| data |
A
representation of facts or concepts in a formalized manner suitable
for communication, interpretation or processing by man or machine.
Complementary term in computer usage:  program. |
| data
base (also database), digital |
Comprehensive,
sometimes exhaustive, collection of computer files and/or
computer records pertaining to a specific subject. Example:
the collection of computer records for all hydrographic features
in a country. |
| data
base, digital toponymic |
A
digital data base containing (all) toponyms
in a specific region, with or without accompanying data, in computer-readable
form. |
| data
base management system |
A
collection of software required for using a digital
data base so as to enable independent users to access this data
base. |
| data
dictionary |
Catalog
of definitions of the contents of a digital data base,
including data element reference labels, file
formats, internal reference codes and text entry, as well as their
relationships. |
| data
directory |
See
data dictionary. |
| data
element |
Description
of a basic unit of identifiable and definable information to occupy
a specific data field in a computer record.
Example: `Date of ratification of name by the names authority'. |
| data
field |
Space
for a specific data element in a computer record.
Example: the fields for the coordinates in a place name computer
record. |
| data
interchange, translingual |
Data
exchange (especially by computer) via standardized codes and/or terminology
not bound to a particular language. |
| data
item |
Value
or content of a particular data element in a specific
computer record. Example: 01.01.97 in the data
field for `date'. |
| data
portability |
The
possibility of running and/or using the same data on different computer
systems. |
| default
value |
In
computer processing, an option chosen by the computer automatically
in the absence of explicit instructions by the human operator. |
| defective
alphabetic script |
See
script, defective alphabetic. |
| descriptive
term |
A
word (usually a common noun, an adjective or a phrase) e.g. printed
in a map, which designates a topographic feature by its
properties, but which does not constitute a toponym.
Examples: airfield, canal; water tower; perennial, seasonal (for streams). |
| designation |
See
descriptive term. |
| diacritic |
A
sign, usually small, placed above, below or across a letter
or group of letters in order to change the phonemic value
of the original letter(s), or to denote stress or tone, or to distinguish
between two words. Examples: German , , ; š and _ in the romanization
of Russian Cyrillic; in the romanization of Hebrew; Polish _; Romanian
_; French o (where) as against ou (or). See also marker.
|
| diacritical
mark, diacritical sign |
See
diacritic. |
| dialect |
Regionally
or socially distinctive variety of a language, characterised
and identified by a particular set of words, grammatical struc-tures
and pronunciation. The distinction between dialect and
language is sometimes difficult to establish. See also
diglossia; vernacular. |
| dictionary,
geographical |
List
of geographical terms and/or names, usually arranged in alphabetical
order, providing definitions, explanatory information or descriptive
data for each item. |
| digital
data base |
See
data base, digital. |
| digital
toponymic data base |
See
data base, digital toponymic. |
| diglossia |
A
relatively stable linguistic situation in which two different varieties
of a single language co-occur in a linguistic
community, one (the `high' variety) usually being the more formal
and prestigious; the other (the `low') variety being used in more
informal settings, chiefly in conversation. Examples: Greek Katharvousa
(`high') and Dhimotiki (`low'); Arabic al-fua and al-`amm_yah; in
Swiss German: Hochdeutsch and Schwyzerdtsch. In a wider sense
also a co-occurrence of two unrelated languages such as Spanish
and Guarani in Paraguay. |
| diglossic |
Referring
to diglossia. |
| digraph |
Sequence
of two letters, which represent a single phoneme.
Examples: for /ò/, sj in Dutch, ch in French, sh in English. In some
languages, certain digraphs are listed separately in the alphabetic
sequence, e.g. ll in Spanish, ch in Czech and Slovak.
See also ligature. |
| diphthong |
Combination
of two (or three, in triphthong) vocalic elements in a single syllable.
Examples: for /a_/, ei in German 'bei', i in English 'time'. |
| donor
language |
See
language, source. |
| donor
script |
See
script, source. |
| endonym |
Name
of a geographical feature in one of the languages occurring in that
area where the feature is situated. Examples: V_r_nas_ (not Benares);
Aachen (not Aix-la-Chapelle); Krung Thep (not Bangkok); al-Uq_ur
(not Luxor); Teverya (not Tiberias). |
| endonym,
standardized |
Endonym
sanctioned by a names authority. Example: among the allonyms
Hull and Kingston upon Hull (England), the latter is the standardized
form. |
| entity,
topographic |
See
topographic feature. |
| eponym |
Name
of a person or group of persons after or for whom a place is named.
Examples: Iago (James) in Santiago; Everest in Mount Everest; M_sa
(Moses) in W_d_ M_sa. The corresponding term in French is ethnonym. |
| epotoponym |
A
toponym which constitutes the basis or origin of a common
noun. Examples: Jerez (for sherry); Olympía (for Olympiad); al-Burtugh_l,
the Arabic name of Portugal (for Burtuq_l, also Burtuq_n, i.e. an
orange in Arabic). |
| exonym |
Name
used in a specific language for a geographical feature
situated outside the area where that language has official status,
and differing in its form from the name used in the official language
or languages of the area where the geographical feature is situated.
Examples: Warsaw is the English exonym for Warszawa; Londres is French
for London; Mailand is German for Milano. The officially romanized
endonym Moskva for M_____ is no exonym, nor is the Pinyin form
Beijing, while Peking is an exonym. The United Nations recommend minimizing
the use of exonyms in international usage. See also name,
traditional. |
| extraterrestrial
feature |
See
feature, extraterrestrial. |
| extraterrestrial
name |
See
name, extraterrestrial. |
