Bloksma, L.

Boersma, P.

Vossen, P.J.T.M.

VU Research Portal

VU Research PortalEuroWordNet Tools and Resources ReportVossen, P.J.T.M.; Bloksma, L.; Boersma, P.1998document versionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication in VU Research Portalcitation for published version (APA)Vossen, P. J. T. M., Bloksma, L., & Boersma, P. (1998). EuroWordNet Tools and Resources Report. 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May. 2021EuroWordNet Tools and Resources ReportPiek Vossen, , Laura Bloksma, Paul Boersma, University of AmsterdamFelisa Verdejo, Julio Gonzalo, UNED, MadridHoracio Rodriquez, German Rigau, Politecnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaNicoletta Calzolari, Carol Peters, Eugenio Picchi, Simonetta Montemagni , ILC, PisaWim Peters, University of SheffieldVersion 1, 15 July 1998FinalDeliverable D021D025, WP2,EuroWordNet, LE2-4003Identification number LE-4003-D-021D025Type DocumentTitle EuroWordNet Tools ReportStatusDeliverable D021D025Work Package WP2Task T2.2Period coveredDate 15 July 1998Version 1Number of pages 9Authors • Piek Vossen,Laura Bloksma, Paul Boersma, University ofAmsterdam• Felisa Verdejo, Julio Gonzalo, UNED, Madrid• Horacio Rodriquez, German Rigau, Politecnica de Catalunya,Barcelona• Nicoletta Calzolari, Carol Peters, Eugenio Picchi, SimonettaMontemagni , ILC, Pisa• Wim Peters, University of SheffieldWP/Task responsible AMSProject contact point  Piek Vossen Computational Linguistics Department University of Amsterdam Spuistraat 134 1012 VB Amsterdam The Netherlands tel.  +31 20 525 4669 fax. +31 20 525 4429 e-mail: Piek.Vossen@hum.uva.nlEC project officer Ray HudsonStatus PublicActual distribution Project ConsortiumSuplementary notes n.a.Key wordsAbstractStatus of the abstractReceived onRecipient’s cataloguenumberExecutive SummaryThis deliverable gives an overview of the Tools and Resources used by each site to build theirlocal wordnets. All sites have different resources and database and also the languages havedifferent properties giving each one a very different starting point. Consequently, the partnersapply different methodologies for building their wordnet.Attached to the general introduction are 4 documents describing the tools and resources for eachsite. These documents can be seen as catalogues of tools and resources that are available and/orhave been used. Other builders of wordnets can use the documents to find out what tools andmethods fit their situation best and how they can be obtained.D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          5EuroWordNet LE-40031. IntroductionThis deliverable is an introduction to the tools and resources that have been used by the sites inEuroWordNet-1 (LE2-4003) for building wordnet fragments for their national languages. In thisdocument, we summarize the general approach for building the wordnets with local tools.Attached to this document are 4 other documents describing the tools and resources for each site.These documents can be seen as catalogues of tools and resources that are available and/or havebeen used. Other builders of wordnets can use the documents to find out what tools and methodsfit their situation best and how they can be obtained.The general EuroWordNet database, Polaris, is described in D024 (Louw 1998). In this databaseall the results are stored and compared. This document describes the methodologies and toolsneeded to get the data in the EuroWordNet format that Polaris can handle. Samples of the finaldatabase format for Dutch, Italian and Spanish, together with a complete conversion ofWordNet1.5 to the EuroWordNet format can be downloaded from the EuroWordNet WWW-side:http://www.hum.let.uva.nl. The sample data are available in ASCII format and in EuroWordnetdatabase format. The latter can be viewed with the Periscope program (Cuypers and Adriaens1997, D008), which can be downloaded from the WWW-side for free as well.Each site is responsible for the description and distribution of their own tools. The followingcontact persons should be addressed for further inquiries:Dutch WordNetand Toolsat AMSDr. Vossen, PiekFaculteit der GeesteswetenschappenUniversiteit van AmsterdamSpuistraat 134Amsterdam, 1012 VT, NLtel: +31 20 525 4669fax: +31 20 525 4429e-mail: piek.vossen@let.uva.nlItalian Wordnetand Tools,at PSA (ILC)Prof. Calzolari, NicolettaInstituto di LinguisticaComputazionale C.N.R.Via Della Faggiola 32Pisa, 56100, ITtel: +39 50 560 481fax: +49 50 55 62 85e-mail: glottolo@ilc.pi.cnr.itEnglish Wordnetadditionsand Tools,at SHEProf. Wilks, YorickWim PetersUniversity of SheffieldComputer Science DepartmentPortobello Street 211, Regent CourtSheffield, S1 4DT, GBtel: +44 1142 825 571fax: +44 1142 780 972e-mail: yorick@dcs.sheffield.ac.uke-mail: w.peters@dcs.sheffield.ac.ukSpanish Wordnetand Tools,at FUEVerdejo, FelisaFundación Universidad EmpresaSerrano Jover 5,7aMadrid, 28015, EStel: +34 1 398 6484fax: +34 1 398 6028e-mail: felisa@iluvatar.ieec.uned.esEuroWordNetDatabasePolaris,LHSDr. Adriaens, GeertLernout and HauspiePostleihof 1Antwerp, BEtel: +32 3 230 51 03Adriaens, Geerte-mail: Geert.Adriaens@lhs.beD021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          6EuroWordNet LE-40032. General approach for building the wordnetsThe EuroWordNet database is being built (as much as possible) from available existing resourcesand databases with semantic information developed in various projects. In general, the wordnetsare built in two major cycles as indicated by I and II in Figure 1 below. Each cycle consists of abuilding phase and a comparison phase:1. Building a wordnet fragment1.1. Specification of an initial vocabulary1.2. Encoding of the language-internal relations1.3. Encoding of the equivalence relations2. Comparing the wordnet fragments2.1. Loading of the wordnets in the EuroWordNet database (Polaris)2.2. Comparing and restructuring the fragments2.3. Measuring the overlap across the fragmentsThe building of a fragment is done using local tools and databases which are tailored to thespecific nature and possibilities of the available resources. The available resources differconsiderably in quality and explicitness of the data. Whereas some sites have the availability ofpartially structured networks between word senses, others start from genus words extracted fromdefinitions that still have to be disambiguated in meaning.After the specification of a fragment of the vocabulary, where each site uses similar criteria (theremay again be differences due to the different starting points), globally, two approaches arefollowed for encoding the semantic relations:Merge model: the selection is done in a local resource and the synsets and their language-internal relations are first developed separately, after which the equivalence relations aregenerated to WordNet1.5 . This approach is followed for the Dutch and Italian wordnets.Expand model: the selection is done in WordNet1.5 and the WordNet.1.5 synsets aretranslated (using bilingual dictionaries) into equivalent synsets in the other language. Thewordnet relations are taken over and where necessary adapted to EuroWordNet. Possibly,monolingual resources are used to verify the wordnet relations imposed on non-Englishsynsets. This approach is followed for the Spanish wordnet.The Merge model results in a wordnet which is independent of WordNet1.5, possibly maintainingthe language-specific properties. The Expand model will result in a wordnet which is very closeto WordNet1.5 but which will also be biased by it. Whatever approach is followed also dependson the quality of the available resources.After a production phase (step Ib and Ic in Figure 1) the results are converted to theEuroWordNet import format and loaded into the common database (step Ic). At that point variousconsistency checks are carried out, both formally and conceptually. By using the specific optionsin the EuroWordNet database it is then possible to further inspect and compare the data, torestructure relations where necessary and to measure the overlap in the fragments developed atD021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          7EuroWordNet LE-4003the separate sites. Those meanings not covered by a site may be included in the extension of thevocabulary in the next building phase.The overall design of the EuroWordNet database makes it possible to develop the individuallanguage-specific wordnets relatively independently while guaranteeing a minimal level ofcompatibility. Nevertheless, some specific measures have been taken to enlarge the compatibilityof the different resources:1. The definition of a common set of so-called Base Concepts that is used as a starting point byall the sites to develop the cores of the wordnets. Base Concepts1 are meanings that play amajor role in the wordnets: i.e. have many relations or high positions in the hierarchies.2. The classification of the Base Concepts in terms of a Top Ontology.3. The exchange of problems and possible solutions for encoding the relations for the BaseConcepts.The Base Concepts and the Top Ontology are further described in Deliverable D017D034D036[Vossen et al. 1997] and in [Rodriguez et al. fc.]. The results of the first building phase aredescribed in Deliverable D014D015 [Vossen et al. 1998].                                               1 The notion of Base Concepts should not be confused with Basic-Level Concepts as defined by Rosch (1977). Base Concepts are technicallydefined as the concepts with most relations. In most cases, they are more general than the Basic Level Concepts.D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          8EuroWordNet LE-4003Verificationby usersComparing andrestructuring thewordnetLoad wordnet inthe EuroWordNetDatabaseImproveand extendthe wordnetfragmentsAdjustcoverageimproveencodingMachine Readable DictionariesWordnets, Taxonomies,CorporaLoaded in local databasesSubset of word meaningsEncoding oflanguageinternal andequivalencerelationsWordnet fragment with links to WordNet1.5in local databaseSpecification ofselection criteriaWordnet fragment inEuroWordNet databaseDemonstrationinInformationRetrievalVerificationReportIaIbIcIIIaIIIFigure 1: Overview of the building phases in EuroWordNetD021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          9EuroWordNet LE-4003ReferencesCuypers, I. And G. Adriaens 1997 Periscope: the EWN Viewer, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003), Deliverable D008d012. University ofAmsterdam, Amsterdam.Louw, M. 1998 Polaris User's Guide: the EuroWordNet Database Editor, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003), Deliverable D024,University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.Rodriguez, H., S. Climent, P. Vossen, L. Bloksma; A. Roventini, F. Bertagna, A. Alonge, W. Peters, (fc) The Top-Down Strategy for Building EuroWordNet: Vocabulary Coverage, Base Concepts and TopOntology. In: Computer and the Humanities, Special Issue on EuroWordNet.Rosch, E. 1977 Human Categorisation. In N. Warren (Ed.) Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. I, pp. 1-49.Academic Press. London. 1977Vossen, Piek, Laura Bloksma, Horacio Rodriguez, Salvador Climent, Adriana Roventini, Francesca Bertagna,Antonietta Alonge, Wim Peters 1997 The EuroWordNet Base Concepts and Top Ontology, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003) D017D034D036,University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.Vossen, Piek, Laura Bloksma, Salvador Climent, Maria Antonia Marti, Gabriel Oreggioni, Gerard Escudero, GermanRigau, Horacio Rodriguez, Adriana Roventini, Francesca Bertagna, Antonietta Alonge, Carol Peters, WimPeters 1998 The Restructured Core wordnets in EuroWordNet: Subset1, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003) D014D015,University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.

English

EuroWordNet Tools and Resources Report

DSpace at VU

EuroWordNet Tools and Resources Report
Piek Vossen, , Laura Bloksma, Paul Boersma, University of Amsterdam
Felisa Verdejo, Julio Gonzalo, UNED, Madrid
Horacio Rodriquez, German Rigau, Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona
Nicoletta Calzolari, Carol Peters, Eugenio Picchi, Simonetta Montemagni , ILC, Pisa
Wim Peters, University of Sheffield
Version 1, 15 July 1998
Final
Deliverable D021D025, WP2,
EuroWordNet, LE2-4003
Identification number LE-4003-D-021D025
Type Document
Title EuroWordNet Tools Report
Status
Deliverable D021D025
Work Package WP2
Task T2.2
Period covered
Date 15 July 1998
Version 1
Number of pages 9
Authors • Piek Vossen,Laura Bloksma, Paul Boersma, University of
Amsterdam
• Felisa Verdejo, Julio Gonzalo, UNED, Madrid
• Horacio Rodriquez, German Rigau, Politecnica de Catalunya,
Barcelona
• Nicoletta Calzolari, Carol Peters, Eugenio Picchi, Simonetta
Montemagni , ILC, Pisa
• Wim Peters, University of Sheffield
WP/Task responsible AMS
Project contact point  Piek Vossen
 Computational Linguistics Department
 University of Amsterdam
 Spuistraat 134
 1012 VB Amsterdam
 The Netherlands
 tel.  +31 20 525 4669
 fax. +31 20 525 4429
 e-mail: Piek.Vossen@hum.uva.nl
EC project officer Ray Hudson
Status Public
Actual distribution Project Consortium
Suplementary notes n.a.
Key words
Abstract
Status of the abstract
Received on
Recipient’s catalogue
number
Executive Summary
This deliverable gives an overview of the Tools and Resources used by each site to build their
local wordnets. All sites have different resources and database and also the languages have
different properties giving each one a very different starting point. Consequently, the partners
apply different methodologies for building their wordnet.
Attached to the general introduction are 4 documents describing the tools and resources for each
site. These documents can be seen as catalogues of tools and resources that are available and/or
have been used. Other builders of wordnets can use the documents to find out what tools and
methods fit their situation best and how they can be obtained.
D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          5
EuroWordNet LE-4003
1. Introduction
This deliverable is an introduction to the tools and resources that have been used by the sites in
EuroWordNet-1 (LE2-4003) for building wordnet fragments for their national languages. In this
document, we summarize the general approach for building the wordnets with local tools.
Attached to this document are 4 other documents describing the tools and resources for each site.
These documents can be seen as catalogues of tools and resources that are available and/or have
been used. Other builders of wordnets can use the documents to find out what tools and methods
fit their situation best and how they can be obtained.
The general EuroWordNet database, Polaris, is described in D024 (Louw 1998). In this database
all the results are stored and compared. This document describes the methodologies and tools
needed to get the data in the EuroWordNet format that Polaris can handle. Samples of the final
database format for Dutch, Italian and Spanish, together with a complete conversion of
WordNet1.5 to the EuroWordNet format can be downloaded from the EuroWordNet WWW-side:
http://www.hum.let.uva.nl. The sample data are available in ASCII format and in EuroWordnet
database format. The latter can be viewed with the Periscope program (Cuypers and Adriaens
1997, D008), which can be downloaded from the WWW-side for free as well.
Each site is responsible for the description and distribution of their own tools. The following
contact persons should be addressed for further inquiries:
Dutch WordNet
and Tools
at AMS
Dr. Vossen, Piek
Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Spuistraat 134
Amsterdam, 1012 VT, NL
tel: +31 20 525 4669
fax: +31 20 525 4429
e-mail: piek.vossen@let.uva.nl
Italian Wordnet
and Tools,
at PSA (ILC)
Prof. Calzolari, Nicoletta
Instituto di Linguistica
Computazionale C.N.R.
Via Della Faggiola 32
Pisa, 56100, IT
tel: +39 50 560 481
fax: +49 50 55 62 85
e-mail: glottolo@ilc.pi.cnr.it
English Wordnet
additions
and Tools,
at SHE
Prof. Wilks, Yorick
Wim Peters
University of Sheffield
Computer Science Department
Portobello Street 211, Regent Court
Sheffield, S1 4DT, GB
tel: +44 1142 825 571
fax: +44 1142 780 972
e-mail: yorick@dcs.sheffield.ac.uk
e-mail: w.peters@dcs.sheffield.ac.uk
Spanish Wordnet
and Tools,
at FUE
Verdejo, Felisa
Fundación Universidad Empresa
Serrano Jover 5,7a
Madrid, 28015, ES
tel: +34 1 398 6484
fax: +34 1 398 6028
e-mail: felisa@iluvatar.ieec.uned.es
EuroWordNet
Database
Polaris,
LHS
Dr. Adriaens, Geert
Lernout and Hauspie
Postleihof 1
Antwerp, BE
tel: +32 3 230 51 03
Adriaens, Geert
e-mail: Geert.Adriaens@lhs.be
D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          6
EuroWordNet LE-4003
2. General approach for building the wordnets
The EuroWordNet database is being built (as much as possible) from available existing resources
and databases with semantic information developed in various projects. In general, the wordnets
are built in two major cycles as indicated by I and II in Figure 1 below. Each cycle consists of a
building phase and a comparison phase:
1. Building a wordnet fragment
1.1. Specification of an initial vocabulary
1.2. Encoding of the language-internal relations
1.3. Encoding of the equivalence relations
2. Comparing the wordnet fragments
2.1. Loading of the wordnets in the EuroWordNet database (Polaris)
2.2. Comparing and restructuring the fragments
2.3. Measuring the overlap across the fragments
The building of a fragment is done using local tools and databases which are tailored to the
specific nature and possibilities of the available resources. The available resources differ
considerably in quality and explicitness of the data. Whereas some sites have the availability of
partially structured networks between word senses, others start from genus words extracted from
definitions that still have to be disambiguated in meaning.
After the specification of a fragment of the vocabulary, where each site uses similar criteria (there
may again be differences due to the different starting points), globally, two approaches are
followed for encoding the semantic relations:
Merge model: the selection is done in a local resource and the synsets and their language-
internal relations are first developed separately, after which the equivalence relations are
generated to WordNet1.5 . This approach is followed for the Dutch and Italian wordnets.
Expand model: the selection is done in WordNet1.5 and the WordNet.1.5 synsets are
translated (using bilingual dictionaries) into equivalent synsets in the other language. The
wordnet relations are taken over and where necessary adapted to EuroWordNet. Possibly,
monolingual resources are used to verify the wordnet relations imposed on non-English
synsets. This approach is followed for the Spanish wordnet.
The Merge model results in a wordnet which is independent of WordNet1.5, possibly maintaining
the language-specific properties. The Expand model will result in a wordnet which is very close
to WordNet1.5 but which will also be biased by it. Whatever approach is followed also depends
on the quality of the available resources.
After a production phase (step Ib and Ic in Figure 1) the results are converted to the
EuroWordNet import format and loaded into the common database (step Ic). At that point various
consistency checks are carried out, both formally and conceptually. By using the specific options
in the EuroWordNet database it is then possible to further inspect and compare the data, to
restructure relations where necessary and to measure the overlap in the fragments developed at
D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          7
EuroWordNet LE-4003
the separate sites. Those meanings not covered by a site may be included in the extension of the
vocabulary in the next building phase.
The overall design of the EuroWordNet database makes it possible to develop the individual
language-specific wordnets relatively independently while guaranteeing a minimal level of
compatibility. Nevertheless, some specific measures have been taken to enlarge the compatibility
of the different resources:
1. The definition of a common set of so-called Base Concepts that is used as a starting point by
all the sites to develop the cores of the wordnets. Base Concepts1 are meanings that play a
major role in the wordnets: i.e. have many relations or high positions in the hierarchies.
2. The classification of the Base Concepts in terms of a Top Ontology.
3. The exchange of problems and possible solutions for encoding the relations for the Base
Concepts.
The Base Concepts and the Top Ontology are further described in Deliverable D017D034D036
[Vossen et al. 1997] and in [Rodriguez et al. fc.]. The results of the first building phase are
described in Deliverable D014D015 [Vossen et al. 1998].
                                               
1
 The notion of Base Concepts should not be confused with Basic-Level Concepts as defined by Rosch (1977). Base Concepts are technically
defined as the concepts with most relations. In most cases, they are more general than the Basic Level Concepts.
D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          8
EuroWordNet LE-4003
Verification
by users
Comparing and
restructuring the
wordnet
Load wordnet in
the EuroWordNet
Database
Improve
and extend
the wordnet
fragments
Adjust
coverage
improve
encoding
Machine Readable Dictionaries
Wordnets, Taxonomies,
Corpora
Loaded in local databases
Subset of 
word meanings
Encoding of
language
internal and
equivalence
relations
Wordnet fragment with 
links to WordNet1.5
in local database
Specification of
selection criteria
Wordnet fragment in
EuroWordNet database
Demonstration
in
Information
Retrieval
Verification
Report
Ia
Ib
Ic
II
Ia
III
Figure 1: Overview of the building phases in EuroWordNet
D021D025 EuroWordNet Tools and Resources                                                                                          9
EuroWordNet LE-4003
References
Cuypers, I. And G. Adriaens
 1997 Periscope: the EWN Viewer, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003), Deliverable D008d012. University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam.
Louw, M.
 1998 Polaris User's Guide: the EuroWordNet Database Editor, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003), Deliverable D024,
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.
Rodriguez, H., S. Climent, P. Vossen, L. Bloksma; A. Roventini, F. Bertagna, A. Alonge, W. Peters,
 (fc) The Top-Down Strategy for Building EuroWordNet: Vocabulary Coverage, Base Concepts and Top
Ontology. In: Computer and the Humanities, Special Issue on EuroWordNet.
Rosch, E.
 1977 Human Categorisation. In N. Warren (Ed.) Studies in Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. I, pp. 1-49.
Academic Press. London. 1977
Vossen, Piek, Laura Bloksma, Horacio Rodriguez, Salvador Climent, Adriana Roventini, Francesca Bertagna,
Antonietta Alonge, Wim Peters
 1997 The EuroWordNet Base Concepts and Top Ontology, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003) D017D034D036,
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.
Vossen, Piek, Laura Bloksma, Salvador Climent, Maria Antonia Marti, Gabriel Oreggioni, Gerard Escudero, German
Rigau, Horacio Rodriguez, Adriana Roventini, Francesca Bertagna, Antonietta Alonge, Carol Peters, Wim
Peters
 1998 The Restructured Core wordnets in EuroWordNet: Subset1, EuroWordNet (LE2-4003) D014D015,
University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.


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