Information in textual data doesn’t cross-borders. Semantic interoperability is not a translation problem but rather an issue of meaning equivalence across languages. This can be achieved by multilingual linking stored in a knowledge system.

1. Semantic Interoperability for Multilingual DSIs ‒ Brussels, 18 Oct 2018
Semantic Interoperability Explained
Jochen Hummel
CEO ESTeam AB
language technology
software
CEF Info Days

2. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
About me
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Founded and exited
Founded and passed on
Manage
Founded
Vice-chair

3. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
European Interoperability Framework
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4. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Principles
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1. Subsidiarity and proportionality
2. Openness
3. Transparency
4. Reusability
5. Technological neutrality and data portability
6. User-centricity
7. Inclusion and accessibility
8. Security and privacy
9. Multilingualism
10. Administrative simplification
11. Preservation of information
12. Assessment of Effectiveness and Efficiency

5. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Semantic Interoperability
The precise meaning of exchanged information
is understood by all stakeholders…
…and preserved throughout exchanges.
Exchanged information is described in terms of
meaning, relationships, grammar and format.
At back-office level, the underlying information
architectures should be linguistically neutral so
that multilingualism is not a blocking issue.
Agreement on reference data.
Data and information is a valuable public
asset.
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6. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Semantic versus Syntactic
Interoperability
Syntatic
describes instantiation of data
format and grammar
metadata
Semantic
defines meaning of data elements
relationships between elements
common understanding by all
parties
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7. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Recommendation 30 and 31
Perceive data and information as a public asset that should be
appropriately generated, collected, managed, shared, protected and
preserved.
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Semantic Interoperability Assets
taxonomies
controlled vocabularies
thesauri
code lists
reusable data structures/models
Put in place an information management strategy at the highest
possible level to avoid fragmentation and duplication. Management of
metadata, master data and reference data should be prioritised.*
* European Interoperability Framework - Implementation
Strategy
March 2017

8. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Recommendation 32
Support the establishment of sector-specific and cross-sectoral
communities that aim to create open information specifications and
encourage relevant communities to share their results on national and
European platforms.
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9. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Status
Relatively new undertaking, few success stories.
Diverse linguistic, cultural, legal, and administrative environments make it hard.
Multilingualism adds further complexity to the problem.
For decades, robust, coherent and universally applicable information standards an
specifications haven’t really evolved.
Power of Semantic Interoperability Assets not yet understood.
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10. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Semantic Interoperability and Language
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Monolingual Interoperability
Many countries operate in regions
Different terms used by different stakeholders
Multilingual Interoperability
Cross-border (mostly)
Complexity of monolingual multiplied by
languages

11. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Interoperability thru Translation?
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12. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Creating a Semantic Interoperability
Asset
Synonymy
• screen • monitor
• écran
• Bildschirm• Monitor • Display
• visual output device
• Optisches Ausgabegerät
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17
08
45
76
rejected
accepted
Knowledge Language
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13. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Semantic Interoperability Asset Eurovoc

14. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Success Stories
~
Skills/Occupations/Qualifications ~ Goods & Services
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15. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
TMClass Statistics
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Started with >110,000 English terms
Other languages ranging from 8,000 to 60,000 (DE)
Cleaning up resources – Reduce EN to 93,000
Language Equality
93,000 terms in all EU languages too €€€ without automation
Mining data for translations
DB grew from 400,000 to 2.1m terms
Conceptual clustering
Non essential entries removed – DB shrunk to 1.5m terms
Semi-automatic creation of 50,000 meaning clusters
Taxonomy built for the top layers and concepts linked

16. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Success Story Interoperability @ EUIPO
60+ participating countries, all EU and
USA, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, etc.
Project costs including internal work:
~€30m
Direct operational savings:
> €25m annually
Economical savings in EU member
states administration of IP:
€ tens of millions annually
Economical gains of industry having
their IP rights much faster validated:
€ billions annually
The world following European
Goods & Service classification:
priceless
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17. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Benefits
seamless information exchange
free movement of data
cross-border and multilingual
sustainable and efficient
Diverse but interoperable!
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18. @JochenHummelSemantic Interoperability ExplainedWorkshop Multilingual DSIs
Saving the Union with Interoperability
“We have to share ideas
and try to align, map
between concepts,
rather than trying
to standardize
different world perspectives.”
Tom van Engers,
Leibniz Center for Law, Amsterdam
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