Full name:

Citation Form

Abbreviation:

lc

Location:

In the Entry pane (Lexicon Edit).

This field is at the entry-level.

Description:

This field stores the form of the lexeme that you want to appear as the headword in the dictionary. However, you do not have to use this field. If you enter nothing in it, Language Explorer will use whatever is in the Lexeme Form field as the headword (See: Lexeme Form field).

You would only use this field if the bare stem (the form of the word without any inflectional affixes) is not well-formed. If you need to use an inflected form as the headword in the dictionary, put the inflected form in this field and the uninflected stem in the Lexeme Form field.

Tasks:

• Enter a citation form

• Show Entry in Concordance

• You typically configure the dictionary to display Headword, but you may select Citation Form or Lexeme Form.

Field type:

Single-line text field – you cannot embed characters in other writing systems or embed styles

Writing systems:

One or more vernacular

Important:

If a citation form (or a lexeme form) requires the use of an apostrophe as a word-forming character (such as in the Sena words kang'ombe or ng'anga), refer to Word-forming apostrophes and glottal stops for information to help you use the correct apostrophe.

Note:

Newell (1995:257) listed "the main features of citation forms" (below). This list can help you understand why native speakers react well or poorly to certain citation forms. It is also good for picking a citation form for an extinct language.

It is strongly recommended that you test native speakers to determine their choice of a citation form and determine what problems they have in finding words.

1. Non-inflected forms, which occur naturally as (phonological) words within oral and written forms.

2. Forms with minimal affixation (i.e. which are closest to the basic root or stem).

3. Forms that are free from morphophonemic features.

4. Forms that are regarded by native speakers as ‘natural’ citation-forms, i.e. the ones that come quickly in their mind when they want to look them up in the dictionary.

5. Forms that are easily identifiable in isolation.

6. Forms that occur most frequently.

7. Forms that represent the basic meanings of the lexical items.

8. Stem-forms from which other inflectional forms of a paradigm could be constructed.

9. Forms that could be used to derive sub-entries. (Newell 1995: 245).