TeX/LaTeX Information

This page is no longer maintained! The information is (mostly) still correct as far as it goes, but there are new
versions and new editions of everything, and most importantly, there is no discussion here of XeTeX and other
new developments and macros that are important for linguists.
This document tries to provide some information useful to linguists using LaTeX at the University of Pennsylvania.
Much of it is applicable to other circumstances as well, of course! The following information is divided into general
LaTeX documentation and resources, and linguist-specific information, documentation and resources.

1. Getting started
Take a look at these Quick-Start Directions if you've never used LaTeX before, and plan to use it on a unix
machine. Especially useful if you will be using it on babel, unagi, or linc.
If you want to install latex on your own computer, chances are you'll have to install it yourself. The good news is that
TeX/LaTeX is easy to install, it is available on any hardware and OS in common use today, and is free and easy to
obtain. Dig around on the internet, or take a look at my short note on
Setting up TeX/LaTeX on your PC

2. Documentation
Buying a book
My recommendation: If you're thinking of buying a LaTeX book, don't buy Leslie Lamport's book!! (It's called
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LaTeX: A Document Preparation System. User's Guide and Reference Manual). Yes, he's the author of LaTeX, but
the book is sadly incomplete and disorganized. Buy
A Guide to Latex2e: Document Preparation for Beginners & Advanced Users, by H. Kopka and P. Daly (now
in its 4th edition), or perhaps
The LaTeX Companion by Goossens, Mittelbach, and Samarin. (This one's a bit more technical).
If you're not ready to invest in a book (oh, but they're worth it!), check out the following on-line documentation
(especially The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX 2e), available in PDF, DVI and PostScript format. (If you're on an
X terminal, Netscape on babel knows how to display all of them, in a separate window). Sorry, no HTML. . .
Introductory/General Documentation
The Not So Short Introduction to LaTeX 2e [PDF] [DVI] [PostScript]
A good first introduction and a nice reference resource. If you're just getting started, it will take you a while to
outgrow it. By Tobias Oetiker and a bunch of other folks. Last time I checked it had grown to 131 pages long,
so think before you print!
If you look on the web you might find an HTML version too, but the automatic conversion is pretty rough.
Browsing the DVI or PDF documents isn't too bad.
BibTeXing [HTML] [DVI] [PostScript]
The definitive guide to BibTeX, the amazing LaTeX bibliography support system. Its more of a reference
than an introduction, so be patient. By the time youve read to the end, youll be ready to understand what its
been trying to say at the beginning. By Oren Patashnik, one of the original developers of BibTeX. 16pp.
Guide to Including Graphics [PostScript] [PDF]
Read this document if you need to include external graphics files. It will tell you all you need to know. By D.P.
Carlisle. 16pp.
Online help

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Here is a hypertext index of LaTeX commands, wonderfully organized by command or by topic, courtesy of
NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. (Even rocket scientists need to read the manual!)
Browse or search the TeX FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions list). If you have a general LaTeX problem,
there's a good chance it's answered here.
For more advanced tasks, take a look at Herbert Voss's LaTeX Tips and Tricks page, a large collection of
sometimes-useful tasks with non-obvious solutions.
Look below on this page for linguistics-specific links.
Esoteric Documentation (General)
LaTeX2e for Class and Package Writers [HTML]
Should you have occasion to write a style file, this will tell you about all the nifty features you can use to wrap it.
Designing BibTeX Styles [HTML] [PostScript]
Making even trivial modifications to a BibTeX style is no small task. This document will get you started. Its by
Oren Patashnik, who wrote most of the original BibTeX styles, so he ought to know. Then you'll need to spend
some time studying an existing style, and puzzle out the games it plays with the output routines--but that's
another story. . . 10pp.
LaTeX 2e for Authors [HTML] [DVI] [PostScript]
For authors of LaTeX style packages, that is. It is supposed to be of general interest, but you won't be
interested unless you're writing your own LaTeX style, and maybe not even then. 27pp.
Have questions?
You should start with this documentation, followed by your friends and neighbors, of course. There are also
numerous newsgroups, email lists and even organized User Groups that deal with TeX and LaTeX.
Of particular interest is the Ling-TeX list, an email list for linguists who use (La)TeX. The list tends to be very
low volume (no traffic for a while, then a query and a bunch of discussion), so it's a good one to be on. Be
warned that the members are mostly linguists, not TeX hackers, so you're not always guaranteed expert
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advice-but if your problem is typical of linguistics work, chances are it's been solved before. To subscribe,
send email to ling-tex-request@ifi.uio.no. (You can then post to the list by writing to ling-tex@ifi.uio.no).

3. Finding Software, Styles, and Other Resources

This page is not intended to provide a comprehensive list of LaTeX resources; there are other places out there that
try. To help you get started, here is a page of
Links to latex help resources, user groups, etc., also by NASA's Goddard Institute.
There is an enormous amount of LaTeX software out there, most of it freely available. If you're looking for a TeX or
LaTeX package, style, font, etc, you'll probably need to look no further than
The Comprehensive TeX Archive Network (CTAN), the authoritative depository of TeX/LaTeX software,
styles, etc. It is accessible through many mirror sites (the above link will let you select one). The availability of
many a package is given simply as available on CTAN; you can search for particular packages or browse for
what you need.

4. Information for Linguists

Essential packages
What does it take to write linguistics using LaTeX? That depends on your topic, of course, but here are some
suggestions for add-ons to plain LaTeX that could meet your needs. They may take some setting up, but the good
news is that in terms of capabilities and convenience, each of the following packages has Word beat by a long shot.
Note that there are zillions of other packages out there that do the same jobs; these are just suggestions. (See below
for links to some lists of linguistics-related packages). All packages mentioned are available on CTAN (see
above), unless otherwise stated. Don't neglect to download the documentation!
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Numbered example sentences, linguistics-style: I recommend gb4e.sty(widely used, but rather verbose
in the commands you need to type), or linguex.sty (created for the lazy linguist; unfortunately some of its
optimizations create problems for other LaTeX features and packages).
Sentences with word-to-word glosses lined up below them: All the good packages that do this are
minor modifications of M. van der Goot's Midnight gloss macros. Try cgloss4e.sty, which is distributed with
the gb4e.sty macros (but can be used on its own). I think a version is also included with linguex.sty.
Linguistics-style bibliography and in-text citations: (If you don't know about how bibliographies work with
LaTeX, read the documentation on BibTeXing above). The default LaTeX styles refer to cited articles by a
number, not author name and year, so an additional package is needed to remedy things. You must
understand that you will need two additional files: a .bst file that tells BibTeX how to format your references,
and an associated .sty file which tells LaTeX how to handle the formatted references generated by BibTeX
(e.g., how to construct name-year citations). Here are three options, depending on your needs:
1.

Quick results: Download linquiry2.bst (not on CTAN; generated with custom-bib, see below), which
will give you an LI-style bibliography, and natbib.sty (available on CTAN) for citations in the form Name
(year).

2.

Some more flexibility: Use the harvard package, which allows for a variety of styles.

3.

Customizability: If you are trying to match a particular style (e.g., for a proceedings paper), your best
bet is to generate a customized bibliographic style with the excellent custom-bib package. You'll need
to use it with a citation style file; I recommend natbib.sty.
Including diagrams and pictures: Convert your picture to PostScript or use the xfig program on unix to
create one. It lets you save your drawings in PostScript format, or even in native LaTeX picture format (But
save your xfig file in case you need to modify it later). Then see the Guide to Including Graphics to find out how

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to include your picture. (The only thing xfig lacks is a freehand drawing mode, unfortunately...)
Dissertation style: If youre writing a dissertation at U. Penn, you can use my dissertation style class,
upenndiss.cls. Its not the only one floating around (dont confuse it with penndiss.sty), but I wrote it because I
was not quite satisfied with any of the alternatives, so its hopefully better, simpler, and more flexible. It comes
with a sample document, SampleDiss.tex, that you can just customize.
The following packages are already installed on babel and the CIS machines; if you only need to use them
there, just check out the documentation links below. In case you need to set something up on another machine,
we also provide links to downloading locations.
Qtree, a LaTeX tree macro package [PDF] . Allows you to build trees using the (once) familiar bracket notation
for constituents.
[To install on your own computer: Check out the qtree download directory. Not on CTAN yet.]
This document explains how to draw movement arrows on your trees. [LaTeX source]
TSIPA: An IPA font for TeX [DVI] [PostScript].
You'll probably only care about Appendix B [DVI] [PostScript] of the documentation, which lists all the TSIPA
macros. (To use TSIPA, just put the line \usepackage{tsipa} in your document).
[To install on your own computer: Download from CTAN, or go to this ftp directory. Look at the README
file to select which archive(s) to download. The archive comes with installation instructions.]
Linguistics-specific links
The web page for the Ling-TeX list is a good place to look for linguist-specific materials. (See description
above).
Another useful page is A Guide to LaTeX for Linguists.
Since I'm writing this, I'll also mention my LaTeX Styles and Hacks page. You might find something useful
there.

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[ Getting Started With LaTeX | TeX/LaTeX on your PC | Linguistics Home Page ]

last modified:

alexis@ling.upenn.edu

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