Syst\`eme d'aide \`a l'acc\`es lexical : trouver le mot qu'on a sur le bout de la langue

TL;DR

This paper presents a lexical aid tool inspired by the Tip of the Tongue phenomenon, using linguistic databases to help users find words they know but cannot immediately recall.

Contribution

It introduces a novel system combining psycho-linguistic insights with structured lexical databases to assist in word retrieval during TOT episodes.

Findings

SVETLAN can effectively structure dictionaries by domains.

Combining SVETLAN with EuroWordNet improves word retrieval.

The system simulates TOT phenomena to aid language users.

Abstract

The study of the Tip of the Tongue phenomenon (TOT) provides valuable clues and insights concerning the organisation of the mental lexicon (meaning, number of syllables, relation with other words, etc.). This paper describes a tool based on psycho-linguistic observations concerning the TOT phenomenon. We've built it to enable a speaker/writer to find the word he is looking for, word he may know, but which he is unable to access in time. We try to simulate the TOT phenomenon by creating a situation where the system knows the target word, yet is unable to access it. In order to find the target word we make use of the paradigmatic and syntagmatic associations stored in the linguistic databases. Our experiment allows the following conclusion: a tool like SVETLAN, capable to structure (automatically) a dictionary by domains can be used sucessfully to help the speaker/writer to find the word he is looking for, if it is combined with a database rich in terms of paradigmatic links like EuroWordNet.