Sinonimai latvių kalbos terminų žodynuose

IŠ UŽSIENIO TERMINOLOGIJOS Regina KVAŠYTĖ Institute of the Latvian Language, Riga SYNONYMS IN LATVIAN-LANGUAGE TERMINOLOGICAL DICTIONARIES In the theory of terminology in various languages, the requirement that terms be unambiguous and have no synonyms is difficult to implement in terminological practice. This applies to many languages. At the initial stage in the formation of the terminology of scientific fields, synonymy is an unavoidable phenomenon, since not only the terms but also the concepts themselves and their scope are not yet sufficiently clear. The presence (emergence) of synonymous terms is usually determined by numerous factors: “a) the desire to name a concept much more rationally than before; b) the creation of a new term without regard for names already in use; c) the proposal of terms of their own by various terminological schools or approaches; d) the consequences of linguistic interference, and so on.”1 Synonyms arise for objective reasons (available linguistic models, changes in concepts) as well as subjective ones (the terminologist’s personality, linguistic sense, the views of a smaller or larger group of specialists, and so on). Often, the choice of one synonym or another is determined only by an agreement within a particular group, that is, by a conventional norm. Synonyms cannot be avoided in Latvian terminology either; they are found in terminological texts and dictionaries in various fields. Taking dictionaries of terms related to economics, finance, and business (all terms in these adjacent fields are here collectively referred to as subject-field terms), this study examines the presentation of synonyms and their changes in Latvian terminological dictionaries published at different times, from the very beginning of the publication of normative terminological collections. 1 A. Kaulakienė, “Assessment of synonymy in physics and technical terminology,” // Questions in Lithuanian Linguistics: Issues of Language Normalization. Vilnius, 1991. Vol. 31. p. 53. 76 The first dictionary of Latvian scientific terminology prepared on a scholarly basis2 was published in 1922. After the Republic of Latvia was established in 1918, it became necessary to develop national science and culture; therefore, in 1919, on the initiative of the Ministry of Education, a Terminology Commission was established with the task of creating uniform terminology. Prominent Latvian linguists also took part in the Commission’s work: Janis Endzelynas (Jānis Endzelīns), Pēteris Šmitas (Pēteris Šmits), Ernestas Blesė (Ernests Blese), and Jėkabas Dravniekas (Jēkabs Dravnieks). The dictionary is a summary of the Commission’s work: it brings together Latvian terms and their Russian and German equivalents across 19 fields: linguistics; philosophy; music; painting, sculpture, and construction; natural sciences; forestry; chemistry and chemical technology; mathematics; geometry and drawing; physics; mechanics; machinery and metalworking; construction; electricity and electrical engineering; military sciences; navigation; the book industry; as well as terms in economics, finance, and law corresponding to the subject of the study. In April 1921, the Terminology Commission ceased its work because of a shortage of budget funds. Much remained unfinished, but a great deal was also accomplished. The sections on finance and economics, and on law, are considered the best prepared; they are also substantial in size (31 pages out of the dictionary’s 162 pages in total—1,346 terms).3 Since the Terminology Commission of that period was subordinate to the Ministry of Education, the progress of Latvian terminology work during that period was reflected in the monthly publication issued by the Ministry of Education4, where various proposals were published for general discussion, including many synonymous terms in particular fields, and feedback was invited. Several Latvian terminological dictionaries were published in the first half of the 20th century, and various synonymous terms can be found in all of them—some have remained synonyms to this day, while others have gradually disappeared or developed distinct meanings. Th 2 Dictionary of Scientific Terminology. Riga, 1922 (hereafter ZTV). 3 A. Blinkena, “The 1922 ‘Dictionary of Scientific Terminology’ from a contemporary perspective,” // National Terminology: History, Present, and Prospects: Abstracts of Papers. Riga, 1996. p. 37. 4 Ministry of Education Monthly (hereafter IMM). 77 Synonyms reflect the development of the terminology of each field of science, but only the practical use of terms helps identify the most suitable one. “Synonymy in terminological practice indicates that the system of terms (and usually concepts) in the relevant field has not yet become established; it is still being created, and the process of terminologization is ongoing. Synonymy is not characteristic of terminology systems compiled on a scientific basis, since every effort is made to avoid it as far as possible already during their preparation”5. This process is also reflected in terminographic sources, where dictionaries of terms in the same field, published at different times, contain different names and definitions for certain concepts. These are determined by efforts to find the most rational and convenient names for new or changed concepts. A normative term often gains currency and becomes established out of several synonyms or variants. The same applies to the process of developing standardized terminology. Subject-field terminology is particularly distinctive in this respect, because many changes have taken place (and continue to take place) in its domains of use at different times, and consequently many more synonyms are used. Since many new phenomena and their names come from abroad, terminologists increasingly encounter cases of synonymy between terms in their own language and international terms, or absolute synonymy. This is perhaps the most common form of synonymy in terminology, although the ways such synonyms are presented in different dictionaries vary. Most often the foreign-origin term is listed first, followed by its Latvian synonym separated by a comma /in recent years, dictionaries of terms have followed the general principle of listing the more widely used term first, regardless of its origin; however, it is difficult to say whether this principle also applied when earlier dictionaries of terms were compiled/: protests, iebildums “objection”6 (IMM 1920, IX);7 reklamacija, iebildums “objection” (IMM 1921, IV; ZTV 30); kompensacija, atlīdzināšana “compensation” (IMM 1921, IX); referents, 5 Skujiņa V. Latviešu terminoloģijas izstrādes principi. Rīgā, 1993. Lpp. 49. 6 Latviško termino vertimas į lietuvių kalbą apytikris, tai gali nebūti terminas. 7 Skliausteliuose po atitinkamos santrumpos minimi metai bei leidinio numeris (romėniškais skaitmenimis) arba puslapis (arabiškais skaitmenimis). 78 priekšačelējs „pristatytojas“ (IMM 1920, II) /plg. latviškas sinonimas – žodžių junginys priekšā cēlējs (ZTV 4)/; paritate, vienvērte „vienavertiškumas“ (IMM 1920, XI; ZTV 22) /tiek tarptautinis, tiek latviškas gimininis terminas įeina ir į rūšinio termino sudėtį – naudas paritate, naudas vienvērte „pinigų vienavertiškumas“ (ZTV 16)/; maklers, starpnieks „tarpininkas“ (VLT 22)8 /vok. Makler/; cirkulārs, apkārtraksts „aplinkraštis“ (VLT 34); akreditīvs, pilnvara „įgaliojimas“ (VLT); konfiskacija, atjemšana „atėmimas“ (VLT); rabats, atlaids „nuolaida“ (IMM 1920, XI; ZTV 31); memorands, ielāde „atmintinė“ (ZTV 16). Būtina taip pat paminėti, jog terminų žodynuose atsispindi ir savo laiko rašybos normos – dabar remiantis dabartinės latvių kalbos normomis kai kurie tarptautiniai (o kartais ir latviški) terminai rašomi kitaip. Ypač dažnai keitėsi tarptautinių žodžių rašybos reikalavimai latvių kalba.9 Terms are also found in the reverse order: the Latvian term is listed first, followed by its international synonym: izredze “prospect,” vakance (VLT 31); lietpratis “expert, someone knowledgeable about the matter,” eksperts (ZTV 6) (cf. eksperts, lietpratējs VLT); pārvede “transfer,” indosaments (VLT) /the international term was absent from the dictionary published earlier—cf. pārvedu uzraksts, pārvede “endorsement of transfer, transfer” (ZTV 22)/; pirmteksts, oriģināls “original text” (ZTV 5) /Russian podlinnik/; piemaksa “supplement,” adžio (VLT), and so on. Such absolute synonymy between international and Latvian terms is justified. Nevertheless, it is often desirable to avoid it: “the general tendency to avoid absolute synonyms, although limited … manifests itself in two ways: 1) semantic differentiation of such pairs; 2) complete expulsion of the borrowing from the language system.”10 Undesirable phenomena may arise in terminology, for example, the non-equivalence of a native term and an international term— 8 Dravnieks E. Vācu–latviešu tirdznieciskā terminoloģija. Rīgā, 1935. Lpp. 35 (toliau tekste VLT). 9 The letters that do not conform to the spelling of contemporary Latvian are underlined—nowadays these are most often long vowels. 10 Klimavičius J. Synonymy of international and Lithuanian terms in terminography // Issues in Lithuanian Linguistics: Lithuanian Terminology. Vilnius, 1975. Vol. 16. P. 92. 79 equivalence. Dictionaries often list different Latvian terms as synonyms for one international term, or one Latvian term has different international synonyms; for example, the examples mentioned above, reklamacija, iebildums and protests, iebildums. Similar relations occur in other cases: galvojums “guarantee,” garantija (VLT) /German Garantie/ and drošības nauda “security deposit,” galvojums (VLT) /German Kaution/. Some dictionaries of terms also record Latvian equivalents that differ in form for the international term kalkulācija: a single-word term—a prefix derivative aplēsums “calculation” /in ZTV the international term is kalkulācija (16)—cf. German Kalkulation, Berechnung/, and a two-word specific term incorporating a suffix derivative aplēse: kalkulācija, iepriekšēja aplēse “preliminary calculation” (VLT). In the past, J. Endzelīns objected to the non-Latvian borrowing from German rēķins and proposed using the old Baltic word lēse11 in its place. This was also reflected in dictionaries of terms—lēse (rēķins) (IMM 1920, IX; ZTV 34); nevertheless, rēķins and its derivatives became established in contemporary language, although lēse is occasionally used in some official texts, such as legislation—the section heading “Nodokļa aplēse un maksāšanas kārtība” (“Tax calculation and payment procedure”)12. Relations between the elements of a synonym pair may change: some disappear, while others acquire a differentiated meaning or become determinologized. This is especially evident when examining changes in the terms imports and eksports. From the outset, both had Latvian equivalents, ievedums “import” and izvedums “export,” which dictionaries list both as specific terms and as components of compound generic terms or as elements of compounds: izvedtirdzniecība “export trade,” eksports (VLT) /German Ausfuhrhandel/; ievedtirdzniecība “import trade,” importtirdzniecība (VLT 17) /German Importhandel/. The dictionary also records names for agents: eksportiers, izvedējs “exporter” (VLT 13) /German Exporteur/; importiers, ievedējs “importer” (VLT 17) /German Importeur/. However, later Valodas prakses jautājumi / red. J. Endzelīns. Sakārt. P. Ozoliņš. Rīgā, 1935. Par uzņēmuma ienākumu nodokli // Diena. – 1995, kovo 8. 80 in dictionaries, these Latvian equivalents now appear only as explanations in parentheses—cf. eksports (arī izvedums) (ETV 72)13; eksports (izvedums) (ETSV 77)14; imports (ievedums) (ETSV 90) /in the 1975 dictionary the term imports is absent—only two terms containing the element import- are listed: importmuita “import duty” and importprece “imported goods” (ETV 95)/. In recent times, the elements ieved- and izved- have survived only in the compound terms ievedmuita “import duty” (ELDO 237) and izvedmuita “export duty” (ELDO 237), as well as in compound terms where they function as modifiers. As the Latvian lexicologist A. Laua states, international words sometimes have terminological meanings while their Latvian equivalents are not terms, and she cites precisely these terms.15 Also, terminology dictionaries often present a compound term alongside a one-word international term, comprising both a Latvian and an international element: testators, testamenta taisītājs “maker of a will” (IMM 1920, II); trasants, vekseļa devējs “drawer of a bill of exchange” (IMM 1920, XI; ZTV 35); trasats, vekseļa maksātājs “payer of a bill of exchange” (IMM 1920, XI); skonts, konta atlaids “account discount” (IMM 1920, XI) /a grammatical change is also reflected— in contemporary language, the feminine form atlaide/; kurtāža, maklera atlīdzība “broker’s remuneration” (ZTV 15) is used instead of the term atlaids (see also rabats, atlaids); /earlier, in the dictionary, the Latvian equivalent was given in parentheses— kurtāža (māklera atlīdzība) (IMM 1920, XI)/; obligācija, ķīlu zīme “pledge document” (IMM 1920, IX); adopcija, pieņemšana bērna vietā “acceptance in place of a child” (IMM 1921, IV) /it is recommended that the one-word international term be replaced with a three-word compound Latvian synonym (in a later dictionary, international terms appear in two forms: adopcija (ZTV 6) and adoptēšana (sulatyvinta forma su priesaga -šana), pieņemšana bērna vietā (ZTV 7)/; averss, monētas priekšpuse “front side of a coin” 13 Ekonomikas terminu vārdnīca. (Series Terminology. No. 11.) Riga, 1975 (hereafter ETV). 14 Ekonomikas terminu skaidrojošā vārdnīca (ed. Prof. A. Moisejeva). Riga, 1981 (hereafter ETSV). 15 Laua A. Latviešu leksikoloģija. Rīgā, 1980. Lpp. 200. 81 (ZTV 7); revers, monētas mugurpusē “the reverse side of a coin” (ZTV 30)—the international term may contain a typographical error; in contemporary usage it is reverss /later reverss (monētas mugurpusē) (JTV 142)16 /. It should also be noted that synonyms help convey several meanings of this international term, associated with Latin reversus “turned back, returned”17, and reflected in the dictionary of contemporary Latvian—five meanings are listed in all—“2. In commercial law, an obligation, a promise signed when something is pledged. 3. A letter of guarantee issued by the consignor of cargo to the ship’s captain” (LLVV 634)18—cf. garantijas vēstule “letter of guarantee,” reverss (TSV 4, 497).19 In the dictionary of contemporary Latvian subject-field terms, the international term is recorded with only one meaning, while the Latvian phrase is given in parentheses as an explanation (in a different typeface—in italics in the dictionary): reverss (monetas mugurpusē) (ELDO 353). Synonymy is found both among one-word terms and among the components of compound terms. In this case, any component of a compound term may have synonyms—both the generic term and the modifier of the specific term, most often a noun in the genitive, less often a participle or adjective: tranzīta, caurvedu muita “transit duty” (IMM 1920, XI); prioritātes, priekšrocības akcijas “preference shares” (ZTV 27); komisijas (starpniecības) darījums “commission (intermediary) transaction” (ZTV 14); galvota (garantēta) akcija “guaranteed share” (IMM 1920, IX); galvota (garantēta) obligācija (ZTV 19). Such synonymous components are given in parentheses or after a comma, without repeating the related term. With several Latvian components, the specific term may also consist of an international term and an old loanword or Latvian word, for example: atvieglots (priekšrocības) tarifs “preferential (priority) tariff” (JTV 22), sakarīgas, atkarīgas cenas “related, dependent prices” Juridisko terminu vārdnīca. Riga, 1942 (hereafter JTV). Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas. Vilnius, 1969. P. 661. Latviešu literārās valodas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1987. Sēj. 6(2) (toliau tekste LLVV). Tautsaimniecības vārdnīca. Riga. 1943–1944 (hereafter TSV). Ekonomikas, lietvedības un darba organizācijas termini. Riga, 1995 (hereafter ELDO). 82 “of that price” (ZTV 12); iepriekšēja kontrole (revizija) “preliminary control” (ZTV 25), etc. The Latvian equivalent given in parentheses after an international term is understood also as a synonymous term dublikāts (divotnis) “duplicate” (ZTV 12); taksātors (novērtētājs) “assessor” (JTV 159); magnāts (lielmanis) “magnate” (JTV 92), and also as an explanation, especially if it is a multiword phrase: koncesija (tirgošanas atļauja) “trading permit” (IMM 1920, XI; ZTV 15); remedijs (pielaižamā starpība) “permissible margin” (IMM 1920, XI) /cf. later remedijs, pielaižamā starpība (ZTV 30)/; majorats (mantojums pēc pirmdzimtības) “inheritance by primogeniture” (IMM 1920, XI); embargo (apkļāšana, aizliegums) “seizure, prohibition” (ETV 78). Less often, the Latvian term is given first, followed by its international equivalent in parentheses: pirmtiesība (prioritāte) “right of priority” (JTV 133); pirmraksts (oriģināls) “original document” (JTV 133) /cf. pirmteksts, oriģināls (ZTV 5)/; piekritība (kompetence) “jurisdiction” (JTV 128) /German Zuständigkeit, Kompetenz; Russian podsudnostj, vedomstvo/; drošības skapītis (arī a. seifs) “safety deposit box” (TSV 370). Less often, synonymous terms in dictionaries are linked by the conjunction jeb “or”—this indicates that their meanings coincide, since in Latvian this conjunction links words with entirely identical meanings: klienta jeb pienāksnieka iraidība “presence of a client” (IMM 1921, IX) /Russian naličnosti po ščetu klienta—in a later dictionary, without the conjunction: klienta, pienāksnieka iraidība (ZTV 17)/; formulāri jeb veidlapas “forms” (TSV 4, 497); grāmatvešana jeb grāmatu vēšana (arī grāmatošana vai iegrāmatošana) “bookkeeping” (TSV 4, 542). This has not been observed in later Latvian terminology dictionaries; they most often use the cross-reference skat. /žr./: tālrunis sk. telefons (JTV 159) and, correspondingly, telefons (tālrunis) “telephone” (JTV 160). Contemporary Latvian usage shows that the Latvian term tālrunis (a calque from German Fernsprecher) is quite popular, for example, in official announcements published in various newspapers and elsewhere. In contemporary subject-field terminology dictionaries, they remain synonyms: tālrunis sk. telefons (ELDO 407) and telefons, tālrunis (ELDO 411). 83 Sometimes dictionaries also present several Latvian terms as synonyms. These may be either single-word or compound terms, but such cases are not numerous (perhaps somewhat more frequent in present-day subject terminology): guardian, custodian, administrator “guardian, caretaker, ruler” (VLT) /Ger. curator; opinion “conclusion, opinion,” review “response” (IMM 1921, VII) /in contemporary language the meanings of these terms are differentiated/; employment, incorporation “employment/engagement” (ZTV 16); offer, promise “offer, promise” (ZTV 25); day laborer, daily worker, wage laborer “day laborer, day worker” (ZTV 23) /wage laborer – an old loanword of Indo-European origin²¹; transfer entry, transfer “transfer notation” (ZTV); information “information,” reference “reference” (ZTV 6; 33) /meanings differentiated in current terminology/; guarantor, surety “guarantor” (VLT) /different Latvian suffixes – both -tājs and -nieks are suitable for forming agent nouns/; contract worker, laborer “contract employee, labor-taker” (ZTV 23); decrease in value, loss of value “decline in value, loss of value” (TEV 134)²²; hiring, delay “delay, postponement” (TEV 40) /meanings differentiated/; workers, laborers “working people” (TEV 123); expenditure of money, disbursement of money “spending, disbursement of money” (ELDO 164). Other cases of synonymy are also reflected in terminology dictionaries published at different times, for example, synonymy between compound and single-word terms—a particularly productive method of term formation in contemporary Latvian: muitnīca, muitas valde “customs office” (IMM 1920, XI); laika strādnieks, laikstrādnieks “temporary worker” (TEV 123); caurlaides spēja, caurlaidspēja “throughput” (TEV 122); īpat­svars, īpatnējais svars “specific gravity” (ELDO 404); saskarīgas piegādes, saskarpiegādes “related deliveries” (ELDO 309); galarādītāji, galīgie rādītāji “final indicators” (ELDO 340) /a compound term is a single compound word, whereas a two-word compound term consists of two words, one of which contains the prefix— 21 K. K a r u l i s K. Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1992. Sej. 1. Lpp. 66. 22 Terms of Trade Economics, Organization and Management. Riga, 1992 (hereafter TEV). 84 The headword is an adjective; pilnvarotājs, pilnvaras devējs “authorizer, grantor of authority” (ELDO 317). Elliptical terms may also be synonymous: one component is omitted, thereby shortening one term: gabaldarba strādnieks, gabalstrādnieks “piece-rate worker” (TEV 123); piespiests darba kavējums, piespiedu kavējums “forced absence from work” (ELDO 174). Terminology dictionaries also contain derivational synonyms formed using different derivational devices—most often suffixal and ending-based derivatives of Latvian origin (or old loanwords): uzlē sums, uzlēse “calculation” (ZTV 18); piekļūšana, piekļuve “access” (ELDO 309); piedzina, piedzīšana “recovery” (ELDO 308); samaksas termiņš, makšāšanas termiņš “payment deadline” (ELDO 414). Interest in Latvian specialized terminology has always been considerable and has been particularly strong lately; as a result, dictionaries of terminology in these fields are published quite frequently. Since the first dictionary of scientific terminology appeared in 1922, about 40 Latvian terminology dictionaries have already been published, and their number continues to grow. These dictionaries present terms from various languages (Latvian, Russian, English, French, German) in combinations of two, three, or more languages. They may differ in structure and purpose—monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, etc., and either translation dictionaries and/or explanatory dictionaries—but synonyms can be found in all of them, both justified and unjustified ones (especially when the dictionaries have been published without the approval of the Terminology Commission or have not been coordinated with its decisions and publications). It can therefore be said that synonymy has so far proved impossible to avoid in Latvian specialized terminology, as in terminology in other fields. Abbreviations a. – English language; lat. – Latin language; cf. – compare; rus. – Russian language; see /cf./ – read /see/; vok. – German language 85 Literatūra 1. Blinkena A. 1922 gada „Zinātniskās terminoloģijas vārdnīca“ mūsdienu skatījumā // Nacionālā terminoloģija: vēsture, tagadne un perspektīvas: Referātu tēzes. Rīgā, 1996. Lpp. 37–38. 2. Dravnieks E. Vācu-latviešu tirdznieciskā terminoloģija. Rīgā, 1935. 3. Ekonomikas, lietvedības un darba organizācijas termini. Rīgā, 1995. 4. Ekonomikas terminu vārdnīca. (Sēr. Terminoloģija. Nr.11.). Rīgā, 1975. 5. Izglītības Ministrijas Mēnešraksts. Rīgā, 1920–1921. 6. Juridisko terminu vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1942. 7. Kaulakienė A. Fizikos ir technikos terminų sinonimijos vertinimas // Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai: Kalbos normalizacijos klausimai. Vilnius, 1991. T. 31. P. 51–56. 8. Klimavičius J. Tarptautinių ir lietuviškų terminų sinonimija terminografijoje // Lietuvių kalbotyros klausimai: Lietuvių terminologija. Vilnius, 1975. T. 16. P. 91–123. 9. Karulis K. Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1992. Sēj. 1–2. 10. Latviešu literārās valodas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1972–1996. Sēj. 1–8. 11. Laua A. Latviešu leksikoloģija. Rīgā, 1980. 12. Moisejevs A., Petrošjans K., Pilipenko N. Ekonomikas terminu skaidrojošā vārdnīca / red. prof. A. Moisejeva. Rīgā, 1981. 13. Skujiņa V. Latviešu terminoloģijas izstrādes principi. Rīgā, 1993. 14. Tautsaimniecības vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1943–1944. D. I–IV. 15. Tirdzniecības ekonomikas organizācijas un pārvaldes terminu vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1992. 16. Valodas prakses jautājumi / red. J. Endzelīns. Sakārt. P. Ozoliņš. Rīgā, 1935. 17. Zinātniskās terminoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1922. SYNONYMS IN LATVIAN DICTIONARIES OF TERMS Summary It is difficult to implement in practice the theoretical requirement of monosemantics of terms. In the meantime, Latvian terminology has failed to avoid synonymy. This article deals with cases of synonymy in Latvian terminology of economics, finance and business. The first dictionary that included terms of those fields, was published in 1922. Until now about 40 such dictionaries were published. Terminology of the above-mentioned fields has changed a lot in various periods; therefore its synonymy is abundant. One-word terms and complex terms could both have synonyms. Most frequent is the case of synonymy between Latvian and international words. In recent dictionaries the more frequently used synonym is given first. Sometimes it happens that various dictionaries present different 86 Latvian equivalents of the same international term. Synonymy of two Latvian terms is also noticeable. The relationship between components of synonymic couple changes – some of them disappear or acquire a different meaning. There are some cases of derivational synonyms. Regina KVAŠYTĖ Gauta 2000 05 31 Latviešu valodas institūts Akademijas laukumā 1 LV-1050, Rīga 87