Multidimensionality in concepts systems

This article describes how bilingual textual analysis — often a by-product of translation — can reveal complex conceptual relations which are not easily captured in conventional systems, even of a multidimensional kind. The data are taken from text extracts from an automotive handbook available in both German (original) and English (translation). The analysis reveals differences in the way concept relations can be modeled, according to the type of generic and specific features revealed by the terms and phraseological structures in text. It is concluded that some concepts may require more subtle models of description which cannot be met even by multidimensional systems and that the lexemes used to label conceptual systems do not necessarily map onto textual representations of the domain. Some implications for standardisation and specialist translation are discussed, and Toft’s distinction between real and conceptual systems, as well as static and dynamic systems, is suggested as a possible way forward for capturing the dynamic conceptual relations revealed in text.