Welcome to COALA!

Computational Corpus Annotation for Quantitative Analysis of Latin Lexical Semantics

How do words change meaning over time – and how can we measure it?

Language is constantly evolving, yet the meanings of words are not directly observable. In historical languages like Latin, understanding meaning has long relied on dictionaries and small-scale qualitative studies. While invaluable, these approaches cannot fully capture the complexity of semantic variation across centuries, genres, and contexts.

COALA is changing that.

A New Approach to Meaning

COALA brings together computational methods and linguistic expertise to make large-scale, quantitative analysis of word meaning possible for the first time in Latin.

The development of an innovative corpus annotation system powered by advances in word sense disambiguation will enable:

  • Systematic identification of word meanings across vast textual datasets
  • Quantitative tracking of semantic change over more than two millennia
  • Scalable, consistent annotation of historical language data

Why Latin?

Latin offers a uniquely rich testing ground:

  • Over 2,000 years of continuous textual history
  • Extensive digital corpora and research tools
  • A central role in Europe’s cultural and intellectual heritage

This makes Latin the ideal language to pioneer a new era of quantitative historical semantics.

Research Impact

COALA addresses key challenges and opens new directions across multiple fields:

  • Corpus Linguistics
    Developing scalable methods for consistent semantic annotation in historical texts
  • Computational Semantics
    Advancing state-of-the-art techniques for analyzing meaning in context
  • Historical and Latin Linguistics
    Exploring how meanings evolve across genres, registers, and time periods

Key Questions

COALA seeks to answer fundamental questions such as:

  • How does polysemy vary across different types of texts?
  • How do words within the same lexical field evolve together?
  • When do semantic innovations emerge – and how do they spread?
  • Is Latin truly a “fossilised” language, or does it show ongoing semantic change?

Transforming the Study of Meaning

Through the first large-scale empirical analysis of semantic change in Latin, COALA sets a new standard for research in lexical semantics – bridging the gap between traditional scholarship and computational innovation.

Want to know more?

For collaborations or inquiries, please get in touch with the PI, Barbara McGillivray.

Contact

The COALA project was successfully evaluated by the ERC and funded by UKRI (project reference UKRI947).