and Sub-Category ‘Marine Mammals’ to the list. If you would like to add to your Word Categories and SubCategories please see the section in this chapter Customising Word Category and Parts of Speech lists.

Adding Another Word Category

Some words fit into more than one category. ‘Berabakaan’ for example is both a marine mammal and a subject of cultural lore, it was also a food source. It can therefore have three categories applied.

To add another category:

1. Repeat the same steps a-d, that you took in the Entering A Word Category section.
   Your second category will now appear in the Word Category Field. Repeat as required.
   
   
   
   

Removing A Word Category

To remove a word category:

1. Click on the category or sub-categories you would like to remove.
   Miromaa will not let you remove a Word Category that has sub-categories attached, if this is the case you must remove the sub-category/ies first.
   
   
2. Click on ‘Remove’
   Miromaa will ask you if you are sure you want to remove the Word Category.
   
   
   
   
3. Click ‘Yes’ or press enter on your keyboard.
   Miromaa will remove your word category or sub-category. If you have added the sub-category at the same time as the category Miromaa will remove the two together.
   
   

Parts of Speech

To enter the Parts of Speech:

1. Click ‘Add’, this will bring up a list of categories.
   
   
   
   Should you need to add your own parts of speech please see the section on Customising Word Category and Parts of Speech Lists in this chapter.
   
   
2. Find the part of speech that relates to your word in the list.
   
   If there is a box with a + next to the part of speech name (as with the category ‘Noun’ that relates to our example) this means there are sub-categories available. Click on that box to reveal the sub-categories.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. If there is a sub-category that matches your word click on it, if not click on the part of speech category.
   
   
4. Click 'Add'
   The part of speech category (and sub-part of speech if applicable) will be visible in the part of speech field for your entry.
   
   

Adding Another Part of Speech Category

Some words fit into more than one part of speech category. To add another category:

1. Repeat the same steps a-d, as to add your first category.
   Your second category will now appear in the Part of Speech field.

Customising Word Category and Parts of Speech Lists.

How To Add, Edit or Delete a Word Category or Part of Speech

1. Click on Tools in the main menu
   
   
2. Select Options
   
   
3. Click on ‘Word Categories’ under ‘Manage’ to open Word Category options
   
   
4. Click on the Add, Edit or Delete buttons

How To Add a Word Sub-Category

1. Follow steps 1-3 on the previous page in the Add, Edit or Delete a word category section
2. Click on the word category that you wish to add the sub-category to
3. Click ‘Add’
4. Type in the sub-category you wish to add
   
   

How To Edit or Delete a Word Sub-Category

1. Follow steps 1-3 on the previous page in the Add, Edit or Delete a word category section
2. Click on the Word Category with the sub-category you wish to edit or delete
3. Click on the sub-category you wish to edit or delete
4. Click on the Add, Edit or Delete buttons
   
   

About The Pre-Set Word Categories and Parts of Speech

The word categories that are pre-set in Miromaa are taken from Semantic Domains for Australian Aboriginal languages which you can access here: http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/aust/domains.html

You can access the Siletz Tribe’s list of semantic domains for Native American languages here:http://siletz.swarthmore.edu/semantic_domains/

The pre-set list is designed to give you an idea of how other people have classified their languages and ordered them in Miromaa. We have removed some of these and added new categories for our language, Awabakal, as you will see in the examples following.

We welcome and encourage you to play with these categories and to add and delete the list and make your Miromaa database your own. What works for you and is unique to your language is what is important.

Lists of Preset Default Categories

Parts of Speech Pre-sets - Default Categories:

1. Noun
2. Verb
3. Adjective
4. Pronoun
5. Adverb
6. Preposition
7. Conjunction
8. Interjection

Word Category and Sub-Category Pre-sets

Custom Fields Panel

Custom fields are there in case you need a field that has not been included in Miromaa.

There are 9 custom fields.

An example of how people have used this field is for phonetic spelling.

How To Add Custom Fields

1. Click on ‘Tools’ in the Menu Bar
   
   
2. Select ‘Options’
   This will open the Options screen.
   
   
3. Under ‘Manage’ select Custom Fields
   
   
   
4. Enter your Custom Field names
   Your field names should now appear in the Custom Field section in your Editor.