LexMeta, a metadata model for lexical resources

LexMeta follows the three-level entity hierarchy for the representation of artistic or creative endavour proposed in the FRBR ontology, widely used in libraries, which we map to the two-level hierarchy for the representation of LCR metadata proposed in Metashare, from where we inherit the terminology, and the definitions. These hierarchy levels, expressed as classes, are the following:

FRBR class Metashare class LexMeta class MetaShare definition
frbr:Work Lexicographic work [An abstract notion of a creation; used to group different expressions (editions, versions) of the same work, and address statements that apply on work level.]
frbr:Expression ms:LexicalConceptualResource LexicalConceptualResource A resource organised on the basis of lexical or conceptual entries (lexical items, terms, concepts, etc.) with their supplementary information (e.g., grammatical, semantic, statistical information, etc.)
frbr:Manifestation ms:DatasetDistribution LCR Distribution Any form with which a dataset is distributed, such as a downloadable form in a specific format (e.g., spreadsheet, plain text, etc.) or an API with which it can be accessed

The entity Schemata for LexMeta LCR and LCR Distributions are aligned to those of the corresponding FRBR and Metashare classes (in other words, the LexBib class is a subclass of both). This has several implications:

  • Properties that describe LCR content are attached to items of class LexicalConceptualResource.
  • Properties that describe the LCR distribution, e.g. a physical dictionay in book form, or an electronic dictionary in a dictionary web portal or as downloadable dataset, are attached to LCR Distribution items.
  • LCR Distribution items, when they have publication metadata as books have, are LexBib Zotero items, i.e. in LexBib wikibase, members of class LexBib BibItem. This applies mainly for book publications, and distributions on CD-ROM. But also online electronic dictionaries are collected in library information systems and can have publication metadata, and can exist as LexBib Zotero items. Publication metadata properties are described in the BIBO ontology (RDF), and Zotero item data fields map to BIBO.
  • A dictionary with the same contents in printed form, on CD-ROM, available in a mobile app, or downloadable in different serialization formats (XML, JSON, etc.) will be represented as the same resource (LexicalConceptualResource) with different distributions (LCR Distribution).
  • Different versions, editions, conversions, summaries, etc., of a lexicographic work will be represented as different LexicalConceptualResource items, being able to describe relations between these using properties defined in Metashare.

Description of lexical-conceptual resources (LCR) such as dictionaries

LexMeta provides categories for classifying dictionaries and other lexical resources, here called properties attached to LCR. Property ranges are defined as listed in the following table. Click on the class names to see the member terms in a hierarchical representation.

LexBib property Property label LexBib Range Wikidata LexMeta LexMeta Range Definition
P2 wikidata entity external ID
P5 instance of Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) wd:P31
Dictionary Sructure and Type
P151 lemma type Lemma Type (Q50)
P115 linguality type Linguality Type (Q37) ms:lingualityType
P119 lexicographical process type Lexicographical Process Type (Q42) ms:creationMode ??
P90 dictionary scope type Dictionary Scope (Q35) ms:contentType ??
P120 dictionary function type Dictionary Function Type (Q44) NOT ms:userType
P121 dictionary access type Access Structure Type (Q39)
P152 dictionary text part Dictionary Text Part (Q52)
P127 microstructure feature Microstructure Feature (Q51) ms:linguisticInformation
P55 has distribution LCR Distribution (Q24) ms:distribution
P150 source language Language (Q8)
P134 target language Language (Q8)
P56 object language Language (Q8) ms:language
P122 metalanguage Language (Q8) ms:metalanguage
Providence
P12 author Person (Q5) wd:P50 ms:resourceCreator
P13 editor Person (Q5) wd:P98 ms:isEditedby
P6 title monolingualtext wd:P1476 ms:resourceName
P97 short title ms:resourceShortName
P15 publication date time object wd:P577 ms:publicationDate
P35 publisher Agent (Q14) ms:resourceProvider
<TBD> publication place Place (Q9)
Relations to other LCR
P135 replaces LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:replaces Links to LR B that is an older version of LR A (the one being described) and has been replaced by it
P133 is version of LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:isVersionOf Links to LR B that is a version (corrected, annotated, enriched, processed, etc.) of LR A (the one being described)
P125 is part of LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:isPartOf Links to LR B which contains LR A (the one being described), e.g., a bilingual corpus that includes a monolingual corpus
P136 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is similar to LCR ms:isSimilarTo Links to LR B that bears resemblances to LR A (the one being described), e.g., they have been built with the same theoretical principles or are the same with different formats or processed at the same level with different tools
P137 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is related to LCR ms:isRelatedToLR Links to a language resource that holds a relation with the entity being described (without further specification of the relation type)
P138 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is exact match with LCR ms:isExactMatchWith Links to LR B that has the same contents with LR A; they may have different names or the same name and be stored on different locations
P139 is part with LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:isPartWith Links to LR B that together with LR A (the one being described) are parts of LR C
P140 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is continuation of LCR ms:isContinuationOf Links to LR B that forms the basis of LR A (the one being described) upon which it has continued to extend / enrich
P141 is converted version of LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:isConvertedVersionOf Links to LR B that has been the outcome of a conversion procedure from LR A (the one being described), e.g., a PDF to text conversion
P142 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) has original source LCR ms:hasOriginalSource Links a language resource to the original source that has been used for its creation, where it's derived or elicited from
P143 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) has LCR as part ms:hasPart Links to LR B which is contained in LR A (the one being described), e.g., a monolingual corpus part of a bilingual corpus
P144 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) has LCR as version ms:hasVersion Links to LR B that is a version of LR A (the one being described)
P145 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is combined with LCR ms:isCombinedWith Links to a LR B that has been used together with LR A (the one being described) to create LR C, e.g., two monolingual wordnets/corpora aligned to produce a bilingual resource
P63 Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) is continued by LCR ms:isContinuedBy Links to a LR B that extends / continues / enriches LR A (the one being described)
P124 is replaced with LCR Lexical Conceptual Resource (Q4) ms:isReplacedWith Links to LR B that is a newer version of LR A (the one being described) and replaces it}

Description of LCR distributions, such as printed or electronic dictionaries

Manuscript, printed, and offline and online electronic dictionaries, as distributions are represented using the same set of properties as for LexBib metalexicographical articles. They can also be listed in LexBib Zotero.

LexBib property Property label Range Wikidata equiv. BIBO equiv. LexMeta equiv. Definition
P100 bibitem type BibItem Type (Q21)
P91 distribution type Dictionary Distribution Type (Q43) ms:distributionForm
P16 LexBib Zotero item external ID
P2 wikidata entity external ID
P5 instance of LexBib Ontology Class (Q2) wd:P31
P6 title monolingualtext wd:P1476 dct:title
P9 containing BibCollection BibCollection (Q12)
P11 publication language Language (Q8) wd:P407 dct:language
P12 author Person (Q5) wd:P50 bibo:authorList
P13 editor Person (Q5) wd:P98 bibo:editorList
P15 publication date time object wd:P577 dct:date
P35 publisher Agent (Q14)
<TBD> publication place Place (Q9) wd:P291
P17 DOI external ID wd:P356 bibo:doi
P18 ISBN-13 external ID wd:P212 bibo:isbn13
P19 ISBN-10 external ID wd:P957 bibo:isbn10
P20 ISSN external ID wd:P236 bibo:issn
P21 distribution location url wd:P953 ms:distributionLocation
P44 official website url wd:P856
P111 BibCollection landing page url
P112 access location url ms:accessLocation
P113 download location url ms:downloadLocation
P22 volume string wd:P478 bibo:volume
P23 issue string wd:P433 bibo:issue
P24 page(s) string wd:P304 bibo:pages
P29 first author location Place (Q9)
P36 event Event (Q6)
P64 edition number string wd:P393
P85 Elexifinder collection string
P97 short title
P27 subject Term (Q7) dct:subject
P26 is reviewed in Review Article (Q15) schema:review
P25 is review of BibItem (Q3) wd:P6977 bibo:reviewOf
P147 cites BibItem (Q3) wd:P2860 bibo:cites