Chapter 6

Multidimensionality

Multidimensionality is a phenomenon of conceptual classification that arises when concepts are classified in more than one way within a concept system according to different characteristics. Because multidimensionality can be complex and cause information overload, early terminologists focused on the most common dimension. In the 1990s, knowledge-based approaches emerged, partly inspired by cognitive science models. Technological advances offered the possibility of managing multiple inheritance and generating graphical representations, making it easier to work with multidimensionality. Corpus-based techniques that used lexical knowledge patterns to uncover conceptual relations soon followed. Terminologists have thus incorporated multidimensionality into successive terminological knowledge bases, offering richer representations of multiple dimensions and a more holistic understanding of concepts. These resources also explore ways of addressing information overload.