Evolution of classifications in supracorpora databases

The paper examines the task of recording changes to descriptions of meanings of German modal verbs in the process of annotating parallel German-Russian texts within a supracorpora database. This task was used as a case study to analyze the specifics of using dynamic classification systems (DCS) in information systems. The distinctive feature of a DCS is that semantic content of its concepts may change in the process of annotation which often entails the need to reclassify previously annotated data according to the changes made. This paper aims to answer the following questions: ($i$) What factors may have an impact on the need to edit and/or reclassify the annotations created prior to the concept changes? and ($ii$) What kind of operations may be used to represent the changes to concepts in the DCS? The paper describes seven types of possible changes and enumerates the corresponding operations applied to the DCS concepts in the process of annotation. The operations are grouped in three categories depending on how they affect the need to reclassify the previously created annotations.