Terminologijos darbas Estijoje

TERMINOLOGY WORK IN ESTONIA Presentation at the Baltic States seminar The darhas of terminology now and in the future in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia The Estonians, of whom only one million speak Estonian, have faced language restraint, struggling for their language like the other two neighbouring Baltic countries. The small number of speakers would allow for strict rules for language development and planning, but the majority of linguists seem to hold the view that language is an open system that is constantly changing, and that excessive regulation can only harm it. Perhaps this is why terminology planning in Estonia is an unregulated process and there is no body whose decision on an Estonian term could be binding on the user. Nevertheless, the state must ensure the conditions for the language to survive and flourish. A detailed seven-year plan, the Estonian Language Development Strategy 2004—2010, has been drawn up. This strategy sets out the main goals for the development of the only state language in the Republic of Estonia in order of importance. In order to protect the Estonian language, to ensure its continuous development and to create the necessary conditions for its functioning in all areas of life throughout the territory of Estonia, the Strategy provides for goals and necessary actions for the implementation of the set tasks. It also lists the authorities responsible for carrying out certain tasks. The implementation of the strategy is coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Science and monitored and analysed by the Estonian Language Council. One part of the strategy envisages terminology planning activities at the state level. It states that specialists from various fields are interested in the development of thermology and are ready for this activity. Terminology planning activities are coordinated by the Estonian Terminology Association. In some fields, terminology commissions are quite active, but their decisions are not binding on the user (not at all like the decisions of the official Latvian terminology commission). The goals of terminology planning are: to develop terminology for all scientific and technical fields, to promote the creation of new terminology in scientific and educational institutions, to disseminate information about terminology and exchange it, to prepare and publish terminology dictionaries (paper and online versions), to promote constructive criticism of terminology dictionaries, to explain how to use them effectively, to pay special attention to legal language, to participate in international terminological cooperation, to guarantee the Estonian language the same rights, scope of use and development opportunities as other official European languages. 174 The implementing bodies are: Language Planning Group of the Estonian Language Institute, terminology commissions in various fields, Estonian Terminology Association (ETER), Estonian Legal Language Centre (ELLC), universities and higher education institutions, Ministry of Education and Science, Estonian Language Departments of Tartu University and Tallinn Pedagogical University. Estonian Terminology Association (ETER) (www.cter.ce). ETER established 2001 as a non-profit organization, so it is not funded by the state (only From membership fees). ETER is the European Terminology Association (EAFT) member. The board is chaired by Arvi Tavastas, who is also a member of the EAFT board and the terminology training group of the association. ETER brings together people interested in terminology work – translators, terminologists, specialists in various fields. The website contains a valuable database, a list of specialists in various fields who develop Estonian terminology in a particular field, and an overview of the results of terminology work in those fields. There is also another database on the Internet containing all the dictionaries of terms published in Estonia (paper or online). This website is the best place to find information about terminology and terminologists. Until now, ETER has organised one major terminology event per year: the Summer School of Terminology in 2001, the Conference on Theory and Practice of Terminology in 2002, and the International Terminology Conference in 2003 (information on this can be found at http://www.eter.ec/conference.html). The strategy for the development of the Esty language provides the following tasks for the association: terminology development and terminology dictionaries, terminology information dissemination, terminology education, terminology dictionaries criticism, terminology work planning (coordination), participation in international terminology cooperation. 175 Estonian Language Institute (ELI) (www.cki.ee- ). For a long time, the Estonian Language Institute was responsible for terminology planning. The terminologists working here, together with specialists from various fields, prepare dictionaries of terms. This work is usually carried out by projects. The strategy for the development of the Esri language envisages the following tasks for the institute: terminology teaching, development of terminology theory, preparation of terminology manuals and textbooks, preparation of terms in a dictionary, development of language technology tools. Universities. Information about Estonian universities working in the field of terminology can be found on the following websites: Tallinn Technical University (TTU) —www.ttu.cc, Tartu University (TU) —www.ut.ee, Tallinn Pedagogical University (TPU) —www.tpu.ee. All Estonian universities contribute to the development of terminology, but only two of them — TU and TPU — teach terminology. For several decades, the University of Tartu has been teaching a 40-hour course on Terminology Management for Estonian philology students, where the history of Estonian terminology and the basic principles of term creation are taught. Since 2002 Arvi Tavastas has been teaching a compulsory 80-hour Terminology Management course for postgraduate students studying CMS translation at TU and TPU. Aim of this course = to introduce students to the subject of terminology, to develop skills of critical use of terminology sources and to teach them to create term databases. The main topics are: common and special language, systematic and special terminology work, normative and descriptive terminology work, principles of terminology selection and creation, comparison with foreign languages, critical analysis of terminology sources – dictionaries (book and electronic), textbooks, the provision of specialists in various fields, work with specialists in various fields, term database software, its selection and use, terminology theories, schools and most famous authors. Methods — Students must write a critical analysis of the vocabulary of a given field and participate in exercises. In the exercises, term databases are created using Trados Multiterm and the students’ chosen programs. The seminars critically review the theories of terminology and compare them with practical experience. Students' knowledge is assessed by a written test, which contains both theoretical questions and practical tasks. For the final grade it is necessary to write a vocabulary analysis and attend seminars. Required literature: Cabré, Maria Teresa. Terminology: Theory, methods and applications, Amsterdam- -Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1999. Erclt, Titu. Estonian Terminology, Tallinn: Valgus, 1982. Tavast, Arvi. Estonian Terminological Dictionaries 1996-2000. —Language and Literature, 2002 6 7. Additional literature: Cabré, Maria Teresa. Terminology: Theory, Method and Applications, Ottawa, Paris: Presses de I'Université d'Ottawa, Armand Colin, 1998. Cabré, Maria Teresa. La terminologí176 a: Representación y comunicación, Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 1999. Handbook of Terminology Management. Compiled by Sue Ellen Wright, Gerhard Budin. Amsterdam- -Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1997. Sager, Juan C. A Practical Course in Terminology Processing, AmsterdamPhiladelphia: John Benjamins, 1990. Temmerman, Rita. Towards new ways of terminology description: the sociocognitive approach, Amsterdam- -Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2000. Wiister, Eugen. Introduction to the General Theory of Terminology and Terminological Lexicography, Copenhagen, 1985. It should be mentioned that in 2002 the ISO terminology working standards (ISO 1087 1 & 2: 2000) were translated into Estonian. The Estonian Legal Text Language Centre at the Ministry of Justice (ELLC) (www.legaltext.ec) was established in 1995 on the initiative of Estonians in Canada to ensure that Estonian legislation is properly translated into English. This centre soon began translating EU legislation (acguis) into Estonian. The Latvian Translation and Terminology Centre was established on the basis of the Estonian model. ELLC has been working on terminology since its inception. The Terminology Unit prepares the concept-based database ESTERM, which contains 50 000 terms. 800 specialists from various fields are involved as experts in the preparation of this database. It can be considered the main centre of Estonian terminology. The Terminology Unit also manages several terminology projects (e.g. NATO and military terms, EUROVOC) and has developed several smaller online databases. After Estonia joined the EU in May 2004 and the translation of the acquis into Estonian has been completed, the Centre will focus, in addition to translations, on the Estonian language. 177 legal documents and will work systematically in the area of legal language. The Terminology Department is starting to create a new database of legal terms, provide terminological assistance and train all state institutions in legal terminology and terminography. If necessary, glossaries of terms will be enabled. The Centre will continue to participate in terminology projects together with other state institutions. su Estonian terminologists have good relations with INFOTERM and IITFE. Currently, the possibility of becoming a member of NORDTERMOo is being considered. Estonia welcomes and supports the wish of Latvia and Lithuania to join the EAFT. International terminology cooperation will be promoted by the Second International Terminology Conference State of the Theory (http://www.fcsh.unl.pt/termip/cit2003/indexen.htm) in Lisbon in December 2003, the Terminology Meeting in Barcelona in November 2004 and the Terminology Conference Proposals for Cooperation in Berlin in the summer of 2005. The best form of cooperation is the regular exchange of information. Taking into account that terminology work in the EU institutions will continue to be carried out in a different way than in the last decade (terminologist positions have been abolished, terminologists no longer work on the IATE data bank), it is worth thinking about how to help Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian translators in Brussels and Luxembourg to solve terminology problems, since the documents they translate will become legislation of our countries. Hiie TAMM Gauta 2003-11-12 Estonian Legal Language Centre Tonismagi 8, Tallinn 10119 Estonia E-mail hiie.tamm(- @lcgaltext.ce Value Jolanta GAIVENYTE-BUTLER 178