ARCHIVED Foreword

 

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Over the course of many years, the Government of Canada’s Translation Bureau has had the opportunity to establish and improve the methodology used to carry out terminology research and standardization work and to develop the TERMIUM Plus^® data bank to store, manage and distribute the results of this work. By collaborating with other participants in the language industries throughout the world, we have contributed to the establishment of terminology principles and methods that are recognized internationally, and have ensured that our methods reflect them.

The importance of correct terminology to accurate and effective communication in special languages has become increasingly obvious in that time, as has the need to standardize the terminology used by groups of individuals and organizations with common interests. We began to look for ways to share the knowledge we have gained about the terminology standardization process with Canadian federal public servants and with other groups seeking to establish consistent terminology usage at the national and international levels, and decided to prepare a tutorial.

Happily for us, the possibility of offering self-study courses on-line through the Internet was evolving just as we were considering tutorial delivery options. The Canadian federal administration and, in particular, the department of Public Works and Government Services Canada are major proponents of e-learning in its various forms. The Translation Bureau is fortunate to belong to such a forward-looking administration, which is among the leaders in e-government. We are pleased and proud to be able to offer you this on-line, interactive tutorial in terminology, thanks to our administration’s support of e-learning and a very fruitful collaborative effort between the public and private sectors.

The tutorial’s purpose is to give you an overview of terminology principles, methods and tools and to guide you in the process of terminology standardization so that you will feel at ease when called upon to contribute to consistent terminology usage in your organization. We hope that you will find both the contents and the delivery method useful, interesting and even fun.

Francine Kennedy
President and CEO
Translation Bureau
Public Works and Government Services Canada