Lithuanian Republic Standard “Terminology: Principles and Methods”

As of January 1, 1990, the Republic of Lithuania Standard (Lithuanian RST) 1115–90, “Terminology: Principles and Methods” (print run: 250 copies), prepared in accordance with the international standard ISO 704–87, came into force. The standard was prepared by staff of Vilnius University and the Institute of the Lithuanian Language; the Department of Standardization and Quality approved it and set its effective date.

The aforementioned standard consists of five sections and four appendices.

The first section specifies the purpose and scope of application of this standard.

The second section lists international documents that may be needed when developing and managing terminology.

The third section, “Concepts,” explains what a concept is, as well as the content and scope of a concept and concept systems. It discusses relations between concepts. In practical terminology management, two kinds of relations between concepts are distinguished: hierarchical and non-hierarchical. Hierarchical relations are divided into generic–specific and whole–part relations. Non-hierarchical relations are temporal and spatial associations or cause-and-effect relations.

The concepts of a particular field collectively form a system in which each concept occupies a certain position. The significance of concept systems for managing terms is indicated. Two examples of graphical representations of concept systems are provided. Concepts are classified according to characteristics that help distinguish one concept in a particular field from another. Characteristics may be internal or external, essential or non-essential.

The fourth section, “Definitions,” presents the general concept of a definition. The purposes of definitions are listed. A definition is the basis for selecting and analyzing terms. Two types of definitions are most commonly used in terminology work: intensional and extensional definitions. The definitions of all concepts making up a system must be consistent with one another.

The requirements to be observed when formulating a definition are discussed. They are as follows:

1. A definition must reflect the essential characteristics of a concept.

2. Adequacy of definitions.

3. Systematicity of definitions.

4. Brevity of definitions.

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Definitions may be supplemented with illustrations (photographs, drawings, diagrams, etc.).

The following topics are discussed in Chapter Five, “Terms”:

1. General understanding of the term.

2. The structure and formation of terms.

3. Terminology systems.

4. The relationship between a term and a concept.

5. Requirements for selecting and forming terms.

6. Acronyms and abbreviations.

7. Transliteration and Latinization of terms.

8. Standardization of Lithuanian terms.

A term is a word or combination of words used to designate a concept. Thus, like every word, a term consists of the following elements: a root, affixes (prefix, suffix), and an ending.

The main methods of term formation are presented:

1. Change of meaning.

2. Syntactic method.

3. Change of syntactic category.

4. Morphological method — combining roots and affixes.

5. Formation of abbreviations.

6. Borrowing of terms.

The relationship between a term and a concept is discussed.

The following requirements apply to each term:

1. Linguistic correctness.

2. Precision.

3. Brevity.

4. Ease of derivation.

5. Unambiguous correspondence between the term and the concept.

The topics explained in the sections “Concepts,” “Definitions,” and “Terms” are illustrated with examples.

As already mentioned, this standard has four annexes. The first annex gives definitions of the main concepts used in the standard, while the second presents graphical abbreviations of terms. The third annex provides an example of a term card recommended for compiling Lithuanian terms. The requirements for formatting that card are explained in the fourth annex.

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