Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas?

ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language IS TERMINOLOGICAL SYNONYMY A FLAW? A researcher must always have the freedom to choose terms and create neologisms. Scientific progress is impossible without this freedom. Kazimieras Gaivenis1 KEYWORDS: terminological synonymy, terminology management, motivated synonymy, motivational synonyms. ABSTRACT This article examines systematic terminological synonymy in the context of terminology management. Drawing on major works in Lithuanian terminology and terminographic data, it discusses the evaluation of terminological synonymy and its relationship with terminology management, and reconsiders the concept of motivated terminological synonymy. It concludes that although terminological synonymy is undesirable for pragmatic reasons and its regulation is appropriate, it is inaccurate to view it solely as a flaw: terminological synonymy and terminology management are linked by a bidirectional relationship, and synonymy intertwines the linguistic, cognitive, and communicative levels of terms. INTRODUCTION Quite a lot has been written about terminological synonymy in Lithuanian terminology (for an overview and references, see Mitkevičienė 2015), but this multifaceted phenomenon remains far from fully investigated and merits more than one monograph. This article is merely an exploration of the field of terminological synonymy. In the programme for professional language approved by a protocol resolution of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK), the issue of terminological synonymy, like that of so-called synonymy, is grouped with terminology errors such as malformed derivatives, unacceptable calques, and the like (VLKK 2014). This is significant because a general negative evaluation of terminological 1 Gaivenis Kazimieras. Rinktiniai raštai, Vilnius: Lietuvių kalbos institutas, 2014, p. 253. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 2 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 synonymy is thereby encoded. However, a look at the advanced search of the national term bank (TB), administered by the VLKK, shows that one of the search criteria is term synonym. The aim of the article is to discuss the evaluation of Lithuanian terminological synonymy, determine its relationship with terminology management2, and reconsider the concept of justified terminological synonymy. To this end, key works on Lithuanian terminology are reviewed and terminographic data are examined. Since synonymy is analyzed in the context of terminology management, the focus is not on the use of synonyms but on their recommendation, and only systemic synonymy is considered. The descriptive-analytical method is applied. ONE CONCEPT, ONE TERM: REQUIREMENT, PRINCIPLE, OR AXIOM? The avoidance of terminological synonymy, now a longstanding tradition, is pragmatic in nature: synonyms make communication more difficult, needlessly burden memory, and can confuse systematic relationships among terms. Avoidance of synonymy is also directly linked to characteristics of scientific and, more broadly, specialized discourse: precision and clarity. As is well known, certain r e q u i r e m e n t s are imposed on terms. In foundational works on Lithuanian terminology (Keinys 1980; Gaivenis 2002; see also Gaivenis 2014: 204–213), the absence of synonyms (in other words, one term for one concept, mononymy3) is not included among these requirements. Angelė Kaulakienė (1994, 2009) terminų sinonimijos klausimą tiesiogiai sieja su vienareikšmiškumo reikalavimu: vienam terminui – viena sąvoka, vienai sąvokai – vienas terminas4. Stasys Keinys 1980 m. vienareikšmiškumą laikė vienu iš svarbiausių terminams keliamų reikalavimų, tačiau jį aiškino tik kaip terminų monosemiją (vienoje srityje), skyrė nuo mononimijos (Keinys 1980). 2013 m. terminų vienareikšmiškumo problemai skirtame straipsnyje autorius teigė, kad tai labiau pageidavimas (Keinys 2013: 50). 2 Terminų tvarkyba, remiantis K. Gaiveniu (2002), suprantama kaip terminų sisteminimas ir norminimas. 3 Stasys Keinys yra pavartojęs terminą vienareikšmiškumas (Keinys 2013: 47), plg. į TB įtrauktą tarptautinį LST ISO 1087-1:2005 terminą mononimija „santykis tarp žymiklių ir sąvokų vienoje kalboje, kai viena sąvoka turi vienintelį žymiklį“ (TB 2019). 4 Cf. the international terminology standard of that time, available in translation (1990), which explains the one-to-one correspondence between a term and a concept as follows: “When establishing standardized terminology, it is desirable that one term denote only one concept, and that a concept be expressed by only one term” (LST 1115-90: 19). K. Gaivenis has written that some of the statements in this standard are inconsistent with contemporary linguistic conceptions (Gaivenis 2014: 215). BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 3 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 During the previous century, owing to the historical and political situation, Russian (Soviet) terminology had the greatest influence on Lithuanian terminology. In A. Kaulakienė’s translation from Russian of the book Terminologinis darbas (Pagrindai ir metodai), whose original was based on the work of Dmitrijus Lotė and the Scientific and Technical Terminology Committee of the USSR Academy of Sciences, synonymy is explained as a major shortcoming of terminology (TD 1973). In 1979, K. Gaivenis identified the naming of a concept with a single term as one of the principles of Lithuanian terminology (Gaivenis 2014: 114). However, he emphasized that these principles—that is, including the avoidance of synonymy—did not prescribe what Lithuanian terminology should be, but reflected the terminology-work practices of the preceding couple of decades (ibid.: 113). Thus, the principle of naming a concept with a single term is grounded in the needs and tendencies of practical terminology management. In his monograph (2002), K. Gaivenis does not discuss the principle of one term per concept. On the other hand, if we return to the first half of the twentieth century, we will see that as early as 1913 Kazys Grinius, in a paper read at the Lithuanian Scientific Society entitled “Apie botanikos organografijos lietuviškąją terminologiją” (published in Grinius 1914), stated as the first requirement that could be made of scientific terminology: “1. That there be one name, one word for each concept, since a scientific term is a tikras nomen proprium and must be only one” (Grinius 1914: 4). K. Grinius was undoubtedly thinking of botanical terminology. Jonas Jablonskis called for uniform terms, above all in schools (see Jablonskis 1935: 280), and also in scholarly language and the press (for more, see Keinys 2012: 45). According to St. Keinys, Kazimieras Būga does not appear to have strictly demanded the avoidance of terminological synonymy (Keinys 2012: 43). Writing about Jurgis Elisonas’s zoological systematics dictionary of terms, published around 1920 and including synonyms, K. Būga stated that “[f]rom among the several terms given in the glossary, the thoughtful reader will choose the one whose source seems more reliable to him” (Būga 1961: 784). The first Lithuanian theorist of terminology, Stasys Šalkauskis, did not write about synonyms, but his observation is important: “once words enter scientific terminology, they do not become semantically fixed” (Šalkauskis 1991: 43). Thus, one may hypothesize that, in his view, terminology is characterized by the same semantic phenomena as non-specialized vocabulary. For several decades now, it has been argued in Lithuanian terminology studies that the avoidance of terminological synonymy is relative. According to St. Keinys, “prohibitions of synonymy in terminology are in fact merely rather formal declarations” (Keinys 1980: 102); in practice, and even in dictionaries, synonymy is widespread (Keinys 2005: 254). K. Gaivenis stated that “[i]n the terminology of [a] field, there are always BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 4 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 sinonimų ir dubletų“ (Gaivenis 2002: 34)5. A. Kaulakienės nuomone, „[k]ategoriškas sinonimų draudimas, kurio praktiškai terminijoje nesilaikoma“, turi neigiamą pusę, nes, pirma, teorija supriešinama su praktika, antra, visiškai atsisakyti sinonimų nepavyksta (Kaulakienė 1994: 51; 2009: 167–168). Todėl, remdamasi fizikos ir technikos terminija (o tai reikšminga), sinonimiją vertinti ji siūlo daug lanksčiau, skiria pagrįstąją ir nepagrįstąją terminų sinonimiją, pastarąją laiko terminijos trūkumu. A. Kaulakienė aiškiai išskiria tik du pagrįstosios sinonimijos tipus: lietuviškų ir tarptautinių terminų sinonimiją, sudėtinių ir elipsinių terminų sinonimiją. Encyclopedic entries on the concept of “term” state the aspiration that terms should not have synonyms (LKE 2008; VLEe 2019). In Lithuanian lexicology, the absence of synonyms is mentioned as one of the features distinguishing terms from general-language lexical units, albeit with qualifications; cf.: “Established terms in a particular field are (or at least should be) the sole names for concepts” (Jakaitienė 2010: 185). Although it is argued in terminology studies that several decades must pass for terms to become established and for the requirement “one term for one concept” to become a reality (Kaulakienė 2014: 16), empirical terminology studies (see Gaivenytė 2000; Zemlevičiūtė 2001; Stankevičienė 2012; Vladarskienė 2015; Auksoriūtė 2018, etc.) and terminographic data show that this applies only to individual terms or groups of terms, not to the terminology of an entire field. TERMINOLOGICAL SYNONYMY AND TERMINOLOGY MANAGEMENT A bidirectional relationship can be discerned between terminological synonymy and terminology management (see Fig. 1): synonymy is both a cause and a consequence of terminology management. This supports A. Kaulakienė’s observation that “the occurrence of synonymy and variation in terminology is a continuous process” (Kaulakienė 1994: 53). 5 K. Gaivenis most likely used the term dubletas to refer to absolute synonyms. The concept of a dublet is likely to have entered Lithuanian terminology through Russian terminology works, but it did not become widely established. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 5 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 terms terms synonymy management FIG. 1. The relationship between term synonymy and terminology management Synonymy as a cause of terminology management. In both Lithuanian and foreign literature, synonymy is traditionally regarded as a feature of the initial stage in the formation of a terminological system or subsystem6. Often, at this stage, concepts and their scope, interrelationships, and classificatory relations are not entirely clear. It is claimed that for a time several synonymous terms are used to designate the same concept. The same applies to the names of new, not yet established concepts. When standardizing the terminology of a particular field7, one usually chooses from among synonymous terms (or creates a new term); if several terms are retained to designate the same concept, one is given preference (cf. Sager 1990: 59). In Lithuanian terminology dictionaries, the main term usually has its own dictionary entry, to which the entry for the synonymous cross-reference term directs the reader (for requirements for compiling Lithuanian terminology dictionaries, see Umbrasas 2008). Synonyms deemed unsuitable for some reason (incorrect, unsystematic, incorrectly motivated, etc.) are marked as non-recommended8. Sinonimų perteklius lietuvių terminografijoje vertinamas neigiamai (žr. Gaivenis 2014: 200; Umbrasas 2008: 221). Kita vertus, galima klausti, kiek sinonimų jau būtų per daug ir, svarbiausia, kokio tipo sinonimų. 6 Foreign terminological literature also contains contrary claims: term synonymy is considered a feature not of the initial stage in the development of a subject field, but of a later phase in its development (e.g., Tatarinov 2006: 175). In this case, however, what is meant is the designation of a concept on more than one basis, which is more a matter of cognition than of terminology management. 7 An excess of terms—synonymous terms—is identified as one of the terminological problems faced by translators working for European Union institutions (Zaikauskas 2015: 130). 8 In Rita Miliūnaitė’s view, it is inaccurate to speak of synonymy in this case (Miliūnaitė 2009: 186). BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 6 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 Synonymy as a consequence of terminology management. A statement often cited by terminologists and others has become a classic: terms should be standardized through synonyms and variants. In managing the terminology of a particular field, different terms are proposed to designate the same concept9. For example, in accordance with the principle of terminological purity, Lithuanian equivalents are sought for borrowings, or, more narrowly, for international terms10, while shorter substitutes are sought for long terms in the interest of linguistic economy. It is not always possible to find at once the most precise, systematic, concise, or otherwise more suitable term. All this gives rise to terminological synonymy, which persists for at least some period of time11. Of course, a single properly edited text usually contains only one or two of the synonyms used in that field (excluding permissible contextual synonyms; see Mitkevičienė 2015 for a fuller discussion), while terminographic practice varies: synonyms may be included sparingly (that is, terminology is standardized), or many may be included for the sake of informativeness. In the context of translation, synonymy as an outcome of terminology management is particularly relevant, since the search for the most suitable equivalent for a source-language term gives rise to various synonyms. When a source-language term has synonyms, synonyms may also arise in the target language. For example, in the European Union terminology database IATE, the synonyms breakthrough innovation, radical innovation (both rated with three stars—as terms of medium reliability) and discontinuous innovation (rated with two stars, meaning it is not very reliable) correspond to three English synonyms: breakthrough innovation, radical innovation and discontinuous innovation (IATE 2019). From what has been said, it is clear that synonyms in terminology are both an object and a means of standardization. If synonyms are a means of standardization, logically speaking, they cannot be considered a shortcoming of terminology. 9 As is evident from the minutes of its meetings, the very first Lithuanian Terminology Commission did not avoid synonyms when standardizing terms (see Mitkevičienė 2013). 10 It is argued that existing Lithuanian equivalents for international terms should be brought into wider use and that more Lithuanian neologisms should also be created (Gaivenis 2014: 239; cf. Klimavičius 1975: 117). 11 Absoliučiosios sinonimijos kalba vengia ir kratosi (Klimavičius 1975: 92). Tarptautinių ir lietuviškų sinonimų semantinis atskyrimas nėra dažnas (ten pat: 122), dažniau vienas iš jų ilgainiui išstumiamas iš terminų sistemos. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 7 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 SYNONYMY AND TERMINOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF TERMINOLOGY Terminology is one of the fields for which international standards are prepared. It may be assumed that terminology in standards should be very well organized. Let us examine the synonyms in one terminology standard. The standard LST ISO 1087-1:2005 Terminology work. Vocabulary. Part 1: Theory and application (identical to ISO 1087-1:2000) contains 92 term entries, and 11 percent of the terms have synonyms (the synonyms are not listed in separate entries)12. Half of these are Lithuanian and international synonymous terms: daugiareikšmiškumas (syn. polisemija), vienareikšmiškumas (syn. monosemija); santrumpa (syn. abreviatūra). Several Lithuanian synonyms are close to paraphrases and minimal definitions, e.g.: ekstensija (syn. sąvokos apimtis), intensija (syn. sąvokos turinys); makrostruktūra (syn. rinkinio sandara), mikrostruktūra (syn. straipsnio sandara). These examples reflect a typical pattern—that of synonymy between Lithuanian and international terms. Can such pairs of synonyms be considered a means or consequence of terminology management? In the case of examples resembling paraphrases and minimal definitions, the answer is probably yes in this context—that of a standard. However, it should also be borne in mind that “to a certain extent, terminology exists in two forms—national and international” (Klimavičius 1975: 92). The motivational feature of several synonymous terms differs: equonymic concept and syn. coordinate concept; hyperonymic concept and syn. superordinate concept; hyponymic concept and syn. subordinate concept. The first terms in these synonym pairs are named according to linguistic classification (cf. equonyms, hyperonyms, hyponyms), while the second terms follow logical classification (cf. coordination, superordination, subordination). It is doubtful that such synonyms are a direct consequence or means of standardization, since their choice is determined by the situation and purpose. The other synonyms in the standard under discussion are isolated cases. The term causal relation and the synonym cause-and-effect relation may be regarded as short and long forms, although this is not an especially typical example of this type of synonymy. The terms generic concept and concept of a kind are typical morphological synonyms in multiword terms (an –inis adjective suffix versus a noun in the genitive), and such synonyms with a common root are generally avoided in terminology management13. 12 The terms in this dictionary have been approved by VLKK and can also be found in TB. The standard itself has been invalid since the end of November 2019, because a new edition of the original was published in September of that year (ISO 1087:2019 Terminology work and terminology science – Vocabulary); the latter has not been translated into Lithuanian and is unlikely to be translated due to limited demand. 13 In foreign terminology studies, synonyms with a common root are often treated not as synonyms but as variants. This, in turn, determines the nature and results of research. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 8 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 Why the latter two ended up in the standard is difficult to explain. Perhaps those terms were understood as non-absolute synonyms? In that case, including synonyms in the standard would be justified. The notes in the terminology entries of this standard also contain matters of synonymy that reflect actual usage. For example, the note accompanying the term acronym reads: “in Lithuanian terminology, <...> is sometimes considered a synonym of the term abbreviation”; the note accompanying the term generic relation reads: “[s]ynonyms: genus–species relation; generic–specific relations.” Incidentally, some English and French terms, or English-only or French-only terms, are presented with synonyms, whereas their Lithuanian equivalents in the standard have no synonyms. When terms in other languages have synonyms with different motivations, Lithuanian equivalents for them may be needed in a particular context, e.g., the term *pragmatic relation alongside associative relation (cf. English pragmatic relation, associative relation, French relation associative, relation pragmatique). In addition, in context, instead of the already discussed term hyperonymic concept, the term broader concept could be used (cf. the English equivalents broader concept, superordinate concept), without necessarily considering such usage inaccurate or seeing it as influenced by English terminology. JUSTIFIED SYNONYMY The general requirements for compiling terminology dictionaries approved by a resolution of the VLKK protocol (2015 edition) state that synonymy should be avoided, except for justified synonymy between Lithuanian and international terms (VLKK 2015). Thus, they distinguish only one type of synonymy. The guidelines for the Lithuanian section of the IATE terminology database discuss synonymy much more broadly, which is also attributable to the database’s specific nature and purpose. They distinguish 6 cases in which synonymy among Lithuanian terms in the database is justified14. These cases can be grouped as follows: 1) names for new concepts that have not yet become established; 2) synonyms in different functional styles and varieties of specialist language (scientific and administrative); 3) synonyms in different fields (“EU and Republic of Lithuania legal terms differ,” “the subject field in which the synonyms are used differs slightly”). The remaining cases are very general in nature, noting variation in usage (“synonyms occur in actual usage and none clearly predominates or has a higher status,” “synonyms are used in different current EU documents of approximately equal importance”). When synonyms 14 The IATE-LT guidelines state that short forms of terms are not considered synonyms (IATE-LT 2016: 2). In the TB search, synonyms and short forms of terms are likewise distinguished as elements of a terminology entry. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 9 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 used in EU documents of approximately equal importance, efforts to standardize them and assign them normative status are encouraged (IATE-LT 2016). Table 1 presents types of synonymous terms that have traditionally been justified in Lithuanian terminology (in the works of K. Gaivenis, St. Keinys, A. Kaulakienė, J. Klimavičius and/or others)—regarded positively or at least neutrally—that is, they may be considered cases of justified synonymy15. The most important criterion for the opposition between the synonyms, as identified by the author of this article, is indicated alongside. TABLE 1. Types of justified synonyms and criteria for synonymic opposition Justified synonyms Criterion Loanword and Lithuanian equivalent Origin Long and short variants Length Names for new, not-yet-established concepts Emergence of concepts Names for emerging, disputed concepts Development of concepts Aspectual synonyms16 Features of concepts, classification Synonyms of specialized and general usage (term and non-term, scientific term and popular term); scientific and popular-science terms Communicative situation (variety of language, functional style, substyle) Systematic and non-systematic (trivial) names Nomenclature rules, communicative situation Terms of different schools, approaches, theories Features of concepts; authority … The list in the table is not exhaustive; for example, it does not include synonymy among borrowed terms, although, as Lithuanian terminography shows, such synonymy is possible. Of course, the criteria indicated can be distinguished only provisionally and in very general terms. Nevertheless, this makes it possible to highlight 15 Franco Bertaccini and co-authors, examining synonymous terms in a single field in Italian, distinguished physiological and pathological synonymy. The former is considered functionally appropriate (the context and user groups of the synonyms differ), while the latter is optional and may cause confusion (Anglicisms and Italian terms(!); different translations (equivalents) of one term) (Bertaccini et al. 2010). 16 Aspectual synonyms arise when different features of a concept are foregrounded in different terminology systems. This statement seems to have entered Lithuanian terminology from D. Lotte’s work (see Keinys 2005: 254). In Lithuanian terminology, this type of synonym has not been examined in detail; the term aspectual synonyms was selected by the author of this article on the basis of foreign-language terminology studies. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 10 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 an uneven basis of synonyms. Clearly, the degree of synonymy also varies if assessed in terms of mutual substitutability in context. For example, terms used in different communicative situations (e.g., synonyms used in specialized and general usage) are only partial synonyms (quasi-synonyms). They correspond to stylistic-functional (or genre) synonyms (see Župerka 1983: 32–34, ŠŽ 2002); moreover, some argue that such synonyms fall outside the scope of terminology (see Slož enikina 2005: 120). According to the typology of the causes of denominative variation17, formulated by Judita Freixa (2006) and widely known and used in foreign terminology, the reasons for their use are functional (other causes are dialectal, discursive, interlingual, and cognitive). Terminological synonymy is connected with the principles of terminological standardization18: synonymy between Lithuanian and borrowed terms is connected with the principle of linguistic purity; synonymy between long and short term variants, with the principle of economy (and the requirement that terms be convenient); synonymy between terms belonging to different language varieties, with the principle of functional appropriateness; and aspectual synonymy, among others, with the principle of systematicity. Here the principles are linked to types of synonyms, although terminological synonymy in general is certainly also determined by other principles, such as stability, prevalence, and so forth. Even those types of synonyms that have a clear direction in the context of terminology management (e.g., loanword → Lithuanian term, long term → shorter term) do not in fact always follow that direction, since terminology work is guided not by a single principle or requirement, but by their totality. Thus, in particular cases, one may move from a shorter to a longer term if the latter is more precise or more suitable for other reasons. For example, the most recent psychology terminology dictionary gives preference to the more precise term chronometry of mental phenomena rather than the synonym mental chronometry (Bagdonas, Bliumas 2019). María Teresa Cabré, one of the best-known theorists of terminology, distinguishes three levels of the terminological unit: cognitive (concept), linguistic (term), and [social] communicative (situation) (Cabré 2003: 183, 187). A terminological unit is a unit of cognition, language, and communication. This idea can also be applied when examining terminological synonymy—by viewing the phenomenon through these inseparable levels. Different types of synonyms foreground one or another level; for example, a loanword and a Lithuanian 17 In recent decades, synonyms in foreign terminology have most often been examined as part of terminological variation (e.g., Freixa 2006; Daille 2017; MPTV 2017). Terminological variation is understood very broadly and inconsistently. For example, a variant may be a synonym of a term (whether systematic or contextual), or the name of another, semantically related concept. Accordingly, denominative and conceptual variants are distinguished (English denominative variants and conceptual variants). Synonyms belong to the first group of variants. 18 Remiamasi K. Gaivenio išskirtais terminų norminimo principais (žr. Gaivenis 2002: 89–100). BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 11 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 term foregrounds the linguistic level; terms belonging to different language registers foreground the communicative level; and names for concepts that have not yet stabilized foreground the cognitive level. Sabela Fernández Silva and her co-authors identify three cognitive structuring factors relevant to terminological synonymy: 1) the subject field, 2) intention, and 3) the idealized cognitive model (Fernández-Silva et al. 2012: 197). One of the more recent approaches to terminology, sociocognitive terminology, argues that synonymy is functional. It explains that the communicative context determines which aspect of a concept one wishes to emphasize, and that the synonym chosen by the sender depends on this (see Temmerman 2000: 150–152). It should be emphasized that the functionality of synonyms is illustrated by synonymous terms with different motivations. MOTIVATIONAL SYNONYMS AND TERMINOLOGY MANAGEMENT In the opposition between expressions for synonyms with different motivations, the essential difference is precisely the difference in motivation. Such terms name a concept on the basis of different features; these features are expressed by different, non-synonymous lexemes19. The same concept may be named by a neutral term and a metaphorical term, e.g., broad-based marketing and viral marketing (English viral marketing), multi-year survey and omnibus survey (English omnibus survey), and so on (RVŽ 2018). One might suppose that this type of synonymy is both a result and a means of terminology management, and that the direction of management is clear ((calque) metaphor → neutral and more precise term). However, not all synonyms of this kind can be explained by standardization alone (thorough research is needed into why multiple terms arose and which came first); moreover, the contexts in which metaphorical and neutral terms are used may differ, for example, Kleine-Levin syndrome and Sleeping Beauty syndrome (Bagdonas, Bliumas 2019), and so on.20 The choice of one term or another is also determined by the multidimensionality of the concept: a specialist may deliberately choose one term to emphasize one aspect of the concept and another to emphasize a different aspect of the same concept (Bowker 1998: 494). As noted above, synonyms with different motivations also arise because a concept belongs to more than one terminology system and field (the synonyms discussed earlier, economic concept and coordination concept). This raises 19 Different motivations are characteristic of most types of synonyms listed in Table 1; consequently, the term motivational synonyms here covers various cases of synonymy. 20 Naujausiame psichiatrijos terminų žodyne (Mačiulis ir kt. 2017) kaip termino Kleinė-o-Levin’o sindromas sinonimai nurodyti kiti: periodinė hipergipnija, periodinis liguistas mieguistumas. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 12 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 The question is how to distinguish synonyms with such a communicative-cognitive basis from synonyms that are merely the result of terminological instability or standardization. In this respect, the form of a term is not informative. Examples can be found in recent terminological dictionaries: age norm and developmental norm; dysfunctional family and family at social risk; ethological isolation and psychological isolation; independent variable and controlled variable (Bagdonas, Bliumas 2019); outsourced services and services procured according to the level of activity, message sender and source, public opinion and public opinion (RVŽ 2018), etc. Only with knowledge of the broader context in which individual terms emerged and are used can one argue that certain synonyms recorded in dictionaries, for example, outsourced services and services procured according to the level of activity (English outsourced services) (RVŽ 2018), are a consequence of terminology management rather than of deliberate differences in conceptualization. Over time, only one of such synonyms should remain. It should also be borne in mind that Lithuanian terminology is strongly influenced by examples of equivalents in other languages, cf. dysfunctional family and family at social risk (English dysfunctional family, family at social risk, Russian дисфункциональная семья, семья социального риска) (Bagdonas, Bliumas 2019). However, it is inaccurate to explain such synonymy solely in terms of translation, since science is international to some extent, and concepts (especially new ones) are often designated in different languages on the basis of the same motivating feature. Thus, synonyms with different motivations are not only a means and consequence of terminology management, but also a functionally precise phenomenon; therefore, it is not possible to insist categorically that only one of these synonyms should be used. GENERAL REMARKS AND CONCLUSIONS Almost half a century ago, it began to be asserted in Lithuanian terminology that terms without synonyms are merely an ideal. In foundational works on Lithuanian terminology (by St. Kein(i)s and K. Gaivenis), mononymy is listed neither among the requirements for terms nor among the principles of term standardization. Although, for pragmatic reasons, term synonymy is to be avoided and it is appropriate to regulate it, it is inaccurate to assess term synonymy only as a shortcoming. Since the relationship between term synonymy and terminology management is bidirectional, synonymy cannot be assessed solely negatively: synonymous terms are a means and a consequence of term standardization, and the standardization of terms BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 13 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 The application of principles (purity, economy, systematicity, etc.) increases term synonymy to some extent. 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Gauta 2020 02 04 Priimta 2020 04 25 BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 17 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 IS SYNONYMY OF TERMS AN IMPERFECTION? Summary The article investigates the systemic synonymy of Lithuanian terms in the context of terminology regulation. With reference to the most important works in the area of Lithuanian terminology as well as terminography data, it examines the evaluation of synonymy of terms, relation between synonymy and terminology regulation and reevaluates the concept of valid synonymy of terms. Terms without synonyms have been considered to be only an aspiration in Lithuanian terminology for almost half a century. In the classical works of Lithuanian terminology (S. Keinys (1980), K. Gaivenis (2002)) mononymy is included neither in the requirements for terms nor in the principles of normalization of terms. The article proposes that synonymy of terms and terminology regulation are linked in bidirectional mutual way: synonymous terms are both a tool for and a consequence of normalization of terms and application of principles of normalization of terms (eg. as preference for native origin terms, economy, systematicity etc.) increases synonymy of terms to a certain extent. synonymy of terms terminology regulation The article comes to a conclusion that although synonymy of terms should be avoided and regulated due to pragmatic reasons, it is not accurate to regard it only as an imperfection. BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204 ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ. Ar terminų sinonimija yra trūkumas? | 18 doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2020.93.01 Synonymy of terms is not a homogenous phenomenon as the causes for the occurrence of synonymous terms, their nature, communicative situation and context differ. Linguistic, cognitive and communicative dimensions of terms are interrelated in the synonymy of terms, therefore valid synonymy should not be limited only (as is quite common in Lithuanian terminology) to two types of synonyms whose opposition is based on the expression (origin and length) or linked only to the primary stage of terminology and new concepts. The article also separately explores synonymous terms of different linguistic motivation and demonstrates that these synonyms can be both a consequence and means of regulation of terms and a result of different conceptualization and classification of concepts. Therefore it is impossible to conclude that only one synonymous term should be used. KEYWORDS: synonymy of terms, terminology regulation, valid synonymy, synonyms of different linguistic motivation. ASTA MITKEVIČIENĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas Petro Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius [email protected] BENDRINĖ KALBA 93 (2020) http://journals.lki.lt/bendrinekalba ISSN 2351-7204