Mokslinė konferencija „Globalizacija: vertimas, skolintos ir tautinės terminijos problemos“

Scientific conference Globalization: Translation, Borrowed and National Terminology Issues SOLVITA LABANAUSKIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language The Department of Lithuanian and Foreign Languages of the Humanities Institute of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University and the Terminology Centre of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language organized an international scientific conference, held on November 16–17, 2007. The conference’s Globalization: Translation, Borrowed and National Terminology Issues theme covered an overview of terminology activities at institutions of higher education and research institutions; discussion of theoretical issues in terminology; the distinctiveness of national terminology and its modes of expression; the relationship between national and borrowed terminology; translation and comparison of national terms with equivalents in other languages; and the main principles of terminography. Following opening remarks by Prof. habil. dr. R. Kirvaitis, Vice-Rector of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, who introduced the university and its activities to the guests, and by Prof. habil. dr. P. Tamošauskas, Director of the Humanities Institute, the plenary session began. In her presentation Links between National and International Terminology, Prof. habil. dr. V. Skujiņa (Riga, LVI), drawing on engineer and scholar E. Drezèn’s theory of the internationalization of scientific and technical terminology, emphasized the importance of the concept denoted by a term. A word is easier to adapt in one’s own language when its definition is stable. The essence of such a term is easier to understand in one’s native language. If a word has no precise definition, it is difficult to find equivalents for it. It is emphasized that language should adhere to mononymy: one concept – one term. In her presentation From the Experience of the Emergence, Creation and Functioning of Terms, Habil. dr. M. L. Drazdauskienė (VU) explored issues of language and culture, and the use and spread of existing terms and neologisms. A. Auksoriūtė’s (LKI) presentation was titled Eurotermbank – A Bank of New Terms. This was a project involving seven European Union member states, including Lithuania. It was intended to coordinate and unite terminology work in the new EU member states. The project resulted in the creation of an online terminology bank for all these countries. It contains over 70,000 Lithuanian terms with 198 Solvita Labanauskienė | Mokslinė konferencija Globalizacija: vertimas… by equivalents. This program can be adapted to one’s needs using various search options. The next resource, Bank of Terms of the Republic of Lithuania, was presented by A. Ivanauskienė (VLKK). In 2003, at the initiative of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language, the Law on the Bank of Terms of the Republic of Lithuania was adopted in collaboration with other institutions. One of the bank’s objectives is to make terminological information more readily accessible to researchers, translators, editors, and other specialists. It is a large information system that already contains about 60,000 term entries. Dr. A. Velička’s (VGTU) paper, The Concept of the Essence of a Term, was aimed primarily at foreign-language specialists. According to the author, the concept of the essence of a term is now well established, but the same cannot be said of the exact sciences. Disease Names in the Glossary of Folk Medicine Terms by Doctor Jonas Basanavičius, “Medega musu tautiszkai vaistininkystai” was the topic of a paper by doctoral student P. Zemlevičiūtė (LKI). The disease names in this glossary were compared with data from the Dictionary of Medical Terms. Although the glossary was published in the late 19th century, the author considers it significant to the history of Lithuanian medicine and of lasting value. Presenter Z. Stanevičienė (VU) spoke about German Loanwords in Old Prussian Catechisms. She discussed the linguistic situation in Prussian lands more than five hundred years ago and the penetration of German-language elements into Prussian—a case of language interference. Doctoral student R. Stunžinas presented “On Metaphorical Construction Terms.” The emergence of metaphorical terms is associated with the initial stage in the development of specialized vocabulary, when the linguistic sign reflects a naïve understanding of things, their properties, actions, and processes. According to the presenter, anthropocentrism is one of the main features of metaphorical construction terminology. Meanings were metaphorized largely on the basis of certain external similarities. These metaphors are not new: the terms were created following models from ordinary vocabulary. Doctoral student A. Mitkevičienė’s (LKI) topic, Features of 19th-Century Lithuanian Literary Studies Terminology, offered a look at works on literary studies printed in Lithuanian in the 19th century. The first theoretical work on poetics written in Lithuanian is considered to be S. Daukantas’s study, Pasakos būdas, included in his book Pasakos Fedro. The number of literary works increased in the second half of the 19th century, with the emergence of Lithuanian-language periodicals. The author also discussed general features of how literary terms are expressed. Terminologija | 2007 | 14 199 L. A. Kitkauskienė (VGTU) delivered the paper Names of Sacred Buildings, Their Interior Spaces, and Liturgical Objects. According to her, loanwords make up the majority of sacred terms, 95 percent of them being of Latin and Greek origin. In the author’s words, no new religious terms are being created today. L. Šiaučiūnienė and D. Kemeklienė’s (Panevėžys, KTU) paper was entitled Problems of Advertising’s Social Role and Borrowed Terminology in the City’s Retail Chains and Media. Among the many innovations is advertising and its language, which should be brief, clear, correct, persuasive, and free of foreignisms. The reality, however, is different. The presenters emphasized advertising’s negative influence on language in general, as well as problems of translation. Language is polluted by inappropriate product names, public signs, and errors in the language of television advertising. In their paper An Analysis of Some Contemporary Computer Science Microsystem Dictionaries, Dr. A. Kaulakienė and doctoral student A. Rimkutė (VGTU, LKI) discussed computer science dictionaries (1971–2005), of which about fifteen are now known, and analyzed the names of hardware and software, as well as terms for computer programs themselves. Dr. G. Grigas (MII) spoke about Computer Science Terminology and Vocabulary—command names, trademarks, and abbreviations. He offered many valuable practical tips and suggestions. In his paper Email and Lithuanian Characters, V. Dagys (MII) examined the technological and psychological reasons for avoiding the use of Lithuanian alphabet characters in email messages and discussed factors that could help improve the situation. In his paper Problems of Standardizing and Organizing Physics and Technical Terms, Dr. V. Valiukėnas (LSD) emphasized the importance of organizing not only Lithuanian terms but also their foreign-language equivalents in dictionaries: the dictionary compilation group should include people who know foreign languages. The author also proposed that agreements with compilers specify measures to ensure their participation in having the dictionary approved by VLKK and incorporated into LTB. R. Žukienė, a lecturer at VGTU, spoke about terminological research in master’s theses. Her topic was an analysis of Loanwords Used in Students’ Academic Language. It was noted that loanwords, particularly Anglicisms, are increasingly used in Lithuania and have a negative effect on academic work. To teach students to use language correctly, it is important not only to create the right conditions for them, but also to require subject lecturers to speak correctly. At the international conference Globalization: Translation, Borrowed and National 200 Solvita Labanauskienė | Mokslinė konferencija Globalizacija: vertimas... terminology problems the object of terminology was discussed and the state of contemporary terminology assessed. The best papers from this conference will be published in the VGTU journal Santalka, which is included in international databases. Received 2007-12-12 Solvita Labanauskienė Institute of the Lithuanian Language P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius Email [email protected] Terminologija | 2007 | 14 201