Christian Galinski at 80: A Pillar of Terminology Studies and Global Communication

Klaus-Dirk Schmitz224 Christian Galinski at 80: A Pillar of Terminology Studies and Global Communication doi.org/10.35321/term31-11 Christian Galinski at 80: A Pillar of Terminology Studies and Global Communication Christianui Galinskiui - 80: terminologijos irpasaulinėskomunikacijosramstis KLAUS-DIRK SCHMITZ TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences) INTRODUCTION Thefieldofterminologyisintegraltoeffectivecommunicationacrossdisciplines, languages, and borders. The principles of terminology studies aredesignedtoensurethattermsanddefinitionsareusedconsistently and accurately, facilitating mutual understanding in a globalized world. AttheheartofthisdisciplinestandsChristianGalinski,whoseworkover thepastseveraldecadeshassignificantlyinfluencedthedevelopmentand propagation of terminology studies, standardization and cooperation. As Galinskicelebrateshis80thbirthday,itispertinenttoreflectonhisvast contributionstothisfield,whichhaveleftanindeliblemarkonbothacademic and practical domains. CHRISTIAN GALINSKI: A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY Born in 1944, Christian Galinski grew up in a post-war Europe, where the needforclearandprecisecommunicationwasmorecriticalthanever,as the continent geared up to rebuild itself in a multilingual, technical environment.HisacademicjourneystartedattheUniversityofBonn(Germany), where he studied Japanese, Chinese and communication. After severalyearsinJapan,hestartedhisfirstbusinessasaJapanesetranslator inVienna.Thisexperienceandhisextensivebackgroundinlinguistics, communication studies and information science laid a strong foundation forhisfutureworkinthefieldofterminology. 225Terminologija | 2024 | 31 Inthelate1970s,GalinskibecamedeeplyinvolvedwithInfoterm,the International Information Centre for Terminology, based in Vienna. Infoterm was founded in 1971 under the auspices of UNESCO after the long-timeeffortsofEugenWüster,anAustrianlinguist-industrialist.The mission of Infoterm was to function as an information and documentation centretosupportinternationalcollaborationinthefieldofterminology. In 1986, Christian Galinski was appointed as the director of Infoterm, a position that he holds until today. Infotermevolvedfromthattimeontoaninternationalinformationand documentation centre for terminology, established a huge library with a largerangeofpublicationsrelatedtoterminology,andpublishedseveral bibliographies,suchasBiblioTerm(BIT)andStandardTerm(STT). In the late 1980s, Christian Galinski was instrumental in the formation of TermNet, a membership-based professional organization uniting universitiesandotherprofessionalorganizationsfromallovertheworld topromotetraining,exchangeinformation,andprovideprofessionalcertification.Asalong-timeExecutiveSecretaryofTermNet,hiseffortsto conduct workshops and training seminars throughout Eastern Europe and beyondhavenotonlybenefitedtheprofessionbuthavealsocontributedto globalunderstandingandunification. GALINSKI’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF TERMINOLOGY ChristianGalinski’sinfluenceinthedevelopmentofterminologystudies, terminology standardization and terminology cooperation is multifaceted. Hisworkhasbeeninstrumentalinadvancingtheoreticalframeworksand practical applications alike. Galinskihasbeenakeyfigureinthedevelopmentofinternationalstandards for terminology. He has been the secretary and committee manager ofISO/TC37“LanguageandTerminology”fordecadesandadrivingforce formanyoftheTC37standards.ChristianGalinskiisstillveryactivein severalsubcommitteesandworkinggroups,currentlyinanewworking item about concept-based microcontent entities. Besides his engagement in Infoterm and TermNet, Christian Galinski also facilitated the foundation of the International Institute for TerminologyResearch(InternationalesInstitutfürTerminologieforschung–IITF) andactivelysupportedthecreationofotherpertinentassociations,suchas Klaus-Dirk Schmitz226 Christian Galinski at 80: A Pillar of Terminology Studies and Global Communication theGermanTerminologyAssociation(DeutscherTerminologie-TagDTT) andtheEuropeanAssociationforTerminology(EAFT).Twoprimaryaccomplishments are worthy of note: –During the late 1980s, attention was drawn to the relationship between terminology and knowledge engineering. In 1986, the AssociationforTerminologyandKnowledgeTransfer(Gesellschaft für Terminologie und Wissenstransfer, GTW)wasfoundedinTrier,withvast supportfromInfoterm(ChristianGalinskiandGerhardBudin).The firstconferenceonTerminologyandKnowledgeEngineering(TKE), whichtookplacein1987inTrier,attractedseveralhundredexperts fromvariousrelateddisciplinessuchasterminology,knowledgeorganisation,classification,andcomputerscience.Intheensuingyears, TKEconferenceswereheldeverythreeyearsinTrier(1990),Cologne (1993),Vienna(1996),andInnsbruck(1999).Afterfurthereventsin Nancy,DublinandMadrid,TKEandGTWweremovedin2005to Copenhagen,whereGTWwasdissolvedin2022. Christian Galinski and Klaus-Dirk Schmitz at the Infoterm office at the University of Vienna (2012) 227Terminologija | 2024 | 31 Christian Galinski studying the programme of the Terminology Summer School 2017 in Cologne –During the 3rd International Congress on Terminology and Knowledge Engineering-TKE’93inCologne,Galinskiconvenedexpertsinthe fieldofterminologytoestablishahigh-levelGerman-languageterminologyinitiative.In1994,theCouncilforGerman-languageTerminology(RatfürDeutschsprachigeTerminologie,RaDT)wasestablishedat the inaugural meeting on the premises of the German Commission for UNESCOinBonn.AsaninitiativeoftheGerman,AustrianandSwiss UNESCOCommissions,theRaDTisanexpertgroup(approximately 25 members) comprising German language organizations, associations, governmentagencies,businessandeducationalgroupswhichdealwith terminological issues, applications and curricula. The group’s goal is to represent all organisations concerned with terminology from all German-language regions, including Luxembourg, South Tyrol and Belgium.ItsobjectivesaretoincreaseawarenessofterminologyinGerman language countries, to promote cooperation and collaboration in the fieldofterminology,tocoordinateandsupportterminologicalactivities and to create, disseminate and help implement guidelines for terminology policy and strategy. Since 1994, RaDT has been meeting twice a yearatvariouslocationsinGerman-speakingareastoexchangeinformation and produce publications, and Christian Galinski has remained anactivememberfromthebeginninguntiltoday. Klaus-Dirk Schmitz228 Christian Galinski at 80: A Pillar of Terminology Studies and Global Communication Galinski has been at the forefront of integrating technology with terminology management. He has championed the use of digital tools to create, store, and disseminate terminology databases, facilitating easier access to specialknowledge.Irememberhis“mantra”duringthe1990s,thateverybodywouldsoonhaveapocketknowledgedatabase(Taschenwissensbank) wheretheycouldlookupeverything,includingmultilingualterminology; today we see with smartphones, internet access all-around, Google, machinetranslationandAItechnologies,thatGalinski’svisionhasbecome reality.ChristianGalinskiwasalsooneofthefirstexpertsinthefieldof terminologytotalkaboutinteroperabilityamongdifferenttypesofknowledge resources and not only multilingual but also multimodal accessibility of content. AsChristianGalinskicelebrateshis80thbirthday,thesignificanceof his contributions to terminology studies, terminology cooperation, terminologystandardizationandglobalcommunicationcannotbeoverstated. His work has laid the groundwork for much of what we take for granted in today’sinterconnectedworld.Fromdevelopinginternationalstandardsto promoting multilingualism and integrating technology with terminology, Galinski’slegacyisoneofunwaveringdedicationtoimprovingcommunicationacrossalldomainsofhumanendeavour. Lookingahead,thefieldofterminologywillundoubtedlycontinueto evolve,butitwilldosoonthefoundationthatChristianGalinskihasso meticulouslybuilt.Hislife’sworkservesasaninspirationtoallwhoseek toimproveunderstandinginourincreasinglycomplexworld,andhisinfluencewillbefeltforgenerationstocome. Gauta 2024-08-13 Klaus-Dirk Schmitz THKöln(UniversityofAppliedSciences) Claudiusstr. 1 50678 Köln E-mail [email protected]