The term in Context (at the Level of Word Combinations)

ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

KEYWORDS: term, context, word combination, corpus, language of science, semantic relations

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

A term is not only a central term in Terminology, but also a unit of metalanguage. If we regard a term as a linguistic term, its use in the language of other sciences can be understood as a metalinguistic comment¹. What else distinguishes the use of the term term?

The object of this article is the Terminology term term in context. Context can be understood in various ways, narrowly or broadly. For example, the context of a word (in this case, a term) may be a word combination or a sentence (Vaskelienė 2007: 89). The article examines the use of a term at the level of word combinations, that is, it analyzes the term’s syntagmatic relations. It analyzes the semantics of word combinations containing the term term. It identifies the semantic types of combinations that include this term, as well as the main patterns of its use. In this way, the article investigates which features and properties of the concept “term” are explicit in context. This is the aim of the article.

Primary source

The research material was collected from the Corpus of Lithuanian Academic Language² (Corpus Academicum Lithuanicum – CorALit, accessible online http://coralit.lt),), compiled at Vilnius University. It is a specialized synchronic corpus of written Lithuanian academic language. The corpus covers texts from all fields—humanities, social sciences, physical sciences, biomedicine, and technology.

¹ Metalinguistic units are analyzed in detail in Kazimieras Župerka’s monograph (2012). K. Župerka classifies linguistic terms as metalinguistic lexical units.

² From the publicly accessible online version.

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(classified by the compilers according to the Classification of Scientific Fields, approved by Order No. ISAK-2418 of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania, dated 18 December 2007). According to the corpus compilers, it now comprises about 9 million words. The corpus website lists the following types of texts collected: monograph, textbook, study book, teaching aid; article; review; book review; conference abstract; chronicle; preface (of a journal/collection); professional information; research report; abstract of a doctoral dissertation (a somewhat broader list is provided in Usonienė et al. 2008: 106). It may therefore be assumed that the corpus represents the language of science through various types of texts (for more on the Corpus of Lithuanian Scientific Language, see http://coralit.lt; Usonienė et al. 2008).

The corpus of scientific language was selected for the study because the actual use of terms should be examined in scientific texts in particular (the situation would be different if the object of the study were the determinologization of terms)³. This article describes the use of the terminological term term in scientific texts. The corpus reflects contemporary Lithuanian scientific language—it comprises texts published in 1999–2009.

Selection of Material and Research Procedure

First, all occurrences of the word term in the corpus were identified. Then, after reviewing the contexts, the meanings of the word term were established, and those concordance lines in which term was used with other meanings—not relevant to this study—were excluded⁴. It should be noted that the meaning of term of interest here is the most frequent one in the scientific language corpus under study (447 lemma occurrences, accounting for 87 percent of all cases). It is used in this sense in texts from all five of the aforementioned scientific fields.

With respect to meaning, the concordance lines suitable for the study were grouped according to the types of phrases (subject, object, attributive, circumstantial, predicative) that term occurs in. The semantic types of phrases are distinguished on the basis of the classification of word combinations presented in Vitas Labutis’s Lietuvių kalbos sintaksėje (1998)⁵. Term in the same line often belongs not

³ The use of linguistic terms, including the term term, in journalistic writing has been studied by K. Župerka (see Župerka 2000). He found that term is used in journalistic writing “with its precise terminological meaning” (Župerka 2000: 177).

⁴ For example: “A party to the contract was not required to perform the contract after its specified t e r m, if, owing to the delay in performance, it was no longer possible to achieve the purpose for which the contract had been concluded.”; “Scenarios, frames, schemas, and the formulation of a task in positive and negative t e r m s, etc., can be assigned to the context of proof.”

⁵ Sujungiamuoju ryšiu susietos žodžių formos, remiantis V. Labučiu (1998), junginiais nelaikomos.

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a single phrase; for example, at the same time it may belong not only to object phrases but also to attributive phrases⁶. There are sentences in which term occurs more than once. As a result, the same sentences (one sentence was taken from each concordance line, although the largest possible span of a concordance line—300 printed characters—was selected when collecting the data) appear in several places in the classification. The data were managed using an MS Excel spreadsheet. Only a qualitative, not a quantitative, study of the use of the term term was undertaken.

It can be emphasized at the outset that it is difficult to avoid subjectivity in studies of semantics. Phrases containing the term term can also be classified differently according to meaning. Some items are treated and classified somewhat differently here than is customary in grammatical studies. For example, in a terminological context, grammatically different phrases such as English term (descriptive phrase) and term of the English language (possessive phrase) are placed in the same group on the basis of meaning. Meaning can be determined with the help of transformation and substitution methods.

Before discussing the term term in the corpus, it is useful to briefly review examples of this word’s use in lexicography.

Examples of the use of the word term in monolingual lexicography

The word term, according to the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (LKŽe), has three meanings: “1. a word or phrase denoting precisely a concept in a particular science, technology, or art; 2. an element of a syllogism’s premise; 3. a set time.” In The Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian (DŽ₆), the first meaning is marked linguistics and is defined somewhat more broadly as “a word or phrase denoting precisely a concept in a particular science, technology, art, religion, or other field”⁷. Sentences illustrating the meanings given in dictionaries are considered microcontexts (see Vaskelienė 2007: 81). From the usage of term in LKŽe (here and henceforth, only its first meaning, i.e. a term in terminology, is meant)

⁶ Complex word combinations and chains of word combinations (their concepts in linguistics are set aside) are, where semantically possible, divided into simple combinations. Extended postpositive modifiers, following the work of the researcher of attributive combinations Laimutė Bučienė (Bunevičiūtė), are not considered part of a word combination—one of the most important features of a word combination is its integrity as a syntagmatic unit, whereas in the case of extended postpositive modifiers, intonation divides that integrity (Bučienė 1998: 31).

⁷ Regina Kvašytė has reviewed definitions of the linguistic term term in dictionaries and in linguistic and terminological literature (see Kvašytė 2013).

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As can be seen from the examples and the card index of additions to LKŽe (see LKIIS, as well as raštija.lt), term belongs to:

1) attributive combinations;

2) objective combinations;

3) subjective combinations.

1) In attributive combinations, term is either the head (a) or the dependent constituent (b). In the first case, the attribute identifies a subject area or topic—technology terms, terms of linguistics, kinship terms; terms of Christianity, family terms; it gives the name of the term—ethics term; Baltic term, humanism term; a feature associated with an action (along with a reference to the author, an evaluation, or a place)—terms [of linguistics] created by him, terms borrowed from other languages, terms coined in an unconventional way; time—new terms; place—international, or internationally adopted, terms (see 1.1.10); and a feature associated with meaning—the term [of humanism] in this sense. In general, this can be represented as follows:

(a) FIELD / TOPIC term, NAME term⁸, ACTION (+ AUTHOR, EVALUATION, PLACE) term, TIME term, PLACE term, MEANING term.

(b) In combinations such as dictionary of terms, the term Belarus, etc., term is the dependent constituent. A dictionary can be understood as a container (see 1.2.4).

Among the combinations in the examples presented on the cards of the LKŽ additions index, the term Belarus, the term Vilnius Region stand out (source: Zigmas Zinkevičius’s 1993 monograph Eastern Lithuania in the Past and Today), showing that place names are also considered terms. In general, this usage can be represented as term PLACE NAME. The question arises whether term is used here in a determinologized or broadened sense. A term is the name of a concept, whereas traditionally Lithuanian linguistics holds that place names do not denote concepts (see the LKE article on the term toponyms). As Kazimieras Gaivenis puts it vividly, “determinologization—the transformation of terms into ordinary words—is characterized by the fact that the determinologized term does not disappear, but merely puts out a new offshoot (an ordinary word) in another domain of usage” (Gaivenis 2014: 242). In the same place, K. Gaivenis mentions two types of determinologization

⁸ The expressions of the NAME term and FIELD / TOPIC term combinations may coincide; such combinations are ambiguous, cf. ethics term – *the term is ethics, *the term belongs to ethics.

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conditions: 1) a term must be widely used and known not only to specialists; 2) some of the semes of the term and the determinologized word must coincide. Both conditions are met by the terminological term terminas and terminas as a place name. In both usage cases, the generalization terminas NAME is appropriate. However, another question arises: is terminas in combination with a place name really an ordinary word, or does it nevertheless remain a term (with a different meaning)? Incidentally, proper names are treated in ISO terminology standards as objects of terminology work, as one type of designator. They are defined as verbal designators of individual concepts, distinguished from terms as designations of general concepts (see ISO 1087-1:2000)⁹.

2) In object combinations, terminas is the object: used a term, many terms, most terms; we find terms, the term was popularized (2 examples). Thus, terms can be used, found, popularized, and can also constitute a certain quantity.

3) In subjective combinations, terminas is the subject: terms vary and are of later origin; terms make it extremely difficult for the author to access, terms form the oldest layer of Slavicisms in the Lithuanian language.

TERMINAS L I E T U V I Ų M O K S L O K A L B O S T E K S T Y N E

1. Term in attributive combinations

Term in the research material often forms attributive combinations with specific terms, and in these combinations it is either the head (a) or the dependent constituent (b), e.g.: a) term of separation, “evacuation” term, term for primary matter, term for urinary tract infection (in general terms – X term); b) term collection, term pressure groups, term “tertiary isomelia,” term “fishery” (in general terms – term X), etc. In the examples from the first group (a), the term is characterized by its name (X), whereas in the examples from the second group, term is a secondary name for a specific term (X). In both cases, X is a specific term, generally speaking a name (a) NAME term, b) term NAME. The dependent constituent of the combinations in the first group is expressed by the genitive of the name, e.g.:

⁹ It may also be recalled that Jonas Klimavičius has written that “in Lithuanian, the meaning ‘word’ occurs for term only as a translation error” (Klimavičius 2002: 132).

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(1) “The term ‘integration’ expresses a possible threefold understanding of this process: integration as preparation, as the immediate process of uniting by overcoming obstacles and pursuing goals, and integration as a certain achieved state (Taljūnaitė 2005).”

(2) “In mathematical statistics, the term general population is often used instead of the term population¹⁰, and members of the population are sometimes called objects or elements.”

(3) “Later, the term logistics was used in various fields of activity, though most often in the military and transport sectors.”

(4) “In the latter cases, the concept of essayism is used in ways that conflict with genre conventions; therefore, this article, which discusses only manifestations of essayistic thought, will use the terms essayization and essayism.”

The combinations of the second group (b) are so-called attributive combinations of secondary designation (for more, see Bunevičiūtė-Bučienė 2001). Term is an apposition in them (at sentence level, an appositive), and the semantic relation of such combinations is characterization by the class of the object¹¹. In such cases, it is stated that a particular linguistic unit is a term, i.e. belongs to the class of terms. Term can stand for the entire combination. As L. Bučienė states, “in its syntactic function, an apposition duplicates the constituent it qualifies, but in terms of lexical meaning it is subordinate to that constituent, since it highlights one of its particular properties” (Bunevičiūtė-Bučienė 2001: 10).

From a pragmatic perspective, the attribute term is added because this makes it easier to incorporate a specific concept designation into the text, e.g.:

(5) “This article uses the term identity of information law when analyzing, from the perspective of information science, the definitions of branches of law that systematize the legal regulation of social information relations.”

(6) “Thus, the term ‘image’ is used in scientific literature in a variety of senses.”

(7) “Since we are examining the historical concept and system of evidence, the terms ‘evidence,’ ‘types of evidence,’ ‘system of evidence,’ and ‘hierarchy of evidence’ are used specifically to refer to forms of evidence (sources, means of proof).”

¹⁰ There is no italics in the corpus. The examples in the article are also presented without italics, since it is impossible to say precisely whether the terms were italicized in the original text. Detected typographical errors are corrected. Everything else is as in the corpus.

¹¹ In Lithuanian syntax, similar constructions are not always interpreted in the same way. In earlier works—the third volume of LKG and the textbook by Vytautas Sirtautas and Česys Grenda—proper names and conventional, symbolic designations in constructions with a noun specifying their class are treated as appositions (LKG III 430; Sirtautas, Grenda 1988: 103). DLKG, V. Labutis, and L. Bučienė treat such names or designations in a construction not as modifiers, but as modified constituents, since they are supposedly primary and essential (Labutis 1998: 332–333; Bunevičiūtė-Bučienė 2001: 13–14, see also Mikulskas 2009: 109).

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This form of expression is used especially when a text needs to refer to a particular term from a language other than Lithuanian, for example:

(8) “In international maritime and fisheries organizations where the official working language is English, when speaking about fishing in the broad sense, the t e r-m i n “f i s h e r y” is used.”

(9) “TS was first described in 1862 by Von Recklinghausen, while the t e r m s c l e r o s e t u b e r o s e was first used by the French scientist Bourneville [1-3].”

(10) “Some authors consider them synonyms, as they do the t e r m “s e l f” (Byrne, 1996; Hattie and Marsh, 1996), while others argue that self-esteem is the evaluative component of self-image (Saigal et al., 2002) <...>.”

It is unusual for a term from a language other than Lithuanian (or a term not adapted at all to Lithuanian) to be used before the term. Only one such instance occurred in the research material:

(11) “The most archaic gaming pieces are the so-called babkės (also called t a l i (Latin), k n u c k l e b o n e s (English), or?¹² (Russian) t e r m s).”

The research material generally does not discuss terms in the abstract (non-linguists, or even non-terminologists, are usually not concerned with the concept of “term” itself), but rather a particular term or terms. Thus, attributive constructions with a secondary designation (the term district) can be considered to serve the same function in a text as attributive constructions with a name in the genitive (“the district’s term). An apposition can replace the modified word; therefore, in this article, in cases where term is apposed to a particular term X, term itself is treated as the representative of the secondary-designation construction, and in examining the broader context of such a construction, the discussion concerns constructions with term, rather than constructions with X (term together with X is treated as a single constituent). For example, based on example 6, the claim here is that the term is used (not that the image is used). This decision was also motivated by the subject of the article.

The very act of describing a linguistic unit (a particular example) as a term shows that the unit is assigned to the category of terms (cf. term image and the word image). Term in this context is a metalinguistic comment.

Among the constructions in this group, the constructions term Lithuania / Lithuania Minor / Central Lithuania stand out; they are used in texts in the humanities, for example:

¹² In some places, the corpus contains unrecognized symbols.

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(12) “The t e r m L i e t u v a used by Rėza corresponds to the t e r m M a ž o j i L i e t u v a in the context of contemporary Lithuanian historiography, but it was not used at that time.”

Thus, the corpus of scientific language under study also confirms the use of terminas (terminas PLACE NAME) recorded in the supplementary card file of the Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.

1.1. Term – the principal component of attributive phrases.

1.1.1. Another group of phrases with term, similar to those discussed, consists of attributive phrases with a demonstrative description¹³, such as this / that / such a term (generically, REFERENCE term). In these phrases, the specific term is replaced by a substitute¹⁴; cf. this / that / such a term ← X → X term, term X.

Substitutes for terms in such phrases are demonstrative (defining) pronouns, while the specific terms are indicated earlier in the text or stated in the same sentence (the former case is more common), e.g.:

(13) “The fact that criminal liability and criminal law itself cannot be effective without applying sanctions for criminal acts committed, using this t e r m in the broad sense, the material expression of which is criminal punishment, is a well-known truth.”

(14) “Theodore R. Weeks devoted particular attention to the rhetoric of officials, noting that it was customary to speak of the ‘Russification of the country,’ and t h a t t e r m was not used when referring to specific ethnic groups.”

(15) “Even Lithuania’s Grand Duke Gediminas himself, as we infer from reading his letters, was a shrewd international public relations specialist, although s u c h a t e r m appeared in Lithuania only several centuries later.”

Other attributive phrases with a demonstrative description consist of term with indefinite pronouns: another term, some terms, e.g.:

(16) “Moreover, in cases where national policy toward a specific non-dominant ethnic group was being discussed, I found neither the term ‘Russification’ nor o t h e r t e r m s – ‘rapprochement,’ ‘merger,’ ‘assimilation.’”

In the material under study, these are usually not the only attributes of the head word – term.

¹³ Attributive phrases with a demonstrative description are phrases that refer generally and non-specifically to a mentioned property of an object (Bučienė 2012: 26).

¹⁴ Substitute, replacement – a linguistic element that replaces another corresponding element without affecting the content. Pronouns, for example, which can replace nouns or adjectives in a text, are considered substitutes” (KTŽ).

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1.1.2. Terminology states that there are no terms in general; there are terms belonging to specific subject fields. Therefore, it goes without saying that the text specifies the particular domain of use, branch of science, theory, concept, topic, usage environment, or similar matters for the terms. A feature of terms is their affiliation with a subject field, expressed explicitly in the corpus by attributive genitive constructions with a term. The dependent element is either the genitive of a noun that itself has dependent elements (a), or an adjective (b), for example:

a)

(17) “The speaker may not be aware of which conceptual metaphors influence their thought process, but analysis of metaphorical utterances in the speaker’s texts may reveal the speaker’s worldview (or, in the terms of cognitive linguistics, the speaker’s conceptualization of the world).”

(18) “It seems that as legal doctrine develops over time and the further systematization and codification of legal norms proceeds, legal terms will become more precise” (Meškauskaitė, 2004, p. 21).”

b)

(19) “In using statistical terms, we followed the terminology presented in V. Čekanavičius and G. Murauskas’s textbook *Applied Statistics*.”

(20) “Although the same legal term is used, it may be applied to different groups of people in different states.”

With regard to the standardization of such constructions, it may be recalled that as early as 1977 Stasys Keinys wrote that the internal regularities and tendencies of standard Lithuanian determine that “the domains of terminology, the terms belonging to those domains, and terminological dictionaries should be designated by noun-genitive phrases” (Keinys 2005: 362). The examples just given show that such linguistic systematicity is not always observed.

The attributive constructions of affiliation under discussion can be transformed¹⁵: FIELD’S term – the term belongs to the FIELD or the FIELD has a term, for example, a term in cognitive linguistics – *the term belongs to cognitive linguistics or *cognitive linguistics has a term. That possessor¹⁶ (FIELD) is abstract; a locative meaning can also be discerned in the transformation the term is IN THE FIELD (*the term is in cognitive linguistics)¹⁷. That is,

¹⁵ Attributive constructions of affiliation are considered derived; constructions not directly derived from one another are transformed (Antanas’s company → Antanas has a company → the company belongs to Antanas) (Bučienė 2004: 13).

¹⁶ Apie posesyvumo sąvoką ir tipus, posesoriaus nustatymą žr. Vaičiulytė-Semėnienė 2006.

¹⁷ Cf. another example from the corpus: “in this field, the terms are not established.” The field is specified by a locative adjunct.

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A subject field, branch of science, theory, conception, and so on can be understood as a space for the use of terms: SPACE (X) term (X). Atypical expressions such as a term of the professional environment of records managers and archivists particularly foreground spatiality; this expression contains the word environment, which carries the seme ‘space’.

Words or phrases denoting the domain of a term or similar things are attached to the term (X) not only directly, but also through another word with which the term forms action-based descriptive phrases (see 1.1.6), for example:

(21) “The weaving method ‘herringbone’ is also often mentioned by other archaeologists and is usually associated with the term ‘broken stripe’ used in materials science terminology.”

In general terms, this example can be represented as follows: SPACE term in use X.

Terminology studies refer to transterminologization. This phenomenon is also reflected in the contexts under investigation. It cannot be discerned from attributive phrases alone, but the broader—sentential—context is more informative in this respect, for example:

(22) “In poetry, the linguistics term ‘mopfas’ is replaced by another, intuitively more comprehensible term—‘syllable’—which is not only the most important component of poetic text, but also the basic unit of pronunciation.”

1.1.3. Another distinctive group of attributive phrases comprises possessive phrases, whose constituents are linked by relations of authorship. Schematically, this usage would look like this: AUTHOR (X) term (X). The author (possessor) is denoted by the genitive of a personal name. Specific examples:

(23) “In Samuel Huntington’s terms, one could say that Ukraine is a typically civilizationally divided country.”

(24) “This entire alternative processuality of form also shaped a new conception of the symbolic whole of organ music’s ‘supporting tones’ (J. Juzeliūnas’s term)—cycles, ‘bell tolls.’”

(25) “The American T. R. Schellenberg then reintroduced and popularized H. Jenkinson’s term ‘evidentiality’ (English: evidentiality).”

There is not necessarily a direct syntactic link between the term term and the personal name—the term is described in terms of authorship through an action expressed by a participle (forming action-based descriptive attributive phrases), for example:

(26) “The term offentlickeit (openness, publicity) proposed by J. Habermas was later developed into the concept of the public sphere.”

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An atypical term usage pattern in the research context is one in which a profession whose representatives use a specific term is named (PROFESSION term), e.g.:

(27) “Thus, ‘Lithuanian tension’ (a term used by theatre people) spills over into new types of musical form.”

Such compounds can also be seen to express an authorship relation. In these cases, authorship is collective. The name of the profession in the compound can be freely replaced by the corresponding name of a field: theatre people’s term → *theatre term (this may explain the pattern’s lack of popularity in the research material). Thus, compounds of this pattern are semantically close to compounds expressing a domain-of-use relation. Compounds expressing authorship, as metalinguistic comments, are classified as references to sources of expression (see Župerka 2012: 311–319).

1.1.4. LANGUAGE / NATION (X) term (X).

A term is characterized according to the language in which it is used or the nation that uses it (there is no point in drawing a boundary between them; cf. Latin term – a term of the Latin language, not of the nation, although Latin means “related to the Latins”). The dependent element is either an adjective with the suffix –iškas (a) or a noun in the genitive (alone or together with another attributive genitive – language) (b), e.g.:

a) (28) “The Latin term ‘favor contractus’ was first used by M. J. Bonell in his famous 1987 work ‘Commentary on the International Sales Law’, commenting on the 1980 United Nations Vienna Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (hereinafter, the 1980 Vienna Convention).”

(29) “For this purpose, a special program is needed whose main function would be to eliminate ambiguities (English term – ambiguity resolution) (Zinkevičius, 2000, p. 245; Marcinkevičienė, 2000, p. 22).”

b) (30) “Journalism itself is expressed by the French term journaliste, the English journalism, the German journalistik, the Polish dziennikarstwo, and the Russian žurnalistika.”

(31) “Related English terms, resistance, mean: ‘1) opposition, resistance; 2) (of an organism) resistance; 3) technical resistance, opposition, electrical resistance’, and invulnerability means ‘invulnerability’ (English–Lithuanian Dictionary, 1978, italics in the dictionary).”

Grammatically, the latter compounds (subgroup b) with term are possessive attributive compounds (cf. terms belong to the French, terms belong to the English language). On closer examination, the relation between the elements of the first compound is collective authorship, whereas that of the second is the domain of use.

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A term is characterized not only by the language in which it is used, but also by the language from which it originates, that is, the origin (source) of the term is specified, e.g.:

(32) “Later, the French term courtage (brokerage). – A. M.] spread to other languages, for example German and English, and, together with others (commission, etc.), is still widely used today when referring to the remuneration of independent insurance intermediaries.”

1.1.5. The corpus contains possessive-meaning constructions in which the term’s possessor is the entity designated by that term, e.g.:

(33) “The semantic function of the performer of an action, determined by verbs denoting actions, is called the agent, in terms of semantic roles.”

The term in such constructions may be replaced by its correlate designation, cf. *designations of semantic roles. An objective meaning lies beneath the latter construction (a transformation of designate semantic roles). One may say that the term belongs to the designated object: OBJECT term. According to K. Gaivenis, names of terms classified by their objects (soil, water-supply terms) are unofficial and are found mostly only in specialists’ spoken language (Gaivenis 2002: 25). J. Klimavičius disagrees with this view (Klimavičius 2002: 134). In light of the principles of systematicity and precision, it is difficult to find arguments for treating the aforementioned constructions as facts of specialists’ spoken usage only.

Thus, the context (attributive constructions) shows that terms belong to a particular space, author (individual or more general—collective), language (or nation), or object.

1.1.6. ACTION (X) term (X). The term functions as the head element in attributive constructions describing an action¹⁸. The dependent element in such constructions is a participle or a verbal adjective. In the research material, it most often has its own dependents (whether obligatory or not). Because of the verbal nature of the participle or verbal adjective, additional nuances—objective (a) or subjective (b)—arise alongside the attributive meaning of the construction, e.g.:

¹⁸ Action-descriptive constructions are defined as attributive constructions in which the property expressed by the dependent element is motivated by the relationship between an internal (active or passive) action and its agent (thing) (Bučienė 2007: 20).

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a)

(34) “A Dictionary of Biochemistry Terms is being prepared; therefore, the terms used in the textbook were harmonized with those proposed in the dictionary.”

(35) “Sometimes this is replaced by linguists with some Lithuanian word which, unfortunately, almost never corresponds in meaning to the terms currently accepted in international usage.”

(36) “Ecologists, hydrologists, and representatives of engineering geography may find terms here that are perhaps unfamiliar to them: hydrological transformation system, organizational system, accumulation zone, relaxation time, etc.”

b)

(37) “Later, a new term denoting this concept, žiniasklaida (‘mass media’), began to spread very rapidly in the press, on the radio, on television, and in everyday speech, and it has now almost driven out all the other terms with this meaning.”

(38) “The term ethnicity, which took hold in the social sciences in the 1970s, and the subsequent development of concepts of ethnicity are associated with a changing postcolonial world and the political activism of ethnic minorities.”

(39) “But it is unusual only because of historically established terms such as higher mathematics, mathematical analysis, differential calculus, and integral calculus.”

On the basis of the research material, it can be stated that a term, as a passive bearer of a property (object), is (WHEN, WHERE, TO WHOM) (not) used / used in the past, utilized, applied; (WHEN, WHERE, BY WHOM) accepted, proposed / suggested, considered, replaced; (WHERE) mentioned¹⁹ / not mentioned, presented; introduced (into use); selected; (TO WHOM) (un)usual; un-compromised; compound, composite, etc. A term, as an active bearer of a property (subject), can denote WHAT , describe; (WHEN, WHERE) established, settled, nonexistent; (HOW) formed; ([FROM] WHERE) spreading, widespread; related; reminding WHAT , having raised, etc. Among verbal descriptive combinations, the most frequent in the corpus are term combinations with a participle as the dependent element used and its forms. Participles and verbal adjectives express properties of terms related to their use in general or in a particular text (terms mentioned), the emergence of terms (proposed terms), the place of terms in a particular subject area—in the space of usage (an established term), their form (a compound term), evaluation (uncompromised terms), etc.

The tense form of the participle is significant because it indicates the time when the property arising from the action came into being (see Bučienė 2007: 23), cf. a term being used and a term that was used. Thus, a term is an object or subject of an action characterized by dependence on time.

¹⁹ According to its function, the combination ‘mentioned term’ could be considered a referential descriptive combination.

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As already mentioned and as can be seen from the examples, an attributive participle or an attributive deverbal adjective often itself has dependent constituents—complex word combinations or chains of word combinations are formed (for example, in example 34—terms used in the textbook, terms suggested in the dictionary). These dependent constituents specify the time, place, manner, object, subject, purpose, and so on of the action.

1.1.7. TIME term (X). In the research material, a term is also characterized in terms of time. Adjectives carrying the seme “time” function as dependent constituents of attributive combinations, e.g.: new, older, archaic, traditional, contemporary, current. Broader context:

(40) “Among the heritage conservation documents of other international organizations, a special place is occupied by the Charter of Historic Gardens adopted by ICOMOS in 1981, which contains a n e w t e r m h i s t o r i c g a r d e n s.”

(41) “It is obvious that a prosecution service that lacked education, experience, and qualifications, although representing other persons or defending their rights, cannot be equated with or called by the c o n t e m p o r a r y t e r m “l a w y e r”, but undoubtedly <...>.”

(42) “The concept of corporatism (Corporatism – English) is etymologically similar to the o l d e r t e r m c o r p o r a t i v i s m (Corporativism – English).”

As already mentioned, the period of a term’s use is also evident from the tense form of the participles that form action-descriptive attributive combinations with term. In addition, the participles in such combinations have dependent constituents with which they form temporal adjunct combinations, e.g.:

(43) “To highlight the generative factor of melody in polyphonic music, the t e r m s u s e d e a r l i e r, “l i n e a r c o u n t e r p o i n t,” “l i n e a r p o l y p h o n y,” were extended, thereby emphasizing the linear principle of forming the space of polyphonic music.”

On the basis of the research material, it can be argued that terms can be arranged along an imagined timeline. A defining feature of terms—their change over time—is explicit.

1.1.8. MEANING term (X). The attribute of a term also denotes a feature of the term related to meaning. A term is characterized by the scope of its meaning, e.g.: a general / more general term, an adequate term, terms with this meaning; by semantic proximity, e.g.: terms [in their meaning] that are close, different terms²⁰; and by nuances of meaning, e.g.: neutral / more neutral

²⁰ It is also possible to distinguish combinations with an action-descriptive characterization.

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term, according to motivation, e.g., metaphorical term, etc. A few examples of usage:

(44) “Disease-causing proteins in various grains are usually described by the general term ‘gluten.’”

(45) “In the postmodern era, characterized by intensive population migration, the growing similarity of different peoples’ ways of life, and exchanges of cultural phenomena—which in ethnological literature are sometimes even referred to by the metaphorical term ‘creolization of customs’—a completely opposite, paradoxical phenomenon is observed in parallel: local and regional identities are being revived everywhere.”

(46) “Although there are other terms adequate to it or close in meaning (e.g., Oriental despotism), despite all the criticism, this particular term was chosen as the most widely used and most comprehensible.”

Some compounds in this group are close to compounds that express an evaluation of the term.

1.1.9. EVALUATION OF THE term. As noted, attributive compounds also express an evaluation of the term. The evaluative feature conveyed by the dependent component may be either inherent (true term) or associated with something else (jargon term). In the research material, the modifiers of the term are the adjectives simple and specific; true and jargon; main, more important / most important, and key, less frequent; chameleonic, more controversial, etc.²¹ A few contextual examples:

(47) “Descriptions of the historical development of Kopgalis’s hydro-engineering structures and fort abound in specific terms and names of ancient measures, institutions, etc. (pakverkas, blockhouse, fascine, rod, foot, glacis, caponier, last, chamber, regiment, etc.).”

(48) “An organization’s image is in fact merely a jargon term from commercial advertising and public relations.”

(49) “Established usage, although highly indeterminate (which is why Connor calls ethnicity a chameleonic term), takes subjectivity, identity, and social construction into account (Connor 1994).”

In the compounds under discussion, a term is evaluated not only as a member of a particular terminology system (jargon term), but also as a unit of a specific text. In the latter case, the evaluative feature is relevant only in that text, e.g.:

²¹ This group is not semantically homogeneous; for example, compounds expressing similarity can be distinguished (chameleonic term).

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(50) “Each chapter or subsection of the publication begins with a brief theoretical introduction, which sets out the main equations for solving problems and explains some essential points, the m o r e i m p o r t a n t t e r m s, and methods for solving problems.”

Only to a limited extent could an evaluative feature be discerned in the phrase nomenclatural term, “a term related to nomenclature.”

1.1.10. PLACE term (X). Attributive phrases were found in which a term is characterized by place. This place may be abstract, e.g.: local / international term, or more specific—related to a text, such as term of analysis, for example:

(51) “Far too often, Lithuanian authors writing about historical textiles make do with terms widespread among the people, most often merely l o c a l t e r m s, in other words, local jargon.”

(52) “The key t e r m o f a n a l y s i s used here is national identity.”

As noted, participles functioning as dependent constituents in some attributive phrases expressing an action also indicate place—the term is characterized by place, e.g.: terms proposed in dictionaries, terms used in textbooks / papers, etc.

Phrases indicating belonging, such as term of analysis, show that the term belongs to a particular place. This place is more specific than the sphere in which the term is used—that is, the field or language in which it is used.

1.1.11. QUANTITY term. Attributive phrases describing quantity²² express a property of a term in relation to a number. The dependent constituent of such phrases is a numeral used adjectivally. This group provisionally includes here also phrases whose dependent constituents are adjectives with the semantic feature “quantity” (e.g., only). A few examples:

(53) “Under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of this Convention, since 1972 two terms have been used in heritage theory and practice at international and national levels: cultural heritage and natural heritage.”

(54) “Since the process under consideration involved people from different categories (war refugees, economic emigrants, Polish colonists, local residents, mixed families, etc.), it is difficult to describe the phenomenon being analyzed with a s i n g l e t e r m.”

²² Apie kiekybinio apibūdinimo atributinius junginius plačiau žr. Bučienė 2012.

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When ordinal numerals function as attributes, the phrases have a referential function, e.g.:

(55) “The term ‘eductive’ is derived from the Latin ‘educere’ and would mean ‘the ability to find meaning in confusion’, while the s e c o n d t e r m is intended to describe the ability to reproduce acquired information (Raven, 2000).”

In such cases, the phrase is a substitute for a specific term.

1.2. Term as the dependent constituent of attributive phrases.

1.2.1. Phrases with an objective nuance²³. As a dependent constituent, the term is used with the nouns use and usage, mention, treatment, interpretation, understanding and conception, (ex)planation, translation, confusion²⁴, discrediting, expertise, attitude (towards), advantage (over), etc. Within such phrases, the term is the object of the action or state expressed by the phrase’s head constituent (for the term as an object, see section 2), e.g.:

(56) “Much is currently being said about the u s e o f s c i e n t i f i c t e r m s.”

(57) “Although the concept of ‘context’ is treated in various ways, in psychology the basis of the c o n c e p t o f t h i s t e r m is usually clear, most often involving the distinction of the environment as well (Davies, 1988; Lochart, 1988; Thomson, 1988).”

(58) “In historiography, it is quite common for one or another t r a n s l a t i o n o f a Latin or other t e r m to lead to different interpretations.”

The more concrete the meaning of the head constituent of the phrase (cf. conception, translation), the more prominent the relations of possession (cf. *a term has a conception, a translation).

1.2.2. Possessive attributive phrases. Such phrases in the corpus show that a term has definitions, synonyms, equivalents, and, to some extent, aspects as well. A term is also a whole made up of constituent parts. These parts are content, meaning, sense, and semantics. A few examples:

(59) “In order to reveal the c o n t e n t and the main a s p e c t s of the t e r m ‘ i m a g e ’, researchers provide the following d e f i n i t i o n s of this t e r m: ‘An image is the general view that many people have of something’ (Pranulis, 1998, p. 114).”

For an overview of interpretations of verbal-noun phrases in Lithuanian linguistics, see Pakerys 2006.²³

In the phrase terminų painiava (‘confusion of terms’), a subjective nuance can also be discerned (*terms get confused).²⁴

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(60) “Concepts in a glossary are linked by relations that make it possible to find their equivalents in another language, synonyms, and superordinate concepts.”

(61) “Naturally, in practice it is hardly possible to find a suitable Lithuanian equivalent or to define the meaning of a term precisely in every case (especially since the meaning of many of them—particularly various units of measurement—has changed or was never standardized at all).”

1.2.3. Phrases with a subjective nuance. In the corpus, the term / ter-ms (X) collocations with the nouns emergence, formation, origin, change, instrumentality, differences, diversity in the term allow it to be viewed as a subject (for more on the term as a subject, see Chapter 3), e.g.:

(62) “The process by which the term terrorism emerged and took shape is still unclear.”

(63) “L. Meškauskaitė, studying the law on public information in Lithuania, notes that ‘the emergence of new branches and sub-branches of law inevitably entails a diversity of terms.’”

The collocation the instrumentality of this term proved unexpected, as it views the term as a means:

(64) “Considering the concept under discussion to be a more general, approximate model (rather, an intermediate hypothesis), the author of this article would, at least in this text, be disinclined to engage in a discussion about the instrumentality of this term when considering the development of civilizations on the scale of all humanity <...>.”

1.2.4. Attributive collocations close to those expressing material meaning (DOMAIN) a glossary of terms / a term list and a system of terms. Terms are constituent parts (cf. the transformation *terms make up a glossary, a system). A glossary can be understood as a container (cf. *to put into a glossary), whereas a system is merely an abstraction made up of terms. A few examples from the corpus:

(65) “In the Dictionary of Financial Terms, the bubble theory is defined as the belief that securities prices occasionally rise well above their fundamental value until, at a certain point, the bubble bursts and the price falls rapidly.”

(66) “To preserve the system of Lithuanian toponymic terms, this article uses the Lithuanian equivalent kalnų vardai (mountain names) alongside the international term oronyms.”

A material meaning can be discerned in the metaphorical collocation (DOMAIN) a jungle of terms (cf. *terms make up a jungle). The metaphor is probably intended to convey that there are many terms and that they are confusing.

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1.2.5. Phrases with an adverbial nuance. The corpus material shows that the term is a cause of debate:

(67) “The d e b a t e o v e r t h e m o s t a p p r o p r i a t e t e r m could continue, but for now we will call resilience atsparumas (‘resistance’): this term is the most established, although somewhat inaccurate.”

To summarize, it should be emphasized that some of the attributive phrases discussed in the article are compound terms in terminology, for example, compound term, compound term, international term; term content, dictionary of terms, etc. These compound terms are included in R. Kvašytė’s Introductory Glossary of Terminology (for more on the microsystem of terms with the root termin-, see Kvašytė 2013).

2. Term in object phrases

2.1. The term as an object of use. One of the most common groups of object phrases is to use / make use of / apply a term. It has become customary for terms, like other linguistic units, to be used. This is also confirmed by the research material: term most often occurs with the verb to use and its forms, e.g.:

(68) “Because terminology is underdeveloped, researchers in Lithuania (as in other northern countries) u s e t h e t e r m ‘ L a t e P a l e o l i t h i c ’ to describe both the period dating to 45–35–10 thousand years ago and the final Paleolithic finds discovered in Lithuania.”

(69) “This article does not discuss taking the life of a terminally ill person, but u s e s t h e t e r m a s s i s t e d s u i c i d e.”

(70) “Sometimes one can even say that these t e r m s a r e u s e d synonymously.”

According to the corpus material, terms are also used and applied, e.g.:

(71) “Alongside the latter, the international t e r m ‘ f l u i d ’ (from Latin ‘fluidus’—flowing) is also u s e d.”

(72) “In the contemporary understanding, the t e r m e t h n i c i t y i s a p p l i e d to groups and communities of both majorities and minorities, as well as migrants and non-migrants—that is, to various population groups.”

The corpus material also discusses the non-use of terms, but less frequently; cf.:

(73) “This t e r m i s n o t u s e d in our national system for recording heritage assets either.”

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2.2 A typical model of the use of a term in object-oriented compounds is the term as a means (instrument) in the broad sense²⁵: the term is used to name, call, describe, characterize; terms can be used to say, utter, speak. In such cases, the term is a means of naming and speaking, e.g.:

(74) “A formally similar self-analysis, referred to by the term self-reflection, also becomes particularly relevant in postmodern theatre, when theatre focuses on itself and consciously reflects on the mechanisms of its own functioning.”

(75) “Today, the Aristotelian term ‘poetics’ refers to a branch of literary studies that examines the forms and stylistic devices of poetic creation.”

(76) “In scholarly works by foreign authors, this is described by the term ‘overstaging’—an increase in stage.”

(77) “In the literature, human motivational dispositions (interests, aspirations) are often described in terms of values.”

In addition to the aforementioned verbs, the term occurs in the corpus with forms of the verbs (ex)press, formulate, describe. These denote actions related to expression; thus, the term is understood as a means of expression, e.g.:

(78) “The ability of sodium and potassium to neutralize hydroxyl groups (OH−), and of chlorine to neutralize hydrogen ions (H+), is expressed by the term ‘milliequivalents’ (mEq), which encompasses the atomic mass of an element or the molecular mass of a molecule together with its corresponding valence or charge.”

(79) “The real world can be described only in terms of a model that sets out the concepts and procedures needed to represent the real world as geodata required by the system.”

Compounds with the verb to denote point to the term as a sign, e.g.:

(80) “It should also be borne in mind that the same terms often denote quite different phenomena in the sources.”

The corpus data show that a term can be used to generalize and interpret, and that it can define and even legitimize. This is not a typical use of a term, e.g.:

(81) “Karolis Klimka’s article analyzes the thesis that political tensions are linked to a certain energetic surplus, which can be reduced in the ‘private’ sphere of desire; political phenomena are therefore to be interpreted in terms of energetic economy.”

²⁵ Here, a means (instrument) is not equated with the semantic function (semantic role) of an instrument. This article abandons the idea of classifying compounds according to semantic functions (semantic roles), since, as V. Labutis puts it, “there are no clearly formulated criteria by which semantic roles and the corresponding semantic groups of compounds are identified and distinguished” (Labutis 1998: 79).

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(82) “According to A. D. Smith, the idea of the nation is cultural and social in essence, regardless of whether the nation was formed on a territorial or an ethnic basis: it defines and legitimizes politics in cultural terms, because a nation is a political community only insofar as it embodies a shared culture and the common will of society (Smith 1999: 232).”

2.3. A term is an object that is sought, found, taken, given, introduced into a certain space and removed from it, and within that space something is done with it or happens.

First of all, a term is sought, e.g.:

(83) “In seeking terms and words to describe this phenomenon of the performing arts, critics spoke of a new theatrical aesthetic, inspired not by the inherently dramatic material about the life of the priest and poet Antanas Strazdas, but by the way in which the playwright and director present that material.”

From object phrases with the verbs find, discover it is clear that a term can be found, e.g.:

(84) “In Lithuania, the term ‘underclass’ can be found in the works of R. Grigas <...>.”

If a term exists, it can be taken. This is shown by phrases with the verbs take, adopt, e.g.:

(85) “We take this term from carnival as a historical phenomenon.”

When a term is taken from another field, one encounters a phenomenon such as transterminologization.

A term is also an object of giving. Phrases with the verbs (propose), present, grant, provide, assign allow us to speak of giving. Such phrases, especially those with the verbs include, introduce, are associated with direction—they orient us toward an attempt to “insert” a term into some kind of space, e.g.:

(86) “The Scottish chemist and physicist J. Black, who may be considered the founder of calorimetry, constructed (in 1759) the first ice calorimeter (this term was later proposed by the famous French scientists A. Lavoisier and P. Laplace, who improved the device).”

(87) “Gordon’s work is classical in that it provided academic discourse with terms for the components of assimilation that are still used today, but this is not a true theory.”

(88) “He introduced the term average (statistical) man (English: average man), but the term biometry was first mentioned only in 1889 by Charles Darwin’s cousin Francis Galton (1822–1911) <...>.”

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The opposite pole is reflected by collocations with the verbs renounce, banish, displace, replace, which show that a term can be removed from a space by someone. A few examples:

(89) “Although these neck and head tumors have historically been called ‘glomus tumors’ and ‘chemodectomas,’ it is proposed that these terms be abandoned and that, in accordance with the 2005 WHO recommendations, they be called paragangliomas, with the anatomical location of the tumor specified (‘vagal paraganglioma,’ ‘carotid body paraganglioma,’ etc.) [5, 6].”

(90) “At least in Europe, in recent years the term foresighting has essentially replaced the terms future studies and futurology, which had been used for a long time.”

Thus, a term’s position in space is not static: it can both enter it (though not by itself) and be removed from it. Something is also done to it, or happens to it, within the space itself. The object-related collocations examined show that a term can be promoted, popularized, legitimized, confused with something else, become familiar, or simply be left alone or even disregarded; it can also be used or relied on, for example:

(91) “Adopted at the 1972 UNESCO General Conference, the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was the first to establish the concepts and terms of cultural and natural heritage at the international level.”

(92) “Medieval medicine made little progress; its sole merit was that it preserved the instructions of ancient physicians and retained some terms.”

(93) “Regardless of the terms used in the states, in the committee’s opinion, ILO Convention No. 87 should apply to all persons working in the public sector and the civil service.”

A term can be changed in space—as is evident from collocations with the verbs clarify, revise, expand, harmonize, and others. In general, it can be stated that terms are managed—a term is an object of terminological management, for example:

(94) “In order to highlight the generative role of melody in polyphonic music, the previously used terms ‘linear counterpoint’ and ‘linear polyphony’ were expanded, thereby emphasizing the linear principle of shaping the space of polyphonic music.”

(95) “In addition, during this period, as research on Lithuanian journalism was carried out and the Lithuanian Encyclopedia of Journalism was prepared, some journalism terms, concepts, and definitions were revised, historical data were clarified, and new facts were brought to light.”

Incidentally, it is not always clear whether the discussion is actually about terms or about the concepts they designate, since terms and concepts are sometimes used as contextual synonyms; compare:

(96) “The term offentlichekeit (openness, publicity) proposed by J. Habermas was later developed into the concept of the public sphere.”

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2.4. A term, as the preceding examples show, is an object of intellectual (mental) activity. Objectively, combinations with the verbs define, (do not) explain show that a term is also an object of linguistic activity. These combinations show that the focus is on the meaning of the term, which is being presented (or, as a shortcoming, not presented), e.g.:

(97) “Let us briefly define the terms used in this paper.”

(98) “The term ‘aerial photograph’ is not explained in the explanatory dictionary of terms (Vainauskas 2000), whereas the Dictionary of Lithuanian–Russian Geodesy Terms (Kazakevičius 1993) gives it in the sense of mapping.”

Also related to linguistic activity are term combinations with the verbs speak (about), discuss, comment on, mention, e.g.:

(99) “Speaking of terms, it is worth noting that the terms and concept of pilgrimage and pilgrim are much older than the notions of tourism and tourist.”

(100) “Although mentioning the term ‘information technology’ (IT) usually brings to mind technology based in one way or another on computer equipment, technologies for processing information have existed since the time of primitive communities.”

It is possible to discuss and comment not only on a term’s meaning, but also on its form, usage, and so on.

The term combination with the verb formulate seemed unusual:

(101) “The report of the Fifth Framework Programme project ‘ENIRDGnet’ [3] formulates three different terms for describing distributed electricity generation: distributed generation, distributed capacities, and distributed energy resources.”

Such usage of the term does not seem precise—in this case, the term is treated as a formless entity; cf. DŽ₆ formulate ‘to express concisely and precisely’ (for example, a thought or conclusions). It is possible that in this combination term functions as the result of an action.

A term is not only spoken about; it is also heard, e.g.:

(102) “Recently, one increasingly often hears the term ergonomics, while products that meet hygiene and comfort requirements are often called ergonomic.”

Of course, a written term can be seen, but no combinations with the verb see or its synonyms were found in the corpus under study. The previously discussed objective term combinations with the verbs find, detect are somewhat associated with seeing.

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2.5. The term as an object of perception. The term as an object of perception is evident from collocations with the verbs understand, comprehend, as well as interpret and treat. Interpretation and treatment are also most likely inseparable from linguistic activity. Collocations with the verb relate are also associated with this group. A few examples:

(103) “In the world, the term book culture is understood quite broadly.”

(104) “The term infrastructure is most often interpreted as the necessary material foundation, equipment, and services for a country, community, or organization to function and grow.”

(105) “According to him, society most often associates the term ‘murder’ with acts of a violent nature intended to cause death, both when these acts are intentional and when they are negligent.”

2.6. The term as recipient. Collocations with the verbs grant and (as)sign, in which the term is used in the dative case, show that the term, as an object, can be a recipient. It receives such diverse abstract things as meaning, significance, and attention, for example:

(106) “Although various meanings are assigned to the term Europeanization, as C. Hilson points out, it is most often used in law and political science to describe the influence of European law and politics on national systems.”

(107) “This textbook devotes considerable attention to Lithuanian biochemistry terms.”

2.7. The term as result. Collocations with the verb create show that a term is the result of creation—a creation, for example:

(108) “Dellas Hymes created the term communicative competence (cited in Mesthrie, Swann, Deumert, Leap 2003, 5), which describes people’s ability to use different languages in different circumstances.”

Here we can recall some of the attributive collocations mentioned above, for example, composite term, compound term, whose attribute describes the term in terms of the actions whose result the term is. These verbs and verbal adjectives indicate the origin of a term (a term is created, assembled, compounded).

One corpus example shows that a term is considered the result of naming:

(109) “From a linguistic point of view, the terms mentioned are named identically—terror.”

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On the other hand, the phrase to name terms can be interpreted as an object of linguistic activity, but this would not be usual—concepts are named, not terms (a term, as mentioned, is a means of naming in the broad sense).

2.8. Term as the basis for comparison²⁶. A term is also an object with which something is compared. Phrases are used with verbs ((not) correspond to, align (with), associate (with), identify [with], the adjective similar (to), for example:

(110) “The weaving technique known as ‘herringbone’ is often mentioned by other archaeologists as well, and is usually associated with the term ‘broken line’, used in materials science terminology.”

(111) “A Dictionary of Biochemistry Terms is being prepared, so the terms used in the textbook were aligned with those proposed in the dictionary.”

It has been observed (see example 110) that not only other terms or words, but also non-linguistic things are compared with a term:

(112) “The concept of corporatism (Corporatism – English) is etymologically similar to the older term corporativism (Corporativism – English).”

2.9. Term as a quantity complement. A term functions as a quantity complement in phrases with words denoting quantity, such as dozens, several, part, plenty, for example:

(113) “To ensure that newspapers did not distort place names and the names of archaeological finds (some of the terms were new and unfamiliar) and reported the chronology correctly, J. Puzinas would prepare several or a dozen typewritten copies of his report and distribute them to ‘press representatives.’”

(114) “It is uncertain whether all neologisms will catch on, but several of the main terms seem viable, vivid, and acceptable from the standpoint of language norms.”

2.10. Term as part of a whole. This is indicated by phrases with the pronoun one, for example:

(115) “One such term is ‘russification’ (Russian: obrusenie), derived from the verb ‘to russify’ (obrusit’).”

Phrases of the latter types (2.9–2.10) are informative for this study only insofar as they show that terms are countable and form a whole. The broader context (see examples 113–114) provides more interesting information about terms (terms may be new, unfamiliar, viable, vivid, etc.).

²⁶ Tai atitiktų semantinę komparatyvo funkciją (Sližienė 1994: 23), dar vadinamą aspekto funkcija (Jakaitienė 1988: 63).

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3. The term in subject constructions

3.1. The term is a subject.

3.1.1. A term exists or does not exist. The term is used with verbs expressing a state of being (to be, to exist), as well as to occur, for example:

(116) “Although there are other terms that are equivalent or close in meaning (e.g., Oriental despotism), despite all the criticism, this particular term was chosen as the most widely used and understandable.”

(117) “There is even a term ‘office gossip.’”

(118) “However, this term does not appear in the aforementioned Convention or its Operational Guidelines for implementation.”

3.1.2. A term means and denotes. This can be seen in examples such as:

(119) “Since the law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is not analyzed from a sociological perspective here, the term ‘legal system’ used in this paper means a system of legal norms or a system of positive law.”

(120) “A much more radical change is denoted by the term metamorphosis (Greek meta – after, beyond, morphē – form), which Žukauskaitė does not actively use in the aforementioned book<...>. ”

3.1.3. A term is an agent of processes associated with linguistic activity. The term is used with the verbs to define, describe, characterize, merely indicate, express, for example:

(121) “In this article, the term ‘competence’ defines the legislature’s right to decide (regulate by law) a particular matter, while the term ‘discretion’ denotes the legislature’s right to decide a matter within its competence in any way it chooses.”

(122) “The term social exclusion describes the restriction of civil rights in society for certain groups of people, and their involuntary distancing from social and economic values [9: 17–23].”

(123) “This term described traveling to attractive destinations, for recreational or educational purposes.”

In the aforementioned constructions (119–123), one can discern the function of an instrument²⁷.

3.1.4. A term moves. As a subject, a term is associated with movement that has direction. This is evident in constructions with the verbs to arise, emerge, appear, arrive, spread, as well as to change (‘to vary’), for example:

²⁷Research on grammar shows that the instrument can also be realized in the nominative case (see Slиз̌ienė 1994: 23; Valeckienė 1998: 37).

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(124) “This term is derived from a Greek word and means ‘to set aside for life’ [1, 4, 10].”

(125) “In 1997, this term also made its way to Lithuania—it was first heard on the radio, then appeared in newspapers.”

(126) “In medical language, the term urinary tract infection is more widespread, but it is ambiguous because it is unclear whether pyelonephritis should be classified as a urinary tract infection or not.”

3.1.5. A term occupies a certain position in space. This can be seen in the term’s combinations with the verbs take hold, become established, become settled, prevail, replace ‘take someone’s place’, e.g.:

(127) “In Lithuania, the term journalistic novel began to take hold after the visit of the well-known French novelist Frederic Beigbeder to the Vilnius Book Fair in 2004 and the publication of several translations of his novel into Lithuanian.”

(128) “The international term oronyms prevails in the system of Slavic-language toponymic terms, oronym <...>”.

(129) “The term VKV is now firmly established both in scientific and academic circles and in the business world, and has replaced a number of different terms that caused considerable confusion a decade ago, such as total quality management, total quality improvement, and strategic quality management <...>.”

3.1.6. A term has or does not have something. The term as a possessor emerges in combinations with the verbs (not) have and acquire. Constructions such as is ambiguous (cf. *has many meanings), is versatile also orient the interpretation toward possession. A term has significance, meaning, aspects, purpose, a connection, etc., e.g.:

(130) “In the process of creating the EU, the term ‘opinion’ also has several meanings and functions: an opinion as an act issued by the institutions of the European Community (EC), an opinion as a referendum (which in some countries has the force of law), and an opinion as an expression of public opinion.”

(131) “It should be noted that the term Europeanization does not yet have a clearly established meaning.”

(132) “In Aleksei Miller’s view, although the Begriffsgeschichte method is useful, even without extensive research it is clear that both the term ‘Russification’ and the other terms used in this context were polysemous.”

3.1.7. A term encompasses something. Combinations with the verb encompass show that a term has boundaries, e.g.:

(133) “This term now encompasses laparoscopic nephrectomy, kidney resection, high-frequency thermal ablation (ADTA, English RFA—radiofrequency ablation), as well as cryotherapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU—high frequency focused ultrasound).”

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3.1.8. The term is suitable. The corpus contains phrases with the stative verb tikti, for example:

(134) “Considering the law of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as a phenomenon of life not isolated from society, and having both normative and practical significance, the term ‘legal system’ would be more suitable, while its main functional subsystems should be regarded as legislation, jurisdiction, and jurisprudence [3, pp. 35–36].”

3.1.9. The term undergoes various other states. According to the corpus under study, the term corresponds, differs, is related, constitutes, and so on—that is, it relates to other things. Such use of the term in the corpus is only occasional, for example:

(135) “These terms are related to the application of systems analysis methods in conducting research that is directly connected with the physical and technological sciences.”

The corpus contains unexpected and terminologically inaccurate instances of subjective use of the term. For example, the broader context shows that the term is regarded as a force capable of affecting a concept; cf.:

(136) “The term pressure groups (Pressure Groups – English) supplements the previously mentioned concept of lobbying, when lobbying associations use certain means of pressure to intensify their influence on decision-making entities (parliament, political parties, public opinion).”

3.1.10. The term is something and someone. A term is (or will be) the bearer of a property. That property characterizes the term in terms of time (new, older), prevalence (frequent, popular), or another evaluative quality (more precise, inaccurate, more specific, bizarre), for example:

(137) “Germany (the most advanced and most European) was admired most in Europe, followed by Sweden (until 1990, the term ‘Swedish socialism’ was fairly popular).”

(138) “Apparently, as legal doctrine develops over time and the further systematization and codification of legal norms take place, legal terms will become more precise” (Meškauskaitė, 2004, p. 21).”

Subjective phrases state what a particular term is (the particular term itself is characterized), for example:

(139) “The term ‘human trafficking’ (English: trafficking in human beings) and the name of the crime are a striking example of the influence of international law on national criminal law.”

3.2. Term – predicative.

A term as a predicative in subject constructions characterizes the subject. That subject is a specific term or its substitute. A term,

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when functioning as a predicative, usually has an attribute. Thus, a specific term is assigned not to the group of terms in general, but to some particular group of terms (not X is a term, but X is such-and-such / whose term), e.g.:

(140) “The key term of the analysis presented is national identity.”

(141) “Tuberous sclerosis complex is a term widely used to describe the diverse manifestations of this disease.”

(142) “This is a simple compound term, formed from two Lithuanian words—žinia (news) and skleidimas (dissemination), meaning distribution.”

4. Term in predicative and adverbial constructions

4.1. Term – predicative (in predicative constructions²⁸).

The predicative constructions of interest are only occasional. The term functions as a predicative together with its attribute: becomes a more or less neutral term, to call a chameleonic term. Broader context:

(143) “But it also happens that, after being dirty for a while, a word gradually ‘washes itself clean’: both its positive and negative evaluative charge fades, and it becomes a more or less neutral term, then gradually begins to accumulate a positive evaluative charge again.”

4.2. Term – adverbial (in adverbial constructions).

The term term (chiefly in a construction—prepositional or comparative) denotes the place of an action or state (to use alongside term X / instead of term X, to discern in terms), manner (to use as a term), or cause (unusual because of terms X), e.g.:

(144) “In her article ‘Distinctive Features of Aukštaitija Village Architecture,’ Rasa Bertašiūtė argues that the features of ethnic architecture ‘reflect multilayered building traditions, which can readily be discerned in building plans, forms, structures, details, and terms’ (p. 102).”

(145) “In the article, we use the concept of carnival as a term denoting a particular philosophical position as well as a certain existential attitude.”

(146) “But it is unusual only because of the historically established terms higher mathematics, mathematical analysis, differential calculus, and integral calculus.”

Thus, the analysis of syntagmatic relations makes it possible to look at the term term and the concept it names somewhat differently from the customary perspective. Undoubtedly, interesting data

²⁸ Predicative phrases are distinguished not in all works on grammar (cf. DLKG). Here, as noted, V. Labutis’s work on syntax (1998) is followed.

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(for example, an investigation of a broader context than the phrase, which should address the relationship between a term and a concept, mentioned briefly above, as well as an analysis of the paradigmatic relations of the term terminas).

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

1. In the Corpus of Lithuanian Scientific Language, terminas is most often used in its first dictionary sense—as a term in terminology (linguistics). The fact that a particular linguistic unit is called a term terminas in scholarly texts indicates that it is assigned to the category of terms. On the other hand, terminą, since it is used in texts from various fields of science, can be regarded not only as a unit of metalanguage but also as a general scientific term.

In texts in the humanities, terminas is also used in a determinate or extended sense—as a secondary place name.

2. In scientific language, the term terminas has attributes and is itself an attribute; it is an object, a subject, and, less often, a predicative or an adverbial.

3. A term in attributive phrases with specific terms is either a name-holder or a secondary designation. The attributes of the term terminas show that a term belongs to a particular domain of use (field, etc.), object, language (or nation), author (individual or collective), and so on. A term is also characterized by an attribute according to the language from which it originated, the action of which it is the object or subject, and its time and place. An attribute also expresses an evaluation of the term and describes a feature of the term related to its meaning, among other things.

As a possessor, a term has definitions, synonyms, equivalents, and so on, while its constituent parts include content, meaning, sense, and semantics. Terms themselves are also constituent parts (of a dictionary, system, etc.). At a deeper level, a term as an attribute is also an object or subject of an action or state, and a cause of discussion.

4. The analysis of object phrases shows that a term is an object and a means of use (of naming, speaking, expression, marking, etc.). It is sought, found, taken, given, introduced into a particular space and removed from it, while something is done to it or happens to it within that space. A term is both an object of linguistic activity and an object of perception; it serves as a recipient, a result, a basis for comparison, the content of a quantity, and a part of a whole.

5. As a subject, a term exists (or does not), signifies and denotes, and also performs actions associated with linguistic activity, moves in a particular direction, and occupies a corresponding position in space. It has (or does not have) something, encompasses, is suitable, also undergoes various other states, and is some kind of thing or someone.

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MAIN SOURCE

CorALit – Corpus of Lithuanian Scientific Language (Corpus Academicum Lithuanicum) – http://coralit.lt (accessed 2016-03-01).

LITERATURE AND ADDITIONAL SOURCES

Bučienė L. 1998: Atributinių junginių samprata, aprašymo galimybės ir kai kurie požymiai. – Kalbotyra 47(1), 29–41.

Bučienė L. 2004: Priklausymo atributiniai junginiai. – Kalbotyra 53(1), 13–23.

Bučienė L. 2007: Veiksminio apibūdinimo atributiniai junginiai. – Žmogus ir žodis 9(1), 19–23.

Bučienė L. 2012: Kokybinio ir nurodomojo apibūdinimo žodžių junginiai. – Žmogus ir žodis 14(1), 24–29.

Bunevičiūtė-Bučienė L. 2001: Antraeilio pavadinimo atributiniai junginiai. – Žmogus ir žodis 3(1), 10–15.

DLKG – Grammar of Contemporary Lithuanian, Vilnius: Institute of Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing, 2006.

DŽ₆ – Dictionary of Contemporary Lithuanian. 6th edition (3rd electronic edition), Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, 2011.

Gaivenis K. 2002: Lietuvių terminologija: teorijos ir tvarkybos metmenys, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos instituto leidykla.

Gaivenis K. 2014: Rinktiniai raštai. Sud. J. Gaivenytė-Butler, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas.

ISO 1087-1:2000 Terminology work – Vocabulary. – Part 1. Theory and application.

Jakaitienė E. 1988: Leksinė semantika, Vilnius: Mokslas.

Keinys St. 2005: Dabartinė lietuvių terminologija, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos instituto leidykla.

Klimavičius J. 2002: [Rec.:] Kazimieras Gaivenis. Lietuvių terminologija: teorijos ir tvarkybos metmenys. – Terminologija 9, 129–147.

KTŽ – Gaivenis K., Keinys St. Kalbotyros terminų žodynas, Kaunas: Šviesa, 1990.

Kvašytė R. 2005: Mokomasis terminologijos žodynėlis, Šiauliai: Šiaulių universiteto leidykla.

Kvašytė R. 2013: Lietuvių ir latvių kalbų terminų su šaknimi termin- mikrosistema. – Terminologija 20, 123–139.

Labutis V. 1998: Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė, Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.

LKE – Encyclopedia of the Lithuanian Language. Ed. K. Morkūnas, Vilnius: Institute of Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing, 2008.

LKG III – Grammar of the Lithuanian Language 3. Syntax. Editor-in-chief K. Ulvydas, Vilnius: Mintis, 1976.

LKIS – Lithuanian Language Resources Information System. – http://www.lkiis.lki.lt

LKŽe – Lietuvių kalbos žodynas (I–XX, 1941–2002), elektroninis variantas, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2005. – www.lkz.lt

Mikulskas R. 2009: Daiktavardinės apozicijos vaidmuo antrinės predikacijos raiškoje. – Gramatinių funkcijų prigimtis ir raiška. Red. A. Holvoet, R. Mikulskas, Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas, asociacija „Academia Salensis“, 99–124.

Pakerys J. 2006: Veiksmo pavadinimo konstrukcija lietuvių kalbos gramatikoje. – Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos darbai 4. Daiktavardinio junginio tyrimai, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 125–145.

raštija.lt – Integrated Information System of Lithuanian Language and Writing Resources. – www.raštija.lt (accessed 2016-04-22).

Sirtautas V., Grenda Č. 1988: Lietuvių kalbos sintaksė, Vilnius: Mokslas.

Sližienė N. 1994: Veiksmažodžių junglumas valentingumo teorijos požiūriu. – Lietuvių kalbos veiksmažodžių junglumo žodynas 1. A–M, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Usonienė et al. 2008: Usonienė A., Grigaliūnienė J., Rivitytė B., Būtenas L., Jasionytė E. Lietuvių mokslo kalbos tekstynas. – Baltistica 43(1), 101–114.

Vaičiulytė-Semėnienė L. 2006: Morfosintaksinis posesyvumo žymėjimas: vidinė ir išorinė posesyvumo raiška. – Lietuvių kalbos gramatikos darbai 4. Daiktavardinio junginio tyrimai, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 151–178.

Valeckienė A. 1998: Funkcinė lietuvių kalbos gramatika, Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos institutas.

Vaskelienė J. 2007: Trumpas teksto lingvistikos žinynas, Šiauliai: VšĮ Šiaulių universiteto leidykla.

Župerka K. 2000: Kalbotyros terminai publicistikoje. – Darbai ir dienos 24, 175–182.

Župerka K. 2012: Metalingvistika. Nekalbininkų kalbotyra, Šiauliai: VšĮ Šiaulių universiteto leidykla.

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TERMINAS IN CONTEXT (THE LEVEL OF WORD PHRASES)

The article analyses usage of the main term of terminology terminas ‘term’ in academic Lithuanian. The material for the research has been extracted from the Corpus of Academic Lithuanian (available at http://coralit.lt/). The article deals with the usage of the term terminas at the level of word phrases, syntagmatic relations of terminas are investigated. Semantic types of phrases with terminas and the main usage models of terminas are identified. The aim is to clarify what characteristics and features of the concept ‘term’ are explicit in the context.

In the Corpus of Academic Lithuanian terminas is used most frequently in its first lexicographical meaning – as a term of terminology (and linguistics). When the term terminas is used in reference to a particular term, it shows the estimation that particular unit belongs to the category of terms. Considering the usage of terminas in academic texts of different sciences, term can be treated both as a unit of metalanguage and a general term of science.

In the texts of humanities terminas is used in determinologizated or expanded meaning – as the secondary name for toponyms (terminas Lietuva ‘term Lithuania’).

In academic Lithuanian the term terminas has attributes, is an attribute itself, it is used as object, subject, and less often – as a predicative or adverbial modifier.

Terminas in attributive phrases with particular terms is either a name possessor or a secondary name. The attributes of terminas show that term belongs to particular space (domain etc.), object, language (or nation), author (both individual and collective), etc. Term in attributive phrases is modified by a language it originates from, action whose object or subject it is, time and place. Term’s attributes express its evaluation, features regarding meaning, etc. as well.

Term as a possessor has definitions, synonyms, equivalents etc. and its components are content, meaning, sense, semantics. Terms are components themselves (of dictionary, system). In deep structure term as an attribute is both an object and a subject of action or state as well as a cause for discussions.

The analysis of objective phrases shows that term is the object of usage and the instrument (of nomination, speaking, expression, marking etc.), it is being sought, found, taken, given, brought into some space and eliminated from it, and in space something is being done or happens with it.

Term is an object of linguistic activities and perception, also a receiver, a result, base for comparison, content of quantity and part of a whole.

Term as a subject exists or not, means and marks, also performs processes related to linguistic activities, moves in some direction, takes particular place in space. It has something (or not), covers, fits, as well as undergoes various other states, is something or of some sort.

Received 2016-08-31

Asta Mitkevičienė Lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius E. paštas [email protected]

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