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Lecture 5. Part 1. TERM RESEARCH. What is term research?. Terminological research that is conducted on individual terms or concepts is referred to as term research . In The Vocabulary of Terminology, Ottawa: Terminology Directorate, Secretary of State, 1983, a distinction is made between:
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Lecture 5. Part 1 TERM RESEARCH
What is term research? Terminological research that is conducted on individual terms or concepts is referred to as term research. In The Vocabulary of Terminology, Ottawa: Terminology Directorate, Secretary of State, 1983, a distinction is made between: • single-term research, which is carried out on an individual term or concept, and • multiple-term research, which is carried out on a group of terms or concepts specific to one or more subject fields.
Steps in Term Research 1. Discussion with the Client 2 Checking the Concept 3. Consulting a Specialist 4. Researching the Solution
1. Discussion with the Client • Ask the client to specify the concept, the field to which it belongs, the situation in which its designation will be used, the source-language term in case of bilingual q., and any measures he or she may have taken to find a solution. (Be tactful – not all clients understand what term research involves and they may be taken aback by all these questions)
2. Checking the Concept • The next step is to verify the information the client has supplied. If the client is working between two languages and has provided the source-language term, the term and its definition should be checked in general or specialized source-language dictionaries. This enables the terminologist to supplement the sometimes scant information provided by the client or detect any discrepancies between the client's explanation and the dictionary definition.
3. Consulting a Specialist • If the terminologist does not know the source-language term, the specialist can confirm the concept, provide further useful information, and suggest sources in which the term may be found. If the terminologist does know the source-language term and has found discrepancies between the client's explanation and the dictionary definition, the specialist can usually provide clarification, and thus help keep the research on track.
4. Researching the Solution • Once the terminologist has an adequate understanding of the concept, he/she can begin to look for the appropriate expression. In the case of monolingual research, the basic characteristics of the concept (i.e., the properties that describe the object to which a concept refers – nature, function, material, shape etc) should be analysed to determine which dictionary or encyclopaedia entry, or section of a reference work, is most likely to deal with the subject.
Example • Somebody from the marine security division is writing an accident report and needs to know what the rotating light on a lighthouse is called. The concept may be analysed as follows:
Field: navigation • Nature: light • Character: rotating • Location: lighthouse • Purpose: marine security
This type of light is only one of the many lighting devices used in navigation, but is a major component of a lighthouse • the logical place to begin is under lighthouse in the encyclopaedia. The entry provides a brief treatment of lighthouse and refers the reader to Public Works, which includes a section on lighthouses and their illuminants, and contains the answer to the q.: flashing light
Another example (A solution can be suggested through analogy with similar situations.) A translator working on a text describing the many and varied advantages of buying tomorrow's telephone system today comes up against the expression coupure d'appel en attente. This function enables the telephone user to eliminate the call waiting tone during selected phone calls.
No English equivalent. Yet, there are some other functions based on the same principle, e.g., coupure de sonnerie (ringing disable) and coupure selective de sonnerie (selective ringing disable), where coupure is rendered as disable. • Since call waiting tone is an established term in telecommunications parlance, it would be possible to suggest call waiting tone disable to the translator as an equivalent to the elliptical expression coupure d'appel en attente. • It is important, however, to stress to the client that this is merely a suggestion and not a documented solution.
5. Checking the solution • Before the client is given a solution which has been found in bilingual terminological or lexicographic sources, check it in monolingual works to make sure it represents the concept in question. If the works consulted do not confirm that the term found covers the concept, a specialist can always be consulted. Once the term has been checked and its suitability determined, the solution can be given to the client.
6. Presenting the solution When presenting the research findings to the client, the terminologist should be prepared to: - justify the solution, - name the source in which it was found, - establish the credibility of the specialist consulted, and - offer any other relevant information. If the research proves inconclusive, a solution can be suggested through analogy with similar situations. (See above.)
Why Consult General Works, then Specialised? In term research, it is advisable to consult general documentation first, then more specialized. This is primarily because of the time constraints imposed on term research and because of the availability of specialized documentation. General dictionaries and encyclopedias are intended for the public at large, and are thus quicker and easier to consult. They provide all the meanings of each headword and often give an overview of the concept, which can help orient the research. (But they don’t offer the same level of technical detail or rigour as specialized material.)
Lecture 5. Part 2 SUBJECT FIELD RESEARCH
Stages of Subject-Field Research 1. Determining the Objectives 2. Estimating the Resources 3. Becoming Familiar with the Field 4. Selecting the Documentation 5. Preparing a Breakdown of the Subject Field 6. Scanning for Terms
1. Determining the Objectives • The starting point of any subject-field work is to determine • the purpose, • target audience and • scope of the research in conjunction with the client.
Example • When the research department approached the corporation's terminology division about compiling a French-English, English-French vocabulary of audience measurement terms within a one-year period, the purpose, target audience and scope of the undertaking were clear: to provide all those involved in audience research - managers, researchers, and support staff - with a vocabulary of the terms that describe the entire measurement process and underlying principles.
2. Estimating the Resources • Human resources: How many terminologists are needed to conduct the research? Is support staff available to key in terminological data? Are one or more subject-field specialists able to participate in the various stages of the work? • Documentary resources: Are original documents (not translations) available in the source and target languages? Are vocabularies or glossaries available in the subject field or in related fields? Are computerized bibliographic databases accessible? Do terminology banks contain material on the subject field? • Financial resources: What are the financial resources required? Are sufficient funds available?
Note: • After the terminologist and client have determined the human and documentary resources needed for the project, a quote specifying the various costs should be drawn up for client approval. The quote should provide a breakdown of the costs of acquiring the documentation, the number of person-hours required for the various stages of the work terminologists, specialists and support staff - and the cost of preparing the finished product.
3. Becoming Familiar with the Field • One of the best ways of doing so is to read a concise work on the subject, intended for the uninitiate. This type of work will provide an overview of the subject, indicate its knowledge structure, and discuss the basic concepts to be investigated during the research proper. General reference works which treat the subject as a whole, such as introductory textbooks, encyclopedia entries and general articles, are also very useful. • Next (seminar) class: Introduction to Genetics
4. Selecting the Documentation Documentation includes: • Encyclopedias; • monographs and technical and academic manuals; • proceedings of congresses and symposia; • specialized and popularized periodicals; • brochures and publicity flyers; • dictionaries, vocabularies, and documentary, terminology, and linguistic databases; • Internet sites of the best content providers in the area of specialization.
4.1 Locating the Documentation The research documentation can include textbooks, handbooks and standards published by national standards associations like ASRO (<CEN), the CSA (Canada Standards Association) and ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). Documents can be tracked down through manual or automated bibliographies at public, corporate or university libraries, ordered from publishers, or acquired from specialized bookstores. The assistance of documentalists, librarians and subject-field specialists can prove invaluable.
The quality of the terminology researched depends on the quality of the documentation from which it is extracted. Thus, the quality of documents and their relevance to the research are more important than the quantity. For monolingual subject-field research, three or four basic works and a specialized dictionary should enable the terminologist to meet the research objectives quite adequately, even if it means consulting supplementary sources to fill in any gaps.
This guideline also applies to bilingual subject-field research. Three or four basic works in the source language should enable the terminologist to gather most of the source-language terminology. More works are needed in the target language, since the concepts of a field are often classified differently from one language to another. Six or eight carefully selected works should be sufficient for locating most of the target language equivalents. Secondary works - specialized source and target-language dictionaries, and specialized bilingual dictionaries, vocabularies and glossaries - may be useful for checking information.
4.2 Evaluating the quality of the documentation To determine the quality of documentation, the terminologist should evaluate the credibility of the author, andthe importance of the work in the subject field. The documents ultimately selected must be original-language documents, not translations, and should include works from the main geographic areas in which the source and target languages are spoken.
List of evaluation criteria • the publication date; • the author's credentials; • the structure of the contents; • the presence of an up-to-date bibliography; • the presence of an index of concepts dealt with; • the presence of a glossary that defines the concepts; • the presence of a table of contents. (Cf. The Pavel Terminology Tutorial 3.2.3. Do the final exercise.)
5. Preparing a Breakdown of the Subject Field dividing the subject field into subfields and identifying any related fields the research may touch upon. The breakdown includes two parts: Øthe first places the research subject in the broader fields of which it is a part; Øthe second serves to structure the research, and categorize the concepts according to their intrinsic or extrinsic relationships (see Lecture 4: TERM ANDCONCEPT).
Example:A subject-field breakdown for audience measurement Two parts: ØThe 1st shows the general fields to which the research subject belongs: Communications > Broadcasting > Audience Measurement ØThe 2nd divides the research subject into subfields. Audience Measurement: • Types of Studies • Sampling • Measurement Tools • Data Gathering
Only the lower three levels of the breakdown - broadcasting, audience measurement, and the appropriate subfield, e.g. types of studies, sampling, or measurement tools, as the case may be – need to be indicated on the terminology record. The actual scope of a subject field becomes clear only after close study. As the research progresses, the terminologist may need to adjust the breakdown, eliminating some subfields that prove to be of little importance and adding others that prove useful.
6. Scanning for Terms The main objective of scanning the selected documentation is to identify the terms and concepts specific to the research subject. • Generally speaking, it is wiser to include too many terms at the beginning than not enough.
7. Conclusion In subject-field research (as in bicycle training), it is important • to know precisely where you are going, • to map out the route, and • to be properly equipped.
