What is a term ?

1. Whatis a term? A term can beconsidered the linguisticrepresentationof a conceptwithin a specificfieldofknowledge. It can consistof a single word (monolexicalterminologicalunit/simpleterm), or ofseveralwords (polilexicalterminologicalunit/complexterm). Standardizedterms are usedtoavoid or at least reduce possiblemisunderstandings. In fact, it is clearly defined what concept is represented by which term, and what the definition of that concept is. A concept is language independent, whereas a term is language dependent. Though Table and tavolo are different terms, they represent the same concept.

2. Generallanguagetextsvsspeciallanguagetexts Generallanguagetexts: wordsselectedmeaningfully and combinedlogicallytoformeverydaylanguagediscourse. Speciallanguagetexts: terms=wordsassignedtoconceptsused in speciallanguages (subject-field or domain-relatedtexts) Termsextractedfromspeciallanguagetextsrepresent a limitednumberofpartsofspeech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phraseological material are combinedwithgenerallanguageconnective material to produce subject-specificdiscourse.

3. A concept can be represented by an existing term in one language, but a second language may lack the term for the same concept. For instance, academic degrees are the result of varying academic systems around the world. So the concept can be understood, though a language may have no corresponding term to represent it.

4. Cluestoidentify a term The word or combination of words is consistently associated with the same concept, within a given domain. The word or combination of words is consistently used within a particular subject field. The combination of words is relatively lexicalized. The word or combination of words recurs in documentation. The word or combination of words is set off by typographical devices such as italics, boldface print, or quotation marks. The word or combination of words is preceded by words like known as, called.

5. Cluestoidentify a term Terms are generally nouns, but they may also be adjectives, verbs, adverbs, or derived phrasal compounds. The word seems to have a specific meaning within the subject field and is not part of the general vocabulary. The word or combination of words may have synonyms or abbreviations. The word or combination of words is used in opposition to or in contrast to another term. The word or combination of words tends to co-occur repeatedly with the same noun, verb, or adjective (collocates).

6. Cluestoidentify a term simple terms have a tendency to expand into complex ones in order to designate more and more subordinated concepts: control →controller → graphics controller → AGP30-compliant graphics controller

7. Cluestoidentify a term There is a stable association between a term and a concept, a concept and a term. This stability may be called “degree of lexicalization”. Its lack leads to cognitive fuzziness, as in polysemy and synonymy. This stability is preserved in the single-concept principle for recording terminological data (one concept-one record). The single-concept principle implies that a terminology record should deal with one concept only and that all data relating to a given concept should be consolidated on one record.

8. Phraseology and phraseology extraction Information about the underlying concepts may be found in the phraseologisms related to the terminological unit. Verbs may reveal some functions and processes of a given concept; co-occurring adjectives may reveal subordinated concepts.; Adverbs associated with a terminological verb phrase may illustrate the specific manner in which an action is performed.

9. Phraseology Germanic and Slavic languages combine word elements in abstract sequences Front-wheel-drive/Rear-wheel-drive vehicle Though each separate words can be defined independently, the multi-word term designates one concept representing more than the sum of its constituent parts. Romance languages use explicit logical linking elements (prepositions) to form multiword structures. Veicolo a trazioneanteriore/posteriore Voiture à traction avant/arrière (or véhicule à propulsion) Vehículo con traccióndelantera/trasera (coll. propulsióntrasera) (Ref. Wright-Budin, HandbookofTerminology Management, vol. 1)

10. Phraseology A noun + verb statement may become a terminological phrase e.g. the dynamic system organizes itself = self-organizing dynamic system (sistema dinamico auto-organizzato) Collecting and recording co-occurrents helps translators recreate authentic usage of specialized terminology in a translated technical text.