Parathon¶

Signals¶
Inputs:
Segmentation
A Textable segmentation containing words.
Outputs:
Segmented data
A Textable segmentation containing the same words annotated with the discovered paratextual elements and its position.
Description¶
The widget is based on a Python package created by Sorcha Walsh that you can find at GitHub : https://github.com/sorchawalsh/parathon.git.
This widget takes a segmentation as input and applies dictionaries. The dictionaries are stored in default_dict as regex dictionaries. The files are in JSON format. The widget annotates the input text and extract the paralinguistic elements specific to digital communication, while relating them to the paralinguistic features present in face-to-face communication. However, the final result is not really that. We were not able to display it that way.
Interface¶
User controls are divided into three main sections: Dictionaries, Advanced settings, and Selection Mode.

If no input has been connected, the parathon widget cannot work. It sends an error, Widget needs input.

After connecting a Textable widget as an input, the user can start using the parathon widget. There is a problem with the input because the Parathon widget, in its current state, requires a Segment widget as input after the text field widget. Indeed, if you only connect a text field widget, for example, to the Parathon widget, it doesn’t work.
The minimal window, presents the Dictionaries section, in which the user can select one or more dictionaries found in json files. These dictionaries are composed of regex lists.
Select All selects all dictionaries. Deselect All deletes all previously selected dictionaries. Reload allows the user to update the selection that will be processed if there are any changes before starting the processing. Send initiates the widget process and sends the result to the output. The result is a segmentation. A message of confirmation appears, i segment sent to output. In this minimal window, the checkbox to go to Advanced settings section is displayed.

This figure shows how it appears if the user selected Send automatically.

Advanced settings section has been selected. On the left part of the section, one can select one or more dictionaries. When a dictionary is selected, the part on the right, i.e. the Selection Mode section changes according to the selected dictionary. Selection Mode presents the two paralinguistic categories CMC and F2F. CMC means Computer-Mediated Communication and F2F means Face-to-Face. One can select either one, and then opt for a more advanced analysis by selecting sub-elements within each one that depend on each dictionary.
The sub-elements include:
CMC
Code |
Type |
---|---|
VSP |
Vocal spelling |
PUN |
Puncutation |
EMJ |
Emoji |
EMT |
Emoticon |
F2F
Code |
Type |
---|---|
TK |
Tactile Kinesics |
VKG |
Visual Kinesics Gestures |
VKF |
Visual Kinesics Facial |
VS |
Vocalisation |
VQ |
Voice Quality |
A |
Artifact |
NoFTF |
No FTF equivalent |
For more information, check the rapport_final.pdf that can be find at the following adress: https://github.com/sorchawalsh/parathon.git.
The image bellow shows an example of CMC sub-elements for the neutral dictionary.

The following picture shows example of F2F sub-elements for the neutral dictionary. In this case, all sub-elements are selected. This does not have to be the case. The Deselect All and Select All are also to be found in the Selection Mode section. If the user chooses a category, for example, CMC, and selects a few sub-elements, the result will only show the elements of that choice. It is only possible to select one category and not both. If one wants both categories, then one should stay in the minimal version where one chooses only the dictionaries.
The last image shows how the results are displayed via the Display widget. The result is presented in a segmentation where the position of the paratextual element in the segmentation can be seen as well as the category of each element. However, this is not the result we wanted to obtain.

Messages¶
Information¶
- <n> segments sent to output.
This confirms that the widget has operated properly.
Warnings¶
- Input has changed, please click ‘Send’ when ready.
Input has changed but the Send automatically checkbox has not been selected, so the user is prompted to click the Send button (or equivalently check the box) in order for computation and data emission to proceed.
- Widget needs input.
The widget instance is unable to process because it has no input.
- Processing, please wait…
The data has been sent. The widget is doing its processing to output the result.
- Please select at least 1 dictionary.
The widget instance cannot be processed because no dictionary has been selected.
Errors¶
- Couldn’t open file.
An error has prevented the widget to open to uploaded file.