Translating TDWG Controlled Vocabularies

Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 5: e79050

DOI: 10.3897/biss.5.79050

Authors: Steven J Baskauf, Paula Zermoglio

Abstract: Users may be more likely to understand and utilize standards if they are able to read labels and definitions of terms in their own languages. Increasing standards usage in non-English speaking parts of the world will be important for making biodiversity data from across the globe more uniformly available. For these reasons, it is important for Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) to make its standards widely available in as many languages as possible. Currently, TDWG has six ratified controlled vocabularies*1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 that were originally available only in English. As an outcome of this workshop, we have made term labels and definitions in those vocabularies available in the languages of translators who participated in its sessions. In the introduction, we reviewed the concept of vocabularies, explained the distinction between term labels and controlled value strings, and described how multilingual labels and definitions fit into the standards development process. The introduction was followed by working sessions in which individual translators or small groups working in a single language filled out Google Sheets with their translations. The resulting translations were compiled along with attribution information for the translators and made freely available in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and comma separated values (CSV) formats.*7

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