Language Proficiency

• CURIE: gmeow:LanguageProficiency
• IRI: https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/LanguageProficiency
• Category: class
• Defined by: gmeow:slices/languages
• Box roles: TBox role (What is this?)

A reified, leveled proficiency of an agent in a language, in a particular skill modality — the gufo:Relator binding {agent} × {language} × {skill modality} × {level on a scale}, mirroring names' gmeow:NameUsage. Mint one per (agent, language, modality) so 'native overall' and 'B2 writing' coexist. The base gmeow:knowsLanguage relation states that an agent knows a language; this relator adds the level and the skill.

Structure

Subclass of: gufo:Relator

Practical Pattern

Use gmeow:LanguageProficiency as a specialized kind of gufo:Relator. Add statement metadata or a standpoint when the assertion needs provenance, confidence, or vantage.

Example Snippets

These snippets are generated from canonical slice examples and trimmed to the Turtle blocks where this term appears.

Proficiency

• Source: slices/extensions/languages/examples/proficiency.ttl
• Examples catalog: open in catalog#example-slices-extensions-languages-examples-proficiency

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Blackcat Informatics® Inc. <paudley@blackcatinformatics.ca>
# SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0
#
# Worked example: language proficiency is PER-MODALITY . A flat
# gmeow:nativeLanguage / gmeow:knowsLanguage says WHICH languages an agent has;
# the reified gmeow:LanguageProficiency says HOW WELL — and crucially per
# gmeow:proficiencyModality (reading / speaking / listening / signing …), because
# the same person is often strong reading a language and weak speaking it. Each
# proficiency is read against an explicit named gmeow:proficiencyScale (here
# CEFR), so a level is never a bare adjective. Languages reuse the core seeds
# (gmeow:langEnglish / langFrench).
@prefix gmeow: <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/> .
@prefix ex:    <https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/examples/languages/> .
@prefix rdfs:  <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .

# --- Strong at READING French (B2) ...
ex:frenchReading a gmeow:LanguageProficiency ;
    gmeow:proficiencyAgent    ex:dana ;
    gmeow:proficiencyLanguage gmeow:langFrench ;
    gmeow:proficiencyModality gmeow:profModalityReading ;
    gmeow:proficiencyLevel    ex:b2 ;
    gmeow:proficiencyScale    ex:cefr .

Projects To

Linkages

Generated from the canonical mapping DSL. SSSOM files are the generated public interchange form for term equivalences.

Projection Coverage