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Te minological Me hods in
he His o y o Te minology Science
SERGIUSZ GRINEV-GRINIEWICZ
Uni e si yo Białys ok
MoscowHumani iesPedagogicalIns i u e
Keywo ds: his o y o e minology heo y, e minological me hods, ypology, semio ics,
e e sibili y, an h opolinguis ics
I is a well-es ablished ac ha special lexis is in some ways di e en
om he e e yday wo d-s ock, special ocabula y being qui e p obably
he only pa o language ha may be consciously manipula ed and
con olled. Special ea u es o e minology de e mined he eme gence o
a numbe o speci ic me hods o analysing and o de ing e ms. In a ce -
ain sense we may ega d he his o y o e minology science h ough he
p ism o he e olu ion o special me hodology.
Since he beginning o scien i ic pe iod in human e olu ion e e y sci-
ence bases i sel on he sys em o concep s and e ms. In such a sys em
e e y concep and e m has a de ini e place, meaning o e e y e m being
s ic ly de ined by he bo de s wi h o he e ms. Small wonde hen ha
om he e y beginning o e minological esea ch and o de ing o e -
minologies he sys emic app oach was used – much be o e i came
in o ashion in he second hal o he 20 h cen u y and s a ed o be ap-
plied in e e y possible ac i i y.
Since e minology may be con olled and egula ed and bo h e mino-
logical o ms and meanings consciously shaped, in he p ocess o de ec -
ing and analysing e minological d awbacks o be co ec ed, ce ain de-
si ed p ope ies we e de e mined al eady in he 1930s (Lo e 1937).
Subsequen in en o y o a ibu es o special lexemes aimed a making
lis s o desi ed p ope ies o an “ideal” e m ook o m o e minological
equi emen s and lead o making ulle lis s o a ious e minological
ea u es eaching 265 cha ac e is ics (G ine 1998, 2001). This coin-
cided wi h in es iga ing di e ences be ween e ms and o dina y wo ds
in he 1950s and he 1960s.
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A he same ime he i s s eps o ypological app oach s a ed wi h
i s es ablishing he di e ence be ween e ms and nomencla u e uni s o
nomens as hey a e now called, ha la e lead o disco e y o a numbe
o special uni s exis ing in language apa om e ms. I s a ed wi h G.
O. Vinoku d awing a dis inc line be ween e ms and nomens as di e -
en special lexical uni s (Vinoku 1939). La e A. A. Re o ma sky u he
speci ied c i e ia o dis inguishing e minology and nomencla u e (Re o -
ma sky 1959).
Howe e , a i s nomencla u e uni s we e iewed as a ie y o e ms.
Only a e in oduc ion by A. D. Haju in o he concep o e minoids –
special lexical uni s naming he so-called “na u al concep s”, concep s “in
s a u nascendi” which ha e no se led uni o mly unde s ood meanings, and
he e o e do no ha e gene ally accep ed de ini ions (Haju in 1970), i
became clea ha e minology science should no limi i sel o in es iga-
ion o e ms p ope , o he e a e o he special lexical uni s. La e o he
kinds o special lexical uni s we e in oduced and desc ibed, such as p o-
essionalisms (Kuz’min 1970), uni s o p o essional slang – p o essional
a go isms (Sk o so 1972) o p o essional ja gonisms (Gladkaja 77),
quasi- e ms (Leichik 1981), p e- e ms (Leichik 1985) and inally p o o-
e ms (G ine 1990).
In he 1960s i was ound ha one o he mos p omising aspec s o
p esen ing and in es iga ing e minological p oblems is based on semi-
o ic app oach, which is iewing e minological signs om he poin o
iew o he gene al heo y o signs. La e semio ic app oach due o i s
being connec ed wi h he gene al heo y o in o ma ion and due o i s
uni e sal cha ac e became almos as popula as he sys emic app oach.
I has been ex ensi ely used in Russian e minology s udies o he las
hi y yea s, he e o e i is expedien o sum up he expe ience.
The i s a emp s o in oduce semio ic p inciples in o e minology
we e made in Russia in he 1960s. In 1969 P. V. Veselo in oduced he
idea o app aising e minological cha ac e is ics om he semio ic poin
o iew. I was based on di iding e minological ea u es and equi emen s
in o h ee g oups: seman ic, which included cha ac e is ics e lec ing e-
la ions be ween lexical meanings o wo ds and wo d-combina ions used
as e ms and con en s o co esponding concep s; syn ac ic, connec ed
wi h pa e ns o e m o ma ion and hei p oduc i i y, and p agma ic,
including hose cha ac e is ics o e m ha in luence i s unc ioning.
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Acco ding o P. V. Veselo such e minological equi emen s as in a i-
ence (absence o synonymy o polysemy), co espondence be ween lexi-
cal and concep ual meanings o e m (concu ence o a concep and
e minological meaning o he co esponding e m) and classi ica ional
conciseness ( e lec ion in e minological o m o only he necessa y cha -
ac e is ics o he concep ) belong o seman ics. Requi emen s owa ds
pa e ns o e m o ma ion (c ea ing o using homogeneous sings o he
homogeneous concep s) and p oduc i i y o e minological o ms (pos-
sibili y o o ming de i a i e e ms) P. V. Veselo iewed as belonging o
syn ac ics. Cha ac e is ics which e lec ed con enience o using e m, such
as b e i y (numbe o e m elemen s should no exceed he numbe o
delimi ing cha ac e is ics), uniqueness (absence o homonyms), euphony,
ansla abili y and he abili y o be used as desc ip o in compu e sys ems
we e iewed as belonging o p agma ics (Veselo 1969).
Ano he signi ican s ep in elabo a ion o semio ic aspec s o e min-
ology is connec ed wi h publica ions o V. M. Leichik (Leichik 1971; Leichik,
Smi no , Suslo a 1977). In hese publica ions ou main ypes o semi-
o ic ela ions in e minology we e laid ou : 1) be ween e ms; 2) be ween
e m as a sign and he co esponding concep ; 3) be ween e m as a sign
and he co esponding objec ; 4) be ween e m as a sign and he use o
his sign. I was s a ed ha he i s aspec - syn ac ics - p esupposes no
only combinabili y o e m in linea speech sequence, bu also e m ela-
ion wi hin a ce ain e minology. The nex wo ypes o ela ions, con-
nec ed wi h seman ics, deal wi h e minological p ope y o exp essing
concep s and deno ing classes o objec s. In con as wi h e e yday o-
cabula y he o m o e m o en e lec s he essen ial cha ac e is ics o he
concep and i s place in he concep sys em while he objec s deno ed by
e ms a e connec ed wi h special ac i i ies (such as scien i ic esea ch,
p oduc ion, e c.). The ou h ype o e minological ela ions is connec -
ed wi h p agma ics and includes sociolinguis ic p oblems, such as he
p oblem o p o essional ja gonisms, ela ions be ween e minological sys-
ems and na u al language, e c. and is impo an om he poin o iew
o no malising usage o e ms.
The semio ic app oach o classi ica ion o cha ac e is ics o e ms la e
was elabo a ed in publica ions o Veselo and o he e minologis s (Ves-
elo , Chi ukhina 1974; G ine , Leichik, Nalepin 1985; G ine , Se geje
1987; G ine 1993). The nex s ep in applica ion o semio ic app oach
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was i s usage in es ima ing and desc ibing cha ac e is ics o he whole
e minologies (Leichik, Smi no , Suslo a 1977; G ine 1990, 1993, 1998).
Such app oach o med he basis o ypological s udies and pa ame ical
es ima ion o e minologies.
A he end o he 1970s a new, pa ame ical app oach appea ed ( i s
in lexicog aphy) which was based on he concep o lexicog aphic pa am-
e e – he way o lexicog aphic ep esen a ion o a s uc u al elemen o
a unc ional phenomenon o language and hei ex a-linguis ic co ela-
ions – in oduced by Y. N. Ka aulo (Ka aulo 1981). The concep o
pa ame e was bo owed in o e minology, whe e i was de ined as meas-
u able e minological cha ac e is ic deno ing deg ee o mani es ing o a
pa icula p ope y (G ine 1985). Pa ame ical app oach in desc ibing
and analysing e minologies is based on he in en o y o e minological
p ocesses and phenomena as well as on paying conside a ion o e m
ea u es, o he majo i y o pa ame e s o a e minology o i s au onomous
agmen depend on he espec i e ea u es o i s e ms. The need o
in oducing pa ame ic app oach in desc ibing e minologies and hus
making ounda ion o ypological s udies was caused by he s a e o e -
minological heo y in he 1980s and beginning o 1990s.
In his wo k en i led His o yo sciences S. Toulmin con as s desc ip i e
and p esc ip i e phases o a science ha e iden ly ma k s ages o i s de-
elopmen . E en a supe icial su ey o he si ua ion in e minological
s udies a ha ime in he USSR showed ha he majo i y o esea ch
p ojec s had a clea ly no iceable desc ip i e app oach. A g ea numbe o
e minological publica ions in his coun y (a e aging mo e han 500 a
yea ) we e con aining desc ip ions o some phenomena in a chosen seg-
men o special lexis. Ano he ea u e o e minological s udies ha was
wo h men ioning was he acciden al na u e o he choice o he objec
o s udy, he subjec ield, a ge language and he e minological p ocess
o phenomenon o be in es iga ed. A u he no iceable ea u e was he
e iden incomple eness and incompa ibili y o he desc ip ions o e min-
ologies, which uled ou a dependable compa ison o he esul s o sepa-
a e s udies and d awing o gene al conclusions as o he deg ee o p es-
ence o he obse ed phenomena in special lexis in gene al.
The e was e e y eason o belie e ha his si ua ion esul ed om he
absence o c i e ia and a well- ounded basis o he compa ison o he
esul s o he sepa a e s udies. Howe e , while he lack o co-o dina ion
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and guidance o e minological esea ch in he USSR and Russia o ha
pe iod may ha e been accoun ed o by he absence o an app op ia e
compe en e minological body, o he ea u es seemed o ha e a uni e -
sal cha ac e and e lec he s a e o he e minological science in gen-
e al. The e o e he e was e iden a need o ansi ion om he s a e o
me ely collec ing in o ma ion on isola ed e minological phenomena,
esul ing in sepa a e incomple e and inexac desc ip ions o pa icula
e minologies, o a sys ema ic pa ame ical es ima ion o e minologies as
a p e equisi e o u he de elopmen o e minology science. To acili a e
his de elopmen i was ound necessa y o es ablish a se o pa ame e s
ha migh be used o measu e pa icula e minological p ope ies and
which oge he would o m a sys em ensu ing comple eness and compa -
ibili y o independen s udies o di e en e minologies.
The lis o e minological ea u es ha we e supposed o se e as e -
minological pa ame e s was a ha ime al eady qui e ex ensi e. In clas-
si ying hem semio ic app oach was used allowing o di ide hem in o
ce ain g oups. A he beginning he g oup o syn ac ic ea u es com-
p ised such cha ac e is ics o e minological o ms as leng h (measu ed
in wo ds and le e s), o mal s uc u e (mo phological o syn ac ic), pa -
e ns o e m o ma ion, mo i a ion, p oduc i i y, in a iabili y o o m,
linguis ic co ec ness, and g amma ical peculia i ies (such as he absence
o singula o plu al).
Fea u es o e minological meaning, such as nomina i e cha ac e o
e m, i s compa a i e independence om he speech con ex , peculia i ies
o seman ic s uc u e, ca ego ial ela ions and exac ness (including mono-
semy and absence o disc epancy be ween lexical and e minological mean-
ing, seman ic in eg i y), e c. we e iewed as belonging o seman ics.
The g oup o p agma ic ea u es con ained such cha ac e is ics as
b e i y, euphony, inculca edness (including equency o usage and con-
en ionali y), ch onological s a us, no ma i e s a us, singleness (absence
o synonyms), uniqueness (absence o homonyms), ansla abili y, easiness
o o ming combina ions, place in espec i e e minology, sphe e o us-
age, geog aphical a ea, cogni i e unc ion, e c.
In he p ocess o applying semio ic app oach o classi ying e minological
pa ame e s i became clea ha he h ee main aspec s in oduced by Cha les
Mo is and based on ypes o iads sugges ed by Cha les Sande s Pei ce
we e insu icien o comple e desc ip ion and analysis o lexical signs.

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Fi s ly, exis ence o an impo an g oup o ea u es, connec ed wi h ap-
pea ance and subsequen his o ical e olu ion o e ms showed necessi y o
conside e olu iona y cha ac e is ics. Such ea u es as o igin, age ( ime o
appea ance), pu pose o hei appea ance, e c. belong o his g oup. Sec-
ondly, he exis ing iad did no p esen possibili ies o in es iga ing ea u es
connec ed wi h he s uc u e o any ype o signs.
The e o e i was el expedien o in oduce mo e aspec s enabling
s udies o o ma ion and de elopmen o signs and sys ems o signs, which
would make i possible o speci y hei cha ac e and endencies o hei
de elopmen . I was p oposed o name his aspec which deals wi h e o-
lu ion o signs e olu ics. In es iga ing signs om he poin o iew o
hei e olu ion makes i possible o iew ypology o signs as hie a chy
o s ages o e olu ion. Also such aspec s as mo phe ics, dealing wi h
s uc u al cha ac e is ics o e ms and deno a ics, dealing wi h ela ions
be ween e m as a sign and i s deno a e (lea ing in seman ics ela ion
be ween he sign and he signi ica e) we e in oduced as he esul o ap-
plying semio ic app oach in e minology (G ine 1996; Гринев 2000).
As he esul o in en o y o ea u es o e ms inally he numbe o
e ealed cha ac e is ics eached mo e han wo hund ed – 265 (G ine
1998). I was ound ha hese ea u es may be di ided in o h ee g oups:
(a) p ope ies – immanen ea u es used in exac ly de ining he concep
o e m; hey a e always p esen and canno change; (b) sho comings –
unwan ed ea u es which se e as a basis o e minological equi emen s
and which mus be elimina ed, and (c) he emaining ea u es, some o
which a e a he bene icial, some neu al and some ha ing bo h posi i e
and nega i e aspec s in a ious condi ions.
The immanen p ope ies o e ms, as opposed o wo ds in e e yday
language, a e de e mined by hei main unc ion – o name concep s and
also include speci ici y o usage ( e m belonging o a special ield o
knowledge), nomina i e unc ion (naming gene al concep s), de inabili y
(p esence o scien i ic de ini ion), exac ness o meaning ( e minological
meaning has p ecise bo de s de e mined by i s de ini ion), con ex ual
s abili y (independence om he con ex esul ing om he exac ness o
meaning), s ylis ic neu ali y (absence o conno a ions), con en ionali y
(appea ance o e ms is o en he esul o con en ion on he pa o com-
muni y), nomina i e cha ac e (mos ly nouns and nomina i e ph ases a e
used as e ms), also s abili y and ecu ence o o m in speech (which
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allows no a ia ion o o m and also helps o di e en ia e e minological
wo d-combina ions and combina ions o e ms).
The numbe o desi ed p ope ies o an “ideal” e m o e minological
equi emen s conside ed by a ious e minologis s a ies om 4 o 13 and
includes desi ed o mal, seman ic and p agma ic (o unc ional) p ope ies.
The mos impo an seman ic equi emen s a e seman ic consis ency
and monosemy.
Seman ic consis ency means no con adic ion be ween he lexical and
he special meaning o a e m. In some e minologies we come ac oss
such con adic ion – o example, seam as a common wo d means join
( igh connec ion) bu some imes in building e minology in cases, such
as sedimen a ionseam,ea hquakeseam is used as issu e; Russian suhaja
sh uka u ka (d y plas e ) in building is used in he meaning ‘d y plas e ed
pa i ion’.
By monosemy he exis ence o only one meaning in a gi en e min-
ology is mean . I a lexical o m is used in di e en e minologies, his
causes no incon enience – he wo d mo phology is used in linguis ics,
geology and biology ha ing in e e y science a speci ic meaning. Bu
many e ms a e polysemic, such as loo ing, oo ing,cladding,isola ion,
moulding,coa ing, ehabili a ionmeaning bo h a p ocess and i s esul ; in
linguis ics – bo owing,assimila ion, e c. The e a e also cases when he
same e m has a b oade and a na owe meaning, such as in balneology
wa e  ea men is di ided in omine alwa e  ea men andwa e  ea men 
(p ope ); he same applies in building o inne walls ha a e di ided
in o pa i ions and inne walls (p ope ). In lexicology he e a e cases such
as a ixwo d meaning: 1) a wo d, which is an a ix, and 2) a wo d wi h
an a ix; double s – 1) di e en wo ds e ymologically coming om he
same wo d, and 2) species o absolu e synonyms.
To he g oup o o m equi emen s belong such bene icial quali ies as
sho ness, exac ness, absence o a ian s, mo i a ion.
By sho ness o a e m we mean ei he he absence o unnecessa y
elemen s (unde lined in he ollowing examples) - li ing la , auma ic
inju y,me an- anks o sludge ea men ,ch onic o mo in luenza,con ac
elephones,comme cialshops, eegi ,plans o  he u u e o p e e ence o
he sho o ms (compa e Russian нейромезодерматодистрофия and ней-
рофиброматоз).
Exac ness means co espondence o he o m o a e m o i s meaning
which is some imes lacking: Indian s anda d IS 1382:1961 (glass p oduc-
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ion) uses he e m canal which has a e y b oad meaning o deno e a
e y specialised concep ‘window glass ank canal’.
Absence o a ia ion is a necessa y quali y o some new e ms ha may
ha e se e al a ian s: e m g a i i has many a ian s – g a i i,sg a i i,
sg a i i,sg a i o, e c. which some imes a e e en used in he same ex .
The quali y o mo i a ion, ha is ha ing o m ha poin s o i s mean-
ing, helps o easie unde s and and lea n he espec i e concep . Ou o
he exis ing h ee main ypes o mo i a ion he mos ex ensi ely used in
o ming new e ms a e s uc u almo i a ion ha occu s in wo ds consis -
ing o he al eady known meaning ul pa s, such as penkni e, ail oad,
loade , hei s uc u e poin ing o hei meaning, and seman icmo i a ion
ha occu s in wo ds wi h seconda y meaning which can be guessed on
he basis o he p ima y meaning. In he combina ions ae oplanewing,
ae oplane ail,columnneck,heado aline,lego a able he wo ds wing,
ail,headandleg ha e seconda y meaning. Using he p ima y, gene ally-
known meaning we can guess whe e he wings and ail a e in an ai plane,
o whe e a column neck is si ua ed e en i we see hese objec s o he
i s ime.
The mos impo an p agma ic equi emen s a e:
es ablishedness – he quali y o being app o ed by specialis s and uni-
e sally used, which could be judged by he equency o occu ence in
communica ion;
in e na ional o m which helps in in e na ional communica ion;
euphoniousness - he quali y o ha ing no unpleasan conno a ions
(compa e hini isand unningnose); e y impo an in ade-names: he
So ie ca Zhiguli o a long ime would no sell in F ance whe e i s
name was associa ed wi h gigolo– a hi ed lo e ; he Czech ca Shkoda
(which in Polish means ‘ha m’) was changed in Poland o Skoda, which
has no conno a ions; in he USA such names o p o essions asga bage
collec o and a ca che we e changed osani a yenginee and e min
con olo ice .
Wi h he ask o choosing he mos e ec i e o ms o new e ms, one
o he mos popula di ec ions o e minological esea ch in he USSR in
he 1960s and he 1970s was he analysis o he exis ing o ms o e ms
in a ious e minologies o many languages wi h he aim o es ablishing
he mos p oduc i e means and pa e ns o e m o ma ion and elabo a -
ing ecommenda ions o o ming new e ms. As he esul o his esea ch
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also a ious o ms o mo i a ion we e s udied and some endencies o
usage o a ious means o e m o ma ion on ce ain s ages o de elop-
men o e minologies we e e ealed.
Howe e , i was ound ha synch onous esea ch does no p esen eli-
able in o ma ion conce ning p oduc i i y o a ious ways and pa e ns o
e m o ma ion and so diach onic app oach was sugges ed in he 1970s.
Fi s ly, di e en means o e m o ming may esul in he same s uc-
u al ype o e ms – among he simple, o oo e ms he e may be wo ds
om he e e yday ocabula y – wa e ,hand, abb e ia ed – mo el,lase ,
scuba,dinky and bo owed – pizza,cas le. A he same ime usage o he
same means – o example bo owing – may esul in e ms o a ious
s uc u al ypes.
Secondly, ela i ely low equency o a means o e m- o ma ion may
signi y ei he means coming ou o usage o new, pe spec i e means ha
ha e no ye a ained su icien le el o usage.
Thi dly, he e was ound a ce ain ela ion be ween he p edominan
o ms o e ms and ime o hei appea ance and also be ween deg ee o
de elopmen o a ce ain ield o knowledge and p e alen means o o m-
ing i s e ms (G ine 1979).
I was also ound ha o assessing a chosen ype o e m- o ma ion i
is e y use ul o es ablish mean ime o appea ance o e ms p oduced
wi h i s help. This may be accomplished by using he exis ing his o ical
dic iona ies con aining da es o i s appea ance in ex s and changes o
meaning o wo ds and wo d-combina ions. In English such in o ma ion
is p o ided by he exhaus i e 20- olume Ox o d English Dic iona y.
To es ablish his cha ac e is ic a new me hod, es ed on a numbe o
English, F ench and Russian e minologies was elabo a ed. The da e o
i s appea ance o a lexical o m in ex is conside ed o be he da e o
appea ance in language. Bu aking accoun o he ac ha usually w i -
en ixa ion is p eceded by a ce ain pe iod o usage in o al speech i e
yea s is sub ac ed om he da e o appea ance in w i en speech and he
esul is app oxima ed o decade. In his way he condi ional ime o ap-
pea ance o a lexeme is supposed o be wi hin he limi s o ± 5 yea s. Fo
example a wo d i s eco ded in he yea 1572 is conside ed o appea
in o al speech a leas in 1567, which is in ound igu es ( oughly) in
1560s and in s a is ic calcula ions only he i s h ee digi s a e aken
in o conside a ion.
4 2 S. G ine -G iniewicz | Te minologicalMe hodsin heHis o y    
| o Te minologyScience
Te MInoLoGIJos MeTodAI Te MInoLoGIJos MoKsLo IsTo IJoJe
S aipsnyje specialiosios leksikos y imo i a kybos me odų aidos požiū iu ap a-
iama e minologijos mokslo is o ija. Pažymima, kad plė ojan is e minologijos moks-
lui į ai iais jo aidos e apais bu o aikomi i obulinami am ik i me odai – sis emi-
nis, ipologinis, semio inis, e e sinis, diach oninis i an opologinis. Tai leidžia e mi-
nologijos y inėjimų is o iją apž elg i kaip e minologijos me odologijos aidą.
ТЕРМИНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ МЕТОДЫ В ИСТОРИИ ТЕРМИНОВЕДЕНИЯ
Рассматривается история терминоведения в аспекте развития методов исследо-
вания и упорядочения специальной лексики. Отмечается, что, по мере развития
терминоведения, на разных этапах преимущественно использовались и совершен-
ствовались определенные методы – системный, типологический, семиотический,
реверсийный, диахронический и антрополингвистический подходы, что позволя-
ет рассматривать историю терминоведческих исследований как развитие терми-
нологической методологии.
Gau a 2011-11-02
Se giusz G ine -G iniewicz
Uni e si y o Bialys ok
Waska 4, m.20, Bialys ok, 15-481, Poland
E-mail g iniewicz@w. kb.pl