This paper presents a project conducted at the University of Durham, UK, called CALIBAL, an acronym for computer-assisted learning in biblical and ancient languages. It shows the project in statu nascendi, so one can follow how the plans have been made and how they are going to be realized.

The project has as its aim the establishment of computer aids for the teaching of biblical Greek in order to reduce human teaching time. Biblical Greek is a dead language: it can only be learned from texts. As the text base is well defined--the Greek New Testament--the vocabulary and grammar of the language can be defined quite precisely as well. The language, which is highly inflected, has characters that include a non-roman alphabet with some diacritics. The text base consists of 27 books, contains internal references and a critical apparatus, and is the size of one megabyte.

The system under development is called TextType, which is characterized as a lexis processor (lexis = vocabulary of a language)--a tool for handling words in a text, a dictionary, or another list. It combines elements of word-processing, text-processing, and authoring. “Text-processing provides the useful linguistic material which, when edited by means of word-processing, can be used in an educational framework which authoring provides” (p. 155).

TextType is used primarily for sophisticated searches in the text base. For example, it searches for all occurrences of a given Greek verb, regardless of its form, or for references within the text.

CALIBAL testing should address these issues: how these computer aids can be used most effectively in the teaching of New Testament Greek, how the teaching will be affected by these techniques, and how the tool is accepted by the user.

The paper gives a well-structured, insider’s view of the construction phase of a software tool designed for use in the humanities, that is, by users with little or no relation to electronic data processing. It shows very clearly how such a project has to be run (detailed, but adaptable, planning covering all important aspects from problem adequacy to the needs of the intended applicant). It is a good example for all who plan comparable projects. The project itself with all its complexity seems to be of such importance that one can only hope for success.