Transport vs. transportation

[Jon Bosak <bosak@pinax.com>]

Hello TSC,

In reviewing the UBL 2.1 definitions, I've been forced to confront
(again) the use of "transport" and "transportation" in TSC content.  I
had previously been (somewhat) content with the implication that these
two forms represented some semantic distinction, but upon closer
inspection, it's clear that this is not the case.  For example, the
terms "transport service" and "transportation service" are mixed
indiscriminately throughout definitions in the common library.

I have checked in dictionaries of English and can confirm that there is,
in general, no semantic distinction between "transport" and
"transportation," the only notable exceptions being the use of
"transportation" to refer specifically to the transportation of
prisoners to penal colonies in the 19th century and the use of
"transport" to mean a kind of rapture or ecstasy -- neither of which are
(I assume) meanings relevant to what we're working with in UBL.  In
ordinary usage, the two words mean the same thing; we therefore need to
pick one of them and use it consistently throughout.  The question is:
which one.

"Transportation" appears slightly earlier in written English (1540
vs. 1611 for "transport"), but after 1660, "transportation" was
gradually replaced by "transport," at least in England, though it's my
impression that "transportation" is a bit more common in American
English.  The Wikipedia entry for "transportation" simply links to
"transport," and a google check shows "transport" occurring on the web
about 60 percent more often than "transportation."  In UBL 2.1 xsd,
"Transport" appears about 9 times more often than "Transportation" in
the common library and about 3.8 times more often than "Transportation"
in the document schemas.

Based on the above, therefore, I think it's clear that we should have
standardized on "transport."  Unfortunately, "transportation" was
already used in UBL 2.0 in the phrases "TransportationService" and
"TransportationStatus" in the TransportationStatus document, so we are
stuck with them.  The best we can do at this point is to continue using
"transportation" in those two phrases (and in longer names that include
them) and to use "transit" everywhere else.  I believe that this can be
accomplished through the changes listed below.

Please consider the following and be prepared to discuss at the TC level
in our meetings of the week of 6 August (we are not meeting this week of
30 July).

Jon

==================================================================

COMMON LIBRARY CHANGES

   TransportationSegment -> TransportSegment
   TransportationSegmentType -> TransportSegmentType

   ResponsibleTransportServiceProviderParty -> ResponsibleTransportationServiceProviderParty
   TransportServiceCode -> TransportationServiceCode
   TransportServiceCodeType -> TransportationServiceCodeType
   TransportServiceDescriptionDocumentReference -> TransportationServiceDescriptionDocumentReference
   TransportServiceDescriptionRequestDocumentReference -> TransportationServiceDescriptionRequestDocumentReference
   TransportServiceProviderParty -> TransportationServiceProviderParty
   TransportServiceProviderRemarks -> TransportationServiceProviderRemarks
   TransportServiceProviderRemarksType -> TransportationServiceProviderRemarksType
   TransportServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod -> TransportationServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod
   TransportServiceProviderSpecialTerms -> TransportationServiceProviderSpecialTerms
   TransportServiceProviderSpecialTermsType -> TransportationServiceProviderSpecialTermsType

DOCUMENT MODEL CHANGES

   UBL-GoodsItemItinerary-2.1

      TransportationSegment -> TransportSegment

   UBL-TransportExecutionPlan-2.1.xsd

      TransportServiceProviderRemarks -> TransportationServiceProviderRemarks
      TransportServiceProviderParty -> TransportationServiceProviderParty
      TransportServiceDescriptionDocumentReference -> TransportationServiceDescriptionDocumentReference
      TransportServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod -> TransportationServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod

   UBL-TransportExecutionPlanRequest-2.1.xsd

      TransportServiceProviderParty -> TransportationServiceProviderParty
      TransportServiceDescriptionDocumentReference -> TransportationServiceDescriptionDocumentReference
      TransportServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod -> TransportationServiceProviderResponseDeadlinePeriod

   UBL-TransportServiceDescription-2.1.xsd -> UBL-TransportationServiceDescription-2.1.xsd *** DOCUMENT NAME CHANGE ***

      TransportServiceDescription -> TransportationServiceDescription
      TransportServiceDescriptionType -> TransportationServiceDescriptionType
      TransportServiceDescriptionRequestDocumentReference -> TransportationServiceDescriptionRequestDocumentReference
      TransportServiceProviderParty -> TransportationServiceProviderParty

   UBL-TransportServiceDescriptionRequest-2.1.xsd -> UBL-TransportationServiceDescriptionRequest-2.1.xsd *** DOCUMENT NAME CHANGE ***

      TransportServiceDescriptionRequest -> TransportationServiceDescriptionRequest
      TransportServiceDescriptionRequestType -> TransportationServiceDescriptionRequestType
      TransportServiceProviderParty -> TransportationServiceProviderParty