Preparation for Geolinguistic Database and Development of the Data-processing System for Analysis

1983年，首席调查员使用个人计算机（名为SEAL）开发了第一个语言地理数据处理系统。为了适应硬件和软件的进步，最初的系统进行了改进，1995年推出了4.3版。在本研究项目的第一年，即1995年，引进了一个新的个人计算机系统，包括一个大硬盘，一个彩色打印机和一个扫描仪，这将使我们能够建立地理语言数据库。在第二年，1996年，我们开始更新SEAL系统，用Visual Basic重写它。第三年，1997年，完成了用于Windows95的SEAL 5.0版，并出版了用户手册。现在DOS/V用户可以使用SEAL，很容易将数据与其他软件链接，我们可以制作精细的彩色地图。其他任务包括研究方言学和语言地理学的最新著作，分析日语和英语的方言数据。首席研究员在国际方言学家和地质语言学家会议上提交了一篇关于使用SEAL分析地质语言数据的方法的论文。在德国班贝格大学的W.Viereck教授的帮助下，SEAL被用于分析英国计算机开发语言地图集（CLAE）的数据，并发表了结果。

The head investigator developed the first data-processing system for linguistic geography using a personal computer (named SEAL) in 1983. The original system was improved to accommodate the progress of the hardware and software, resulting in version 4.3 in 1995. As a result, a person unfamiliar with BASIC could use the SEAL system and the ready-made data could be processed using SEAL.In the first year or this research project, 1995, a new personal computer system including a big hard disk was introduced with a color printer and a scanner, which would enable us to make geolinguistic database. In the second year, 1996, we started updating the SEAL system by rewriting it in Visual Basic. In the third year, 1997, SEAL version 5.0 for Windows95 was completed, and the user's manual was published. Now the DOS/V user can use SEAL,it is easy to link the data with the other software, and we can make fine, colored maps.Other tasks included studying recent works on dialectology and linguistic geography and analysing the dialectal data of Japanese and English. The head investigator presented a paper on the method to analyze the geolinguistic data using SEAL at the International Conference of Dialectologists and Geolinguists. SEAL was used to analyze the data of Computer Developed Linguistic Atlas of England (CLAE) thanks to the offer by Prof.Dr.W.Viereck at University Bamberg, Germany, and the results were published.