Wordnet is an online lexical reference system. Its design is inspired by current psycholinguistic and computational theories of human lexical memory. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are organized into synonymous sets, each representing one underlying lexicalized concept. Different semantic relations link the synonymous sets. Wordnet is neither a traditional dictionary nor a thesaurus but combines features of both types of lexical reference resources. The most ambitious feature of Wordnet is the organization of lexical information in terms of word meanings rather than word forms.
The main objective of Malayalam Wordnet is to develop an extensive and high quality multilingual database with wordnets for Dravidian languages in a cost-effective manner, and also to link it with the existing prominent Wordnet of languages like Hindi, English and other languages. The project will also develop a set of semantic concepts linking the language networks together, independent of any particular language. The resources will be field tested for adequacy in an information retrieval application. The ultimate objectives are to move toward standardization of semantic classification of information for all Dravidian languages and to provide resources for development of applications, which can operate in a selected language or over a range of languages.
