ISO 10241-1:2011

Overview

ISO 10241-1:2011 (identical to ISO 10241-1:2011) defines requirements for drafting and structuring terminological entries in standards. It provides rules for both monolingual and multilingual terminological entries and their indexes, based on the principles in ISO 704. The standard applies to all standards that contain terminological entries and focuses on the content and structure of terminology in standards rather than administrative procedures or detailed layout rules (layout examples are given informatively in Annex A).

Key Topics and Technical Requirements

• Scope and normative references: Defines applicability and references other terminology-related standards (e.g., ISO 704, ISO 860, ISO 1087, ISO 12199, ISO 15924).
• Terms and definitions: Rules for standardized term selection, formulation of definitions and concept representation.
• Terminological data categories and entry structure: Clause 5 gives an overview of data categories; clause 6 specifies content and drafting requirements such as:
  • Entry number
  • Terms and other designations (letters, numerals, typographical and syntactic signs, character styles)
  • Symbols (including standardized symbols for quantities/units and graphical symbols maintained by other committees)
  • Definitions, non‑verbal representations, examples, notes to entry
  • Source indication and reusing existing terminological entries
• Preparation and organization: Guidance for preparatory work, selection of concepts, and implementation phases for terminology in standards.
• Multilingual entries and indexes: Rules for multilingual terminological entries and indexing conventions to support language-specific ordering and normative status.
• Presentation guidance: High-level presentation rules (script- and publisher-dependent) with informative layout examples in Annex A.

Practical Applications and Who Uses It

ISO 10241-1:2011 is intended for:

• Standards developers and technical committees drafting terminological entries within standards
• Terminologists, terminology managers and lexicographers who create and maintain terminology databases
• Editors, translators and standards publishers ensuring consistent term representation across languages and documents
• Information architects and terminology-tool vendors implementing terminological data models and multilingual indexes

Practical benefits include improved clarity and consistency across standards, better multilingual interoperability, easier reuse of terminological entries, and more reliable indexing and retrieval of terminology in standards repositories.

Related Standards

• ISO 704 - Terminology work - Principles and methods
• ISO 860 - Harmonization of concepts and terms
• ISO 1087, ISO 12199, ISO 15924, ISO 3166
• IEC/ISO standards for symbols (e.g., ISO/IEC Directives, ISO 80000, IEC 60027) are referenced for symbol coordination and responsibilities.

Keywords: ISO 10241-1:2011, ISO 10241-1:2011, terminological entries, terminology in standards, multilingual terminology, terminology standards, terminological data categories, ISO 704.