TermShare is an internet-based, multilingual dictionary based on a knowledge sharing principle. The intention of the tool is partly to give SMEs, research centres and educational environments access to a tool that may render their language work more efficient, and partly to offer larger companies an internal dictionary that may be adapted to their individual needs for e.g. information categories, user roles and languages.
With TermShare you gain a tool to explicate, maintain and expand the organisation's linguistic knowledge. And many larger companies have a need for a tool giving them the possibility of increasing knowledge sharing between departments and employees.
This is why TermShare is flexible enough to contain all subject areas. Moreover, information categories and individual wishes for concept displays and administration are easily adapted to the individual company's needs without affecting the products' fundamental structure for knowledge sharing or the validation procedure. TermShare may also hold an unlimited number of (Western) languages. Thus, with TermShare anyone interested in improving his/her communication will get the opportunity of having a tailored tool.
Search in TermShare
With TermShare, you may search in the concepts other users have already created and in several different target languages. When you choose a concept in the result list, information about the term is displayed. You may choose to display or hide certain information categories so that you will easily find exactly the information you need. As a starting point, a number of predefined categories are displayed: for example word class, synonym, abbreviation, definition, comment, subject area, example, reference and link.
Create a new concept
In order to create a new dictionary entry, you should click New concept in the menu. Once you have saved your concept, it is possible to click the button Add translation to add a translation to the new concept.
The user interface is simple enough to promote daily use and complex enough to contain a number of relevant categories of information. The only mandatory category is the term itself. The rest of the categories (word class, definition, collocations etc.) are optional.
Validation
It is always possible to create a new concept if you have the appropriate role, but it will always be validated, be it the organisation's group editor either before it is searchable in the internal dictionary or before it is sent to external validation. This means that the users do not need to be nervous about creating new concepts or making changes to existing concepts. This is an advantage for organisations with users who are not used to working with IT or language.
Supplementary information
TermShare is still under development. However, you are welcome to contact Lab manager Morten Pilegaardat KCL if you have any questions.
