Te minologija | 2010 | 17 3 5
Te minology o he ca alan language:
25 yea s o TERMcAT
MaR a GRaNÉ FRaNCH
Te mCaT,Cen edeTe minologia
ThE cATALAN LANGuAGE AND TERMINOLOGy
In 1985 in a social and linguis ic con ex e y di e en om he si u-
a ion oday (jus a ew yea s a e democ acy had been es o ed in Spain
and he ban on he use o ca alan imposed by he F anco dic a o ship
had been emo ed), ca alan socie y, h ough i s au onomous go e nmen ,
decided o es ablish, in Ba celona, a body de o ed o equipping he ca alan
language wi h e minology esou ces and wo king o no malise ca alan
in e ms o specialis languages.
Now, wen y- i e yea s la e , ca alan socie y is s ill e y ac i e in he
sphe e o language, and TERMcAT, he e minology cen e o he
ca alan language, has become consolida ed in i s ole o coo dina ing
e minology ac i i ies.
Today ca alan is a language ha mo e han 11 million people unde s and
and mo e han 9 million speak. A language ha is used in se en e i o ies
belonging o di e en S a es: in ou au onomous communi ies in Spain
(ca alonia, he Valencian communi y, he Balea ic Islands and pa o
A agon); in Ando a; in he sou h o he F ance; and in Alghe o (I aly).
This is a language ha , compa ed o he 23 o icial languages in he
Eu opean union, occupies eigh h posi ion in numbe o speake s, and
which is among he 30 mos used languages on he In e ne . A language
ha oday aces he challenges posed by he mode n socie y, such as
globalisa ion, mig a o y mo emen s and he impac o he In e ne and
in o ma ion echnologies on e e yday li e.
TERMcAT’s ac i i ies ake place wi hin he amewo k o he p ocess
o s anda dising he ca alan language and in a global con ex de e mined
by he knowledge socie y, di e si y and mul ilingualism.
e mcA (www. e mca .ca ) was c ea ed in 1985 as a conso ium wi h
i s own independen legal s a us, cons i u ed by h ee bodies: he Gene ali a ,
3 6 M. G. F anch | Te minology o  heCa alanlanguage:25yea so Te mCaT
o Go e nmen o ca alonia (which is i s p incipal sou ce o unding),
he Ins i u e o ca alan S udies (which plays he ole o e e ence in lan-
guage s anda disa ion) and he conso ium o Linguis ic S anda disa ion
(which ensu es dissemina ion h oughou ca alonia).
TERMcAT’S AcTIVITIES AND SERVIcES
TERMcAT’s mission is o ensu e he de elopmen and in eg a ion o
ca alan e minology in o bo h specialis sec o s and socie y in gene al
h ough he cons an c ea ion o inno a i e, quali y ools and esou ces
in pe manen dialogue wi h expe s and use s.
Ou app oach o ca alan language planning adop ed is based on a co-
ope a i e model ha e ol es a ound social pa icipa ion and in ol emen
and is aimed a ensu ing he sus ainable co-exis ence o ca alan wi h he
o he languages used in ca alonia. In pu suing hese goals o e he las
25 yea s, TERMcAT has o ged i s own s yle, one ha includes bo h
idiosync a ic cha ac e is ics and elemen s ha could be expo ed o o he
linguis ic communi ies.
TERMcAT main ains s able coope a ion ela ions bo h na ionally and
in e na ionally wi h bodies and o ganisa ions de o ed o e minology and
ela ed ac i i ies. Mo eo e , TERMcAT also p omo es mul ilingual e mi-
nology wo k o ensu e he in e na ional dissemina ion o ca alan. TERMcAT
coope a es closely wi h uni e si ies h oughou he ca alan linguis ic e i-
o y by supplying specialis s o ake pa in e minology p ojec s and o
p o ide ad iso y se ices. Pa allel o hese ac i i ies, TERMcAT has also
es ablished coope a ion ag eemen s wi h o he bodies and o ganisa ions ha
play impo an oles in dissemina ing and p omo ing e minology.
As a public ins i u ion ha p o ides se ices o socie y, TERMcAT has
a esponsibili y o wo k o he highes s anda ds o e iciency and e icacy
and o ensu e ha i s p ocedu es a e anspa en as ega ds bo h i s admin-
is a i e managemen and he pe o mance o i s echnical wo k. Fo his
eason, wi hin he ame o i s S a egic Plan, TERMcAT has adop ed ISO
Quali y Managemen S anda d 9001:2008, aimed a ensu ing cons an
imp o emen o bo h he o ganisa ion’s ope a ions and i s accoun abili y.
DEVELOPMENT OF TERMINOLOGIcAL PRODucTS
One o he mos impo an commi men s unde aken by TERMcAT is
ha o p o iding ca alan socie y wi h e minological esou ces in he
ields o science, echnology and he humani ies. To achie e his goal,
Te minologija | 2010 | 17 3 7
TERMcAT p oduces e minology dic iona ies and o he compila ions
ha b ing oge he e minology om di e en specialis ields.
Since 1985, TERMcAT has helped o de elop 515 p oduc s ha co e
a b oad ange o knowledge ields: om he medical sec o , echnology and
indus y o he human and social sciences and spo . All hese p oduc s a e
he ui o coo dina ed wo k be ween e minologis s and expe s in he
di e en sec o s. They a e dis ibu ed by di e en channels, acco ding o
hei na u e and o he in e es s o hei a ge audiences: dic iona ies on
pape , online dic iona ies, pamphle s, p omo ional pos e s, e c.
ca alan is he main language used in all TERMcAT publica ions, and
denomina ions and de ini ions a e gi en in ca alan. None heless, wi hin
he amewo k o a mul i-lingual p ojec , equi alen denomina ions a e
gene ally gi en in Spanish, F ench and English (and, occasionally, in
o he languages).
TERMcAT las s publica ions include Dicciona igene aldel’espo (2010)
[spo s], Dicciona idelsme ca s inance s (2009) [ inancial ma ke s], Lèxic
mul ilingüedelaindús ia (2009) [indus y], Nomsdeplan es (2009) [plan s],
Lèxicdelescomuni a seu opees (2009) [Eu opean communi ies] and
Dicciona id’in e me ia (2008) [nu se y].
In o de o ensu e op imal managemen a all s ages in i s e minology
wo k, TERMcAT is equipped wi h i s own, powe ul managemen ool,
GdT, adap ed o he me hodology employed. Mo eo e , wo e minology
managemen ools, GesTe m and GdTweb, ha e been de eloped and made
a ailable o he gene al public.
GdTweb is a ool designed o people who collabo a e wi h TERMcAT
om di e en physical loca ions ( e minologis s and expe s), enabling
hem o wo k online by using a e minology managemen p og amme
connec ed o he cen e’s e minology da abases. GdTweb enables use s
o wo k wi h se e al TERMcAT e minology da a iles a he same ime,
modi ying hem, making sea ches acco ding o a wide ange o c i e ia
and gene a ing lis s and s a is ical epo s.
GesTe m is a e minology managemen ool c ea ed using ee, down-
loadable so wa e and which can be imp o ed collabo a i ely by modi y-
ing he sou ce code. GesTe m assis s use s in ca ying ou he main asks
in ol ed in e minology wo k: c ea ion o iles and dic iona ies con aining
e minology; main enance o in o ma ion linked o such iles and dic-
iona ies; ad anced sea ches; and gene a ion o p in able lis s.
3 8 M. G. F anch | Te minology o  heCa alanlanguage:25yea so Te mCaT
TERMINOLOGy cONSuLTING SERVIcES
A numbe o language e e ence esou ces a e a ailable o he ca alan
linguis ic communi y, helping use s o d a ex s and esol e he mos
equen doub s.
Rega ding specialis languages, one o he mos equen ly consul ed
esou ces is ce ca e m, an online consul a ion se ice a ailable ee o cha ge
om TERMcAT websi e. By en e ing ce ca e m (www. e mca .ca ), use s
can eely consul ca alan e minology in any specialis ield and om any
a ailable language. ce ca e m con ains 220,000 iles (mo e han 900,000
denomina ions) han can be ound hanks o a mul ilingual sea ch engine.
Each ile may con ain denomina ions in di e en languages, a de ini ion in
ca alan, hema ic classi ica ion and no es o linguis ic and e minological
in e es on he e m conside ed. I he in o ma ion ob ained is no su icien
o esol e hei doub s, use s can also send hei que ies o a e minology
specialis a he consul a ion Se ice, i s egis e ing as a ce ca e m use
and hen comple ing and sending a pe sonal a en ion o m. The e a e
cu en ly mo e han 25,000 egis e ed use s o ce ca e m.
Mo eo e , TERMcAT p o ides ins i u ions, uni e si ies and esea ch
cen es, businesses and o he bodies, as well as indi iduals, wi h me h-
odological, e minological and documen a y ad iso y se ices o d a ing
o ansla ing specialis wo ks, echnical documen a ion and o he special-
is ex s, as well as o loca ing da a-p ocessing p oduc s in ca alan.
Acco ding o he speci ic cha ac e is ics o each p ojec , ad iso y se -
ices may include: e minology e iew; esea ch, esolu ion and, i app o-
p ia e, s anda disa ion o neologisms; me hodological suppo ; coo dina -
ing eams o ansla o s; quali a i e assessmen ; and e minology and
da a-p ocessing managemen .
In ecen yea s, wi h a iew o adap ing ou se ices o mee use s’
needs, we a TERMcAT ha e pu g ea e o s in o complemen ing he
a o emen ioned e minology e e ence esou ces by p o iding da a down-
load se ices. In o de o de elop language echnology ools, i is es-
sen ial o make quali y basic language da a a ailable, and o his o be
app op ia ely labelled and o ma ed. Such da a can hen be eused and
adap ed o di e en uses; in sea ch ools, spelling checke s, au oma ic
ansla ion, e c.
Wi h hese uses in mind, TERMcAT makes a ailable om i s websi e,
o he gene al public e minology epe oi es gene a ed om i s da a-
Te minologija | 2010 | 17 3 9
bases, eely downloadable in s anda d XML o ma . This is a e y popu-
la se ice, and we hope o inc ease he se ices p o ided in his way in
he u u e.
On eques , TERMcAT also g an s o ins i u ions, uni e si ies and esea ch
cen es, businesses and publishe s, p o essional associa ions and o he bodies
cessions o e minological da a ha enable hem o espond o hei o gani-
sa ions’ needs o knowledge and dissemina ion o e minology, whe he
h ough hei co po a e websi es o as suppo o he cons uc ion o ech-
nological managemen pla o ms (sea ch engines, websi es, in eg a ion in o
edi ing ools, e c.). TERMcAT also makes such cessions, on eques , o
language p o essionals, doc o a e s uden s and expe s equi ing ep esen a-
i e e minological co pus in hei esea ch wo k.
e minology S AnDA DiSA ion
FOR ThE cATALAN LANGuAGE
TERMcAT’s mission includes he ask o s anda dising neologisms om
he speciali y lexicon. The cen e app oaches his wo k in wo ways:
– by app o ing he ca alan o ms o new e ms ha eme ge in he
ields o science, echnology and he humani ies, whe he because
no p oposed o m al eady exis s o because o ms a e being ci cu-
la ed ha a e inapp op ia e om he linguis ic o e minology
poin o iew;
– by es ablishing linguis ic and e minological c i e ia o acili a e
e minology wo k and he de elopmen o specialis languages in
ca alan.
The body esponsible o his wo k is he TERMcAT Supe iso y
council, a s anding commi ee whose wo k ocuses on aspec s ela ed o
he linguis ic o m o neologisms and hei adap a ion o he gene al ules
o ca alan.
Be o e being app o ed by he Supe iso y council, e ms a e s udied
in dossie s [6] and discussed by expe s. Finally, all e ms s anda dised
by he Supe iso y council a e included in he Neolo eca, and can also
be consul ed by using ce ca e m.
Since 1985, mo e han 6,500 e ms ha e been s anda dised in ca alan.
The s anda disa ion p ocess [3] is applied o e minology ha alls in o
one o o he o he ollowing cases:

4 0 M. G. F anch | Te minology o  heCa alanlanguage:25yea so Te mCaT
– hey ha e no ixed denomina ion because hey espond o new con-
cep ual eali ies (se eidemissa gescu s, emp esapun com, bloc)
[sho message se ice, do com company, blog];
– he e exis doub s o a ia ions (spelling, mo phology, e c.) wi h
ega d o he denomina ion (bu ca, del ina i, plu al o ani as)
[bu kha, dolphina ium];
– he e exis s mo e han one denomina ion o he same concep
(hipò esidel’o igena icà ecen : ou o a ica,modelde
eemplaçamen  àpid, eo iadel’e ami ocond ial, eo iadesd’À ica
o eo iaapa i d’À ica) [(Recen ) “Ou o A ica” Theo y];
– hey a e designa ed by a bo owed o copied o m (ai bag:coixíde
segu e a ;bullying:asse jamen escola ;es a del’a :es a delaqües-
ió) [ai bag, bullying, s a e o he a , s a e o he ques ion];
– hey p esen concep ual con usions ( ecicla , ecupe a , alo i za ,
eu ili za ) [ ecycle, eco e , alo ise, euse].
In o de o objec i ely e alua e he possibili ies o in oducing a ca alan
al e na i e o whe he o op o an adap a ion o he spelling o accep
he bo owed e m di ec ly, TERMcAT makes an in-dep h s udy o each
e m [6], aking in o accoun linguis ic and e minological c i e ia, as well
as usage.
In o de o desc ibe and explain he me hodological c i e ia ha ha e
guided he wo k o TERMcAT o e he yea s, he cen e has published
wo ks on: e minological de ini ion [2], loan ansla ion [5], bibliog aphy
[1] and e m o de [4], amongs o he s.
TRANSLATION OF STANDARDS INTO cATALAN LANGuAGE
In acco dance wi h he coope a ion ag eemen signed in 2005 wi h
Aeno , he Spanish Associa ion o S anda disa ion and ce i ica ion,
TERMcAT is he au ho ised cen e o ansla ing he uNE and ISO-uNE
s anda ds in o ca alan. The p ocedu e employed in ansla ing hese
s anda ds ollows he guidelines laid down in he ISO: uNE 15.038 s anda d
o ansla ion se ices. Since 2005, 20 s anda ds ha e been ansla ed in o
ca alan.
ThE PAST AND ThE FuTuRE
A e 25 yea s’ expe ience and pa icipa ion in coun less p ojec s and
ini ia i es aimed a enhancing ca alan’s p es ige as a language o wo k
and o specialis communica ion, we con inue o cons an ly e iew
Te minologija | 2010 | 17 4 1
e McAT’s mission, b inging i up o da e and seeking he bes ways
o eaching all sec o s o socie y.
The TERMcAT’s commi men o he ca alan language communi y is
i s eason o exis ing. We need he in ol emen o all s akeholde s in
e minology: echnicians, linguis s, e minologis s, ansla o s, jou nalis s,
communica o s, e c. In o de o achie e his, we shall wo k o g ea e
social pa icipa ion in p ojec s, g ea e p oximi y o e minology use s and
inc eased e iciency in achie ing he mission TERMcAT was se up o
achie e and deli e ing i s esul s o socie y.
BIBLIOGRAPhy
[1] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. Bibliog a ia:C i e isdep esen acióenels eballs e mino-
lògics. Vic: Eumo Edi o ial; Ba celona: TERMcAT, cen e de Te minologia, 2009. 151 p. (En P ime
Te me; 6. c i e is i Mè odes).
[2] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. Lade inició e minològica. Vic: Eumo Edi o ial;
Ba celona: TERMcAT, cen e de Te minologia, 2009. 250 p. (En P ime Te me; 7. c i e is i Mè odes).
[3] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. LaNo mali zació e minològicaenca alà:c i e isi e mes
1986-2004. Ba celona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Mon se a : TERMcAT, cen e de Te minologia,
2006. 720 p.
[4] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. L’o denacióde e mes. Vic; Ba celona: Eumo: TERMcAT,
cen e de Te minologia, 2008. 94 p. (En P ime Te me; 4. c i e is i Mè odes).
[5] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. manlleusicalcslingüís icsen e minologia.Vic; Ba celona:
Eumo: TERMcAT, cen e de Te minologia, 2005. 86 p. (En P ime Te me; 1. c i e is i Mè odes).
[6] TERMcAT, cENTRE DE TERMINOLOGIA. ece ca e minològica:eldossie deno mali zació. Vic;
Ba celona: Eumo: TERMcAT, cen e de Te minologia, 2006. 158 p. (En P ime Te me; 2. c i e is i
Mè odes).
KATALONŲ KALBOS TERMINOLOGIJA: 25 TERMCAT METAI
Ka alonų e minologijos cen o (www. e mca .ca ) Ba selonoje užda inys – už i-
k in i ka aloniškos e minijos plė ą i diegimą specialiose s i yse bei plačiojoje isuo-
menėje nuola ku ian pažangias i kokybiškas p iemones bei iš eklius i bend ada -
biaujan su ekspe ais i a o ojais.
cen o eikla i paslaugos apima ka alonų kalbos a kybą, joms į akos u i žinių
isuomenė, į ai o ės i daugiakalbiškumo idėjos.
TERMcAT eikla, susijusi su ka alonų kalbos plana imu, emiasi bend ada bia imo
modeliu, ku is numa o isuomenės daly a imą i da naus ka alonų bei ki ų
Ka alonijoje a ojamų kalbų gy a imo už ik inimą. Siekdamas šių ikslų pe pas a-
uosius d idešim penke ius me us TERMcAT sukū ė sa i ą eiklos s ilių, u in į iš-
ski inių b uožų, ku iuos galė ų panaudo i ki os kalbinės bend uomenės.
Gau a 2010-10-20
Ma a G ané F anch
e mcA
E-mail mg ane@ e mca .ca