Page 202 - DLIS402_INFORMATION_ANALYSIS_AND_REPACKAGING
P. 202

Unit 11: Indexing Language: Types and Characteristics



            Characteristics of Indexing Language                                                     Notes

            We have seen that the purpose of an indexing language is to express the concepts of documents in an
            artificial language so that users are able to get the required information. The indexing language does
            this by depicting the relationships among the different related concepts. Thus, an indexing language
            consists of elements that constitute its vocabulary, rules for admissible expressions (i.e. syntax) and
            semantics. An indexing language should, therefore, have:
              •  semantic structure
              •  syntactic structure
              •  syndetic structure.

            Semantic Structure
            Semantics refers to the aspects of meaning. In the context of an indexing language, two kinds of
            relationships between concepts – hierarchical and non-hierarchical can be identified. The hierarchical
            relationships may be Genus-Species and Whole-Part Relationships. The Non-hierarchical relationships
            may be Equivalence or Associative relationships.
            Hierarchical Relationships: It is a permanent relationship.
                  (a) Genus-Species (Example: Telephone is always a kind of Telecommunication)
                  (b) Whole-Part (Example: Human Body - Respiratory system)
                  (c) Instance (Example: Television - Phillips TV).
            Non-Hierarchical Relationships: It may be of two kinds – Equivalence and Associate.
              •  Equivalence
            Synonym (Example: Defects - Flaws)
            Homonym (Example: Fatigue (of metals), Fatigue (of humans)
              •  Associate- It refers to the relationships in which concepts are semantically related but do not
                 necessarily belong to same hierarchy (e.g. Weaving and cloth).

            Syntactic Structure
            As you know the word syntax refers to grammar. In the context of indexing language syntax governs
            the sequence of occurrence of terms in a subject heading viz., for the title export of iron, it may be Iron,
            Export or Export, Iron.

            Syndetic Structure
            To show the relationships described at semantic structure, syndetic structure should be built in indexing
            language (viz., see, see also; use, use for). Syndetic structure in the indexing language aims to link
            related concepts otherwise scattered and helps to collocate related concepts. It guides the indexer and
            the searcher to formulate index entries and to search for his/her information.

            11.3 Vocabulary Control

            Indexing may be thought of as a process of labeling items for future reference. Considerable order
            can be introduced into the process by standardizing the terms that are to be used as labels. This
            standardization is known as vocabulary control, the systematic selection of preferred terms. Lancaster
            in 1986 suggests that the process of subject indexing involves two quite distinct intellectual steps:
            The ‘conceptual analysis’ of the documents and ‘translation’ of the conceptual analysis into a
            particular vocabulary. The second step in any information retrieval environment involves a
            ‘controlled vocabulary’, that is, a limited set of terms that must be used to represent the subject
            matter of documents. Similarly, the process of preparing the search strategy also involves two stages:
            conceptual analysis and translation into the language of the system.



                                             LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY                                   197
   197   198   199   200   201   202   203   204   205   206   207