MN 113-8: MMEL Terminology Model

1. Terminology model overview

1.1. General

Terminology management is an essential aspect of standards development and compliance modelling. Consistent, well-defined terms ensure that all stakeholders interpret requirements uniformly and that compliance can be assessed accurately.

MMEL provides a terminology model that supports structured term entries with multiple term forms, multilingual support, and formal grammar definitions. This enables MMEL models to define their own terminology in alignment with recognized terminology management standards.

1.2. Why terminology matters in standards

Standards and regulations rely on precise language. Ambiguity in term usage can lead to:

  • Inconsistent implementation across organizations.
  • Disputes during compliance audits about the scope or meaning of requirements.
  • Difficulty in translating standards across languages.
  • Confusion between deprecated and current term forms.

MMEL addresses these challenges by providing a structured terminology definition mechanism that is integrated with the modelling language itself.

1.3. Relationship to ISO/IEC Directives Part 2

ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (Principles and rules for the structure and drafting of ISO and IEC documents), section 6, establishes rules for the definition of terms in International Standards. Key principles include:

  • Each term shall have a unique entry number within the document.
  • Preferred terms, admitted terms, deprecated terms, and synonyms shall be clearly distinguished.
  • Definitions shall state the concept concisely and uniquely.
  • Term entries may include notes, examples, and source references.

MMEL's terminology model is designed to be compatible with these principles, enabling direct mapping between MMEL term entries and ISO-compliant terminology sections.

1.4. Alignment with SKOS-XL and ISO 30042

MMEL terminology concepts align with established terminology standards:

  • SKOS-XL (SKOS eXtension for Labels) -- An RDF vocabulary for expressing knowledge organization systems. MMEL term forms correspond to SKOS-XL label types (prefLabel, altLabel, hiddenLabel).
  • ISO 30042 (TermBase eXchange, TBX) -- An international standard for terminology data exchange. MMEL's term entry structure maps to TBX concept entries with language sections.

These alignments ensure that MMEL terminology data can be interchanged with other terminology management systems.

1.5. Future integration with Glossarist

Glossarist is an open-source terminology management tool developed by Ribose that provides a YAML-based format for defining terminology collections. Future editions of MMEL may integrate with Glossarist to:

  • Import and export term entries between MMEL models and Glossarist collections.
  • Leverage Glossarist's multilingual rendering capabilities.
  • Use Glossarist's concept-based organization to manage large terminology sets across multiple MMEL models.

1.6. Normative references

  • ISO30042, Terminology work -- Term-base eXchange (TBX).
  • ISOIECDirectives2, _ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2: Principles and rules for the structure and drafting of ISO and IEC documents_.

2. Term entries

2.1. General

Term entries define individual terminology concepts within an MMEL model. Each term entry specifies a preferred term, optional alternative and deprecated forms, a definition, and classification metadata.

2.2. Proposed syntax

term_entry <ID> {
  term "<preferred-term>"                     <1>
  alt "<admitted-term>"                       <2>
  deprecated "<deprecated-term>"              <3>
  definition "Definition text"                <4>
  scope_note "Scope note text"                <5>
  language "en"                               <6>
  country "GB"                                <7>
  part_of_speech noun | verb | adjective | adverb  <8>
  form_type fullForm | abbreviation | acronym | symbol | equation | formula | variant  <9>
}

2.3. Properties

Property Required Repeatable Description
term yes no The preferred (primary) term designation. This is the canonical form used in normative text.
alt no yes An admitted (acceptable alternative) term. Multiple `alt` entries may appear in a single term entry.
deprecated no yes A deprecated term that should no longer be used but is documented for backward compatibility.
definition yes no The formal definition of the concept. Shall be concise, unique within the model, and state the concept rather than describe usage.
scope_note no no Additional context about the scope or application of the term.
language no no ISO 639 language code indicating the language of this term entry. Defaults to `"en"` if not specified.
country no no ISO 3166 country code indicating the regional variant. Used when term usage differs between countries sharing a language.
part_of_speech no no The grammatical part of speech of the term.
form_type no no The form classification of the term designation.

2.4. Example

term_entry risk_management {
  term "risk management"
  alt "risk control"
  deprecated "risk handling"
  definition "systematic application of management policies, procedures and practices to the tasks of communicating, consulting, establishing the context, and identifying, analysing, evaluating, treating, monitoring and reviewing risk"
  scope_note "This term applies to the organizational processes described in ISO 31000."
  language "en"
  country "GB"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

2.5. Term entry identifier

The <ID> following the term_entry keyword is the internal identifier for the term entry within the model. It:

  • follows standard MMEL identifier rules (starts with a letter or underscore, may contain letters, digits, underscores, and hyphens).
  • is used for cross-referencing term entries from other model elements.
  • is independent of the term text itself.

2.6. Multiple alternative terms

A single term entry may include multiple alt entries to list all admitted forms:

term_entry data_controller {
  term "data controller"
  alt "controller"
  alt "PII controller"
  deprecated "data owner"
  definition "entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

2.7. Relationship to model elements

Term entries are top-level declarations in MMEL model files, analogous to classes, enums, and provisions. They can be referenced from:

  • definition fields in class field properties.
  • message fields in note constructs.
  • condition fields in provision constructs.
  • scope_note fields in other term entries.

This integration ensures that all text in the model uses consistently defined terminology.

3. Term forms

3.1. General

Term forms classify the type of term designation within a term entry. MMEL supports the following form types, aligned with ISO 10241-1 and ISO 30042 (TBX) terminology standards.

3.2. Form types

Form type Description
fullForm The complete, unabbreviated form of a term. This is the default and preferred designation.
abbreviation A shortened form of a term created by omitting letters or words (e.g. "approx." for "approximately").
acronym A term formed from the initial letters of a multi-word term, pronounced as a word (e.g. "RAM" for "Random Access Memory").
symbol A graphical or mathematical symbol representing a concept (e.g. "$Omega$" for electrical resistance in ohms).
equation A mathematical expression that defines a concept (e.g. "$E = mc^2$" for mass-energy equivalence).
formula A chemical or mathematical formula representing a substance or relationship (e.g. "$H_2O$" for water).
variant A spelling, regional, or orthographic variant of the preferred term.

3.3. Examples of form types

3.3.1. fullForm

The standard, complete designation:

term_entry quality_management_system {
  term "quality management system"
  definition "management system to direct and control an organization with regard to quality"
  form_type fullForm
}

3.3.2. abbreviation

A shortened form:

term_entry quality_management_system {
  term "quality management system"
  alt "QMS"
  definition "management system to direct and control an organization with regard to quality"
  form_type fullForm
}

In this case, the alt entry "QMS" is an abbreviation of the preferred term.

3.3.3. acronym

An initialism pronounced as a word:

term_entry information_security_management_system {
  term "information security management system"
  alt "ISMS"
  definition "management system to direct and control an organization with regard to information security"
  form_type fullForm
}

3.3.4. symbol

A graphical or mathematical symbol:

term_entry voltage {
  term "voltage"
  alt "U"
  definition "electric potential difference between two points"
  form_type fullForm
}

3.3.5. equation and formula

Mathematical or chemical expressions:

term_entry carbon_footprint {
  term "carbon footprint"
  definition "total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly by an activity"
  form_type fullForm
}
term_entry water {
  term "water"
  alt "H2O"
  definition "clear, colourless, odourless, tasteless liquid"
  form_type fullForm
}

3.4. Part-of-speech types

MMEL supports the following part-of-speech classifications:

Part of speech Description
noun A word that names a person, place, thing, or concept. Most technical terms are nouns.
verb A word that expresses an action, occurrence, or state of being.
adjective A word that describes or modifies a noun.
adverb A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb.

3.4.1. Examples

term_entry risk {
  term "risk"
  definition "effect of uncertainty on objectives"
  part_of_speech noun
}
term_entry assess {
  term "assess"
  alt "evaluate"
  definition "to determine the significance or value of something by careful appraisal"
  part_of_speech verb
}
term_entry applicable {
  term "applicable"
  definition "relevant or appropriate in the circumstances"
  part_of_speech adjective
}

3.5. Combining form types and parts of speech

Form types and parts of speech can be combined to fully classify a term designation:

term_entry personal_data {
  term "personal data"
  alt "PII"
  deprecated "personal information"
  definition "any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

In this entry, the preferred term "personal data" is classified as a noun in its full form. The admitted term "PII" is an acronym, and the deprecated term "personal information" is documented for backward compatibility.

4. Multilingual support

4.1. General

MMEL terminology entries support multilingual designations, enabling models to define terms in multiple languages with regional variants. This is essential for international standards that are published in multiple languages and for organizations operating across linguistic boundaries.

4.2. Language codes

The language property uses ISO 639 two-letter or three-letter language codes:

Code Language
en English
fr French
de German
es Spanish
zh Chinese
ja Japanese
ko Korean
ar Arabic
ru Russian
pt Portuguese

The default language is ” en “ (English) if the language property is omitted.

4.3. Country codes

The country property uses ISO 3166 two-letter country codes to distinguish regional term variants:

Code Country
GB United Kingdom
US United States
AU Australia
CA Canada
CN China
JP Japan
DE Germany
FR France

4.4. Regional term variants

When a term has different preferred forms in different countries sharing a language, separate term entries (or separate alt entries within the same term entry) document the regional variants:

term_entry personal_data_en_gb {
  term "personal data"
  definition "any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person"
  language "en"
  country "GB"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}
term_entry personal_data_en_us {
  term "personally identifiable information"
  alt "PII"
  definition "information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity"
  language "en"
  country "US"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

In this example, the same concept uses "personal data" in UK/GB English and "personally identifiable information" in US English. Both entries define the same underlying concept but reflect regional usage differences.

4.5. Deprecated term handling

Deprecated terms are preserved for backward compatibility and cross-referencing with older documents:

term_entry carbon_offset {
  term "carbon offset"
  deprecated "carbon credit"
  deprecated "emission offset"
  definition "reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to compensate for emissions made elsewhere"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

Multiple deprecated entries are allowed in a single term entry. Tools SHOULD warn users when deprecated term forms are used in new content.

4.6. Derivation provenance

Term entries may indicate the origin or source of a term definition through the scope_note property or through references:

term_entry risk {
  term "risk"
  definition "effect of uncertainty on objectives"
  scope_note "Definition adapted from ISO 31000:2018, 3.1"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

The scope_note field can document the provenance of a definition, including the source standard, clause number, and any adaptations made for the MMEL model context.

4.7. Multilingual term sets

For full multilingual coverage of a concept, term entries are created for each language, all sharing the same concept but with language-specific designations and definitions:

// English
term_entry risk_en {
  term "risk"
  definition "effect of uncertainty on objectives"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
}
// French
term_entry risk_fr {
  term "risque"
  definition "effet de l'incertitude sur les objectifs"
  language "fr"
  part_of_speech noun
}
// German
term_entry risk_de {
  term "Risiko"
  definition "Auswirkung von Unsicherheit auf Ziele"
  language "de"
  part_of_speech noun
}

Future editions of MMEL may introduce a concept grouping mechanism that links multilingual term entries for the same concept without requiring naming conventions.

5. Formal grammar for terminology

5.1. General

This clause provides a proposed EBNF grammar for terminology constructs in MMEL. This grammar extends the base MMEL grammar defined in MN 113.

5.2. EBNF grammar

(* Terminology constructs -- extends MMEL Declaration production *)
TermEntryDecl    ::= 'term_entry' IDENTIFIER '{' TermField* '}'
TermField        ::= 'term' STRING
                   | 'alt' STRING
                   | 'deprecated' STRING
                   | 'definition' STRING
                   | 'scope_note' STRING
                   | 'language' STRING
                   | 'country' STRING
                   | 'part_of_speech' POS_TYPE
                   | 'form_type' FORM_TYPE
POS_TYPE         ::= 'noun'
                   | 'verb'
                   | 'adjective'
                   | 'adverb'
FORM_TYPE        ::= 'fullForm'
                   | 'abbreviation'
                   | 'acronym'
                   | 'symbol'
                   | 'equation'
                   | 'formula'
                   | 'variant'

5.3. Extension to MMEL Declaration

The TermEntryDecl production is added to the Declaration production in the base MMEL grammar:

Declaration     ::= RoleDecl
                  | StartEventDecl
                  | EndEventDecl
                  | TimerEventDecl
                  | SignalCatchEventDecl
                  | GatewayDecl
                  | ProcessDecl
                  | ApprovalDecl
                  | ClassDecl
                  | EnumDecl
                  | DataRegistryDecl
                  | ProvisionDecl
                  | NoteDecl
                  | ReferenceDecl
                  | MeasurementDecl
                  | LinkDecl
                  | TableDecl
                  | FigureDecl
                  | MapProfileDecl
                  | SubprocessDecl
                  | TermEntryDecl         (* NEW *)

5.4. Constraints

The following constraints apply to term entries:

  1. Every term_entry SHALL contain exactly one term field.
  2. Every term_entry SHALL contain exactly one definition field.
  3. A term_entry MAY contain zero or more alt fields.
  4. A term_entry MAY contain zero or more deprecated fields.
  5. A term_entry MAY contain at most one scope_note field.
  6. A term_entry MAY contain at most one language field.
  7. A term_entry MAY contain at most one country field.
  8. A term_entry MAY contain at most one part_of_speech field.
  9. A term_entry MAY contain at most one form_type field.

5.5. Example parse

Given the following term entry:

term_entry data_controller {
  term "data controller"
  alt "controller"
  deprecated "data owner"
  definition "entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data"
  scope_note "Term adapted from GDPR Article 4(7)"
  language "en"
  part_of_speech noun
  form_type fullForm
}

The parse result is:

TermEntryDecl {
  id = "data_controller"
  fields = [
    Term("data controller"),
    Alt("controller"),
    Deprecated("data owner"),
    Definition("entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data"),
    ScopeNote("Term adapted from GDPR Article 4(7)"),
    Language("en"),
    PartOfSpeech(Noun),
    FormType(FullForm)
  ]
}