OLAC Role Vocabulary

Date issued:2003-10-10
Status of document:Proposed Recommendation. This document is in the midst of open review by the community.
This version:http://www.language-archives.org/REC/role-20031010.html
Latest version:http://www.language-archives.org/REC/role.html
Previous version:http://www.language-archives.org/REC/role-20030827.html
Abstract:

Role is an attribute of both the Creator and Contributor elements. (Please note that Dublin Core now discourages the use of the Creator element, recommending that all Role information be associated with Contributor elements.) This document specifies the controlled vocabulary of the Role attribute used by OLAC. This attribute specifies the functional role of the entity named in the creation of a given resource.

Editors: Heidi Johnson (mailto:ailla@ailla.org)
Changes since previous version:

Adds: singer

Copyright © Heidi Johnson (University of Texas at Austin) . This material may be distributed and repurposed subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Table of contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Role
References

1. Introduction

Key points: multiple choices are allowed for a single participant.

2. Role

Each term of the controlled vocabulary is described in one of the following subsections. The heading gives the encoded value for the term that is to be used as the value of the code attribute of the Contributor metadata element [OLAC-Metadata]. Under the heading, the term is described in four ways. Name gives a descriptive label for the term. Definition is a one-line summary of what the term means. Comments offers more details on what the term represents, and may also include examples given to illustrate how the term is meant to be applied.

Additional roles may be found in the MARC Relator set [MARC-RELATOR]. Any MARC term that does not appear in the OLAC Roles set defined below may be used in the sense defined in the MARC document. The roles defined here are either very commonly used to characterize the creators of linguistic resources, or have been re-defined to reflect specifically linguistic practice. Some examples of MARC Relator terms that may be used without modification are 'copyright_holder','artist', 'metadata_contact', 'director', and 'calligrapher'.

annotator

NameAnnotator
DefinitionThe participant produced an annotation of this or a related resource.

author

NameAuthor
DefinitionThe participant contributed original writings to the resource.

compiler

NameCompiler
DefinitionThe participant is responsible for collecting the sub-parts of the resource together.
Comments

This refers to someone who creates a single resource with multiple parts, such as a book of short stories, or a person who produces a corpus of resources, which may be archived separately.

Examples

A compiler of a book of short stories or a CD with several songs on it; a collector of a corpus of recordings in some language or on a given topic; a person who assembles a suite of software tools.

consultant

NameConsultant
DefinitionThe participant contributes expertise to the creation of a work.
Comments

This term is commonly used by field linguists for the native speakers who work with them in describing and analyzing a language. They contribute their expertise in their native language to the resource, although their speech, sign, or writing may not appear directly in the resource. In some parts of the world the preferred term for this role is "informant".

data_inputter

NameData Inputter
DefinitionThe participant was responsible for entering, re-typing, and/or structuring the data contained in the resource.

depositor

NameDepositor
DefinitionThe participant was responsible for depositing the resource in an archive.

developer

NameDeveloper
DefinitionThe participant developed the methodology or tools that constitute the resource, or that were used to create the resource.
Examples

A software programmer, designer, or analyst; a designer of a questionnaire or research task.

editor

NameEditor
DefinitionThe participant reviewed, corrected, and/or tested the resource.
Comments

This role includes anyone whose role was editorial in nature, such as proof-readers, debuggers, testers, etc. It may overlap the Compiler role in some cases.

illustrator

NameIllustrator
DefinitionThe participant contributed drawings or other illustrations to the resource.

interpreter

NameInterpreter
DefinitionThe participant translates in real-time or explains the discourse recorded in the resource.
Comments

The choice between 'interpreter' and 'translator' may depend on the dynamics of the resource creation event or process. Generally, if the participant is translating 'live'; that is, while the speaker or signer is speaking or signing, she or he should be identified as an interpreter. Also, some discourse genres include a participant who interprets or explains a performance of some kind.

Examples

A person translating from English to ASL during a speech; a Kuna chief who interprets a chant that another chief has just performed, thus completing the ceremony.

interviewer

NameInterviewer
DefinitionThe participant conducted an interview that forms part of the resource.

participant

NameParticipant
DefinitionThe participant was present during the creation of the resource, but did not contribute substantially to its content.
Comments

This role is intended for minor participants such as audience members or other peripherally-involved participants in the event. These interlocutors need not have been physically present. They could be participants in some form of long-distance communication, such as lurkers in an online discussion, or they may have participated in general sense of having allowed the creation event to take place, such as the mayor of an indigenous community.

performer

NamePerformer
DefinitionThe participant performed some portion of a recorded, filmed, or transcribed resource.
Comments

It is recommended that this term be used only for creative participants whose role is not better indicated by a more specific term, such as 'speaker', 'signer', or 'singer'.

Examples

A person performing a ceremony or delivering an oration or a sermon; native speakers re-enacting a traditional genre of speech, such as ritual greetings or insults; an actor or musician.

photographer

NamePhotographer
DefinitionThe participant took the photograph, or shot the film, that appears in or constitutes the resource.

recorder

NameRecorder
DefinitionThe participant operated the recording machinery used to create the resource.

researcher

NameResearcher
DefinitionThe resource was created as part of the participant's research, or the research presents interim or final results from the participant's research.

research_participant

NameResearch Participant
DefinitionThe participant acted as a research subject or responded to a questionnaire, the results of which study form the basis of the resource.

responder

NameResponder
DefinitionThe participant was an interlocutor in some sort of discourse event.
Comments

This person's voice can be heard (or their words can be read) in the resource, typically saying the language-appropriate equivalent of "uh-huh", "amen", "you don't say", etc. This role is sometimes referred to as a "yes-sayer", "backchanneler, or "co-conversant".

signer

NameSigner
DefinitionThe participant was a principal signer in a resource that consists of a recording, a film, or a transcription of a recorded resource.
Comments

Signers are those whose gestures predominate in a recorded or filmed resource. (This resource may be a transcription of that recording.)

Examples

Participants in a recorded conversation, elicitation session, or informal narration would be termed Signers. Audience members who do not participate beyond the occasional backchannel would be termed Responders.

singer

NameSinger
DefinitionThe participant sang, either individually or as part of a group, in a resource that consists of a recording, a film, or a transcription of a recorded resource.

speaker

NameSpeaker
DefinitionThe participant was a principal speaker in a resource that consists of a recording, a film, or a transcription of a recorded resource.
Comments

Speakers are those whose voices predominate in a recorded or filmed resource. (This resource may be a transcription of that recording.)

Examples: Participants in a recorded conversation, elicitation session, or informal narration would be termed Speakers. Audience members who do not participate beyond the occasional backchannel would be termed Responders.

sponsor

NameSponsor
DefinitionThe participant contributed financial support to the creation of the resource.

transcriber

NameTranscriber
DefinitionThe participant produced a transcription of this or a related resource.

translator

NameTranslator
DefinitionThe participant produced a translation of this or a related resource.

To do

Elicit roles from language researchers other than documentary linguists.


References

[MARC-RELATOR]MARC Relator Terms.
<http://www.loc.gov/marc/relators/relators.html>
[OLAC-Metadata]OLAC Metadata
<http://www.language-archives.org/OLAC/metadata.html>