TBX and ‘Lemon’: What perspectives in terminology?

Abstract

Abstract Different solutions are offered today for modelling multilingual terminological data. In this article, we focus on the description of two approaches: on the one hand, the model proposed in the context of ISO TC 37/SC 3, based on the adoption of the Terminological Markup Framework/TermBase eXchange standards; on the other hand, the ‘Lemon’ model and, more generally, the Ontology Web Language adopted in the framework of the Semantic Web. The aim of this study is to propose a contrastive multilevel analysis between these two paradigms, with the ultimate goal of highlighting their divergences and convergences. The terminological case study chosen to test the two approaches is represented by the pathology known as ‘body dysmorphic disorder’, which poses challenges in terms of conceptual and linguistic representation. Starting from the phenomena of reconceptualization and denominative variation of this disorder, we will show that the two models are based on diverging but complementary theoretical and methodological perspectives.