ARCHIVED 3.3.2. Conceptual Analysis

 

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Now for the most fun part of terminology work: conceptual analysis. By acquiring knowledge in your subject field, you will be able to identify those unique sets of characteristics of classes of objects that signal the presence of a concept. You will also observe those concepts that are closely related to a given concept. You will see different dimensions of relationships, and identify those characteristics that distinguish one concept from another.

Your knowledge about the concepts in your subject field will often come from written material, but subject-matter experts are also a superlative source of information.

As you do your readings in your selected documentation (which is often done while you are doing term extraction), you will collect pieces of information that will let you recognize the characteristics of different classes of objects. Some of the characteristics are essential to the description of the concept, while others may prove to be interesting, but not important to your conceptual analysis.

Consider the following excerpt:

A localization kit contains the tools, instructions and resources necessary to produce a localized version of the target software. Currently, these kits are derived from the Netscape Communicator Standard Edition and Netscape Navigator version 4.x products. By following the instructions in the kits, you will be able to produce a localized client product in any supported language. By extension, you may be able to apply the tools and information provided in the localization kits to localize the Mozilla client. Finally, following this model, we anticipate developers publishing their own localization kits based on their derivatives of the mozilla.org source code.

Kit Contents:

While the exact contents of each localization kit differ according to the platform and product it is intended for, each kit is composed of the following general pieces:

  • The English language resources (in exportable, binary form)
  • Localization notes
  • Kit documentation
  • Tools

Mozilla Localization Project

What are some of the pieces of information we can collect from this excerpt concerning what appears to be the concept designated by the term "localization kit"?

  • Its purpose is to produce a localized client product, to produce a localized version of target software.
  • It is a grouping of tools, instructions and resources.
  • It is made up of English language resources, localization notes, documentation, and tools, plus other variable contents.
  • It is derived from Netscape components.
  • It is published by developers.

According to this excerpt, what are some of the relationships that this concept is involved in?

  • It is in a part-whole relationship in which it is the whole and English language resources, localization notes, documentation, tools, and other components are the parts.
  • It is a kind of means of software localization, so it is in a generic-specific relationship with that concept, localization kit being the specific.
  • It is in an associative relationship (product-producer) with the concept of "[software] developer." And from this excerpt, we can note its essence, what it is: a grouping of tools, instructions and resources.

As we continue our research, we will learn more about related concepts, about which characteristics distinguish the concept of "localization kit" from other software localization tools, and about just which of the characteristics we have observed are essential.

Careful conceptual analysis is key to structuring the sets of logical relationships that exist among the concepts we are studying and to determining just how far one concept goes before it "touches" another concept. Draw a tree or rake diagram of the concept relationships as you go along (even if only in your head) — it will really help you understand how knowledge is structured in your subjectfield.

It is only because of sound conceptual analysis that questions of synonymy can be resolved. And it is only because of sound conceptual analysis in each language under study that equivalent terms can be identified. If you can match a unique set of characteristics described in your documentation in one language with the same unique set of characteristics in a target language, then you are dealing with the same concept and can deduce that the terms that designate those concepts in each language are equivalent.

Since language is how we express concepts, it is natural that you will switch back and forth between term extraction, conceptual analysis, and further research throughout your study of the terminology of your subject field. Sound conceptual analysis hinges on good information, so further research is often required after a term-extraction task has suggested the presence of pertinent concepts to you.