Terminological Methods in Lexicography: Conceptualising, Organising, and Encoding Terms in General Language Dictionaries

Os dicionários de língua geral apresentam inconsistências de uniformização e cientificidade no tratamento do conteúdo lexicográfico especializado. Analisando a presença e o tratamento de termos em dicionários de língua geral, propomos um tratamento mais uniforme e cientificamente rigoroso desse conteúdo, considerando também a necessidade de compilar e alinhar futuros recursos lexicais em consonância com padrões interoperáveis. Partimos da premissa de que o tratamento dos itens lexicais, sejam unidades lexicais (palavras em geral) ou unidades terminológicas (termos ou palavras pertencentes a determinados domínios), deve ser diferenciado, e recorremos a métodos terminológicos para tratar os termos dicionarizados. A nossa abordagem assume que a terminologia – na sua dupla dimensão linguística e conceptual – e a lexicografia, como domínios interdisciplinares, podem ser complementares. Assim, apresentamos objetivos teóricos (aperfeiçoamento da metalinguagem e descrição lexicográfica a partir de pressupostos terminológicos) e práticos (representação consistente de dados lexicográficos), que visam facilitar a organização, descrição e modelização consistente de componentes lexicográficos, nomeadamente a hierarquização das etiquetas de domínio, que são marcadores de identificação de léxico especializados. Queremos ainda facilitar a redação de definições, as quais podem ser otimizadas e elaboradas com maior precisão científica ao seguir uma abordagem terminológica no tratamento dos termos. Analisámos os dicionários desenvolvidos por três instituições académicas distintas: a Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, a Real Academia Española e a Académie Française, que representam um valioso legado da tradição lexicográfica académica europeia. A análise inicial inclui um levantamento exaustivo e a comparação das etiquetas de domínio usadas, bem como um debate sobre as opções escolhidas e um estudo comparativo do tratamento dos termos. Elaborámos, depois, uma proposta metodológica para o tratamento de termos em dicionários de língua geral, tomando como exemplo dois domínios, GEOLOGIA e FUTEBOL, extraídos da edição de 2001 do dicionário da Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. Revimos os termos selecionados de acordo com os princípios terminológicos defendidos, dando origem a sentidos especializados revistos/novos para a primeira edição digital deste dicionário. Representamos e anotamos os dados usando as especificações da TEI Lex-0, uma extensão da TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), dedicada à codificação de dados lexicográficos. Destacamos também a importância de ter etiquetas de domínio hierárquicas em vez de uma lista simples de domínios, vantajosas para a organização dos dados, correspondência e possíveis futuros alinhamentos entre diferentes recursos lexicográficos. A investigação revelou que a) os modelos estruturais dos recursos lexicais são complexos e contêm informação de natureza diversa; b) as etiquetas de domínio nos dicionários gerais da língua são planas, desequilibradas, inconsistentes e, muitas vezes, estão desatualizadas, havendo necessidade de as hierarquizar para organizar o conhecimento especializado; c) os critérios adotados para a marcação dos termos e as fórmulas utilizadas na definição são díspares; d) o tratamento dos termos é heterogéneo e formulado de diferentes formas, pelo que o recurso a métodos terminológicos podem ajudar os lexicógrafos a redigir definições; e) a aplicação de métodos terminológicos e lexicográficos interdisciplinares, e também de padrões, é vantajosa porque permite a construção de bases de dados lexicais estruturadas, concetualmente organizadas, apuradas do ponto de vista linguístico e interoperáveis. Em suma, procuramos contribuir para a questão urgente de resolver problemas que afetam a partilha, o alinhamento e vinculação de dados lexicográficos.General language dictionaries show inconsistencies in terms of uniformity and scientificity in the treatment of specialised lexicographic content. By analysing the presence and treatment of terms in general language dictionaries, we propose a more uniform and scientifically rigorous treatment of this content, considering the necessity of compiling and aligning future lexical resources according to interoperable standards. We begin from the premise that the treatment of lexical items, whether lexical units (words in general) or terminological units (terms or words belonging to particular subject fields), must be differentiated, and resort to terminological methods to treat dictionary terms. Our approach assumes that terminology – in its dual dimension, both linguistic and conceptual – and lexicography, as interdisciplinary domains, can be complementary. Thus, we present theoretical (improvement of metalanguage and lexicographic description based on terminological assumptions) and practical (consistent representation of lexicographic data) objectives that aim to facilitate the organisation, description and consistent modelling of lexicographic components, namely the hierarchy of domain labels, as they are specialised lexicon identification markers. We also want to facilitate the drafting of definitions, which can be optimised and elaborated with greater scientific precision by following a terminological approach for the treatment of terms. We analysed the dictionaries developed by three different academic institutions: the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, the Real Academia Española and the Académie Française, which represent a valuable legacy of the European academic lexicographic tradition. The initial analysis includes an exhaustive survey and comparison of the domain labels used, as well as a debate on the chosen options and a comparative study of the treatment of the terms. We then developed a methodological proposal for the treatment of terms in general language dictionaries, exemplified using terms from two domains, GEOLOGY and FOOTBALL, taken from the 2001 edition of the dictionary of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. We revised the selected terms according to the defended terminological principles, giving rise to revised/new specialised meanings for the first digital edition of this dictionary. We represent and annotate the data using the TEI Lex-0 specifications, a TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) subset for encoding lexicographic data. We also highlight the importance of having hierarchical domain labels instead of a simple list of domains, which are beneficial to the data organisation itself, correspondence and possible future alignments between different lexicographic resources. Our investigation revealed the following: a) structural models of lexical resources are complex and contain information of a different nature; b) domain labels in general language dictionaries are flat, unbalanced, inconsistent and often outdated, requiring the need to hierarchise them for organising specialised knowledge; c) the criteria adopted for marking terms and the formulae used in the definition are disparate; d) the treatment of terms is heterogeneous and formulated differently, whereby terminological methods can help lexicographers to draft definitions; e) the application of interdisciplinary terminological and lexicographic methods, and of standards, is advantageous because it allows the construction of structured, conceptually organised, linguistically accurate and interoperable lexical databases. In short, we seek to contribute to the urgent issue of solving problems that affect the sharing, alignment and linking of lexicographic data

terms and their domains

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020 PTDC/LLT-LIN/6841/2020Applying terminological methods to lexicography helps lexicographers deal with the terms occurring in general language dictionaries, especially when it comes to writing the definitions of concepts belonging to special fields. In the context of the lexicographic work of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, an updated digital version of the last Academia das Ciências de Lisboa’ dictionary published in 2001, we have assumed that terminology – in its dual dimension, both linguistic and conceptual – and lexicography are complementary in their methodological approaches. Both disciplines deal with lexical items, which can be lexical units or terms. In this paper, we apply terminological methods to improve the treatment of terms in general language dictionaries and to write definitions as a form of achieving more precision and accuracy, and also to specify the domains to which they belong. Additionally, we highlight the consistent modelling of lexicographic components, namely the hierarchy of domain labels, as they are term identification markers instead of a flat list of domains. The need to create and make available structured, organised and interoperable lexicographic resources has led us to follow a path in which the application of standards and best practices of treating and representing specialised lexicographic content are fundamental requirements.publishersversionpublishe

A platform designed with lexicographical data in mind

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020LeXmart is an open-source web platform used to support the lexicographer’s work through editing, control, validation, management, and publication of lexical resources. This tool was specifically developed to facilitate the compilation of general monolingual dictionaries in which data is encoded according to the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) schema (chapter 9). Here, we will describe the challenges of adapting LeXmart to deal with TEI Lex-0 and distinct types of lexical resources, namely Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (DLP) and Vocabulário Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa, lexicographic works from Academia das Ciências Lisboa, and Dicionário Aberto, the retro-digitised version of the Cândido de Figueiredo dictionary. This article describes the steps taken to update the LeXmart platform to deal with the TEI Lex-0 schema and describe the challenges on properly encoding these three projects while allowing the lexicographical team to work continuously. This work builds on automatic operations performed on top of the original resources. It also includes the changes made to the editor to make it capable of dealing with the encoding updates and the new types of resources.publishersversionpublishe

o VOLP-1940

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020This paper presents the Digital Edition of the Vocabularies of the Academy of Sciences project, which aims to digitise the spelling vocabularies of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences (ACL) in order to create a digital lexicographic corpus bringing together the printed versions of all these lexicographical reference works – the 1940, 1947, 1970, and finally the 2012 editions. The first stage started with the Vocabulário Ortográfico da Língua Portuguesa [Orthographic Vocabulary of the Portuguese Language] (VOLP-1940), our case study. After digitising this vocabulary, the work described here focuses on the linguistic annotation of VOLP-1940 using eXtensible Markup Language (XML), an annotation metalanguage, and following the annotation directives of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), more specifically the application of TEI Lex-0, a new TEI sub-format. We aim to highlight the need for rigorous linguistic data processing in the creation of new lexical resources to increase the quality of their description and applicability.publishersversionpublishe

A closer look at the determinologisation process

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020This paper arises within the current communication urgency experienced through-out the pandemic. From its onset, several new lexical units have permeated the over-all media discourse, as well as social media and other channels. These units conveyinformation to the public regarding the ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome’ namely COVID-19. In addition to its worldwide impact healthwise, the pandemic generates noteworthy influence in the linguistic landscape, and as a result, a significant number of neologisms have emerged. Within the scope of our ongoing research, we identify the neologisms in European Portuguese that are related to the term COVID-19 via form or meaning. However, not all the new lexical units identified in our corpus containing COVID-19 in its formation can unequivocally be regarded as neoterms (terminological neologisms). Accordingly, this article aims not only to reflect on thedistinction between neologism and neoterm but also to explore the determinologisa-tion process that several of these new lexical units experience.publishersversionpublishe

LSP in theory and practice

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020Book of abstracts and Program of the 23rd International Conference on Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP 2022: Shaping knowledge through language: LSP in theory and practice), which took place at NOVA University Lisbon, Portugal (CAN – Colégio Almada Negreiros, 1099 – 032 Lisboa).publishersversionpublishe

The advent of a new lexicographical portuguese project

UID/LIN/03213/2013MORDigital is a newly funded Portuguese lexicographic project that aims to produce high-quality and searchable digital versions of the first three editions (1789; 1813; 1823) of the Diccionario da Lingua Portugueza by António de Morais Silva, preserving and making accessible this important work of European heritage. This paper will describe the current state of the art, the project, its objectives and the methodology proposed, the latter of which is based on a rigorous linguistic analysis and will also include steps necessary for the ontologisation of knowledge contained in and relating to the text. A section will be dedicated to the various investigation domains of the project description. The output of the project will be made available via a dedicated platform.publishersversionpublishe

Há xistos e xistos e... outros que nem tanto

UIDB/03213/2020 UIDP/03213/2020publishersversionpublishe

Telemental health in Brazil: past, present and integration into primary care

Background Telemental Health Care has reported very good results and is included within mental health priorities by the World Health Organization. Objective To provide an overview of the current situation of the integration of Brazilian telemedicine activities into primary health care. Methods Critical review based on MEDLINE database, using the keywords “telemedicine”, “primary health care” “mental health” and “telemental health”, on websites of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and Brazilian Telehealth Network Program, and on personal communication. Results The Brazilian Telehealth Network Program is well positioned and connects primary health care with academic centers. Regulations standards allow a broader scope of activities for psychologists, however, are more restrictive for physicians. In Brazil most of telemental health activities are focused on education and second opinion consulting. A huge challenge must be overcome considering the regional differences and the telehealth implementation experience. Research initiatives have been initiated both in the implementation and evaluation of the mental health assistance into primary health care. Discussion Brazilian Telemental Health initiatives into Primary Care are aligned with other examples around the world, have a great potential for improving mental health care service delivery, and access to proper mental health care, especially if articulated in a national program and coordinated research

Neurodifferentiation and neuroprotection potential of mesenchymal stromal cell-derived secretome produced in different dynamic systems

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by the degeneration of the dopamine (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to a loss of DA in the basal ganglia. The presence of aggregates of alpha-synuclein (α-synuclein) is seen as the main contributor to the pathogenesis and progression of PD. Evidence suggests that the secretome of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) could be a potential cell-free therapy for PD. However, to accelerate the integration of this therapy in the clinical setting, there is still the need to develop a protocol for the large-scale production of secretome under good manufacturing practices (GMP) guidelines. Bioreactors have the capacity to produce large quantities of secretomes in a scalable manner, surpassing the limitations of planar static culture systems. However, few studies focused on the influence of the culture system used to expand MSC, on the secretome composition. In this work, we studied the capacity of the secretome produced by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSC) expanded in a spinner flask (SP) and in a Vertical-Wheel™ bioreactor (VWBR) system, to induce neurodifferentiation of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) and to prevent dopaminergic neuron degeneration caused by the overexpression of α-synuclein in one Caenorhabditis elegans model of PD. Results showed that secretomes from both systems were able to induce neurodifferentiation, though the secretome produced in the SP system had a greater effect. Additionally, in the conditions of our study, only the secretome produced in SP had a neuroprotective potential. Lastly, the secretomes had different profiles regarding the presence and/or specific intensity of different molecules, namely, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-4, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), and 3 (MMP3), tumor necrosis factor-beta (TNF-β), osteopontin, nerve growth factor beta (NGFβ), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF), heparin-binding (HB) epithelial growth factor (EGF)-like growth factor (HB-EGF), and IL-13. Overall, our results suggest that the culture conditions might have influenced the secretory profiles of cultured cells and, consequently, the observed effects. Additional studies should further explore the effects that different culture systems have on the secretome potential of PD.This work has been funded by la Caixa Foundation and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the agreement LCF/PR/HP20/52300001; ICVS Scientific Microscopy Platform, member of the national infrastructure PPBI—Portuguese Platform of Bioimaging (PPBI-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122); by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)—project UIDB/50026/2020 and UIDP/50026/2020. CRM was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from FCT and the company Stemmatters, Biotecnologia e Medicina Regenerativa SA (PD/BDE/127833/2016). Funding received by iBB-Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences from FCT (UID/BIO/04565/2020) and through the project PTDC/EQU-EQU/31651/2017 is acknowledged. MAF was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from FCT (SFRH/PD/BD/128328/2017). RC was supported by the EXOpro project (PTDC/EQU-QUE/31651/2017). JPS was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from FCT and the company Bn’ML—Behavioral & Molecular Lab (PD/BDE/127834/2016). DS was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from FCT and the company Stemmatters, Biotecnologia e Medicina Regenerativa S.A. (PD/BDE/135567/2018) JC was supported by a Ph.D. scholarship from FCT (SFRH/BD/5813/2020)