Angelė KAULAKIENĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

KONSTANTINAS ŠAKENIS’S PHYSICS TEXTBOOK TERMINOLOGY

1. Introductory remarks

K. Šakenis’s Physics textbook for gymnasiums was published in 1920. It comprised three parts, issued as separate books: Part I. Mechanics – Heat (142 pp.); Part II. Magnet. Electricity (77 pp.); Part III. Light. Sound. Energy and Work (97 pp.). Five editions of this three-part physics textbook for gymnasiums were published between 1920 and 1940. K. Šakenis began writing the Physics textbook while teaching in Voronezh, to which a considerable number of Lithuanian intellectuals had retreated after the outbreak of the First World War. While writing the textbook, K. Šakenis consulted linguist J. Jablonskis on physics terminology, as well as mathematicians Z. Žemaitis, P. Mašiotas, and M. Šikšnys, who met weekly at J. Jablonskis’s home to discuss terminology (Šenavičienė 1982: 87). He wrote the first part of the Physics textbook in Voronezh, and in early June 1918, after returning to Vilnius and beginning to teach physics at a gymnasium, he hurriedly set about writing the second part. As the textbook’s author himself states, he finished it by Christmas (Šakenis 1997: 199). He wrote the third part in 1919 at his family home in Veleniškiai (Vabalninkas District). Shortly after the publication of the textbook’s first edition, K. Šakenis prepared a second edition in 1922, in whose preface he wrote: “When writing my ‘Physics,’ I wanted to prepare a textbook for schools in which pupils could find only the knowledge they needed. First of all, the circumstances created by the war itself compelled us, as they did other nations, to shorten the curricula of subjects taught in schools. In addition, the lack of necessary terms and established scientific terminology created many difficulties. I therefore wrote the textbook only to fill the gap that had arisen as our schools began to be established. This second edition, however, is now published with considerable additions”¹ (Šakenis 1997: 252).

¹ Here and elsewhere, the texts of quotations and of book and chapter titles are reproduced as in the original. Spelling and punctuation have not been corrected.

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K. Šakenis’s Physics was the only textbook for pupils in the upper gymnasium grades during that period. In 1916–1919, I. Končius also wrote a physics textbook for gymnasiums while teaching in Estonia, where he lived from the autumn of 1915 until 1920, after the Palanga girls’ gymnasium had relocated to the town of Verro; however, the textbook was not printed. Its 312-page manuscript is held in the Manuscript Department of Vilnius University (Kaulakienė 1994: 18–27). V. Čepinskis’s Physics Lectures (1923–1926) was not well suited to pupils in the upper gymnasium grades. P. Vileišis’s Popular Handbook of Physics, published in 1899 in Shenandoah (Pennsylvania), was reprinted in Vilnius in 1905, while the textbooks by P. Mašiotas and J. Dragašius were intended for primary schools.

Having taught in Russian for many years, K. Šakenis, undoubtedly, like I. Končius, used the well-known textbook and illustrations of K. Krajēvičius from that period (History of Physics 1988: 169). However, as J. A. Martišius points out, K. Šakenis’s Physics is a sufficiently original work. In 1925 it received a favorable evaluation at the University of Lithuania in Kaunas. Moreover, each edition (published in Vilnius, Tilsit, and Marijampolė) was supplemented with new topics, historical information, and Lithuanian examples (Martišius 1996: 17).

All five editions of K. Šakenis’s Physics textbook and their scholarly level have been assessed and discussed by physicists themselves (History of Physics 1988: 170–172; Martišius 1994: 4–5). This article analyzes only the terminology of the first edition.

The textbook covers the entire gymnasium physics curriculum. It consists of the following fairly comprehensive sections: Introduction (I. The Body of Physics. II. Properties of Bodies. III. Measures and Calculation); Mechanics (I. Motion and Forces. II. Composition and Resolution of Forces. III. Equilibrium of Objects. IV. Simplest Machines. V. Liquids. VI. Gases); Heat (I. Agents of Heat. II. Calorimetry. III. Vapors. IV. Meteorological Topics); Magnet; Electricity (I. Electrostatics. II. Electric Current. III. Electromagnetism. IV. Atmospheric Electricity); Light (I. Introduction. II. Mirrors and Lenses. III. Spectroscopy. IV. Optical Instruments); Sound; Energy and Work. As can be seen from its structure, the first part is devoted to mechanics. It also includes additional sections on chemistry and meteorology. The second part of Physics is devoted to the study of magnetic and electrical phenomena. This-

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je dalyje, beje, išdėstomas, kaip nurodo J. A. Martišius (1996: 17), ir tuo metu gana naujas radioaktyvumo reiškinys. Spausdinama duomenų apie pirmąsias telefono ir telegrafo linijas Lietuvoje. Trečiojoje dalyje išdėstytos šviesos, garso, darbo ir energijos temos.

It is evident from the preceding chapters or sections that some of their titles are single words, e.g.: eye (III 59), ammeters (II 40), quantity (I 9), electricity (II 12), metals (I 104), molecules (I 4), vision (III 60), spectrum (III 32), spectroscope (III 38), weight (I 6), voltmeters (II 40), and so on.

Most chapter or section titles consist of two-word or multiword phrases, e.g.: specific gravity (I 15); radiated heat (I 114); compound motion (I 21); units of weight (I 13); properties of cathode rays (II 52); magnetoelectric machine (II 73); refraction of a ray in a prism (III 25); measuring distance with the eyes (III 64); electric charge on the surface of conductors (II 17); motion of objects acted on by a force (I 24); image of a body in a plane mirror (III 12); air pressure expressed in units of weight (I 81); expressing force as the product of mass and acceleration (III 83); variation in vapour elasticity as temperature changes (I 131); images of bodies placed in front of diverging lenses (III 31), etc. There are also chapters whose titles are simply sentences, e.g.: centrifugal force reduces the weight of an object (I 30); every quantity of work is expressed as lifting work (III 89); the ray passes through a body enclosed by two parallel planes (III 24), and the like.

In general, the language of most chapters or sections is clear, simple, and understandable, and the terms are precise and correct. This is evidently due in no small measure to J. Jablonskis. As I. Šenavičienė notes, J. Jablonskis insisted that terms be coined according to the essence of the object or concept, without regard to the etymology of names in other languages; at the same time, he was no uncritical advocate of Lithuanizing them and, according to Z. Žemaitis, worked wonders. It seemed that, when judging a term, the eminent linguist was guided by some special sense of the spirit of the language, accessible to him alone, accurately distinguishing living words from those alien to Lithuanian, just as a good musician’s ear picks out a discordant note across the entire spectrum (Šenavičienė 1982: 87).

When choosing the right word or term, K. Šakenis was undoubtedly influenced by J. Jablonskis’s advice. Here is how the electroscope is explained

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and heat conduction: “It is a simple glass bottle (glass vessel), whose stopper must be made of a non-conductor, for example, rubber. A metal rod a with a small ball b is inserted through the stopper into the glass bottle. Two straws mm, or two very thin sheets of paper, are attached to the end of the rod. If we bring to the ball b a glass rod rubbed with amalgamated leather, the two sheets will immediately move apart and form an angle with each other. For electricity passes from the rod through the conductor b a into the sheets, and, having acquired the same kind of electricity, they tend to move apart” (II 14–15).

“In everyday life we often have occasion to make use of the low thermal conductivity of gases. As winter approaches, we install a second set of window frames in our rooms to keep them warmer. It is not so much the second pane of glass as the layer of air between the two frames that retains heat. We often hear that feet get colder in tight boots than in roomy ones, because the latter contain more warmed air, which retains heat. As winter approaches, we try to wrap young trees in straw, since straw and the air within it are poor conductors of heat. The same can be said of wool, feathers, and other similar materials that contain air. If these materials are compressed so that less air remains in them, their thermal conductivity will increase” (I 114).

2. Textbook terminology

The terminology of K. Šakenis’s Physics textbook comprises general terms, terms from physics, and terms from other sciences closely related to physics at the time, e.g.: echo (III 74), eye (III 59), coal (II 31), axis (II 60), wave (III 74), work (III 91), combustion (I 97), moisture (I 134), chimney (I 92), motion (III 5), end (III 11), power (III 91), vapour (I 136), sound (III 71), discharge (II 13), force (III 85), strip (III 67), angle (III 72), quadrant (III 6–7), cavity, hollow (III 60), spark (II 76), body (III 35), arc (II 51), field (II 56), table (II 8), lens (III 73–74), flame (III 40), measures (I 9), material (III 10–11), mixtures (I 123), air (I 87), foundation (III 38), lever arm (I 15), bundle (III 25), fiber (III 17), front part (III 81), wheel (III 75), vision (III 60), pointer (II 40), decomposition (I 33), difference (I 88), pulley (I 49), layer

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(III 69), ray (III 14), current (II 71), spoke (III 14), pillar (I 61), composition (I 32), weight (I 13), lever (I 49), side (II 34), shadow (III 5), heat (I 11), light (III 50), gap (II 52), crash (III 71), image (III 14), little bell (II 60), mirror (III 10), spring (II 50), value (III 96), vibration (III 69), lightning (II 76), ring (II 71), and so on. Nearly all of them serve as the head elements of specific terms, for example: eye: long e., short e. (III 62); wave: reflected w. (III 74), sound w. (III 74), air w. (III 81), principal w. (III 74), long waves (III 70), spherical waves (III 70), water waves (III 70); humidity: absolute h. (I 135), absolute air h. (I 134), air h. (I 134), percentage h. (I 135), percentage air h. (I 134); end: pointed e. (III 11), closed e. (I 89), e. of an eclipse (III 9); force: atmospheric f. (I 81), resultant f. (III 87), electric f. (II 75), electric permittivity f. (II 41), living f. (III 85), centrifugal f. (I 29), tension f. (III 76), parallel forces (I 38–39), magnetic f. (II 3), steel magnet f. (II 9), polarization electric permittivity f. (II 47), resolving f. (I 38), compressive f. (I 38), current f. (II 29), component forces (I 36), weight f. (III 86–87), pulling f. (II 8–9), friction f. (III 89); angle: angle of reflection (III 72), critical angle of total internal reflection (III 24), angle of refraction (III 25), refracting angle (III 25), angle of deviation (II 10); spark: electric spark (II 26); body: diamagnetic bodies (II 57), electrified body (II 19), opaque body (III 3), non-luminous body (III 13), imaged body (III 67), paramagnetic bodies (II 57), polished bodies (III 44), transparent body (III 3), liquid bodies (I 5), sliding body (III 86–87), worn body (III 64), bright body (III 5), luminous body (III 4), dark body (III 3); lens: biconcave lens (III 62), biconvex lens (III 62), biconvex crown-glass lens (III 50), converging lenses (III 29), convex-concave lens (III 26), convex-concave flint-glass lens (III 50), plano-concave lens (III 26), plano-convex lens (III 26), diverging lens (III 31); measures: quarter-based m. (I 10), metric m. (I 9), sixth-based m. (I 10); material: opaque m. (III 4), transparent m. (III 4); air: uncondensed a. (I 87), ordinary a. (I 89), rarefied a. (I 88), condensed a. (I 87), dense a. (I 90), vibrating a. (III 80); incidence: transverse i. (III 25); beam: divergent b. (III 17), beam of rays (III 3); vision: v.: with both eyes (III 63); number: number of revolutions (II 57), number of string vibrations (III 76); decomposition: decomposition of force (I 33), decomposition of a magnet (II 8); pulley: movable p. (I 50), usually

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p. (I 50); current: electric c. (II 28), induced c. (II 65), direct c. (II 30), polarization c. (II 47), polarized c. (II 46), surge c. (II 28); column: mercury c. (I 61), liquid c. (I 67), water c. (I 79); lever: second-class l. (I 48), first-class l. (I 49); shadow: total s. (III 5); heat: latent heat of evaporation (I 126), latent heat of liquefaction (I 122), radiant heat (I 114); light: phosphorescent light (III 50), colored light (III 50); image: inverted image (III 57), inverted image of a body (III 56), reflected image (III 50), image of a body (III 5), magnified image (III 56), upright image of a body (III 50), virtual image (III 12), real image (III 57); mirror: convex mirror (III 19), plane mirror (III 11), spherical mirror (III 13); source: source of electricity (II 50), source of energy (III 94), source of current (II 51), source of light (III 6), and so on.

Words serving as such head elements were taken both from dialects and from old sources—the dictionaries of K. Sirvydas, J. Brodovskis, F. V. Hako, P. Ruigys, F. Kuršaitis, M. Miežinis, A. Juška, and others—and from later sources that recorded words from the folk language (e.g.: accounting (III 9), revolution (II 66), end piece (II 10), storm (II 11), particles (I 113), gases (I 77), acceleration (I 20), thunder (II 76), warming (III 43), voltage (II 22), coil (II 68), degree (I 12), inclination (I 51), measurement (III 64), deviation (II 10), gun (III 59), surface (II 17), plate (II 31), device (I 85), adaptation (III 61), spray (I 91), half-yoke (II 10), half-lever (I 40), vision (I 49), stillness (I 18), indicator (I 84), feature (III 42), sphere (III 90), properties (II 52), propagation (III 69), taste (I 99), color (III 35), upright (III 14), glass (II 25), piston (I 86), composition (I 33), rotator (II 59), plumb bob (I 6), weight (I 38), sixth-based (I 10–11), pendulum (I 56), pull (II 3), triangle (III 24), rustling (III 75), tubes (II 51–52), low-power telescope (III 56), lantern (III 52), fireplace (III 17), and so on).

On the other hand, a considerable part of K. Šakenis’s terminology consists of neologisms already coined and used by other authors, for example: eyeglasses (III 62), cover (I 136), law (II 33), pure carbon (I 101), phenomenon (I 3), relation (II 49), volume (I 17), and so forth (see Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language 1–20, 1941–2002), or proposed by J. Jablonskis, for example: oxygen (I 97), number (II 57), unit (III 95) (Žemaitis 1966: 196, 199).

Some words used in the textbook are not included at all in the academic Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language, for example: resultant (I 34), diagonal (I 35), drawability (III 44), insulator (II 12), non-starter (II 58–

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59), half-shadow (III 5), semiconductor (II 13), one-and-a-half burner (I 101), spreadability (III 44), rectangular (II 34), jaws (II 10), small lantern (II 32).

Quite a few borrowed terms (mostly of Latin and Greek origin) also appear in the Physics textbook and are still used in the terminology of physics today, for example: aberration (III 50), aerostat (I 85), amplitude (III 69), analysis (III 41), anode (II 48), apparatus (II 60), center (I 40), dyne (III 84), equivalent (II 45), electricity (II 12), electrolyte (II 44), electromagnet (II 56), element (II 31), energy (III 91), erg (III 91), physics (I 3), phonograph (III 81), gram (I 13), gramophone (III 82), instrument (III 80), calorie (II 49), cathode (II 48), cinematograph (III 67), coefficient (III 90–91), magnet (II 11), magnetization (II 6), magnetism (II 9), magnetizing (II 9), mass (III 84), megaerg (III 91), metal (II 46), microscope (III 53), molecule (II 9), monochord (III 77), motor (II 75), lens (III 54), pole (II 6), potential (II 30), prism (III 65), reaction (I 96), siphon (I 92), scale (I 12), solenoid (II 63), spectrum (II 6), spectroscope (III 38), telephone (II 68), telegraph (II 58), telescope (III 56), temperature (I 110), tone (III 75), and so on. Some have a somewhat different, now-unusual phonetic or morphological form, for example: accumulator (II 48), aluminium (II 51), harmony (III 75) and harmonic tones (III 80), cesium (III 37), cylinder (I 136), equator (II 10), electrolysis (II 46), electromagnetism (II 56), formula (II 40), helium (III 42), hypothesis (II 64), line (II 76), lithium (III 37), mechanics (III 84), radius (II 55), rubidium (III 37), second (I 19), and so on. There are somewhat fewer borrowings from French, German, or other languages, for example: airplane (I 85), amalgam (II 12), battery (II 40), dissonance (III 75), insulation (II 13), tuning fork (III 70), capacitor (II 24), machine (III 89), polarization (II 47), resonance (III 74), timbre (III 80).

In the Physics textbook, one can find only a few direct borrowings from Russian or German, for example: kuparvosas: copper kuparvosas (II 44), šeštarnė (I 52), špulė (II 66), špulėlė (II 56), torielius (I 70).

K. Šakenis, recognizing the need to distinguish generic and specific terms, endeavored to create more specific terms. Such generic and specific terms can even form certain clusters, for example: axis: optical axis, principal axis, principal axis of a lens, principal axis of a mirror, secondary axis,

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secondary axis of a lens, secondary axis of a mirror; work: force work, lifting work, work of machines, negative work, positive work; rays: anode rays, lower rays, lower rays of the observed object, reflected rays, colorless rays, chemical rays, refracted rays, emergent rays, cathode rays, parallel rays, refracting rays, diverging rays, incident rays, X-rays, heating rays, light rays, dark invisible rays, uranium and thorium rays, upper rays, Volta arc rays, rays of the observed object; resistance: resistance of an element, external resistance, field resistance, current resistance, internal resistance, and so forth. However, very often the specific elements in compound terms, expressed by adjectives or participles, are named inconsistently: some take the pronominal form, others the simple form. Such varying specific elements in compound terms can be regarded as variants, for example: wave: reflected wave (III 73) and the reflected wave (III 74); force: continuous force (I 24) and the continuous force (III 83); sudden force (I 25) and the sudden force (I 25); body: liquid body (I 4–5), but solid body and the solid body (I 4), vibrating body (III 10) and vibrating body (III 16); rays: colorless white rays (III 50) and colorless white rays (III 41), yellow rays (III 41) and the yellow rays (III 41), incident ray (III 24) and incident ray (III 11), colored rays (III 65) and the colored rays (III 41), bright rays (III 16) and the bright rays (III 45), warm rays (III 44) and the warm rays; shadow: complete shadow (III 5) and full shadow (III 4). The Physics textbook also exhibits variation of other kinds among specific elements, for example: energy: chemical energy (III 93) and energy of chemistry (III 93), heat energy (III 94) and thermal energy (III 96); angle: angle of incidence (III 21), angle of incidence (III 14), angle of falling (III 72) and angle of incidence (falling) (III 10), visual or visible angle (III 63); index: absolute refractive index (III 22) and absolute refractive index (III 22); rays: converged rays and converging rays (III 3); condenser: flat condenser (II 26), plane condenser (II 24) and planar condenser (II 24); mirror: concave mirror (III 52), the concave mirror (III 59) and concave mirror (III 13). Thus, the terminology of the Physics textbook is characterized by variation.

Another of its characteristics is synonymy. Several ways of presenting synonyms can be distinguished. First, when one of the synonyms is given in parentheses or joined by the conjunction or, for example:

reversed, negative, or negative image (III 49), but reversed image (so-called negative) (III 49); nitrogen or asphyxiant (I 100) and nitrogen (asphyxiant) (I 77); electrical power or potential (II 22), but electrical power (potential) (II 21); galvanometer or

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current measurer (II 34), but galvanometers (current measurers) (II 34); the angle of inclination or dip of the magnet (II 10), but the angle of inclination (dip) (II 10); simple microscope or magnifying glass (III 52), but simple microscope (magnifying glass) (III 52); spyglasses or binoculars (III 56–57), but spyglass (binocular) (III 56); apparent or virtual image (III 12), but apparent (virtual) image (III 30); lenses (linzes) (III 26), but lenses (lyšiai) or linzes (III 26). Second, when one of the synonyms given in parentheses or joined by the conjunction or is no longer emphasized elsewhere in the textbook, for example: induction or secondary current (II 65), but induction current (II 66); quantity of matter or mass (III 84), but mass (III 84); positive or positive (real) image (III 49), but positive image of an object (III 49); biconvex (bulging) lens (III 26), but biconvex lens (III 45); turn (coil) (II 73), but turn (II 66); absorbability (III 44), but absorbability (III 44); quadrilateral (square) (III 6), but quadrilateral (III 6–7); field (external) resistance (II 37), but external resistance (II 37); source (spring) (II 49), but electric source (II 50); total (complete) internal reflection (III 23), but total internal reflection (III 24). The cases of synonymy cited above also reveal another characteristic—the non-equivalence of Lithuanian and international terms, for example: grooves (lines) (II 52), but lines (grooves) (III 41) and spiral line (groove) (III 81); radius (radius) (I 29) and spoke (radius) (III 6).

Issues of synonymy and variation related to variation in the naming of terms show that the terminology of physics at the time was still being developed and displayed all the characteristics of a terminology in the process of formation (Kaulakienė 1997: 56–62). Although most of the terms mentioned, especially those formed with prefixes and suffixes, can be grouped into certain derivational categories: names of actions, properties, results of actions, agents and bearers of verbal properties, bearers of nominal properties, and names of tools, machines, devices, or other means (most often adjectives serve as these).

In K. Šakenis’s Physics textbook one can find names of actions, properties, phenomena, and tools, for example: accounting, acceleration, elongation, movement, hardening, change, falling, decrease, deviation, distancing, adaptation, liquefaction, calculation

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calculation (I 36), depiction (III 47); porosity (I 8), conductivity (I 114), usefulness (III 62), non-conductivity (I 6), stability (III 95), difference (II 4), dispersion (III 96), elasticity (I 131), weight (I 6), wetness (I 63), density (I 83), distance (III 63), uniformity (II 23); glider (III 69), crank (I 138), piston (I 86), winding mechanism (I 51), engine (I 136). Some other terms expressing the category of action vary, for example: running and flow: the cause of the running or sliding of electricity (II 29) and our conductor scarcely impedes the flow of electric current (II 29); refraction and bend: refraction of rays in a biconvex lens (III 26) and the ray’s refraction also depends on its color (hue) (III 33). In general, however, the textbook aims to distinguish derivatives with the suffixes -imas/-ymas and -umas from those formed with the endings -a, -as, -is—the latter express magnitude or dimension, for example: height: And the height of each branch of the tube is no more than 30 centimeters (I 88); magnitude: To understand what force can do to a given object, one must know the magnitude of the force (I 32); velocity: We usually define velocity as the distance, measured in centimeters, that an object travels in one second (I 19); pressure: It is now clear that force can be measured by pressure, or in units of weight (I 23); weight and volume: Thus, to find an object’s volume, its weight expressed in grams must be divided by its specific gravity (I 17), and so on. I. Končius, a contemporary of K. Šakenis, also adhered to this principle, which is evident in the terminology not only of physics but of other scientific fields today (Kaulakienė 1993: 32–43). However, in K. Šakenis’s textbook, categories of agent names and names of devices or instruments are still often confused, for example: galvanometer or current measurer (II 34); searcher or finder (III 56); simple microscope or magnifying glass (III 52); resistor and driver: The force that pushes a body is called the driver, and the product Fh denotes the driver’s work, while force q is the resistor, and thus qh is the resistor’s work (III 88). Perhaps this was also influenced by the fact that neither P. Vileišis nor I. Končius distinguished these categories of names.

On the other hand, adhering to the principle stated in the preface to the second edition—that in the textbook “students could find only the knowledge they need” (Šakenis 1997: 252)—he apparently paid little attention to the standardization of terms. Moreover, it should be remembered that the terminology of physics at the time was still being developed.

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3. Conclusions

1. As in the writings of his predecessors and contemporaries (P. Vileišis, I. Končius), the terminology of Konstantinas Šakenis’s Physics textbook rested on a solid foundation—Lithuanian vocabulary. Most of the words in the textbook were taken from everyday speech.

2. The Physics textbook clearly reflects criteria for standardizing terms: a) efforts were made to find Lithuanian equivalents for loanwords (resulting in justified synonymy among terms); b) attributive adjective or participle forms are most often used to name specific concepts (resulting in a hierarchy among terms); c) derivatives with the suffixes -imas/-ymas, -umas and the endings -a, -as, -is are distinguished according to meaning, with the latter used to describe magnitudes and dimensions.

3. The variation and synonymy of terms suggest that the terminology of physics at that time was still being developed and displayed all the characteristics of a terminology in the process of formation.

LITERATŪRA

Fizikos istorija 1988: Fizikos istorija Lietuvoje. I (1579–1940). Autorių kolektyvas: P. Brazdžiūnas, H. Horodničius, H. Jonaitis, A. Puodžiukynas, I. Šenavičienė; Vilnius.

Kaulakienė A. 1993: Lietuvių fizikos terminografijos pradmenys. – Lituanistica 1(13).

Kaulakienė A. 1994: Rankraštinio Igno Končiaus fizikos vadovėlio kalba. – Lituanistica 3(19).

Kaulakienė A. 1997: Pirmųjų fizikos vadovėlių mechanikos terminai. – Terminologija 4.

Martišius J. A. 1994: Apie Konstantino Šakenio rašytinį palikimą. – Mokslo Lietuva 20(94).

Martišius J. A. 1996: Konstantinas Šakenis – pirmųjų lietuviškų fizikos vadovėlių autorius. – Fizikų žinios 11.

Šakenis K. 1997: Iki „Vaizdų ir minčių nelaisvėje“, Vilnius.

Šenavičienė I. 1982: Fizikos raida Lietuvoje (1920–1940), Vilnius.

Žemaitis Z. 1966: Lietuviškos matematinės terminologijos istorijai. – Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai 8.

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TERMINOLOGY OF KONSTANTINAS ŠAKENIS’

TEXTBOOK FIZIKA (PHYSICS)

Summary

Konstantinas Šakenis’ textbook Fizika (Physics) for gymnasia was published in 1920. It consisted of three parts, which were published separately: Part I. Mechanics. Heat; Part II. Magnets. Electricity; Part III. Light. Sound. Energy and Work. During the period from 1920 until 1940 five editions of this text-book in three parts were published.

The paper analyses terminology of the first edition of three parts of Šakenis’ Fizika in 1920. The analysis of the terms of this text-book can be summarised by the following conclusions.

First of all, the terminology of Šakenis’ Fizika, similarly to the writings of his contemporaries (Petras Vileišis, Ignas Končius), was based on the Lithuanian vocabulary. Secondly, an abundance of variants and synonyms of terms shows that at that time the terminology of physics was still in the process of formation and had all features of the period of terminology creation. Thirdly, the criteria of terminological normalisation of Konstantinas Šakenis are obvious – motivated synonymy, matters of subordination of generic and specific terms, category groups of terms.

Angelė KAULAKIENĖ

Gauta 2002-09-25

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-2055 Vilnius

E. paštas [email protected]

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