Terminological Databases

Since its first publication, this chapter has been rendered obsolete in several respects, chiefly as a result of the publication of ISO 12200, and a variant of it (TBX) which has been recently adopted by LISA, the Localisation Industry Standard Association. Work is currently ongoing in the ISO community to define a generic platform for terminological markup (ISO CD 16642, TMF : Terminological Markup Framework), in the light of which it is anticipated that the recommendations of the present chapter will be substantially revised. Readers are cautioned in particular that the discussion below of `nested' and `flat' structures is now far removed from current practices in the terminological field. A major revision of this chapter is planned for the next edition of these Guidelines.

Terminological information generally resides in terminology databases (TDBs), but these collections of data can also be viewed as documents. A document containing terminological data is made up of terminological entries. Typically, a terminological entry treats a single concept and contains information on the assignment of single or multi-word terms to this concept. Bilingual and multilingual terminological entries deal with harmonized or very closely related concepts in two or more languages that are treated as functional equivalents in the context of a specific domain or subdomain. Terminological data can take the form of terminological databases (TDBs) or can be used to print hardcopy terminological documents, such as terminological dictionaries, technical vocabularies, or thesauri.

The TEI description of terminological data was originally designed primarily as a terminology interchange format (TIF) to allow users of terminology databases to exchange database records. The exchange of database records is especially important in practice because the structure of terminological records varies considerably from TDB to TDB, reflecting differences of design and of user needs. Users of TDBs frequently need to interchange data in order to access expert information and to prevent the duplication of effort, but differences in software, hardware, and methodology complicate interchange. A universal interchange format is a crucial element in making interchange easier.

The tag set defined in this chapter may also be used to mark up documents for the purpose of printing terminological dictionaries and vocabularies, or exchanging them in electronic form. Printed terminological documents differ from terminological databases in that they are frequently divided into sections and subsections and include prose text in introductions, etc.

Because printed terminological dictionaries differ from terminological databases, problems may arise if one attempts to use the same electronic document both for printing and to exchange records among databases. A printed terminological dictionary may contain material not suitably encoded for introduction into database records. Domain and subdomain information may be implied by the arrangement of <termEntry>s rather than by explicit domain specifications within the individual entries.

Other interchange difficulties include differences between term entry styles used in prescriptive and descriptive terminology work and problems arising from differences in the degree of detail used to classify data elements in different databases. (The term data element is used by terminologists to refer to the smallest defined individual items of information, regardless of whether they are represented as markup elements or attributes, or as database fields or columns. That is the usage followed here.) Procedures for addressing these various problems are treated in more detail in another document, the TEI / LISA / ISO - TIF — Terminology Interchange Format — A Tutorial (1993).¹⁰⁶

13.1 The Terminological Entry

The basic unit of terminology management is the terminological entry. A terminological entry documents information pertaining to a concept and generally speaking contains at least one term. In addition to the term, various kinds of descriptive and administrative data are recorded concerning the term, the concept to which it is assigned, and relationships to other terms and concepts. Administrative information supports the management of the terminology database or document.

A sample terminological entry consists of a series of components like the following:

subject field: appearance of materials
English term: opacity
grammatical information, part of speech, English term: noun
definition, English term: degree of obstruction to the transmission of visible light
bibliographical source, English term information: ASTM Standard E284
responsibility for English term information: ASTM Technical Committee E12
German term: Opazität
grammatical information, part of speech, German term: noun
grammatical information, gender, German term: feminine
definition, German term: Maß für die Lichtdurchsichtigkeit
bibliographical source, German term information: HFdn1983-382
responsibility, German term information: DIN Technical Committee for paper products
French term: opacité
grammatical information, part of speech, French term: noun
grammatical information, gender, French term: feminine
definition, French term: rapport du flux lumineux incident au flux lumineux transmis ou réfléchi par un noircissement photographique
bibliographical source, French term information: HJdi1986
responsibility, French term information: C.I.R.A.D.

13.2 Tags for Terminological Data

The following sections define elements for use in tagging terminological data. The elements and attributes listed are based on empirical studies. The studies indicated the use of a wide variety of different data element types (data categories or database field types), but this variety can be reduced to a relatively small set of elements and attributes expressing notions common to most, if not all, TDBs. Those elements and attributes are defined here. In addition, the global TEI attributes defined in section 3.5 Global Attributes, and the elements and attributes defined in chapter 6 Elements Available in All TEI Documents, can all be used in terminological applications.

When tagging terminological data, three elements constitute the set of non-floating elements: <term>, <otherForm>, and <descrip>. All other elements function as floating elements, including: <admin>, <note>, <gram>, <bibl>, <biblFull>, <date>, <table>, <formula>, <figure>, and the linking elements (<ptr>, <xptr>, <ref>, and <xref>). The rules for combining floating with non-floating elements are spelled out below in section 13.3.1 Nested Term Entries, and in section 13.3.2 Flat Term Entries Using Rules of Adjacency.

As indicated, these elements all possess a type attribute, used to classify the generic elements so as to match the classifications used by TDBs. The type attributes allow specific items of information not defined in the DTD to be tagged as one of the defined elements with an appropriate type value. The possible values of type thus constitute a sizable open list. However, the attribute values used in the examples shown in this chapter are all taken from those defined by ISO 12 620: 1999 (Computer applications in terminology — Data Categories).

The <ofig> and <otherForm> elements are not necessary if each potential <otherForm> element is recast as a term in its own <tig>. For example, a term could be placed in a <tig type="synonym">.

When the base tag set described in this chapter is used, the following attributes are added to the set of global attributes:

group indicates the group (term and related elements) to which this element should be associated by specifying a string matching the n attribute value on an appropriate element.
Values: any string matching the n attribute value on the <term> element to which the group is attached.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:

Note
The group attribute provides a specialized pointing mechanism for use within <termEntry> elements.

depend indicates the parent element to which this element should be associated by specifying a string matching the n attribute value on an appropriate element.
Values: any string matching the n attribute value on the element to which the dependent element is attached.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:

grpPtr indicates the group (term and related elements) to which this element should be associated by specifying its unique identifier, where this is available.
Values: the value specified must match a value supplied as the value for an id attribute on some <term> element in the current document.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:

Note
The group attribute provides a specialized pointing mechanism for use within <termEntry> elements.

depPtr indicates the parent element to which this element should be associated by specifying its unique identifier, where this is available.
Values: the value specified must match a value supplied as the value for an id attribute on some <term> element in the current SGML or XML document.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:

For discussion of the usage of these attributes, see below, section 13.3.2 Flat Term Entries Using Rules of Adjacency.

Among the TEI core elements, the following are most likely to be found necessary in encoding terminological data; for fuller descriptions see the appropriate sections in chapter 6 Elements Available in All TEI Documents. In the case of the <date> element, it should be noted that the ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) is preferred for terminology entries.

<note> contains a note or annotation.

type	describes the type of note.
resp	(responsible) indicates who is responsible for the annotation: author, editor, translator, etc.
place	indicates where the note appears in the source text.
anchored	indicates whether the copy text shows the exact place of reference for the note.
target	indicates the point of attachment of a note, or the beginning of the span to which the note is attached.
targetEnd	points to the end of the span to which the note is attached, if the note is not embedded in the text at that point.

<ref> defines a reference to another location in the current document, in terms of one or more identifiable elements, possibly modified by additional text or comment.
target specifies the destination of the reference by supplying the value of the id attribute on one or more other elements in the current document.
<ptr> defines a pointer to another location in the current document in terms of one or more identifiable elements.
target specifies the destination of the pointer by supplying the values used on the id attribute of one or more other elements in the current document
<xref> defines a reference to another location in the current document, or an external document, using an extended pointer notation, possibly modified by additional text or comment.
No attributes other than those globally available (see definition for a.global)
<xptr> defines a pointer to another location in the current document or an external document.
No attributes other than those globally available (see definition for a.global)

<date> contains a date in any format.

calendar	indicates the system or calendar to which the date belongs.
value	gives the value of the date in some standard form, usually yyyy-mm-dd.
certainty	indicates the degree of precision to be attributed to the date.

<bibl> contains a loosely-structured bibliographic citation of which the sub-components may or may not be explicitly tagged.
No attributes other than those globally available (see definition for a.global)
<biblStruct> contains a structured bibliographic citation, in which only bibliographic subelements appear and in a specified order.
No attributes other than those globally available (see definition for a.global)
<biblFull> contains a fully-structured bibliographic citation, in which all components of the TEI file description are present.
No attributes other than those globally available (see definition for a.global)
<table> contains text displayed in tabular form, in rows and columns.

rows indicates the number of rows in the table.

cols indicates the number of columns in each row of the table.
<figure> indicates the location of a graphic, illustration, or figure.
entity names the external entity within which the graphic image of the figure is stored.
<formula> contains a mathematical or other formula.
notation supplies the name of a previously defined notation used for the content of the element.

Like all other elements defined in the TEI DTDs, all elements in the base tag set for terminology possess the following global attributes:

lang indicates the language of the element content, usually using a two- or three-letter code from ISO 639.
Values: The value must be the identifier of a <language> element supplied in the TEI Header of the current document; that element may also specify a writing system declaration by means of its wsd attribute, as described in section 5.4.2 Language Usage.

Default: %INHERITED;

Example:
<p lang="en">The only surviving work by <name>Ari</name> (died 1148) is the ten-page <title lang="is">slendingabk</title> (<title lang="la">Libellus Islandorum</title>), written in the early twelfth century.</p>

Note
If no value is specified for lang, the lang value for the immediately enclosing element is inherited; for this reason, a value should always be specified on the outermost element (<TEI.2>).

n gives a number (or other label) for an element, which is not necessarily unique within the document.
Values: any string of characters; often, but not necessarily, numeric.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:

Note
The n attribute may be used to specify the numbering of chapters, sections, list items, etc.; it may also be used in the specification of a standard reference system for the text.

id provides a unique identifier for the element bearing the ID value.
Values: any valid name.

Default: #IMPLIED

Example:
<p id="names">Paragraph with the ID <mentioned>names</mentioned>.</p> <p id="dates">Paragraph with the ID <mentioned>dates</mentioned>.</p>

Note
The id attribute may be used to specify a canonical reference for an element; see section 6.9 Reference Systems.

Using the tags defined here, the example given above in section 13.1 The Terminological Entry might be tagged thus:¹⁰⁷

<!-- Example 2a:  Nested Term Entry -->
<termEntry>
   <admin type="domain"> 
     appearance of materials </admin>
   <tig lang="en">
      <term> opacity </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> degree of obstruction to the
	  transmission of visible light </descrip>
      <ptr type="bibliographic" target="astm.e284"/>
      <admin type="responsibility" resp="ASTM E12"/>
   </tig>
   <tig lang="de">
      <term> Opazit&auml;t </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <gram type="gen"> f </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> Ma&szlig; f&uuml;r die
	  Lichtdurchsichtigkeit </descrip>
      <ref type="bibliographic" target="hfdn1983"> p. 383 </ref>
      <admin type="responsibility" resp="DIN TC for paper    products"/>
   </tig>
   <tig lang="fr">
      <term> opacit&eacute; </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <gram type="gen"> f </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> rapport du flux lumineux
	  incident au flux lumineux transmis ou r&eacute;fl&eacute;chi
	  par un noircissement photographique </descrip>
      <ptr type="bibliographic" target="hjdi1986"/>
      <admin type="responsibility" resp="C.I.R.A.D."/>
   </tig>
</termEntry>

Both the <ptr type="bibliographic" target="ASTM.E284"> and <ref type='bibliographic' target='HFDN1983'> elements in the example indicate links to complete bibliographical entries included in the back matter element of the same document. ‘HFdn1983’ is a source reference code for a book, generated according to ISO/TC 37 WI 18, Coding of Bibliographic References in Terminology Work and Terminography (1991). Its full bibliographic record would be:

<!-- Example 2b:  Full Bibliographic Entry -->
<biblFull>
   <titleStmt id="hfdn1983">
      <title> W&ouml;rterbuch technischer Begriffe mit 4300
	      Definitionen nach DIN </title>
      <editor> Henry G. Freeman </editor>
   </titleStmt>
   <editionStmt>
      <edition> III </edition>
   </editionStmt>
   <extent> 703 pp </extent>
   <publicationStmt>
      <publisher> Beuth Verlag GmbH </publisher>
      <pubPlace> Berlin and K&ouml;ln </pubPlace>
      <date> 1983 </date>
   </publicationStmt>
   <sourceDesc>
      <p>Compiled for the standards of the DIN (Deutsches
	      Institut f&uuml;r Normung).</p>
   </sourceDesc>
</biblFull>

Further examples, including alternate encodings of this term entry, are given below in section 13.3.2 Flat Term Entries Using Rules of Adjacency, and section 13.3.3 Flat Term Entries Using Group and Depend Attributes.

The formal definition of these elements depends on which style of markup is being used; for discussion of the two styles, see the following section, 13.3 Basic Structure of the Terminological Entry. For the formal declarations for the two styles, see sections 13.4.1 DTD Fragment for Nested Style, and 13.4.2 DTD Fragment for Flat Style.

13.3 Basic Structure of the Terminological Entry

A terminological entry is identified with the <termEntry> tag and contains one or more terms marked with the tag <term>, which may appear with associated elements. A single term and its associated elements (such as <gram>, <descrip>, <admin>) constitute a term information group, <tig>. A <termEntry> may be made up of one or more <tig>s.

There are two structural descriptions for <termEntry>s:

nested <termEntry>s
flat <termEntry>s

The nested structure is preferred, especially for interchange with unknown partners. The flat structure provides an option that can be used between interchange partners whose systems exhibit fairly similar structures. The flat structure may also be used as an intermediate form for systems making the transition to the nested format.

13.3.1 Nested Term Entries

A nested <termEntry> represents the hierarchical relationships implicit in the terminological entry by utilizing the following principles of embedding and adjacency.

Rule of embedding in nested term entries: Elements that constitute a part of another element are embedded inside the parent element.
Rules of adjacency in nested term entries:

N1

Any element that appears in a <termEntry> outside a <tig> applies to the entire <termEntry>.

N2

Any element that appears in a <tig> before the <term> element applies to the entire <tig>.

N3

Any floating element that appears after a non-floating element (i.e., after <term>, <otherForm> or <descrip>) and before the next non-floating element, refers to the immediately preceding non-floating element unless otherwise indicated using the depend attribute. (See section 13.3.3 Flat Term Entries Using Group and Depend Attributes, for a full discussion of the depend attribute.)

The conversion routine that creates the nested entry infers the language of the <tig> from the language of the <term>, a process that can be construed as `upward inheritance' from <term> to <tig>. Standard TEI `downward inheritance' applies for all the elements embedded in the <tig>: their language is that of the <tig>, unless this default value is overridden by stating a new value.

An example of a nested term entry was given in section 13.2 Tags for Terminological Data.

13.3.2 Flat Term Entries Using Rules of Adjacency

The flat terminological entry does not use the <tig> element to enclose a term and its associated elements. Instead, it provides other mechanisms to express the relationships that occur within and among entries in a TDB, while at the same time allowing the different types of entries found in different source TDBs to be represented in very natural ways. The difference between the nested and flat terminological entries is that, while both can express the same information, the nested structure represents the logical hierarchy implicit within the entry by embedding elements in one another, while the flat entry does not represent the logical hierarchy within the entry in this way. Since many existing TDBs do not overtly indicate any hierarchical structure such as that represented in a nested entry, the flat entry may be more apt to reflect the organization of data elements within an entry found in the particular source TDB, whereas the nested entry more obviously characterizes an ideal abstract structure of the term entry. In flat entries, terms and their associated elements are grouped by means of the following rules of adjacency:

Rules of adjacency in flat termEntry elements

F1: Any element that appears in a <termEntry> before the first <term> is assumed to apply to the entire <termEntry>.
F2: Any floating element that appears after a non-floating element (i.e., after <term>, <otherForm> or <descrip>) and before the next non-floating element refers to the immediately preceding non-floating element unless otherwise indicated using the depend attribute. (See section 13.3.3 Flat Term Entries Using Group and Depend Attributes, for a full discussion of the depend attribute.)

Encoded using the flat style, the example given in section 13.2 Tags for Terminological Data, might look like this:

<!-- Example 3:  Flat <termEntry>			      -->
<termEntry>
     <admin type='domain'> appearance of materials </admin>
     <term lang='en'> opacity </term>
     <gram type='pos'> n </gram>
     <descrip type='definition'> degree of obstruction to the
     transmission of visible light </descrip>
     <ptr type='bibliographic' target='ASTM.E284'/>
     <admin type='responsibility' resp='ASTM E12'></admin>
     <term lang='de'> Opazit&auml;t </term>
     <gram type='pos'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen'> f </gram>
     <descrip type='definition'> Ma&szlig; f&uuml;r die
      Lichtdurchsichtigkeit
     </descrip>
     <ref type='bibliographic' target='HFDN1983'> p. 383 </ref>
     <admin type='responsibility' resp='DIN TC for paper products'>
     </admin>
     <term lang='fr'> opacit&eacute; </term>
     <gram type='pos'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen'> f </gram>
     <descrip type='definition'> rapport du flux lumineux
     incident au flux lumineux transmis ou r&eacute;fl&eacute;chi
     par un noircissement photographique </descrip>
     <ptr type='bibliographic' target='HJDI1986'/>
     <admin type='responsibility' resp='C.I.R.A.D.'> </admin>
</termEntry>

13.3.3 Flat Term Entries Using Group and Depend Attributes

In practice, there are term entries where elements are ordered in such a way that the rules of adjacency cannot be used. For instance, in Example 3 the <ptr> and <ref> linking elements refer to the immediately preceding <descrip> information. The <admin type='responsibility'> elements as represented here also refer to the <descrip> element. It may, however, be desirable for the bibliographic reference to refer not only to the quoted material in the descriptive element, but also to the term itself. Because the second rule of adjacency dictates that all floating elements following a non- floating element refer to that non-floating element, a mechanism is required to `point' to the <term> if the floating element depends on the <term> itself.

There are also other exceptions to the adjacency rules: in some term entries elements are associated with a <term> other than the immediately preceding <term>. Such entries may be called discontiguous flat term entries, since the constituents of a term information group may not be adjacent. In such entries, information pertaining to the entire terminological entry may not always appear at the beginning of the entry (i.e., prior to the introduction of a term).

Such an entry might be encoded as follows:

<!-- Example 4:  Discontiguous Flat <termEntry>  -->
<termEntry n='texyz'>
     <term lang='en' n='1'> opacity </term>
     <gram type='pos' depend='1'> n </gram>
     <term lang='de' n='2'> Opazit&auml;t </term>
     <gram type='pos' depend='2'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen' depend='2'> f </gram>
     <term lang='fr' n='3'> opacit&eacute; </term>
     <gram type='pos' depend='3'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen' depend='3'> f </gram>
 
     <descrip type='definition' group='1' n='endes1'> degree of
	obstruction to the transmission of visible light  </descrip>
     <descrip type='definition' group='2' n='dedes1'> Ma&szlig; f&uuml;r die
	Lichtdurchsichtigkeit  </descrip>
     <descrip type='definition' group='3' n='frdes1'> rapport du
	flux lumineux incident au flux lumineux transmis ou
	r&eacute;fl&eacute;chi par un noircissement photographique
	</descrip>
     <ptr type='bibliographic' depend='endes1' target='ASTM.E284'/>
     <admin type='responsibility' depend='endes1' resp='ASTM E12'> </admin>
     <ref type='bibliographic' depend='dedes1' target='HFDN1983'>
	p. 383 </ref>
     <admin type='responsibility' depend=dedes1
	resp='DIN.TC.for.paper'></admin>
     <ptr depend='frdes1' type='bibliographic' target='HJDI1986'/>
     <admin type='responsibility' depend=frdes1
	resp='C.I.R.A.D.'> </admin>
     <admin type='domain' depend='texyz'> appearance of materials
     </admin>
</termEntry>

In the above example, depend elements indicate that the material tagged with this attribute is related to the targeted element. The group elements indicate that the information so marked is part of an implicit <tig>, i.e. that it pertains either to the term or to the entire implicit <tig>. Items linked to other elements by depend do not require the group attribute because they are associated with the group already by virtue of their relation to elements that are themselves associated with the group.

So as to describe appropriate relationships in discontiguous flat <termEntry>s, it is necessary to define a pointing mechanism that allows any non-adjacent element to be related to an implicit term information group and therefore to the <term> with which it is associated or to some other specific element.

Two methods are provided to represent this association. For terminology files in which unique identifiers for all <term> elements cannot be assumed (as will often be the case in interchange), the group and depend attributes should be used. For terminology files in which unique identifiers can be provided, the grpPtr and depPtr attributes should be used. The two pairs of attributes have identical significance as far as the association of elements is concerned.

The group attribute associates an element with a specific term, or with an implicit term information group: its value must be the same as the n attribute on the <term> element being pointed to. During interchange, the group attribute would be used to extract and assemble all the elements related to a specific term information group from a discontiguous flat <termEntry> by matching them to the n attributes on the terms. The group pointer accounts for the kind of relationship represented by the principle of embeddedness within a <tig> in a nested term entry.

The depend attribute associates an element with some other specific element: its value must be the same as the n attribute on the element being pointed to. As shown in the last line of Example 4, the depend attribute can also point to the entire terminological entry by targeting a value of n indicated in the <termEntry> element. If for any reason the grammatical information pertaining to a term does not follow the term immediately, this information must be linked to the term with the depend attribute.

In terms of the extended pointer notation defined in chapter 14 Linking, Segmentation, and Alignment, the specification group="2" is synonymous with HERE ANCESTOR (1 TERMENTRY) DESCENDANT (1 TERM N 2), and the specification depend="3" is synonymous with HERE ANCESTOR (1 TERMENTRY) DESCENDANT (1 * N 3).

To summarize the behavior of group and depend, the group attribute identifies an implicit <tig>, whereas the depend attribute implies relatedness. If there is any ambiguity with respect to the rules of adjacency, one should use depend.

In Example 4, the English term ‘opacity’ is identified as n="1", and all other elements associated with this <tig> are marked as group="1"; in German, the term and all its associated elements are identified as n="2" and group="2", respectively; in French, the term and associated elements are marked group="3". Since the bibliographical references are displaced from the descriptive information with which they are associated, the descriptions are identified with n="endes1", n="dedes1", and n="frdes1", respectively. The <ptr> and <ref> elements are then identified with depend attributes that target the appropriate descriptions. Even if the elements in the entry were adjacent to each other in the entry, this convention would be essential if one wanted to indicate that the source applied to the <term> and hence to the entire <tig>, rather than just to the <descrip> element itself.

13.3.4 References between Term Entries

Terminology documents utilize a variety of cross-references between <termEntry>s, for instance to link to bibliographic entries or between equivalents in different languages, synonyms and related terms and concepts. These references are usually implemented using the TEI linking elements <ptr> and <ref>, together with a value of the attribute type. If, as is the case with the reference to ASTM E284, the total bibliographic source description is contained in the `target' element of the linking element, use <ptr>. If, on the other hand, a page number is included, this page number must appear as the content of a linking element introduced by the <ref> element.

Examples:

<ptr type="bibliographic" target="astm.e284"/>

<ref type="bibliographic" target="hfdn1983"> p. 383 </ref>

If the full bibliographical citation is included in the <termEntry> itself, linking elements are unnecessary and the citation can be marked using the <bibl>, <biblStruct>, or <biblFull> elements. For further discussion of bibliographic citations and references, see section 6.10 Bibliographic Citations and References.

13.4 Overall Structure of Terminological Documents

To enable the base tag set for terminology, a parameter entity TEI.terminology must be declared within the document type subset, the value of which is INCLUDE, as further described in section 3.3 Invocation of the TEI DTD. A document using this base tag set and no other additional tag sets will thus begin as follows:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE TEI.2 PUBLIC "-//TEI P4//DTD Main Document Type//EN" "tei2.dtd" [
    <!ENTITY % TEI.XML         'INCLUDE' >
    <!ENTITY % TEI.terminology 'INCLUDE' >
 ]>

This declaration makes available all of the elements described in this chapter, in addition to the core elements described in chapter 6 Elements Available in All TEI Documents. The default structure for terminological documents is similar to that defined by chapter 7 Default Text Structure: within the <TEI.2> element they contain a <teiHeader> and a <text>. The <text> element, in turn, contains as usual a <body> element, optionally preceded by a <front> and followed by a <back>. The <body> may contain a series of <termEntry> elements, which may optionally be grouped into sections tagged with the same elements (<div>, <div0>, <div1>, etc.) as defined in section 7.1 Divisions of the Body.

In order to support both the flat and the nested styles of markup, three distinct DTD fragments for terminology are provided.

teiterm2
teite2n
teite2f

In file teiterm2.dtd, the top-level elements for the terminology base are defined, and a subordinate parameter entity, termtags is defined and referred to. By default, this entity refers to file teite2n.dtd, which defines the DTD for nested markup; if the flat style of markup is to be used, the document's DTD subset should define termtags as referring to the file teite2f.dtd, as shown in the examples in section 13.3.2 Flat Term Entries Using Rules of Adjacency.

<!-- 13.4: TEIterm2.DTD:  Base tag set for terminological data-->
<!--
 ** Copyright 2004 TEI Consortium.
 ** See the main DTD fragment 'tei2.dtd' or the file 'COPYING' for the
 ** complete copyright notice.
-->
<!--First, embed the default text structure elements.-->
<![%TEI.singleBase;[
<!ENTITY % TEI.structure.dtd PUBLIC '-//TEI P4//ELEMENTS Default Text 
Structure//EN' 'teistr2.dtd' > 
%TEI.structure.dtd;
]]>
<!ENTITY % termtags PUBLIC '-//TEI P4//ELEMENTS Terminological Databases 
(Nested)//EN' 'teite2n.dtd' >%termtags; 
<!-- end of 13.4-->

In file teiterm2.ent, terminology-specific extensions to the TEI element class system are defined, including the classes terminology, comp.terminology, terminologyInclusions, and terminologyMisc.

<!-- 13.4: TEIterm2.ent:  Base tag set for terminological data-->
<!--
 ** Copyright 2004 TEI Consortium.
 ** See the main DTD fragment 'tei2.dtd' or the file 'COPYING' for the
 ** complete copyright notice.
-->
<!ENTITY % x.comp.terminology "" >
<!ENTITY % m.comp.terminology "%x.comp.terminology; %n.termEntry;"> 
<!ENTITY % seq '(%m.common; | %m.comp.terminology;)* '  >
<!ENTITY % mix.terminology '| %m.comp.terminology;' >
<!ENTITY % x.terminologyInclusions "" >
<!ENTITY % m.terminologyInclusions "%x.terminologyInclusions; 
%n.date; | %n.dateStruct; | %n.note; | %n.ptr; | %n.ref; | %n.xptr; | 
%n.xref;"> 
<!ENTITY % x.terminologyMisc "" >
<!ENTITY % m.terminologyMisc "%x.terminologyMisc; %n.admin; | 
%n.descrip;"> 
<!--Add attributes to the set of global attributes:-->
<!ENTITY % a.terminology '
      group CDATA #IMPLIED
      grpPtr IDREF #IMPLIED
      depend CDATA #IMPLIED
      depPtr IDREF #IMPLIED'> 
<!-- end of 13.4-->

13.4.1 DTD Fragment for Nested Style

In file teite2n.dtd the following definitions are found, which define the elements used in the nested markup style:

<!-- 13.4.1: Elements for nested-style terminological data-->
<!--
 ** Copyright 2004 TEI Consortium.
 ** See the main DTD fragment 'tei2.dtd' or the file 'COPYING' for the
 ** complete copyright notice.
-->
<!--The nested structure is used for data interchange and represents a
canonical structured form for terminology entries, which differs
from the less structured forms frequently used to store data in
terminological databases.-->
<!ELEMENT termEntry %om.RO; 
((%m.terminologyMisc; | %m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*, 
 (tig, (%m.Incl; | %m.terminologyInclusions;)*)+)
> 
<!ATTLIST termEntry
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'termEntry'  >
<!--Notes, descrip(s) and admin(s) are allowed in the termEntry
to provide documentation that applies to the whole entry.-->
<!--tig='term information group'-->
<!--ofig='otherform information group'-->
<!ELEMENT tig %om.RO;
((%m.terminologyMisc;| %m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*, 
(term, (gram | %m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*),
((%m.terminologyMisc;), 
(%m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*)*, 
(ofig, (%m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*)*)
> 
<!ATTLIST tig
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'tig'  >
<!--Order is significant: term, descrip(s), ofig(s) or otherform(s)-->
<!ELEMENT ofig %om.RO;
((%m.terminologyMisc; | %m.Incl;)*, (otherForm, (gram | %m.Incl;)*), 
 ((%m.terminologyMisc;), (%m.Incl;)*)*)> 
<!ATTLIST ofig
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'ofig'  >
<!ELEMENT otherForm %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST otherForm
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'otherForm'  >
<!ELEMENT descrip %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST descrip
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'descrip'  >
<!ELEMENT admin %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST admin
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      date %ISO-date; #IMPLIED
      resp CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'admin'  >
<!--We define a.dictionaries as the empty string,
since we are not now using the tag set for
dictionaries.-->
<!ENTITY % a.dictionaries ''> 
<!ELEMENT gram %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST gram
      %a.global;
      %a.dictionaries;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'gram'  >
<!-- end of 13.4.1-->

13.4.2 DTD Fragment for Flat Style

In file teite2f.dtd the following definitions, which provide support for the flat markup style, are found:

<!-- 13.4.2: Elements for flat-style terminological data-->
<!--
 ** Copyright 2004 TEI Consortium.
 ** See the main DTD fragment 'tei2.dtd' or the file 'COPYING' for the
 ** complete copyright notice.
-->
<!--The flat structure is used to represent a variety of terminology
documents that occur in practice and which do not follow the form
of the nested interchange
format.  The flat representation allows for a less
rigid structure, but provides a rich mechanism for reflecting
inter-element relations.-->
<!--The declaration of termEntry enforces appearance of at least one term
element in a termEntry, which may be preceded by descrip, admin, note,
otherform, or gram.  There may be multiple notes, admins, descrips
otherforms, and grams appearing in any order.  xRef, date, biblRef
can appear in all positions in termEntry.-->
<!ELEMENT termEntry %om.RO;
( (%m.terminologyMisc; | otherForm | gram |
%m.terminologyInclusions; | %m.Incl;)*, (term, 
(%m.terminologyMisc; | otherForm | gram | %m.terminologyInclusions; | 
%m.Incl;)* )+ ) 
> 
<!ATTLIST termEntry
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'termEntry'  >
<!ELEMENT otherForm %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST otherForm
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'otherForm'  >
<!ELEMENT descrip %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST descrip
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'descrip'  >
<!ELEMENT admin %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST admin
      %a.global;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      date %ISO-date; #IMPLIED
      resp CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'admin'  >
<!--We define a.dictionaries as the empty string,
since we are not now using the tag set for
dictionaries.-->
<!ENTITY % a.dictionaries ''> 
<!ELEMENT gram %om.RO;  %paraContent;> 
<!ATTLIST gram
      %a.global;
      %a.dictionaries;
      type CDATA #IMPLIED
      TEIform CDATA 'gram'  >
<!-- end of 13.4.2-->

13.5 Additional Examples of Term Entries

The tag set defined in this chapter is designed to accommodate the variety of structures that occur in TDBs; this section shows how the same information may be encoded in different ways, depending on local convenience or preferences. Example 5 gives an entry from an ISO terminological standard. Example 6 treats this English-French equivalent pair as a single nested terminological entry, whereas Example 7 splits the information into two nested entries with cross-references. Example 8 shows the same data as a flat terminological entry with adjacent elements, whereas Example 9 groups the elements according to element type, which requires the use of pointers in order to reconstruct the implicit terminological information group from discontiguous elements.

13.5.1 Example Term Entry from ISO 472

The following term entry is taken from ISO 472:1988, Plastics — Vocabulary, Bilingual edition (Geneva: ISO, 1988), p. 84. The original uses typographic characteristics to represent different data element types within the term entry, not all of which have been retained in the reproduction of this sample. As prescribed by ISO layout guidelines,¹⁰⁸ the original text is printed in Helvetica, with English and French information presented in two parallel columns; head terms appear in bold face, notes in a smaller font size than the main text, and terms referred to in the cross references are printed in italics.

thermal degradation

The entirety of all deleterious chemical modifications of plastic at elevated temperature.

NOTE — It is essential to report the temperature and other environmental conditions at which the phenomenon is studied.

See also ageing, degradation and deterioriation.

décomposition thermique

Ensemble de toutes les modifications chimiques nuisibles d'un plastique à température élevée.

NOTE — Il est essentiel d'indiquer la température et les autres conditions d'environnement dans lesquelles le phénomène est étudié.

Voir aussi viellissement, dégradation et détérioration.

13.5.2 The Example Treated as a Single Term Entry in Nested Form

This treatment assumes that both the English and French terms are treated together in the same entry. The elements grouped together at the top of the term entry apply to the entire entry. Only the first of the three cross-referenced terms is included in this example; it is represented by a <ptr> link which targets a term entry (related concept) contained in the same document. The id values used here are purely arbitrary.

<termEntry id="te84.11">
   <admin type="domain"> plastics </admin>
   <ref type="bibliographic" target="iso.472-1988"> p. 84 </ref>
   <admin type="creation" date="1988" resp="ISO/TC 61, Plastics"/>
   <ptr type="relatedTerm" target="te04.06"/>
   <tig lang="en">
      <term> thermal degradation </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> The entirety of all
       deleterious chemical modifications of plastic at
       elevated temperature. </descrip>
      <note> It is essential to report the
       temperature and other environmental conditions at which
       the phenomenon is studied.  </note>
   </tig>
   <tig lang="fr">
      <term> d&eacute;composition thermique </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <gram type="gen"> f </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> Ensemble de toutes les
       modifications chimiques nuisibles d'un plastique &agrave;
       temp&eacute;rature &eacute;lev&eacute;e. </descrip>
      <note>Il est essentiel d'indiquer la 
       temp&eacute;rature et les autres conditions d'environnement
       dans lesquelles le ph&eacute;nom&egrave;ne est 
       &eacute;tudi&eacute;. </note>
   </tig>
</termEntry>
 <!-- Referenced term entry: -->
<termEntry id="te04.06">
   <tig lang="en">
      <term> ageing </term><!-- ... -->
   </tig>
   <tig lang="fr">
      <term> vieillissement </term><!-- ... -->
   </tig>
</termEntry>

13.5.3 The Example Treated as Two Separate Term Entries in Nested Form

This example takes cognizance of the fact that some TDBs treat each term in a single <termEntry> instead of grouping all the information for a single concept into a single <termEntry>. The rationale behind this approach is frequently that no two languages truly provide harmonized concepts, although in the case of standardized terminology it can generally be assumed that concepts have been harmonized. The significant difference in encoding that occurs in this type of system is that <ptr> linking elements are required more frequently to link to term equivalents and related terms in other entries in the same document. Since there is only one <tig> in each entry, the <ptr> element could come at the beginning, as shown in the previous example, or inside the <tig> as shown below.

<termEntry id="te84.11.en">
   <admin type="domain"> plastics </admin>
   <ref type="bibliographic" target="iso.472-1988"> p. 84 </ref>
   <admin type="creation" date="1988" resp="ISO/TC 61, Plastics"/>
   <tig lang="en">
      <term> thermal degradation </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> The entirety of all
       deleterious chemical modifications of plastic at
       elevated temperature. </descrip>
      <note>It is essential to report the 
       temperature and other environmental conditions 
       at which the phenomenon is studied.  </note>
      <ptr type="relatedTerm" target="te04.06.en"/>
      <ptr lang="fr" type="equivalent" target="te84.11.fr"/>
   </tig>
</termEntry>
<termEntry id="te84.11.fr">
   <admin type="domain"> plastics </admin>
   <ref type="bibliographic" target="iso.472-1988"> p. 84 </ref>
   <admin type="creation" date="1988" resp="ISO/TC 61, Plastics"/>
   <tig lang="fr">
      <term> d&eacute;composition thermique </term>
      <gram type="pos"> n </gram>
      <gram type="gen"> f </gram>
      <descrip type="definition"> Ensemble de toutes les
       modifications chimiques nuisibles d'un plastique &agrave;
       temp&eacute;rature &eacute;lev&eacute;e. </descrip>
      <note> Il est essentiel d'indiquer 
       la temp&eacute;rature et les autres conditions 
       d'environnement dans lesquelles le ph&eacute;nom&grave;ne
       est &eacute;tudi&eacute;. </note>
      <ptr type="relatedTerm" target="te04.06.fr"/>
      <ptr lang="en" type="equivalent" target="te84.11.en"/>
   </tig>
</termEntry>
 <!-- Referenced term entry: -->
<termEntry id="te04.06.en">
   <tig lang="en">
      <term> ageing </term><!-- ... -->
   </tig>
</termEntry>
<termEntry id="te04.06.fr">
   <tig lang="fr">
      <term> vieillissement </term><!-- ... -->
   </tig>
</termEntry>

13.5.4 The Example Treated as a Flat Term Entry Using Adjacency Rules

This version of Example 5 uses a flat style of encoding, following the pattern of many existing TDBs; elements associated with a given term follow it immediately:

<termEntry id='TE84.11'>
     <admin type='domain'> plastics </admin>
     <ref type='bibliographic' target='ISO.472-1988'> p. 84 </ref>
     <admin type='creation' date='1988'
            resp='ISO/TC 61, Plastics'> </admin>
     <term lang='en'> thermal degradation </term>
     <gram type='pos'> n </gram>
     <descrip type='definition'> The entirety of all deleterious
     chemical modifications of plastic at elevated temperature.
     </descrip>
     <note> It is essential to report the temperature and other
     environmental conditions at which the phenomenon is studied.
     </note>
     <term lang='fr'> d&eacute;composition thermique </term>
     <gram type='pos'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen'> f </gram>
     <descrip type='definition'> Ensemble de toutes les
     modifications chimiques nuisibles d'un plastique &agrave;
     temp&eacute;rature &eacute;lev&eacute;e. </descrip>
     <note> Il est essentiel d'indiquer la temp&eacute;rature et les
     autres conditions d'environnement dans lesquelles le
     ph&eacute;nom&egrave;ne est &eacute;tudi&eacute;. </note>
     <ptr type='relatedTerm' target='TE04.06'/>
</termEntry>
 
<!-- Referenced term entry: -->
 
<termEntry id='TE04.06'>
     <term lang='en'> ageing </term>
     <!-- ... -->
     <term lang='fr'> vieillissement </term>
     <!-- ... -->
</termEntry>

13.5.5 The Example Treated as a Flat Term Entry Not Using Adjacency Rules

Many translation-oriented terminologists who work with half-screen popup windows prefer the following layout because it enables them to see the various <term> options at the top part of their display window without having to scroll into the body of the <termEntry>. Note in this case that the <ref> element links the bibliographic information to the entire entry.

<termEntry id='TE84.11' n='te84.11'>
     <term lang='en' n='1'> thermal degradation </term>
     <gram type='pos' depend='1'> n </gram>
     <term lang='fr' n='2'> d&eacute;composition thermique
     </term>
     <gram type='pos' depend='2'> n </gram>
     <gram type='gen' depend='2'> f </gram>
 
     <descrip type='definition' group='1'> The entirety of all
     deleterious chemical modifications of plastic at elevated
     temperature. </descrip>
     <descrip type='definition' group='2'> Ensemble de toutes les
     modifications chimiques nuisibles d'un plastique &agrave;
     temp&eacute;rature &eacute;lev&eacute;e. </descrip>
     <note group='1'> It is essential to report the temperature and
     other environmental conditions at which the phenomenon is
     studied. </note>
     <note group='2'> Il est essentiel d'indiquer la temp&eacute;rature et
     les autres conditions d'environnement dans lesquelles le
     ph&eacute;nom&egrave;ne est &eacute;tudi&eacute;. </note>
 
     <ptr type='relatedConcept' target='TE04.06'/>
     <admin depend='te84.11' type='domain'> plastics </admin>
     <ref type='bibliographic' depend='te84.11' target='ISO.472-1988'>
     p. 84 </ref>
     <admin depend='te84.11' type='creation' date='1988'
     resp='ISO/TC 61, Plastics'>
     </admin>
</termEntry>
 <!-- Referenced term entry: -->
<termEntry id='TE04.06' n='te04.06'>
     <term lang='en' n='1'> ageing </term>
     <!-- ... -->
     <term lang='fr' n='2'> vieillissement </term>
     <!-- ... -->
</termEntry>

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13 Terminological Databases