Expressiveness in Document Titles

An increasing number of databases in Indian languages are being developed. Organization of contents, indexing, vocabulary control, searching and retrieval from such databases raise additional issues specific to the language and script. This paper deals with some of these factors in a Kannada language database. The Kannada Nighantu (dictionary) in eigth volumes available in machine-readable form is the example selected for study. The elements included in the entries, and the structure and arrangement of entries are examined. A structure of the entry conforming to S.R.Ranganathan's facet structure (Personality, Matter, Energy, Space and Time) is proposed to secure consistency in the analysis and organization of the subject connoted by the term whose meaning is given in that entry.