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9. A method for analysing the dynamics of naming from a monolingual and multilingual perspective

  • Sabela Fernández-Silva , Judit Freixa and Teresa Cabré
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Dynamics and Terminology
This chapter is in the book Dynamics and Terminology

Abstract

Today, term variation is commonly accepted to be a widespread phenomenon in specialised communication. Although some degree of arbitrariness is inevitable, the expert’s choice of a term variant is generally motivated to some extent, reflecting the way he or she views a concept. This work presents a methodology for describing the conceptually motivated patterns of term variation in a corpus of special language use. This method – which analyses the conceptual information displayed on the term’s form – represents an attempt to provide a framework which accounts for the flexibility of concepts and conceptual structures in a systematic way, adopting a perspective which is relevant for both monolingual and multilingual studies. Using data from a bilingual (French and Galician) corpus of texts related to coastal fishing and aquaculture, the applicability of the analysis method is illustrated with a description of the variation patterns pertaining to terms designating human entity concepts within the corpus. Furthermore, this study points out common trends and differences across languages. The linguistic differences are related to the culture-boundness of specialised knowledge and its terminology.

Abstract

Today, term variation is commonly accepted to be a widespread phenomenon in specialised communication. Although some degree of arbitrariness is inevitable, the expert’s choice of a term variant is generally motivated to some extent, reflecting the way he or she views a concept. This work presents a methodology for describing the conceptually motivated patterns of term variation in a corpus of special language use. This method – which analyses the conceptual information displayed on the term’s form – represents an attempt to provide a framework which accounts for the flexibility of concepts and conceptual structures in a systematic way, adopting a perspective which is relevant for both monolingual and multilingual studies. Using data from a bilingual (French and Galician) corpus of texts related to coastal fishing and aquaculture, the applicability of the analysis method is illustrated with a description of the variation patterns pertaining to terms designating human entity concepts within the corpus. Furthermore, this study points out common trends and differences across languages. The linguistic differences are related to the culture-boundness of specialised knowledge and its terminology.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Dynamics and terminology 1
  5. Part one: legal terminology
  6. 1. Multilingualism and legal integration in Europe 17
  7. 2. Capturing dynamism in legal terminology 43
  8. 3. The harmonization of legal cultures, concepts and terms 61
  9. 4. Cross-domain disharmonization. A case study with adventure activities in legal and tourist domains in Spain 79
  10. 5. Le vocabulaire juridique en sängö 99
  11. 6. The translation of legal texts as culturemes 111
  12. Part two: scientific and technical terminology
  13. 7. Specialized knowledge dynamics 135
  14. 8. The dynamics of terminology in short-term diachrony 159
  15. 9. A method for analysing the dynamics of naming from a monolingual and multilingual perspective 183
  16. Part three: business and financial terminology
  17. 10. The dynamics of accounting terms in a globalized environment 215
  18. 11. Concept change, term dynamics and culture-boundness in economic-administrative domains 235
  19. Part four: Terminology planning: Some challenges
  20. 12. The dynamics of terms and meaning in the domain of machining terminology in French and English 259
  21. 13. La mesure de la variation terminologique comme indice de l'évolution des connaissances dans un environnement bilingue 281
  22. Index 303
https://doi.org/10.1075/tlrp.16.10fer

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Dynamics and terminology 1
  5. Part one: legal terminology
  6. 1. Multilingualism and legal integration in Europe 17
  7. 2. Capturing dynamism in legal terminology 43
  8. 3. The harmonization of legal cultures, concepts and terms 61
  9. 4. Cross-domain disharmonization. A case study with adventure activities in legal and tourist domains in Spain 79
  10. 5. Le vocabulaire juridique en sängö 99
  11. 6. The translation of legal texts as culturemes 111
  12. Part two: scientific and technical terminology
  13. 7. Specialized knowledge dynamics 135
  14. 8. The dynamics of terminology in short-term diachrony 159
  15. 9. A method for analysing the dynamics of naming from a monolingual and multilingual perspective 183
  16. Part three: business and financial terminology
  17. 10. The dynamics of accounting terms in a globalized environment 215
  18. 11. Concept change, term dynamics and culture-boundness in economic-administrative domains 235
  19. Part four: Terminology planning: Some challenges
  20. 12. The dynamics of terms and meaning in the domain of machining terminology in French and English 259
  21. 13. La mesure de la variation terminologique comme indice de l'évolution des connaissances dans un environnement bilingue 281
  22. Index 303
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