ShipSafe: linguistic and conceptual representation in a corpus-based domain ontology-informed e-glossary of shipboard life-saving appliances

Abstract This paper analyses theoretical-practical and methodological aspects involved in termontographic article design for an electronic glossary (e-glossary) and proposes a macro- and microstructural layout. We claim that the application of domain ontologies based on corpus-terminological databases can pave the way for the generation of e-glossaries that provide their users with both semasiological and onomasiological access routes and that, in turn, this mixed arrangement seems to be a straightforward way to meet users’ needs with different degrees of domain expertise from the specialized communication field of maritime navigation and transport, from maritime-related fields and from specialized language professions. The research methodology applied is based on an empirical-analytical and hypothetico-deductive framework, with a bottom-up and top-down approach to the linguistic analysis of noun patterns and to the design and development of the conceptual framework. It comprises a sequence of linked phases and a pipeline of actions that subsumes the corpus extraction of linguistic and conceptual information that is transferred to a terminological database before its formalization in an ontology editor and its implementation as an electronic glossary. The result outcomes, ShipSafe: A Termontological Bilingual e-Glossary of the Life-Saving Appliances aboard a Ship (English-Spanish), fills a gap in the existing resources of this domain, and contributes a procedure for the application of specialized corpus and domain ontology to enriching the representation, organization, and description of specialized languages.