Background:  Most linguists and linguistics students are computer-
 literate in that they use computers regularly and have a working
 knowlege of electronic mail, Internet facilities like ftp and telnet,
 and software relevant to their daily tasks (e.g, word-processing or
 statistical analysis programs).
 
 Furthermore, because of the intellectual affinities between linguistics
 and computer science, they tend to be interested, not intimidated, by
 the prospect of acquiring new computer skills.  However, unless they
 are computational linguists, or have taken one of the courses in
 Linguistics and Computing being initiated at some universities, their
 computer knowledge tends to be unsystematic, focused on "how", not
 "why," and restricted to a few tools useful in their own subfields.
 
 Most have, at best, an incomplete knowledge of :
 
  o how computers can facilitate their own work, whether
    teaching or language analysis
 
  o how computers are producing new subdisciplines in linguistics
    and changing the nature of existing ones
 
 Yet such knowledge is increasingly needed by linguists who want to
 remain current in the profession.  The book proposed here is intended
 to fill that need.
 
 Content: Individually-authored chapters, with appendices, covering
          three general topics:
 
  o computer tools of particular usefulness to linguists (e.g, Unix
    utilities, Emacs)
 
  o computational developments having an impact on the field of
    linguistics as a whole (e.g, character-encoding, the construction
    of text corpora)
 
  o goals and procedures of new computationally-oriented linguistic
    subfields (e.g, natural language processing).
 
 Chapter length:  roughly 25 printed pages, plus relevant appendices
 
 Intended Audience:  linguists and linguistics professors who are not
 computational linguists or programmers, linguistics graduate students,
 and academics in related disciplines (e.g, communications, psychology)
 who want a broad, non-technical survey of recent developments in
 linguistic computing.  To meet the needs of this audience, the
 information is designed to be:
 
  o accessible: fundamental concepts are covered and technical
    terminology is defined
 
  o comprehensive: chapters treat a broad range of important topics;
    and each chapter provides extensive coverage of its subject
    (see chapter outlines)
 
  o practical: each chapter suggests additional ways to pursue the
    topic and offers a guide to current resources
 
  o authoritative: the authors are recognized experts in their fields;
    and, although they have been asked to write for non-specialists,
    their chapters will reflect their own state-of-the-art
    understanding of the topics.
 
Special Features:
 
 o an introduction, in question and answer format, covering "what you
   always wanted to know about computers but were afraid to ask."  It
   will be organized by topic and will provide basic general information
   ("What is an Internet protocol?"), as well as any topic-specific
   background information not covered in individual chapters ("Is there
   a difference between a corpus and a text archive?").  The topic
   organization should make it an efficient way for readers to fill gaps
   in their basic knowledge.
 
 o a glossary of technical terms, including acronyms (GIF, GUI, CGI),
   defining words italicized in the chapters
 
 o updatable chapter appendices:  separate lists of available
   resources: books, e-mail lists, software, archives, etc.
     o organized by topic
     o described and briefly evaluated
     o with information on price, access, and equipment needed, if any
     o preferably in the public domain (as lists, at least)
 
 Current appendices will be published with the book.  Additionally, the
 appendices, or resource lists, will be maintained and updated at a
 World Wide Web site provided by the editors or the publisher.  Each
 appendix will be credited to the original author; and authors will be
 asked to make a 3-year commitment to regular updates.
 
 Purpose: The book should function as:
 
   o a general survey of computing in linguistics through which readers
     can update and expand their knowledge of  the field
 
   o a source of information about useful skills and programs.  For
     example, the book will explain why a linguist might wish to learn
     Emacs and how to go about it, although it will not attempt to teach
     the program itself.
 
   o a handbook and resource guide
 
   o a textbook for graduate or advanced undergraduate study of
     computing and linguistics.  It will be suitable to use as an
     initial or supplementary text in a semester- long course,
     or as a primary text in a 3-4 week unit.
 
   o Target publication: 1996

Contents:   Using Computers in Linguistics: A Practical Guide
            edited by John Lawler and Helen Aristar Dry
 
   Introduction
 
      Some Basic Questions and Their Answers
       John Lawler (jlawler@umich.edu)
 
   I. Tools for Linguists:  Choosing Hardware and Software
 
      Computing Environments for Linguists
       Gary F. Simons (gary.simons@sil.org)
 
      Educational Software
       Henry Rogers (rogers@epas.utoronto.ca)
 
      Linguistic Software for the Field
       Evan L. Antworth (evan.antworth@sil.org)
 
  II. Tools for Linguists: Writing and Customizing Your Own
 
      The Unix Language Family
       John Lawler (jlawler@umich.edu)
 
      Emacs: Exploiting Its Potential
       David Stampe (stampe@hawaii.edu)
 
 III. Linguistic Computing: Developments of General Importance
 
      Linguistic Networking: Internet and World Wide Web
       Anthony Aristar (aristar@tam2000.tamu.edu) and
       Helen Aristar Dry (hdry@emunix.emich.edu)
 
      Characters, Encoding, and Fonts
       Glenn Adams (glenn@stonehand.com)
 
      Text Corpora and Text-processing
       Susan Hockey (hockey@zodiac.rutgers.edu)
 
  IV. Linguistic Computing: New and Changing Subfields
 
      Natural Language Processing
       James E. Hoard (jhoard@atc.boeing.com)
 
      Phonetics
       Ian Maddieson (idu0ian@mvs.oac.ucla.edu)