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ISO 12620 and ISO 1087 as They Relate to ISO 11179

Sue Ellen Wright

Kent State University

Institute of Applied Linguistics©Sue Ellen Wright 2000

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Terminology Management vs. Data Element Administration

• Naming: the designation of concepts by terms compared to the naming of data elements

• The documentation of concepts in language as compared to the specification of data elements used in controlled database environments

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Defining Terms vs. Specifying Data Elements

• The characterization of concepts with various data categories as compared to the specification of data element attributes

• The fixing of a concept within a concept system, classification system, or ontology

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Similarities in Working Methods

• The specification of a subject field • Definition of the term within the framework of a

classification scheme, ontology, thesaurus, etc.• The assignment of preferred names• Allowances for synonyms • The assignment of a unique identifier (concept

identifier)• Mapping of all synonyms to this identifier

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Terminological Working Methods

• The extraction of existing names from text corpora and the universe of discourse

• Documentation of the term in a natural language context (either general or special language)

• No limitations on length (even 80 is too short)

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TC 37 Standards

• ISO 12620:1999, Computer Applications in Terminology — Data Categories

• ISO 1087 Terminology — Vocabulary, Terminology Work — Vocabulary — Part 1: Theory and Application

• ISO/FDIS 1087-2: Terminology Work — Vocabulary — Part 2: Computer Applications

• ISO/FDIS 704: Terminology Work — Principles and Methods

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ISO 1087 and 12620

• 1087 defines terms used in ISO TC 37 terminology standards (and in the field of terminology management).

• 1087 complies with formatting conventions specified in ISO 10241 for the layout of terminology standards.

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ISO 1087 and 12620

• 12620: specification of data element names (so-called data categories) and descriptions for data elements used in terminological databases (termbases)

• Conscious effort to make 12620 look different from 1087 or from the 10241 layout standard (descriptions rather than definitions)

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Affinity between 1087 and 12620

• Critical information units defined for the special language of terminology studies are used as data elements in termbases.

• Their function and description as data elements may in some instances differ from the way they are defined in a terminological dictionary or glossary.

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Elements Common to 1087 and 12620

• A.1 term• A.2.1.8 abbreviated form

of term– A.2.1.8.1 abbreviation– A.2.1.8.4 acronym– A.2.1.8.5 clipped term– A.2.1.13 symbol

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• A.2.3.5 temporal qualifier – c) obsolete term

• A.2.9.1 normative authorization– b) preferred term– c) admitted term– d) deprecated term

Elements Common to 1087 and 12620

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Elements Common to 1087 and 12620

• A.4 subject field [domaine in French!]

• A.5.1 definition• A.5.3 context [a text chunk]• A.8 characteristic

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Elements Common to 1087 and 12620

• Types of relations:• A.6.1 generic relation• A.6.2 partitive relation• A.6.3 sequential relation

– A.6.3.1 temporal relation– A.6.3.2 spatial relation

• A.6.4 associative relation (pragmatic relation)

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Elements Common to 1087 and 12620

• Concept Systems & Concept Positions– A.7.2.2 superordinate concept– A.7.2.3 subordinate concept– A.7.2.4 coordinate concept

• Missing elements– Ontological axioms, rules, and

functions

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Term vs. Data Element Functions

• Differences between terms and data element names– Examples: synonym (12620) vs. synonymy

(1087)– homograph vs. homonymy

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Differences in Definition

• generic relation– 1087: Relation between concepts which is

established by the division of the superordinate concept into subordinate concepts forming one or more levels, or by the reverse process.

– 12620: A hierarchical concept relation in which the intension of the superordinate concept is a subset of the intension of the subordinate concept.

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Terminological Entries

• Words that represent concepts extracted from natural language, usually special languages associated with specific subject fields (sometimes called domains in terminology management).

• Words and word strings that appear in chunks of text, almost always called contexts in terminology management.

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Scope StatementISO/IEC 11179-4

• The definitional rules and guidelines of this Part of the International Standard do not always apply to terminological definitions found in glossaries and language dictionaries ... [which may have] multiple definitions [with different meanings]. ... Data definitions must be unique within a dictionary and have a single meaning.

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Lexicographical vs. Terminological Entries

• Terminological entries– Multilingual terminology management– Standardization– Language planning

• Lexicographical entries– General language dictionaries– Machine translation lexicons

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Lexicographical Entry

WordSense

Sense

Sense Sense

Sense

Sense

Polysemy and Ambiguity:

Rattle/Rattled/Rattler

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Lexicographical Entry• rattle (rat’l) vi. -tld, -tling, [ME …] 1. to make a series of sharp,

short sounds in quick succession 2. to go or move with such sounds [a wagon rattling over the stones] 3. to talk rapidly and incessantly; chatter [often with on: rattle on] -vt. 1. to cause to rattle [to rattle the handle of a door] 2. to utter or perform rapidly 3. to confuse or upset; disconcerrt [to rattle a speaker with catcalls] -n. 1.quick succession of sharp, short sounds 2. a rattling noise made by air passing through the mucous of a partially closed throat: cf. DEATH RATTLE 3. a noisy uproar; load chatter 4. a series of horny rings at the end of a rattlesnake’s tail, used to produce a rattling sound b) any one of these 5. a device, as a baby’s toy or a percussion instrument, made to rattle when shaken

• Collocation: to rattle around in a house that is too big for one’s needs

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DescriptiveTerminological Entry

Concept TermTerm

TermTerm

TermTerm

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Terminological Entry

• rattle– Subject Field: snakes– Definition: The tail structure of the poisonous North

American genera Crotalus and Sisturus which has been modified into a series of horny, loose-fitting structures that produce a buzzing sound when vibrated.

– (Synonyms)– (Equivalent terms in other languages)

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Lexical vs. TerminologicalEntries-1

• L: Is identified using a word (frequently called a headword)

• T: Is identified by a concept, frequently using a code or classification number rather than a word in a natural language– Slides 22 and 24

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Lex-Term Entries-2

• L: Treats multiple polysemic senses of the word based on one etymological derivation

• T: Treats one concept in one entry, and documents terms assigned to that concept– Slides 22 & 24

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Lex-Term Entries-3• L: Treats homographic lexical units with

different derivations in separate entries– stud (male animal)/stud (fastener, support

member)– bloom (flower)/bloom (ingot)

T: Treats polysemic assignments of the same orthographic form to different concepts in separate entries

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Lex-Term Entries-4

• L: Provides all necessary grammatical information pertaining to the word.

• T: Generally emphasizes only those grammatical differences that may be related to term-concept assignment– Assumption that readily available

lexicographic information applies to terms

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Lex-Term Entries-5

• L: Is arranged in strict alphabetical order for easy access

• T: Frequently, but not always, has been arranged to represent logical links in classified hierarchical systems, with alphabetical cross-listing– Growing acceptance in North America

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Lex-Term Entries-6

• L: Describes, or at most, recommends usage• T: Frequently documents preferred or

recommended usage, prescribes usage, or mandates legally binding standardization– Descriptive vs prescriptive approaches both

valid in terminology management

– Data element specification by nature prescriptive

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Lex-Term Entries-7

• L: Usually treats a universal set taken from general language

• T: Treats a systematically defined subset of subject-field-specific special language– Data elements categorically subject-field

(context) dependent

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Lex-Term Entries-8

• L: Includes a full set of word classes

• T: Is comprised mainly of nouns, verbs, and sometimes adjectives– Word class inherent in naming rules, but

data elements all have a nominal character even when used as attributes

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Caveat:

• BUT special language lexicography also deals with technical terms, so the distinction can be misleading or confusing.

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (1)

1087/12620 11179

term [main entry, preferred]

data element name

term [synonym] synonymous name

subject field context

definition/description definition

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (2)

1087/12620 11179

context N.A.

source (s) source document

note comment

concept identifier identifier

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (3)

1087/12620 11179

classification classification scheme

keyword keyword

related concepts related data reference

concept relation type of relationship

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (4)

1087/12620 11179

[most size limits inappropriate]

size

sets of permissible values

permissible values (domains)

responsibility responsible organization

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (5)

1087/12620 11179

abbreviation (abbreviated form of term)

short name

symbol symbol

formula formula

[dealt with in 12200; see slide No. 39]

data element associations

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1087/12620 vs. 11179 (6)

1087/12620 11179

see also see also

dates [misc.] dates [misc.]

administrative [misc.] similar

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Term Autonomy• Repeatability and combinability of data

elements• All synonyms and all foreign language

equivalents can be associated with all subordinate data elements

• A definition can reside at the entry level above all these terms.

• There need not be a preferred term• The concept identifier is the unique element

identifying the terminological entry.

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Language Specification

• Limitations of ISO 639

• Advantage of ISO 639-2, the three letter codes– Increased number of treated languages– Enhanced capabilities for expansion to include

additional languages

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Language of Metadata

• 11179-3, Annex A, multilingual specifications

• data element 1: The field names and the content are in Dutch; data element 2: they are both in German

• Implication: field names can appear in different languages in different parts of a single database entry

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Language of Metadata

• TC 37 practice:– Single human language used throughout a

termbase for metalanguage elements– Possibility of switching human languages for

display for different users– Mixing in a given display environment rare

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Language of Metadata

• We have agreed that at the meta level we will map to English equivalents: i.e., field names would be uniform in one language, but content can vary.

• For interchange, standardized L2 data element names can map to English (L1) names, although in individual working environments L2 (Ln) can be used.

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11179-5.2,b:Phrases• Synonyms are not definitions. (True!)

• “A phrase is necessary (in most languages)”

• Classic definitions consist of a statement of the genus (a broader concept, not necessarily the immediate superordinate concept)

• Followed by a statement of the differentia (differentiating essential characteristics)

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11179-5.2,b:Phrases

• The tail structure of the poisonous North American genera Crotalus and Sisturus which has been modified ...

• Broader concept: – Tail structure is generically superordinate to rattle.

• Differentia:– modified ... horny, loose-fitting structures

– a buzzing sound when vibrated.

• NOT a complete sentence.

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Not a Complete Sentence

• [Term/subject] rattle [implied linkage, called a copula: is] :, —, or line break

• the tail structure of the poisonous North American genera Crotalus and Sisturus which has been modified into a series of horny, loose-fitting structures that produce a buzzing sound when vibrated.

• Definitions are actually predicates, not sentences, but term + definition is a special kind of sentence.

ISO 704: Principles & Methods

object/visual representation

the set of all lead pencils

concept: designation

abstraction (term):

based on: lead pencil

category

level of

abstraction

composition

compositon

colour

composition

shape

usage

medium

function

property

concreteness

made of a long, thin piece of graphite

wood casing surrounds graphite

casing is yellow

at one end there is an eraser

other end sharpened to a point

graphite&casing sharpened for use

graphite is writing medium

used for writing or making marks

characteristic

concreteness

graphite core

graphite core is encased in wood

casing may be any colour

one end may have an eraser

one end may be sharpened to a point

graphite & casing sharpened for use

graphite is writing medium

used for making marks

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Concept Systems (ISO 704)

...... penpencilmarker

concreteness* used for writing or making marks

type of pencil

graphite core is fixed wood casing is removed for usage (sharpening)

type of pencil

permanent outer casing

graphite core advances for usage

type of writing instrument

graphite core =writing medium

lead pencil mechanical pencil

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USA TC 37 Participation

• Discontinuance of ANSI support

• Failure to find support from industry

• US participation in SC 3, Computer Applications

• Suggestions for finding funding & participation for SC 1 & 2?

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• Call for papers• Refereed scholarly journal• Desirability of an issue coming out of this

forum• Contact: Sue Ellen Wright

swright@kent.edu