This software remedies a major gap in working with Cuneiform texts. As far as we know, there does not exist a true way in which to perform quick, useful searches for parallel texts, or for occurrences of particular text. This software fills the gap, giving the user the possibility to intelligently search for parallels and occurrences within Cuneiform texts. TCT offers three main functions:
Textual Elements Search:
You can enter an element sequence to be found, and ask TCT to look for it: you may force the presence of a certain prefix/infix/suffix, or the presence of a certain root before the one you are looking for. Also, you may ask TCT to search for sign sequences! Just write the readings as usual, then check the box "Search Raw Cuneiform Signs" and that's all.
A fuzzy Parallels Search, very similar to common Internet Search Engines:
Of course, doing manual scans of book after book has its place, but this way is much easier, no? The snapshot speaks for itself: you write the piece of sentence on the left, and then you get on the right your search result. Then, a double click on one of them pops up a window with detail on the surrounding text lines.
And a small thesaurus of names:
This tool is fairly useless when you have a powerful search engine: however, it has two major advantages:
(1) you do not have to write the name for which you are looking: you just select it.
(2) the database may contain name variants or writing/transliteration variants for that name. For example, ba-ba6 name will also show ba-U2 variants as search results for ba-ba6. This may come in very handy on searches.
TCT is a free program that currently supports searching 2,700 lines of Sumerian text from Gudea, 31,700 lines of Sumerian literature from the ETCSL, and 66,000 lines of Old Sumerian text from the CDLI. The full $195 registered installation which is required for institutional/commercial entities or shared machines additionally supports searching 583,000 lines of Ur III text from the CDLI and 609,000 lines of all types of text from the PSD.
The CDLI text files are compressed in a Stuffit format that is unfamiliar to Windows users. You can download from here a freeware program, installation of which will allow Windows to automatically uncompress *.sit extension files.
Click here to download the freeware Aladdin Stuffit expander program, alex50.exe. Save, then Open.
Click here to download TCT, fully usable on private, non-shared non-public entities machines for non-commercial usage.
Copyright © 2005-2009 John Halloran, Los Angeles, California
Last modified on October 12, 2009.
https://www.sumerian.org/tct-proj.htm