ARCHIVED 1.2.3. Purposes and Benefits

 

Consult the Pavel in ...

Español Português Italiano Nederlands العربية

Previous page Next page

The following briefly describes the purposes and benefits of terminology work.

• Sharing Knowledge
• Teaching Basic Vocabulary of Specialized Subject
• Translation
• Language Planning
• Structured Approach to Terminology
• Technical Writing
• Localization

Sharing Knowledge

Sharing terminological data is one way to improve communication by making it possible for everyone to use the same word to designate the same concept. This often clarifies the confusion and helps avoid misunderstandings. The more people who have access to your terminology and agree to use it, the fewer communication problems stemming from terminology you will encounter. If you are the only group to share terminology in a particular field (and you have done your terminology research in a serious and systematic way), other groups can choose either to invest in creating their own terminology banks, or to adopt your terminology. If all other groups recognize the quality of your terminology work and adopt your terminology, you might become a de facto standard setter for your field.

Teaching Basic Vocabulary of Specialized Subject

When people enter a new field of endeavour, they often do not have the terminology required to begin work right away as they lack the "lingo" to join in the shoptalk with confidence. If you provide the basic terminology of a field to newcomers, that is, give them the words they need and explain the concepts those terms represent, their learning curve will be shorter and they will be able to make valuable contributions sooner and with greater confidence.

Translation

Has it ever happened that a document was sent off to be translated and once it came back, the terminology used in the translation had to be changed, or even simply corrected? Especially in cases where one word can be translated by several different terms in the other language, had the translator been made aware of the correct terminology to use in the translation, fewer corrections would have been needed. If you could share terminological data with them (either via access to a database or by giving them a printed or electronic copy of a publication), then you could easily indicate to them the terminology to use. Even if you only provide the information in the source language, if you provide definitions of the terms, the translator can better determine which equivalent to use by comparing the definition of a term in the target language to the definition of the term to be translated. This is another activity for which structured terminological data can be very useful. An up-to-date database of bilingual and multilingual terminological data can be a real boon to translators.

Language Planning

Language planning is a collective term for a complex of efforts to improve interdialect and international communication either by studying the relationships between pairs of languages (dialects) or by creating a new language system. Language planning has three main objectives:

• To analyze the genesis of a real linguistic behaviour model.
• To log and analyze the linguistic standardization processes.
• To observe and describe their particular mode of action and interaction.

The purpose of language planning is to ensure the development of a language in harmony with society, science and technology in order that there are no gaps between them.

Structured Approach to Terminology

As with most larger-scale activities, the efforts must be organized and consistent. For these reasons, a structured approach to terminology is vital. If there are no structured ways of recording terms and performing terminology work, the work will become as confusing as the terminology it seeks to record.

Technical Writing

Depending on the organization or the publication, a technical writer may be required to use a specific terminology. For example, if you work for Caterpillar, you may be required to write using controlled language, which means that there may be words that you are not allowed to use at all, and that there are some terms you must always use to designate a particular concept. Deviation from these rules and the established terminology could mean losing your job. In these cases, a data bank of the terminology (with entries in it flagged as either obligatory, acceptable or forbidden) can be a great productivity boon to technical writers. They would be able to consult it as an authoritative source and conform as they write with less hassle than would be needed to review and correct unacceptable terminology at the revision stage.

Localization

Terminology localization is the adaptation of terminology to a target language and culture, usually to meet the needs of specific markets. To help you localize better, terminology databases need to be able to indicate different usage depending on different locales and levels of language, even within a language. For example, geographic notes on concept entries could indicate that a word is used to designate a concept in French in Switzerland, but that the concept is represented by a different term elsewhere. Being able to flag terms as standardized, preferred, or forbidden is also useful. It is at the forefront of software, Web site and translation localization and internationalization.