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doi.org/10.35321/term28-12
To the terminologist and educator Angelė Kaulakienė on her 75th birthday
LINA RUTKIENĖ
Institute of the Lithuanian Language
ORCID id: orcid.org/0000-0001-6661-3115
On June 15 this year, terminologist, educator, and Doctor of Humanities Angelė Kaulakienė celebrated her milestone 75th birthday. On this important occasion, we would like to recall her wide-ranging activities and discuss the main facts and achievements of her life.
The future terminologist was born in Naujamiesytys, Panevėžys District, into the family of Juozas and Janina Mogenis. When Angelė was six months old, her parents moved to the seaside, to Klaipėda. The girl's childhood unfolded much like that of most postwar children: standing in bread queues, helping her parents with household chores, and playing children's games—the foundations of buildings destroyed during the Second World War became playgrounds.
Even as a child, the future terminologist was interested in everything related to language. She found it strange that Lithuanian was not the same everywhere: the people of Klaipėda
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made fun of her Panevėžys dialect, passed down by her parents. The future linguist decided early on to learn Russian: her teacher was a girl of her own age from the neighboring family, while Angelė taught her Lithuanian. The foundations in Russian that she acquired in childhood proved useful as she improved her command of the language at school and later while writing her dissertation and doing terminological work.
The future terminologist learned French well at Klaipėda Ninth Secondary School (A. Kaulakienė attended it from 1954 to 1965), where the excellent teacher Pranutė Grigaitė, a graduate of the Sorbonne, taught. The school's director, Steponas Skeivys, a distinguished teacher of the Lithuanian SSR, fostered her interest in language, as well as literature, through his Lithuanian language and literature lessons. This educator endeavored to present facts about language and literature in a broad context and to broaden his students' horizons.
Inspired by their teacher's lessons, four female classmates, including the future terminologist, came to Vilnius to study Lithuanian language and literature. Thus, in 1965, Angelė Mogenytė enrolled at the Vilnius State Pedagogical Institute, beginning her period of life in Vilnius. Angelė enjoyed her studies and found the coursework easy, but she recalls that she could not even imagine she would become a terminologist—the word terminologija (terminology) was one she heard only after starting work at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature.
A. Kaulakienė began working in the Dictionary Department of this Institute in 1969 (she married the physicist Juozas Kaulakis in her fourth year of study). Many prominent figures and champions of the native language worked at the Institute at the time: Kazimieras Gaivenis, Jonas Kruopas, Kazys Ulvydas, Aleksandras Vanagas, and others. Encounters with outstanding people and professionals in their fields often change the course of a person's work or even life. The young linguist was influenced not only by the aforementioned Lithuanian philologist at Klaipėda Ninth Secondary School, S. Skeivys, but also by the renowned lexicographer and educator J. Kruopas—he was the one who introduced A. Kaulakienė to the science of terminology. J. Kruopas “proposed that Angelė Kaulakienė work in the Terminology Group being formed in the Dictionary Department. The young linguist readily agreed, without fully realizing how difficult a task awaited her” (Vladarskienė 2015: 6). At first, the Terminology Group consisted of only two employees: A. Kaulakienė and Jonas Klimavičius; later, K. Gaivenis joined and became head of the group. One of the more important tasks undertaken after she began working in the group was translating the book by Russian engineer and terminologist Dmitrij Lotė, Как работать над терминологией: основы и методы (1968) (Terminologinis darbas: pagrindai ir metodai [Terminological Work: Principles and Methods]) (1973). This book helped A. Kaulakienė understand the requirements for terms and grasp how terminological systems should be constructed. Only after translating this book and becoming acquainted with
In accordance with the principles of terminological work, the young scholar was encouraged to write academic articles and later to prepare a doctoral dissertation.
Her first publications already dealt with current issues in Lithuanian terminology. While working at the Institute—assisting lexicographers and writing for scholarly journals (Kalbos kultūrai, Mūsų kalbai, etc.), and for popular science and other publications (Tarybiniam mokytojui, Vakarinėms naujienoms, later Lietuvos rytui, Inžinerijai, etc.)—the terminologist emerged as a conscientious guardian of language, deeply concerned with its correctness and purity; many of her publications addressed problems in language use. She discussed questions of term formation, semantic precision, motivation, synonymy, and systematicity. During the Soviet era, when terms formed according to Russian word-formation patterns were pouring into Lithuanian terminology, terminological and standardization work was especially important. The scholar proposed Lithuanian equivalents for loanwords and neologisms that conformed to the word-formation system of Lithuanian; she considered it important that a word’s structure and use not contradict the “established laws of Lithuanian word formation” (Kaulakienė 1984). A. Kaulakienė recalls that K. Gaivenis, head of the Terminology Group, urged staff to respond quickly to Russian loanwords and propose Lithuanian terms so that the loanwords would not become widely used. The terminologist did not shy away from discussing children’s language, viewing children as the intended readership of her articles (indeed, today we greatly miss such a sense of responsibility for children’s language in the media). For example, after discussing bicycle types in 1983 in Lietuvos pionierius, she proposed the term paspirtukas, taking into account the essential features of the concept and the convenience of users. The scholar is pleased that this generic term has become established in usage and that specific terms have also emerged.
While working at the Institute, the young terminologist enrolled in a doctoral program in philology and wrote her doctoral dissertation, Vertiniai dabartinėje lietuvių technikos terminijoje (Calques in Contemporary Lithuanian Technical Terminology), which she defended in 1983 at Vilnius University (in 1993 it was recognized as a doctorate in the humanities). A. Kaulakienė chose the topic for its relevance: at the time, a great many terms were being created according to models from other languages, using native morphemes.
The scholar continued her research into the terminology of technical sciences. As Lithuanian computing terminology began to take shape, A. Kaulakienė became involved in research on terminology in this field. She was particularly concerned that Lithuanian computing terminology be systematized and standardized, and that the balance between Lithuanian and borrowed terms be acceptable. Her terminological work involved extensive collaboration with specialists in other fields of science, from whom she gained the latest scientific knowledge. This collaboration also led to joint publications, for exam-
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ple, together with physicist Valerijonas Žalkauskas and design specialist Giedrė Fledžinskienė, she studied computer color terms and prepared an article drawing on knowledge of physics, art, computer science, and language (see Fledžinskienė et al. 2000 for more details); A. Kaulakienė also explored computing terminology and wrote about it with physicist Vytautas Valiukėnas (see Kaulakienė, Valiukėnas 1996). Joint articles by specialists from different fields, which explain new concepts and the terms denoting them with sound reasoning, are very important for bringing motivated, precise, and correct terms into usage.
As a highly qualified specialist, A. Kaulakienė evaluated terminology in school textbooks, scholarly and popular science journals, and bilingual and multilingual dictionaries; she served on the Terminology Subcommission of the State Commission of the Lithuanian Language and on editorial boards of linguistics publications; she supervised and assisted doctoral candidates; and she was a member of doctoral committees (dissertation defense boards).
A. Kaulakienė’s lexicographic work deserves special attention. The terminologist co-authored the Radioelektronikos terminų žodynas (Dictionary of Radio-Electronics Terms, 2000), the Aiškinamasis tekstilės terminų žodynas (Explanatory Dictionary of Textile Terms, 2001), the Automatikos terminų žodynas (Dictionary of Automation Terms, 2004), the Radioelektronikos terminų elektroninis žodynas (Electronic Dictionary of Radio-Electronics Terms, 2005, 2011), and the Didysis anglų–lietuvių kalbų politechnikos žodynas [electronic resource] (Great English–Lithuanian Polytechnical Dictionary, 2012). In all, the scholar contributed to the preparation of more than 50 dictionaries: she not only compiled them (as one of the dictionary compilers), but also reviewed them and edited their terminology. Terminology in physics, radio-electronics, metrology, automation, electrical engineering, computing, and other scientific and technical fields was systematized and standardized thanks in part to terminologist A. Kaulakienė.
A. Kaulakienė worked at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language (until 1991, the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature) for 38 years (1969–2007). Most of the articles A. Kaulakienė wrote at the Institute were collected in the volume Terminologija. Terminografija. Terminija (Terminology. Terminography. Terminology, 2014).
One more area should be added to the account of the linguist’s work: teaching. Her in-depth knowledge of technical terminology became perhaps the main reason A. Kaulakienė was invited to work specifically at technical universities. The pedagogical skills she acquired at the Vilnius State Pedagogical Institute could then be put into practice at these universities.
From 1995, A. Kaulakienė taught language culture for professional purposes—a subject whose most important topics include the terminology of the discipline—at Kaunas University of Technology, and she headed the University’s Department of Lithuanian Language (1996–2000). “Demanding and principled, yet empathetic, understanding, and supportive as a leader; collegial, always willing to help and encouraging people to develop. A talented teach-
“A teacher, a specialist with an excellent command of her field,” testifies Vilija Celiešienė, a lecturer at the same university and A. Kaulakienė’s colleague (Angelė Kaulakienė: bibliografinė rodyklė 2015: 10). In 2001, the terminologist was invited to work at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, where she headed the Department of the Lithuanian Language until 2012. “One of Kaulakienė’s greatest contributions to VGTU was her initiative to introduce consultations for master’s students on writing their final theses and to check the correctness of the language used in those theses. This encouraged not only students to pay more attention to correct language, but also their supervisors to take a greater interest in opportunities for creating appropriate terms,” writes Rasuolė Vladarskienė (2016: 20), the current head of the Lithuanian Language Division, who continues the work A. Kaulakienė began. As head of the Department of the Lithuanian Language, the linguist took particular care to advance the qualifications of the department’s lecturers, demanded professionalism, and also sought to ensure that the University provided conditions conducive to a positive attitude toward the native language among lecturers and students. At universities, A. Kaulakienė also distinguished herself as an excellent educator, highly regarded by students. The associate professor generously gave her time to student consultations, carefully reviewed master’s students’ work, and explained its linguistic shortcomings. The linguist strove not only to teach the language of their specialist fields, but also to foster a broader perspective on the Lithuanian language and to cultivate young people’s respect for it.
Working with students and delving into the language of their specialist fields inspired A. Kaulakienė not only to write scholarly articles about student language and the need to teach the culture of specialist language in higher education, but also to produce teaching materials. While working at Kaunas University of Technology, she published the textbook Baigiamasis studijų darbas: kalbininkų patarimai: teorija ir tvarkyba (1992, 2005) with her colleagues Leonora Domininka Barzdžiukienė and V. Celiešienė; at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, she published Kalbininkų patarimai studentams: teorija ir praktika (2007, 2008, 2010) with her colleagues Angelika Petrėtienė, Lina Rutkienė, and Regina Žukienė. It is important to note that the reissued books were supplemented with up-to-date material: the terminologist kept abreast of current issues in specialist language and encouraged others—both lecturers and students—to do the same. As head of the Department of the Lithuanian Language at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, A. Kaulakienė was also a Teacher to her younger colleagues and became the department staff’s unofficial article editor, feeling responsible for the quality of other people’s work as well. The scholar treated other authors’ texts with great respect and care: she edited them with precision and checked even quotations, but changed only what was necessary and did not impose her own views.
In 2009, the terminologist published her most important work, the monograph Lietu-
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vių fizikos terminijos raida. This book is based on many years of research into physics terminology and on articles published in Lithuanian linguistics journals. The monograph examines terms collected from sources spanning a long period—160 years—from the earliest popularizing articles on physics published in the newspapers Keleivis (1849–1880) and Aušra (1883–1886) to the most recent normative terminographic publications on physics. The book also reveals the author’s experience as a lexicographer: one of its constituent parts is a dictionary tracing the development of physics terms. The dictionary shows “the beginning of a term’s use, the development of the naming of a concept, and the term that has become established in current usage; thus, it presents immensely valuable material on physics terminology that can serve as a basis for many further scholarly studies,” says Albina Auksoriūtė (2009: 271). A. Kaulakienė’s monograph is an especially valuable publication in Lithuanian terminology; the research findings it presents are an important source of terminological information.
The results of A. Kaulakienė’s extensive scholarly and pedagogical work are used by numerous representatives of Lithuanian technical sciences, authors of textbooks, dictionaries, and other scholarly publications, translators and editors, and both aspiring and established linguists. The linguist’s work is significant not only for the study of Lithuanian terminology but also for Lithuanian scholarly discourse more generally. “I enjoyed working”—this is how the terminologist, terminographer, reviewer, and educator, Doctor of Humanities A. Kaulakienė, simply describes the reason behind her major accomplishments. We learn from her not only about terminology, but also about responsibility and modesty.
LITERATŪRA
Auksoriūtė Albina 2009: Angele Kaulakiene. Lietuvių fizikos terminijos raida [recenzija]. – Terminologija 16, 268–272.
Fledžinskienė Giedrė, Kaulakienė Angelė, Žalkauskas Valerijonas 2000: Kompiuterio spalvų terminai. – Terminologija 7, 9–17.
Kaulakienė Angelė 1983: Dviratis, paspirtukas ir lipdukas. – Lietuvos pionierius, sausio 22.
Kaulakienė Angelė 1984: Techniko specialiųjų kalbos negerovė. – Vakarinės naujienos, kovo 19.
Kaulakienė Angelė, Valiukėnas Vytautas 1996: Kompiuterija ir jos pagrindiniai terminai. – Terminologija 3, 56–64.
Vladarskienė Rasuolė 2015: Angelė Kaulakienė – terminologė ir pedagogė. – Angelė Kaulakienė: bibliografinė rodyklė, sud. O. Juršaitė, L. Rutkienė, Vilnius: Technika.
