Ontological definition
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Christophe Roche
Abstract
The operationalization of terminologies in a data processing context has once again placed the primacy of the concept in the foreground and raised the issue of how it can be defined and computationally represented. Within this scope, ontologies, in the sense of knowledge engineering (i.e. a formal specification of the conceptualization of a subject field), pave the way towards modeling the notional system. By the same token, however, putting ontology at the heart of and making it the starting point of terminological work also means rethinking terminology’s very principles and methods, thus reminding us of the fact that knowledge of the subject field must also be taken into account. Terminology is more than just specialized lexicography, in the same way a concept, by its extra linguistic nature, cannot be reduced to the terms speaking of it. By recognizing terminology’s double conceptual and linguistic dimension – terminology is both a science of objects and a science of words – ontology yields a distinction between the definition of a term written in natural language (i.e. a linguistic explanation of a term) and the definition of a concept written in a formal language (i.e. a formal specification of a concept, its ontological definition). It is the only one to be standardized vis-à-vis the knowledge of the subject field and thus upholds linguistic diversity.
Abstract
The operationalization of terminologies in a data processing context has once again placed the primacy of the concept in the foreground and raised the issue of how it can be defined and computationally represented. Within this scope, ontologies, in the sense of knowledge engineering (i.e. a formal specification of the conceptualization of a subject field), pave the way towards modeling the notional system. By the same token, however, putting ontology at the heart of and making it the starting point of terminological work also means rethinking terminology’s very principles and methods, thus reminding us of the fact that knowledge of the subject field must also be taken into account. Terminology is more than just specialized lexicography, in the same way a concept, by its extra linguistic nature, cannot be reduced to the terms speaking of it. By recognizing terminology’s double conceptual and linguistic dimension – terminology is both a science of objects and a science of words – ontology yields a distinction between the definition of a term written in natural language (i.e. a linguistic explanation of a term) and the definition of a concept written in a formal language (i.e. a formal specification of a concept, its ontological definition). It is the only one to be standardized vis-à-vis the knowledge of the subject field and thus upholds linguistic diversity.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
- Foreword xvii
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Part I. Fundamentals for term base development
- Terms and specialized vocabulary 3
- Frames as a framework for terminology 14
- How to build terminology science? 34
- Terminology and lexicography 45
- Intensional definitions 60
- Enumerations count 82
- Associative relations and instrumentality in causality 101
- Ontological definition 128
- Domain specificity 153
- Getting to the core of a terminological project 180
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Part II. Methods and technology
- Automatic Term Extraction 203
- Terminology tools 222
- Concept modeling vs. data modeling in practice 250
- Machine translation, translation memory and terminology management 276
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Part III. Management and quality assurance (QA)
- Terminology work and crowdsourcing 291
- Terminology and translation 304
- Managing terminology projects 324
- Terminology management within a translation quality assurance process 341
- Managing terminology in commercial environments 360
- TBX: A terminology exchange format for the translation and localization industry 393
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Part IV. Case studies
- Using frame semantics to build a bilingual lexical resource on legal terminology 427
- Terminology and localization 451
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Part V. Language and terminology
- Language policy and terminology in South Africa 467
- Language policies and terminology policies in Canada 489
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Part VI. Terminology and interculturality
- The social and organizational context of terminology work 507
- Index 521
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction ix
- Foreword xvii
-
Part I. Fundamentals for term base development
- Terms and specialized vocabulary 3
- Frames as a framework for terminology 14
- How to build terminology science? 34
- Terminology and lexicography 45
- Intensional definitions 60
- Enumerations count 82
- Associative relations and instrumentality in causality 101
- Ontological definition 128
- Domain specificity 153
- Getting to the core of a terminological project 180
-
Part II. Methods and technology
- Automatic Term Extraction 203
- Terminology tools 222
- Concept modeling vs. data modeling in practice 250
- Machine translation, translation memory and terminology management 276
-
Part III. Management and quality assurance (QA)
- Terminology work and crowdsourcing 291
- Terminology and translation 304
- Managing terminology projects 324
- Terminology management within a translation quality assurance process 341
- Managing terminology in commercial environments 360
- TBX: A terminology exchange format for the translation and localization industry 393
-
Part IV. Case studies
- Using frame semantics to build a bilingual lexical resource on legal terminology 427
- Terminology and localization 451
-
Part V. Language and terminology
- Language policy and terminology in South Africa 467
- Language policies and terminology policies in Canada 489
-
Part VI. Terminology and interculturality
- The social and organizational context of terminology work 507
- Index 521
