We really do need to think through this singular/plural issue for the sake of mapping properly. We need to be able to map from one language that uses the singular to another language that uses the plural. Doesn't that mean that we need entities that represent BOTH singular and plural? And, doesn't that mean that each term in the ontology needs a label for the singular and another for the plural? I would like to propose using the singular in the URI (since that will also be used for the related ontology). Making the skos:prefLabel also singular to agree with this. But then, adding an ivoa:pluralLabel which presents how to display to the user for such vocabulary lookup. This then indicates that the term is meant for both singular and plural usage.
EG
md1:groups_of_galaxies <-> SKOS:groupOfGalaxies <-> md2:GalaxyGroup
skos:prefLabel = "group of galaxies"
ivoa:pluralLabel="groups of galaxies"
But, I am agreeable to having the prefLabel be plural and defining a ivao:singularLabel since there is no compelling reason to have the prefLabel agree with the URI token.
The skos:definition would also be in the singular since that is the way existing definitions stand and that has good reasons. It also allows cut and paste of definitions from existing sources such as WordNet or Cyc or online Websters (copyright problems?).
Ed Received on 2007-11-28Z14:40:48