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Article published In:
The Role of ISO/TC 37 Standards for Translators, Interpreters, Terminologists and Beyond
Edited by Hendrik J. Kockaert
[Digital Translation 10:2] 2023
► pp. 233–252

ISO standards for terminology resources management

Are they FAIR enough?

ORCID logo | University of Padova,
ORCID logo | University of Padova,
ORCID logo | Universidade NOVA de Lisboa,
The ‘FAIR terminology’ paradigm is the first initiative that aims to establish a strong interrelation between the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles, promoted at the European level to foster the Open Science movement, and the specifications advocated in the framework of ISO TC 37/SC 3 about the management of terminology resources. Through the complementary adoption of the SC 3 standards, the paradigm, therefore, proposes guidelines paving the way for the FAIRification of terminological data, metadata, and infrastructure. In this context, this study has a threefold objective. First, we will show the impact of three ISO TC 37/SC 3 standards (mainly ISO 16642: 2017; ISO 12620: 2019 and ISO 30042: 2019) for the foundation of the FAIR terminology paradigm. Secondly, we will present the integration of this data representation model in the framework of the European project ‘Terminology Without Borders’ (TWB) launched in 2019 by the Terminology Coordination Unit (TermCoord) of the European Parliament. Finally, we intend to reflect in a critical perspective to highlight some possible limitations of the previously mentioned SC 3 standards in terms of FAIRification of terminological data.
Keywords: FAIR terminology, FAIR principles, terminology management, ISO standards, TermBase eXchange, open science
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Impact of terminological standards on research
    • 2.1Use of standards
    • 2.2From TBX to RDF
  • 3.A FAIR terminology: Uses and issues
    • 3.1Terminology without borders
    • 3.2Is FAIR terminology FAIR enough?
      • 3.2.1How difficult is it to implement FAIR terminology?
      • 3.2.2Is anything FAIR missing in the ISO standards?
      • 3.2.3How about semantic interoperability?
  • 4.Conclusions and future work
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 15 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/dt.00009.vez
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