Normative Principles: Verbal, Notational Planes, Mnemonics

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Normative Principles Verbal, Notational Planes,
Mnemonics

• Devika P. Madalli
• Documentation Research and Training Centre,
• Indian Statistical Institute,
• Bangalore, INDIA

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Verbal Plane

• Challenges
• Homonyms
• Synonyms
• Current-ness
• Expressed Biases and nuances

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Challenges in Verbal Plane

• To quote Ranganathan The language of even
  carefully prepared document lends itself to
  several interpretations and it hides and confuses
  the original intention to such an extent that
  society is forced to maintain the costly
  profession of advocates(pg201, Prolegomena to
  Library Classification)

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Challenges in Verbal Plane

• Terminology Is the system of Terms used to
  denote the classes or ranked isolates in a Scheme
  for Classification semantically clear?
• Problem Vagueness in the meaning of Ordinary
  Words
• Example
• A certain micro organism is a plant or an
  Animal

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Challenges Verbal Plane

• Creation of New Terms
• New words are coined to express new ideas and
  even old ideas.
• Eg Physics- In the place of Natural philosophy
• One who teaches and practices in Mathematics is
  a mathematician
• But one who teaches Physics and practices in it,
  is not a PHYSICIAN because Medicine domain had
  already claimed that -- hence Physicist was
  coined!

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Verbal Plane Challenges

• Incidence of Homonym
• --One and the same term is often used with two
  or more meanings
• Eg Class (it has many meanings)
• Class societal order
• Class of students
• Class verb, we class that as good
• -- Order has 24 meanings! (P203, Progleg. to
  Lib. Clfn.)

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Verbal Plane Challenges

• Incidence of Synonyms
• - Different words denote one and the same idea
• Eg Arrangement
• Order
• Sequence

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Canons for Verbal Plane

• There are four Canons for work in Verbal Plane
• Canon of Context
• Canon of Enumeration
• Canon Of Currency
• Canon of Reticence

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Canon of Context

• The denotation of a term in a scheme for
  classification should be determined in the light
  of the different classes or ranked isolates of
  lower order (Super-Ordinates) belonging to the
  same primary chain as the classes or the ranked
  isolate denoted by the term in question

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Canon of Context

• ! Define SuperOrdinate
• A super ordinate is a term Broader in scope than
  those below in any given chain of terms. It is a
  term at a lower order (higher up in the chain)
• ! Define SubOrdinate
• a SubOrdinate is a term Narrower in scope than
  those above in any given chain of terms. It is a
  term at a higher order (lower down in the chain)

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Canon of Context

• What is implies
• Whenever there is a conflict in resolution of
  connation of a given term, then its meaning
  should be derived from the terms appearing in
  lower rank just above it.

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Canon of Context

• Implications
• Has implications both for the Classificationist
  and the classifier

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Canon of Context

• Example
• Term Foundation
• (occurs in Education, Buildings, Knitting,
  Cosmetic Makeup)
• Denotation of the term is obviously different in
  these cases.
• Foundation is a subordinate concept/isolate to
  all these terms in different contexts.
• We must be guided by the Canon of Context when
  placing a book whose title contains the word
  Foundation.

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Canon of Context

• Consider
• Engineering
• Mechanical
• Civil
• Electrical
• While the terms Mechanical, Civil and
  Electrical have several meanings they must
  resolved here in relation to or in context of the
  term Engineering

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Canon of Enumeration

• The denotation of a term in a scheme for
  classification should be determined and should be
  left to be determined in the light of or through
  the sub-classes or ranked isolates (SubOrdinates)
  enumerated in the various chains having the class
  or ranked isolate, as the case may be, denoted by
  the term in question as their common link.

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Canon of Enumeration

• Example
• Geometry
• Analytical Geometry
• Pure Geometry
• Infinitesimal Geometry
• -- Here the term Geometry was replaced by
• Systems of Geometry

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Canon of Enumeration

• Example In DDC in Domain Religion
• All concepts belonging to Christianity have
  been listed from 220280, but the higher link for
  all these isolates, Christianity is MISSING.
  Later it has been assigned given a number like
• 220-280 - Christianity
• Here the superordinate term Christianity had
  to be interpolated based on the sub-ordinate
  classes that were listed from 220-280

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Canon of Currency

• The term used to denote a class or a ranked
  isolate in a scheme for classification should be
  the one current among those specializing in the
  subject-field covered by the scheme.

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Canon of Currency

• Implications
• - The terms chosen at the time of the design of
  a scheme for classification should as per their
  current/latest use
• - Obsolete ones should be changed into current
  ones as and when the needs arises, with necessary
  back-of-book index entries, cross referenced to
  the term in current use.(references uf, see, irt,
  ..)
• - Updating and newer versions

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Reticence

• Term used to denote a class or a ranked isolate
  in a scheme for classification should not be
  critical - that is, express any opinion of the
  classificationist.
• Examples
• Humbugs
• Minor Authors

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The Notational Plane

• Notation The Classificatory Language
• Formalization of the concepts into symbols or
  numbers

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Notational Plane Objective

• Each book gets a unique number
• Not only that
• Even in the formalized form the notation
  continues to convey meaning

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Notational Plane Challenges

• Absence of words to convey meanings!
• There are a huge numbers of ideas denoted by
  huge number of terms to be denoted
  co-extensively in their contexts!
• Notation system should be able to grow.
• Notation system should also be hospitable

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Canons for Notational Plane

• Canon of Synonym
• Canon of Homonym

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Canon of Synonym

• The class number of a subject in system of class
  numbers or the isolate number of an isolate idea
  in a system of isolates should be unique

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Canon of Synonym

• What it means?
• Each subject should be represented by one and
  only one class number

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Canon of Synonym

• Classificatory Language is one controlled by
  specialists classificationists
• Synonyms may creep into natural language at any
  time or all the time
• But in classificatory language, it is the duty
  of the classificationist to keep it synonym free

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Canon of Synonym

• Examples DDC
• Children Books 028.52 and 371.643
• Forest Ecology 581.52 and 634.946
• (Document Scatter!)

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Canon of Homonym

• The subject represented by a class number in a
  system of class numbers and the isolate idea
  represented by an isolate number in system of
  isolate numbers, should be unique

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Canon of Homonym

• What it means?
• Each class number should represent only one
  subject.

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Canon of Homonym

• Example DDC
• 371.96 Social Classes
• 371.96 Students exceptional due to class
  differences, (deprived students,
• royalty)
• (Subject Scatter!)

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Other Canons of Notation

• Canon of Relativity and Canon of Uniformity
• Canon of Hierarchy and Canon of Non-Hierarchy
• Canon of Mixed notation and Canon of Pure
  Notation
• Canon of Faceted Notation and Canon of
  Non-Faceted Notation
• Canon of Co-extensiveness and Canon of
  Under-extensiveness
• (Chapters JD-JH, P.Lib. Clfn.)

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Mnemonics in Notation

• Mnemonics is Greek for to remember
• It is the art of assisting memory

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Mnemonics in Notation

• General Canon of Mnemonics
• The digit or digit group used to represent a
  specific concept in a class number should be the
  same in all class numbers having that concept
  represented in them, provided such an insistence
  does not violate other important requirements.

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Mnemonics in Notation

• Mnemonics are used very commonly
• Like A for Apples
• B for Bats
• C for Cats
• While trying to recall facts, such as
  directions, we tend to map in terms of some order
  that we are familiar with and then use that order
  as a mnemonic to get to our destination.

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Types of Mnemonics

• Mnemonics are adopted in Classificatory language
  also.
• There are Four types
• Scheduled Mnemonics
• Systematic Mnemonics
• Seminal Mnemonics
• Alphabetical Mnemonics

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Scheduled Mnemonics

• Canon of Scheduled Mnemonics
• A scheme for classification should use one and
  the same digit group to represent an isolate in
  whatever subject it may appear

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Scheduled Mnemonics

• Examples
• Y 1P2 To be subdivided as in 6 of 1P1 of
• S Psychology
• Z 1P2 4 Tort To be subdivided as 5 - Crime
  

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Systematic Mnemonics

• In a scheme for classification, the digits used
  to represent the array of isolate ideas should
  run parallel to the sequence in which the
  Principles of Helpful Sequence would arrange the
  array of isolates

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Systematic Mnemonics

• Examples
• Spatial Sequence
• Building NA,2
• Foundation NA,2,1
• Floor NA,2,4
• Screen Wall NA,2,5
• Roof NA,2,6

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Systematic Mnemonics

• Example 2
• Quantitative Sequence
• Town Planning (NB)
• Village NB,1
• Town NB,3
• City NB,5
• Metropolis NB,7

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Seminal Mnemonics

• Canon of Seminal Mnemonics
• A scheme for classification should use one and
  the same digits to denote seminally equivalent
  concepts in whatever subject they may occur

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Seminal Mnemonics

• It is very difficult to recognize seminally
  equivalent concepts as they more at philosophical
  levels of equivalence.
• The classificationist would only recognize these
  by continuous interactions with specific domain
  terminologies and cross domain terminology during
  the classificatory work!

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Seminal Mnemonics

• Examples from CC
• Function in Political Science, Physiology in
  Biological Sciences, Social Activities in
  Sociology are seminally equivalent. All are
  denoted by 5 in their respective schedules
• Disease in Biological Sciences and Medicine,
  Social Pathology in Social Sciences, Tort in
  law are recognized are seminally equivalent and
  all are assigned 4 in their respective
  schedules

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Alphabetic Mnemonics

• Canon of Alphabetic Mnemonics
• Alphabetic mnemonics should be preferred if the
  alphabetic sequence is found to be more helpful
  than any other sequence and if an International
  nomenclature exists in the field to which it is
  applied

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Alphabetic Mnemonics

• Alphabetic Mnemonics should be rejected without
  any hesitation if a sequence more helpful to
  readers if found

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Alphabetic Mnemonics

• Example of Alphabetic Mnemonic
• Rivers of India
• Ganges (G)
• Hemavathy (H)
• Indus (I)

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• Thank you
• Questions?