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<Paper uid="W03-1901">
  <Title>Outline of the International Standard Linguistic Annotation Framework</Title>
  <Section position="7" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="concl">
    <SectionTitle>
6 Conclusion
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> In this paper we describe the Linguistic Annotation Framework under development by ISO TC37/SC 4 WG1-1. Its design is intended to allow for, on the one hand, maximum flexibility for annotators, and.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> on the other, processing efficiency and reusability.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> This is accomplished by separating user annotation formats from the exchange/processing format. This separation ensures that pre-existing annotations are compatible with LAF, and that users have the freedom to design specific schemes to meet their needs, while still conforming to LAF requirements.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3"> LAF provides for the use of any annotation format consistent with the feature structure-based data model that will be used to define the pivot format.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="4"> This suggests a future scenario in which annotators may create and edit annotations in a proprietary format, transduce the annotations using available tools to the pivot format for interchange and/or processing, and if desired, transduce the pivot form of the annotations (and/or additional annotation introduced by processing) back into the proprietary format. We anticipate the future development of annotation tools that provide a user-oriented interface for specifying annotation information, and which then generate annotations in the pivot format directly. Thus the pivot format is intended to function in the same way as, for example, Java byte code functions for programmers, as a universal &amp;quot;machine language&amp;quot; that is interpreted by processing software into an internal representation suited to its particular requirements. As with Java byte code, users need never see or manipulate the pivot format; it is solely for machine consumption.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="5"> Part of the work of SC4 WG1-1 is to provide development resources, including schemas, design patterns, and stylesheets, which will enable annotators and software developers to immediately adapt to LAF. Example mappings, e.g., for XCESencoded annotations, will also be provided. In this way, we hope to realize the goal of harmonized and reusable resources in the near future.</Paragraph>
  </Section>
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