As we know, modern technology allows all nations to communicate with the peoples of the world in their own language by reasonably arranging language data, creating national terminological databases, having translation dictionaries etc. Many European countries already have national terminology databases, term banks, some also searchable through joint European databases. A national term bank can spread and unify use of terminology within a country but also facilitate international communication. Therefore, in order to put Georgian language next to European languages, it is important to create a well-established, coordinated Georgian terminology database. The creation of the Georgian Term Bank in Georgia started only in 2015 and it is being done by Arn. Chikobava Institute of Linguistics with co-operation from several other state institutions. However, the material has not been published on the Internet yet.
We talked to the President of the European Association for Terminology (EAFT) – Henrik Nilsson, who visited Georgia in 2018 and participated in the International Conference on Terminology and there got acquainted with the work of Georgian terminologists. In 2021, he presented an online paper at a second conference.
- What do you think is needed for developing national terminology?
As we get more and more global, we also tend to realize the importance of the national. Relating this to terminology would mean an openness towards the development of new terms in various domains, but also recognizing the need to sometimes adapt and handle this inflow of terms on the national, regional and local level. The raised awareness of the importance of terminology in important domains of society, e.g. healthcare and social services, has also underlined that constant work needs to be done and terminologists trained to work alongside other professions involved in information management and digitalization of society’s various domains. Terminology is not always being taught as a subject in its own right at universities while, more and more, there is a need for competency in terminology in various situations. This is contradictory, and the profession of terminologist needs to be more recognized and prioritized. Terminological resources are being collected and made more accessible, but still more and smarter tools are needed.
- What can you tell us about the proper conduct of terminological work in general?
Since its beginnings, terminology as a discipline has developed a great deal as has its various practices. The GTT, General Theory of Terminology, and the various other directions, e.g., socioterminology, communicative theory of terminology, frame-based terminology, have all helped to shape and develop the discipline. Still, more work on the practice of terminology work is needed, especially in the private sector. The international standards – and their constant development – are very important, but more work is needed to adapt the standards to various settings and situations. So, saying what is the “proper” way to conduct terminology work is difficult, and looking at the European terminological landscape, there is a great variation in practice and tools.
- How important is it for a country and for a language to create a term bank?
More and more, society is becoming digital and technical, which could mean we are seeing a less clear-cut demarcation of language for general purposes (LGP) and special purposes (LSP). Considering this – and that terminological resources still are not as commonplace as collections (glossaries, corpora, language banks) of general language – it is, and will be, all the more important that a repository of terminologies is part of a country’s language repertoire. The implications of such a term bank are manifold and especially useful to conquer domain loss and promote the use of national terminology in higher education and in society overall. The amount of special language present in other types of language resources could also be raised.
- What would you say about terminological work in Georgia?
I have learnt that a lot of work has been done during many years, and especially in recent years, work has been accelerating with the translation of important terminology standards, the adherence to European associations, e.g., EAFT and Infoterm, co-operations in various terminological areas, the establishment of national and international conferences on terminology as well as a journal, and the development of a national term bank and of terminology as an academic discipline. These are all important and necessary steps. When I visited Georgia, I was thoroughly impressed – and I was even invited to talk about it on morning television, which is quite something in the terminology world!
Lia Karosanidze
TSU Arnold Chikobava Institute of Linguistics