[eml-dev] [Bug 585] - internationalization needed in EML

[inigo san gil]

Metadata folks:

I think this opens (perhaps re-opens) and interesting discussion.

EML's resource (main module) offers us a <language> element that,
as I understand it, serves to specify the language used for the document.
The cardinality is set to <= 1, so it is optional, and if used, only one
language.

However, we understood from Kristin Valnderbilt and David Blankman
that at a recent ILTER meeting, there was an agreement to provide
referencial-level EML for all metadata in English (and perhaps more
rich EML in their native languages). 

The option David proposes, providing content in two languages
one being english, does not play well with the EML schema as is.
There are options in the interim, while we think whether 'we' tweak
the EML schema.  Some solutions go in the direction of "duplicating" the
original EML record: Take what it is in the native language, and either
have it translate at some minimal-compliance level EML (ouch) or
run it by a translation web service and laugh (or rather cry) at the 
results.

There are of course many other approaches to this problem, Mark
Servilla mentioned some in the hallways of the LTER Network Office.

The thing is that part of the international community in ecology has
expressed formal interest/commitment in using EML to document their
metadata. The ILTER group quickly realized of the Babelian challenge
ahead, (see Blankman's ISEI-6 presentation & future paper) and
David, Akiko Ocgawa and others took in helping the ILTER providing
basic EML in english (remember ILTER committed to use English
-chinglish and spanglish- as the lingua franca for referential level EML,
EML level 1, title, creator, abstract, contact at least

Cheers,
Inigo


bugzilla-daemon at ecoinformatics.org wrote:
> http://bugzilla.ecoinformatics.org/show_bug.cgi?id=585
>
>
>
>
>
> ------- Comment #2 from mob at icess.ucsb.edu  2008-12-05 09:31 -------
> This comment from an email from David Blankman:
> As EML is becoming an international standard, we need to start thinking about
> ways to make EML more intelligent about multiple languages. While EML allows
> multiple titles, there is currently no way to indicated that multiple titles
> are equivalent. For example,if I have:
> <title> North American Forests </title>  AND
> <title> Bosques de Norte Americano</title>
>
> EML currently has no way to indicate that these are the same title, just in a
> different language.
>
> Matt and I were talking about this at the ISEI-Cancun meeting, but I thought
> that it would be a good idea to get this discussion started within eml-dev and
> the ILTER group as well.
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