Question:
How does language negotiation apply if the database is mixed language? How do you handle English and Chinese together in the same database. I'm working with some folks that have a bi-lingual search engine and they are looking for a way to carry the data around in a Z39.50 package but will want the ability to switch languages on the fly, from record to record.I would imagine this to be true in a lot of technical databases where the small market for publication makes it impractical to publish in multiple languages, plus the caliber of the researcher makes it possible for the user to translate as they read.
Response:
"Language negotiation" as we know it in Z39.50 applies primarily to protocol-related text, for example, diagnostic messages that a server sends to a client. It cannot be used (in its current form) to negotiate the language of records.However, the capability is supported for the server to designate (and for the client to determine) on the fly the language of a record. You can use the variant facility of Z39.50 to designate language. It allows you to attach, to an element of a record, various pieces of metadata about the element, including language. See Appendix 11. It can also be used for a client to determine what languages are supported for an element, and to request an element in a specific language.
Status: Approved (8/97)
Library
of Congress(10/22/97)