[Revo Terms] Lexicon

What is the subtle distinction in difference between a Lexicon and a Dictionary? Could this be a case where the subtlety is outweighed by the need to be more clear for "average" users (the non-uber-devs), since they will be interfacing with them in the manager and when adding elements, etc.?

An online dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lexicon) pretty much uses "dictionary" as one of the first definitions for describing what a lexicon is in every iteration of the definitions.

We probably wont go with dictionary, because of its awkwardness to type, the lack of any real lexical benefit to switching, and if we did we’d have to change it across the entire modx site and all the 3rd party components. But feel free to ask any questions about Lexicons here.

This definition is pretty much how I understand Lexicon (replace ’word book’ for ’db table’):

a word book describing language with definitions;

I like the term Lexicon. Knowing the definition makes a difference. Dictionary is more obvious, but mentally I get dictionary and library mixed up (it may be just me) which will not be the case with Lexicon.

Personally I think if people have to look up the term then you’ve already lost them. Looking at the synonyms for "lexicon" (http://thesaurus.reference.com/browse/lexicon) there are plenty of other terms that might be more obvious. Here’s some examples:

dictionary, glossary, language, vocabulary, dialect, jargon, lingo, terminology, wordbook

"wordbook" is a pretty good one. Can’t get any more obvious than that. Think of it in terms of how you would describe a file for a specific language. You could tell someone to look in the German "lexicon" file or the German "wordbook" file. Which terms would the average "junior" web developer catch on to more easily?

The other two terms I like are "jargon" and "lingo". Those are just as obvious if not more obvious. They imply that they are more than just simple dictionaries.

The thing is that we can’t ignore the young web developers that are just starting out. As such, the terminology we use to describe the elements of MODx needs to use real world language in my opinion. From an information design perspective, this is far more important than you realize because the terminology you use has an impact on how someone new to the platform will relate to it. We really need to evaluate our core audience and realize that not all developers think alike. A good number of them will be new and may not gravitate to the concepts in the same way if they don’t understand the lingo. Let’s help them by gearing the lingo to match terms that are easily comprehensible to just about anyone.

Again, Lexicons can (and will) hold more than one language.

So, that rules out terms like dictionary that assume it’s for only one language.

I’ll go ahead and reject both lingo and jargon, as those both have connotations of elitist mentality:

In some cases jargon is used as a shibboleth to distinguish those who belong to a group from those who do not. This is sometimes called "guild" or "insider" jargon. Those unfamiliar with a subject can often be tagged by their incorrect use of jargon. The use of jargon by outsiders is considered by insiders to be audacious, since it constitutes a claim to membership of the insider group. Conversely, since outsiders may not see the reference made via jargon, they are all the more sensitive to its more visible elitist social framing. Jargon may be perceived as pedantic, nerdy, and divorced from meaning to outsiders.

We are not defining the meaning of words in the lexicon, simply creating a list of commonly used terms and phrases to organize in the MODx paradigm...

...a lexicon organizes the mental vocabulary in a speaker’s mind.

In this case, the speaker is MODx.

I’m the one who first suggested "dictionary" and I’m sorry I did.

Dictionary does tend to imply a single language and splittingred is right, it’s really nasty to type compared to lexicon.

My actual paper dictionary, a good one, gives only two generic definitions of "lexicon:"

1. A dictionary.

2. A stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject, or style.

That makes it just about the perfect term to use here and, since it would be a real pain to change it -- not just for the MODx core developers, but for everyone who has already ported add-ons to Revolution -- I think we should consider this a done deal.

While I have grown to accept Lexicon as both accurate and apt for the purpose, I do agree with Jeff on the point that the words and language we choose shapes our experience with technology. How people learn ultimately depends on their perceptions shaped by their world view.

New users, developers, designers and end users all have different perceptions and different world views so we must sacrifice for one so that others may benefit. There is no perfect word for an entire concept, process or function its just a name. The concept of the thing is learned through action of correctly understanding experience and not through name alone.

That being said names too foreign or obscure can delay or block learning concepts because it doesn’t fit in with any part of their world view and cannot be connected to the concept in any meaningful way.

Regarding Lexicon: I can count on one hand the number of times I have used the word lexicon before Revo came out. I’ve used many, many web apps though and in all cases language assignments are located in language files or a language file and occassionally a set of language files has been referred to as a dictionary. Lexicon is accurate and correct but foreign to this context for many people and I’d guess devs since most php apps I’ve used always refer as I point to language files.

Here’s the BUT and why I think Lexicon should now stick: It is as @splittingred much more than a simple dictionary and assignments spread across many TOPICS and those topics could be within contexts, languages, areas and more. No simple language file does this and from an isolation standpoint it makes tremendous sense.

It is always the job of the communicator to ensure that the message is both received and understood so we can help our users by fully documenting. Adding plain language tooltips and help files and be consistent when referring to such elements on the forums and in explanations.

I am opposed to any "dumbing down" of anything; the school system and television did enough of that to my children, and it’s even worse now. They ended up resisting anything more advanced than "grapic novels", which in my day were called "comic books", and were just for fun. I would hate to see MODx turned into a comic book system.

I just had a teenaged neighbor over for dinner since her mother is out of town, and she was puzzled why I didn’t use the Internet like all her other friends do; she actually thought the blue E was the Internet, and I was using something different. She was quite surprised when I put Firefox to Google in Hebrew just like her friends with the Internet could do.

Susan, I am not suggesting dumbing down anything but aligning function with convention. Sometimes a simpler term conveys meaning of a concept faster despite its fuzziness because of convention. Engine vs. Combustion Turbine. Engine is fuzzy and vague but it means more to people than the latter.

Often elevated and accurate terms are a specific result of mainstreaming or increased use of a technical term for either a lack of a better word or new concept.