The
Gellish English Dictionary is an example of an
Open Source smart
electronic dictionary that is a machine readable. It is a computer interpretable structured subset of the English language.
A smart electronic dictionary has the following characteristics:
★ It contains definitions per concept, whereas ordinary dictionaries usually provide various definitions of a term, where it is unclear whether those definitions are alternative definitions of the same concept or whether they are definitions of different concepts. Thus a smart dictionary explicitly distinguished homonyms (the same term for different concepts) and explicitly specifies which terms are used as true synonyms.
★ It is completely arranged as a
taxonomy, which is a subtype-supertype hierarchy of concepts. This means that each concept is defined as an explicit subtype of one or more supertype concepts by specialization relations (A is a specialization of B and B is a specialization of C, etc.).
★ It includes also concepts with plural term names. For example: line shaft centrifugal pump.
★ It defines relation types (as a special kind of concepts). These relation types enable to make computer interpretable expressions that express facts, including the expression of knowledge and information. This means that a smart English Dictionary defines a subset of the English language. Those relation types have names and synonyms that consist of standardised phrases. For example: the phrase 'is a part of' can be used to express the fact that A is a part of B, whereas the phrase 'can have as part a' can be used to express the knowledge that a whole of a particular kind can have as part a component of a particular kind. For example, the fact that a pump can have a bearing is expressed in a structured subset of English as:
pump can have as part a bearing.
★
★ Note: All three elements in this expression are names of standard English concepts that shall be defined in a smart English Dictionary.
★ Concepts are related to other concepts in various ways by explicit relations of standardised relation types. Those additional relations express additional knowledge about the concepts. This makes a smart dictionary an
ontology. This knowledge about the concepts can be used by computers, because such knowledge about a concept is inherited by all the subtypes of that concept in the subtype hierarchy (taxonomy).
★ It uses one language independent unique identifier (a natural number) to represent each concept. This enables that facts that are expressed in one language can be automatically presented by a computer in any other language for which a Smart Dictionary is available.
★ It can be extended by private and proprietary concepts and terms. For example, company specific codes and proprietary knowledge. Some instructions are given in 'Proper definition of a concept'.
★ It is computer interpretable and system independent.
The Gellish Smart Dictionary is documented in a single standardised
Gellish Table that can be defined in any database system.
The Gellish English Dictionary is free of charge available under Open Source conditions (through one of the Open Source Licenses) via a SourceForge website.