Terms related to natural language processing · 3.6.7
natural language
a language in active use, or once in active use, in a community, with rules worked out from how people use it
What this term settles
The entry is short because it is meant to travel. It gives natural language one meaning that can be quoted in a policy without a second interpretation layer.
Who it binds
A definition binds nobody on its own, so the force of natural language comes only from the reader who adopts it in a policy, a contract, a data schema or an assurance argument.
What to do in your practice
Take the firm's own definition of natural language, put it beside this one and mark the differences. Each difference is either a deliberate local choice or an inconsistency to fix.
Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for
- A controlled vocabulary entry for natural language with the citation 3.6.7, an owner and a review date.An auditor can check that natural language is controlled rather than assumed.
- A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles. The row names natural language.Shows natural language in use in the artefact the firm relies on, not only in a glossary.
- An evaluation set with the language, the domain and the scoring rule. The record carries the natural language entry and its date.The product description mixes the task with the model, so a change of model reads as a change of task. The gap is tested against natural language.
Common gaps this page catches
- natural language is used in the language task in the product description without a written definition, so two teams can mean different things.
- The entry for natural language is reviewed when someone remembers, not on a cadence, so it drifts from the artefact it describes.
What to prepare before the amendment lands
Add the entry to the register, give it an owner and a review date, and test it against one live artefact this week. The test is the evidence; the register row alone is not.
How to test it here
Take one live artefact rather than a template, find the sentence or field where natural language is used, and put this page beside it. Record the answer, the artefact and the date, because that record is the evidence and a glossary entry on its own is only an intention.
What this page does not claim
The page does not reproduce the standard, certify the firm or predict the wording the amendment will use; it states natural language at the claim level "definition" and stops where the public record stops.
Common questions
- What does natural language mean in ISO 22989?
- a language in active use, or once in active use, in a community, with rules worked out from how people use it
- What evidence should we keep for 3.6.7?
- A controlled vocabulary entry for natural language with the citation 3.6.7, an owner and a review date. A product description that names the language task and the input and output it handles. The row names natural language.
- Is natural language a requirement?
- No: natural language is a definition or clause of a terminology standard, and it becomes binding only when a firm writes it into a policy, a contract or a procedure, or when another standard incorporates it.
Related units
Source. ISO/IEC 22989:2022, Clause 3.6.7, Terms and definitions. Open the ISO public entry. Retrieved 21 October 2026.
https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec:22989:ed-1:v1:en
ISO catalogue record 88145, the amendment status, stage and dates. Catalogue record 74296, the base standard.
Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.
Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your vocabulary