Preferred vs. Non-Preferred Terms

In multilingual taxonomies, each concept needs one canonical label (preferred term) plus alternative surface forms (non-preferred terms).

ESCO maintains this distinction across 28 languages. For the occupation “bartender”:

• Preferred term: The most common expression in that language/region
• Non-preferred terms: Synonyms, spelling variants, abbreviations, regional variations, declensions

Why this matters:

1. Search recall: Users can find concepts using any surface form
2. Display consistency: Systems can normalize to preferred terms for presentation
3. Translation alignment: Non-preferred terms in one language may align with preferred terms in another

The preferred/non-preferred distinction is a foundational pattern in controlled vocabularies (SKOS calls them prefLabel and altLabel). It separates the concept from the strings humans use to reference it.

ESCO also includes “hidden terms” (labels used for system matching but not displayed to users. Useful for legacy codes, obsolete terminology, or common misspellings.

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