The Quantitative Analysis of the Dynamics and Structure of Terminologies

The dynamics and systematicity of terminology: this book addresses these essential and intriguing aspects of terminology, by using quantitative methodologies which have been underutilized in the field to date. Through the analysis of the Japanese terminologies of six domains and with special reference to the dynamic behaviour and the status of borrowed and native morphemes, the book reveals: (a) how borrowed and native morphemes contribute to the construction of these terminologies, and how these contributions are likely to change as the terminologies grow; (b) how borrowed and native morphemes contribute to the systematicity or systematic representation of conceptual systems; and (c) how borrowed and native morphemes are related to each other and to what extent they are mixed in constructing terminologies. It also examines the epistemological implications of applying these quantitative methodologies, which leads back to such essential questions as the relationship between terminology as a whole and individual terms and what we understand terms to be when we talk about the growth of terminologies. The book should be of interest to a wide audience, including theoretical terminologists, terminographers, quantitative linguists, computational linguists, lexicologists and lexicographers.

Juan C. Sager, University of Manchester:
Besides its linguistic value this study makes an important contribution to the history and development of science and technology in Japan. [...] Besides its intrinsic value for the closer understanding of Japanese terminology, the book makes a significant contribution to the methodology of quantitative analysis of languages in general.