Specifying ontologies: linguistic aspects in problem-driven knowledge engineering

The WWW includes on various levels systems of signs, not all of which are standardized as necessary for a real Semantic Web and not all of which can be standardized. Linguistic theories can contribute not only to the thus needed translation between sign systems, be they natural language systems or otherwise structured systems of knowledge representation, but also, of course, to standardization efforts. Within the current EC3 research framework for x-commerce, linguistic theories will play their part as they provide modeling analogies and patterns for the construction of a central knowledge base.