Multilingual Ontology Specification: a collaborative approach

Abstract

In this paper we present a method to support the process of multilingual ontology specification developed during the conceptualization phase in the context of multilingual collaborative networks. This method was developed to answer the requirements of a collaborative network where the need for localized content appears at an earlier stage, due to the short life-cycle that characterizes both this type of network. We present the main results obtained during the method's implementation in the context of an European project - H-Know: Advanced Infrastructure for Knowledge Based Services for Restoring Buildings, analyse its problems and limitations and discuss the difficulties that arise in a shared conceptualization of an ontology represented in more than one natural language from the point of view of the language influence, taking into account aspects such as the process of interpretation and representation of knowledge of a specific subject field, the needs and difficulties when accessi