LaTeX for linguistics

Standard LaTeX often falls short of linguists’ needs. But fear not! We are the heirs of our elders’ ingenuity.

After getting started you may find this .tex file interesting. It compiles into this PDF.

Note for Lyx users

If you use LyX, the LyX Linguistics module adds some support for numbered examples, glosses, OT tableaux and some semantic markup.

Trees

If a tool is listed here without special instructions, it’s a package included with standard versions of LATEX. If not, see Importing other people’s code.

  • Qtree is the most popular way to draw syntactic trees.
  • PST-JTree is a relatively new package for drawing complex syntactic trees. It uses pstricks, so you have to run latex instead of pdflatex, or do some work if you need compatibility with XƎTEX.
Trees for phonology
  • PST-ASR is a relatively new package for drawing autosegmental trees. It uses pstricks, so you have to run latex instead of pdflatex, or do some work if you need compatibility with XƎTEX.

Numbered examples with glosses

If a tool is listed here without special instructions, it’s a package included with standard versions of LATEX. If not, see Importing other people’s code.

  • gb4e (with cgloss4e) is the most common way to make numbered examples with glossing.
  • linguex does both numbered and glossed examples. It has shorter commands than gb4e but may conflict with other packages. Must be loaded before TIPA.
  • ExPex is a relatively new package for numbered examples with glossing. Plentiful formatting options make glossing a little more complicated.
    Note: The command is \include{expex}, not \usepackage{expex}.
  • covington is an older package for numbered examples with glossing. It seems to be less used nowadays.

IPA

If a tool is listed here without special instructions, it’s a package included with standard versions of LATEX. If not, see Importing other people’s code.

  • TIPA is the pure LATEX way to get IPA while typing plain text. You may prefer to consult this chart instead of the full manual.
  • XƎTEX. To type actual IPA characters in your .tex file, run xelatex instead of pdflatex. As a side benefit, XƎTEX enables access to non-LATEX fonts. Some work required to get compatibility with OTtablx, PST-JTree and PST-ASR.

Optimality Theory

If a tool is listed here without special instructions, it’s a package included with standard versions of LATEX. If not, see Importing other people’s code.

  • ot-tableau provides straightforward commands for getting perfectly serviceable tableaux. Inputs and candidates automatically accept TIPA but Unicode also works perfectly if you’re using XƎTEX. Only a formatting maniac like me would complain.
  • OTtablx makes beautiful tableaux with lots of options (though no cell shading yet) and very simple commands. Inputs and candidates automatically accept TIPA but Unicode also works perfectly if you’re using XƎTEX. It uses pstricks, so you have to run latex instead of pdflatex, or do some work if you need compatibility with XƎTEX. Not in standard LATEX, and the usual link is down, so download here.
  • OTableau is a program (Windows, Mac, Linux) that generates LATEX code for tableaux from a standard spreadsheet format (CSV), as well as automatic exclamation marks and winners. I haven’t tried it but others like it. Unfortunately can’t handle dashed lines. Not in standard LATEX: download here.
  • OT tableau generator is a website that generates (unfortunately) outdated code using the colortab package that is no longer included in TEX Live.
  • shade is a perl script that takes LATEX code and adds automatic cell shading and exclamation marks. It’s a cleanup tool rather than a complete solution, and may have been superseded by the other options above. Not in standard LATEX: download here.

Vowel charts

If a tool is listed here without special instructions, it’s a package included with standard versions of LATEX. If not, see Importing other people’s code.

  • vowel draws perfect vowel diagrams.
  • pst-vowel has more options, such as diphthong arrows.
    • Requires linguex, so it is presumably incompatible with other packages for numbered glossed examples like gb4e or ExPex.
    • Uses pstricks so you have to run latex instead of pdflatex, and you may have to do some work to get compatibility with XƎTEX.

Symbols for semantics

Most symbols for semantics are available in standard LATEX, through math mode, amsmath or amssymb. Look them up at Detexify.

  • stmaryrd (St Mary’s Road) has crucial symbols like double brackets – \llbracket, \rrbracket. Included with standard versions of LATEX.