Theories of Terminology – Past and Present (original) (raw)
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The article presents some aspects of the General Theory of Terminology, whose author, Eugen Wüster (1898–1977), is considered the father of modern terminology. The article first presents his life and work and then also the principal aspects of Wüster's approach to terminology through citations from his articles and monographs: his utilitarian view of special languages, the emphasis laid on the onomasiological approach to terminology, the notion of concept as the pivotal notion of Wüster's theory, his attitude towards the polysemy, homonymy and syn-onymy as well as some other important aspects that shaped his view of terminology.
terMinoLogy today: a science, an art or a practice? soMe aspects on terMinoLogy and its deveLopMent
During the past several decades, the theory of terminology has been a subject of debates in various circles. The views on terminology as a scientific discipline vary considerably. Currently, there are a number of treatments of this field and a number of debatable questions involved. Is terminology a science, or just a practice? does terminology have a status of separate scholarly discipline with its own theory or does it owe its theoretical assumptions to more consolidated disciplines?
The Tension between Definition and Reality in Terminology
Whereas natural language concepts are based on prototypes, classical terminological definitions (CTDs) are based on necessary and sufficient conditions. The sociocognitive approach to terminology rejects both the possibility and the desirability of CTDs. In this paper, I argue that CTDs are needed for certain types of term, but not for others. In a first step, I distinguish two overlapping classes of expressions, based on two different criteria for termhood. Specialized vocabulary is the set of items whose use is restricted to specialized communication. Specialization is a gradual property, so that the boundaries of this class are vague. TERMS in the narrow sense have a concept with a clearcut boundary. In scientific and legal contexts, clearcut boundaries are necessary because classification is important. Only for TERMS in this narrow sense do we need CTDs. Some of the problems raised for CTDs can be solved straightforwardly by restricting their domain to TERMS. Discussions about t...
The Problems of Conceptualization and Categorization in English Terminology
Discourse, 2020
Introduction. The paper focuses on the linguistic concepts of terminology and a term system, provides the views of linguists on the definition and differentiation of these terms, explains the semantics of the word and the term, as well as the role of the cognitive approach in modern terminology. The scientific work defines a concept and a category, and describes the role of the processes of conceptualization and categorization in English terminology. As more than 90 % of new words appearing in modern languages is vocabulary for special purposes, it is increasingly important to study the ways of their formation. The research is relevant since it provides a deeper understanding of the structure and content of concepts that underlie the formation of language categories, the mechanisms of interaction between cognitive and language structures in the process of forming the terminological meaning.Methodology and sources. In light of the cognitive approach to understanding the semantics of ...
Approaches to terminology. Now that the dust has settled
2007
In this article we show examples of how the discipline of terminology is evolving and how diversification in methodology and new research questions emerge thanks to the participation of terminology theorists in multidisciplinary applied research projects. The origins of the discipline are revisited, some recent developments are discussed and examples are given of terminological research projects at CVC Brussels.
Terminology Management–Philosophical Ideas in the Fast Lane
Terminology management is deeply rooted in philosophy. If investment in a terminology management system built for the localization process is to pay off, concepts must be placed into their conceptual system,. Time pressure, lack of skills and the relative novelty of the combination of applied linguistics and information science are underlying the main challenges. Introduction Terminology theory as a field has been around for several centuries. Many researchers consider Carl von Linné's work in the 18 th century the underpinning. It seems reasonable to recognize his taxonomy and naming conventions as the point in time where linguistic aspects of classifications gained in importance [1]. Since then Wüster, Drezen, and others have developed the philosophical foundations, most notably Frege's semantic triangle, and integrated terminology theory into applied linguistics. Terminology as part of the localization process In the wake of globalization, terminology management gained in...
The General Theory of Terminology: A Literature Review and a Critical discussion
Dette speciales formål er at undersøge, hvorvidt den generelle terminologilaere repraesenterer terminologi som en uafhaengig videnskabelig disciplin. Diskussionen tager udgangspunkt i den terminologiske teori grundlagt af E. Wüster der i sin bog Einführung in die Allgemeine Terminologielehre und Terminologische Lexikographie (1979) beskriver den teoretiske side af terminologisk arbejde. Teorien er blevet kritiseret meget af eksperter såsom Kageura, Cabré, Temmerman, m.fl. fordi den ikke er i stand til at afgraense terminologi klart fra andre relaterede discipliner såsom sprogvidenskab, anvendt sprogvidenskab, leksikografi og fagleksikografi og ikke tager højde for alle aspekter som udgør terminologi i dens helhed. Diskussionen i specialet fokuserer på to af teoriens mest kritiserede karakteristiske traek: relationen mellem begreb og term og relevansen af syntaks -saetningslaere -i terminologi.
Should Terminology Principles be re-examined?
ArXiv, 2012
Operationalization of terminology for IT applications has revived the Wusterian approach. The conceptual dimension once more prevails after taking back seat to specialised lexicography. This is demonstrated by the emergence of ontology in terminology. While the Terminology Principles as defined in Felber manual and the ISO standards remain at the core of traditional terminology, their computational implementation raises some issues. In this article, while reiterating their importance, we will be re-examining these Principles from a dual perspective: that of logic in the mathematical sense of the term and that of epistemology as in the theory of knowledge. We will thus be clarifying and describing some of them so as to take into account advances in knowledge engineering (ontology) and formal systems (logic). The notion of ontoterminology, terminology whose conceptual system is a formal ontology, results from this approach.
On Attitudes toward Terminology
2020
The objective of Evelina Leivada’s essay, as she makes clear, “is to attain a higher level of terminological clarity and coherence within the field of linguistics.” There is no doubt that linguistics is in need of such an initiative, and Leivada’s attempt at fulfilling it is in itself worthy of praise. But out of the ten key notions she focuses on, three seem highly problematic: Universal Grammar, faculty of language in the narrow sense, and grammaticality judgment. Leivada’s discussion of these terms appear to be wanting in one respect or another. Linguistics is a vast field of research, and generative grammar is one of its subfields. Chomskyan linguistics belongs to the latter and it is this branch of linguistics that the ten terms Leivada chose to focus on belong to. The title of her essay should really have been “Misused Terms in Chomskyan Linguistics.” If not for the sake of accuracy, it would have at least been fair to many linguists who, sadly enough, may well be unfamiliar w...
Terminology Science & Research: Journal of the International Institute for Terminology Research 12.1-2, 41-48. , 2001