Te minologija | 2008 | 15 1 7
Some lexicological aspec s
o e minology and e minog aphy
VALENTĪNA SKUJIŅA
Ins i u eo  heLa ianLanguage,Riga
In 2006 a mee ing commemo a ing he hund ed h o he bi h anni-
e sa y o he La ian linguis and e minologis Rudol s G abis was
o ganized in he La ian Academy o Sciences.
In Ap il 2008 e minologis s om Li huania, La ia and o he coun ies
we e in i ed o pa icipa e a he in e na ional con e ence o ma k he
hund ed h anni e sa y o Li huanian lexicog aphe and he well-known
e minologis and e minog aphe Jonas K uopas.
F om he 1950s o he 1970s bo h schola s we e he heads o Te minology
Commissions: Jonas K uopas — in Li huania, Rudol s G abis — in La ia.
The middle o he 1960s was he ime when Li huania, Es onia and La ia
began o de elop close con ac s on language cul u e and e minology.
On Moscow’s ini ia i e in 1969 he egional con e ence on e minology
de elopmen and p epa a ion o e m dic iona ies was o ganized in Riga.
Since hen egula con e ences ha e been held in Vilnius, Tallinn and Riga
discussing bo h heo e ical and p ac ical aspec s o e minology.
Jonas K uopas ook pa a hese con e ences. He was a membe o he
edi o ial boa d o he book o con e ence ma e ials, published in 1973
(BPHTT 1973).
The a icle w i en by Jonas K uopas and his colleague Kazimie as
Gai enis (K uopas, Gai enis 1973) on e minology wo k and compila ion
o e m dic iona ies in Li huania shows us a numbe o simila p oblems in
na ional e minology de elopmen bo h in Li huania and La ia:
• abou he i s w i en sou ces in 16 h cen u y – eligious ex s;
• abou loan ansla ions (calques) as a p oduc i e pa e n o e m
o ma ion (in Li huanian — especially om La in, Polish, Ge man and
Russian o igin, in La ian — especially om La in, Ge man and Rus-
sian o igin);
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• abou “ a elling” o lexical uni s
• om LGP (language o gene al pu poses) o LSP (language o spe- om LGP (language o gene al pu poses) o LSP (language o spe-
cial pu poses), and ice e sa;
• om ac i e ocabula y o passi e ocabula y, and ice e sa;
• abou seeking balance be ween e ms om na i e sou ces and bo o-
wings;
• e c.
The i le o his pape – Somelexicologicalaspec so  e minologyand
e minog aphy – is chosen no only aking in o accoun he main opic o
his commemo a ion con e ence bu a he same ime in o de o de ine
mo e p ecisely (and upda e) some p inciples o e minology wo k in he
Te minology Commission o La ian Academy o Sciences.
F om he linguis ic poin o iew, i s o all e minology adi ionally
was ea ed as a pa o lexicology. Be o e he 1960s in he La ian S a e
Uni e si y in he cou se o lexicology only abou 15 minu es we e de o ed
o e minology as a laye o he La ian wo d-s ock (Laua 1981: 138–141).
Beginning wi h he 1960s, unde he guidance o Rudol s G abis, scien i ic
s udies on he heo e ical e minology issues we e s a ed a he Ins i u e
o La ian Language and Li e a u e o he La ian Academy o Sciences.
Be o e ha , we can speak abou he scien i ic app oach o selec ing and
o ming o e ms, beginning wi h he second hal o he 19 h cen u y when
di e en ex books and manuals o a ious b anches o science and ech-
nology as well as e minological dic iona ies we e published in La ian and
when essen ial p oblems o o ma ion o e minology ( he ole o na i e
de i a i es and bo owings, he b e i y o a e m, e c.) we e discussed in
sepa a e a icles w i en by J. Alunāns, K. Valdemā s and o he s, so-called
he New La ians (in La ian – jaunla ieši).
Beginning wi h he la e 1960s, e minology was p oclaimed o be a
sel -con ained, in e disciplina y b anch o sciences wi h a e m as a spe-
ci ic objec o scien i ic in es iga ion, and he e m e minology in his
sense had ob ained a p e e ed synonym e minologyscience (in La ian –
e minzinā ne, in Russian – терминоведение).
Since ha ime a numbe o e minology con e ences, semina s and
wo kshops ha e been o ganized in di e en coun ies and hund eds o
books and a icles published exac ly on e minological issues. Te minol-
ogy has become a mul i-aspec ual, la ge-scaled b anch o science wi h
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in e lingual signi icance. Te ms a e compiled no only in dic iona ies bu
in da abases oo, including mul ilingual collec ions (e. g. ETB da abase).
Though nowadays e minology is ecognized as an independen (in e -
disciplina y) b anch o science, i s close links wi h linguis ics de e mine
he signi ican ole o lingual (in a-lingual) p inciples in e m- o ma ion.
The lexical aspec o linguis ic p inciples supposes o espec he speci ic
cha ac e o he e minological s a um in he gene al lexical sys em o lan-
guage, he in e ela ions o e ms and non- e ms, e minological and gen-
e al ocabula y, he connec ions be ween e minology and p o essionally,
socially, e i o ially, his o ically and s ylis ically limi ed lexical laye s, e c.
Lexical in en o y o a language is collec ed in dic iona ies. Lexicog aphy
is a sub-b anch o linguis ics whe e he heo y and p ac ice o e m dic ion-
a y p epa a ion a e de eloped and p inciples and me hods o compiling,
sys ema iza ion, analysis and desc ip ion o wo ds a e de eloped. Le us
y o answe he ques ion: is he e any di e ence be ween a dic iona y o
common language and a e m dic iona y? Fo his pu pose, le us compa e
some en ies o ‘p ocessual’ and ‘a ibu i e’ con en om wo explana o y
dic iona ies: he La ianLanguageDic iona y (LVV 2006) and Dic iona yo 
BasicLinguis icTe ms (VPTSV 2007).
ENTRIES FOR EXPRESSING THE ‘PROCESSUAL’ CONTENT (I)
LVV (common language dic iona y):
ulko (in English: o ansla e) -oju, -o, -o, pag. -oju, pā ej. 1. Iz eik (ko)
ci ā alodā(in English: oexp ess(some hing)inano he language). T. no
o iģināla. Tulko ā li e a ū a. T. g āma u k ie iski. T. unu.
la isko (in English: oLa ianize) -oju, -o, -o, pag. -oju, pā ej. 1. Pā eido 
a bils ošila iešu alodai, āsīpa nībām;(pa)da ī la isku(in English:
o ans o macco ding o heLa ianlanguage,i speculia i ies; omake
La ian). L. uz ā du.
VPTSV ( e m dic iona y):
ulkošana
a. ansla ion
. T ansla ion , Übe se zung , Übe agung
k . перевод
Vienā alodā (o iģināl alodā ai a o alodā) aks ī ā ai unā ā ā da,
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eks a sa u a, jēgas, domas (ieskai o zem eks us u. c.) iz eikšana a
ci as alodas (mē ķ alodas jeb ulkojum alodas) līdzekļiem (in English:
exp essing( hewo d, ex ,idea,e c.) omasou celanguagein o a ge 
language). ◊ b ī ā ulkošana;bu iskā ulkošana.
Sk. a ī o iģināl aloda;a o aloda;mē ķ aloda.
la iskošana
a. La ianiza ion,Le oniza ion
.Einle ischung
k . латышизация,летонизация
Pielāgošana,pada o a bils ošula iešu alodai, āsīpa nībām,s uk ū ai.
(In English: ans o ma ionacco ding o heLa ianlanguage,incon o -con o -
mi ywi h heLa ianlanguage)
ENTRIES FOR EXPRESSING THE ‘PROCESSUAL’ CONTENT (II)
LVV (common language dic iona y):
deklinē ( odecline) -ēju, -ē, -ē, pag. -ēju, pā ej. 1. Valodniecībā–locī (no-
menus)(in English: Inlinguis ics– oin lec nomina). D. īpašības ā du
a no eik o galo ni. Šis ā ds na deklinējams.
konjugē ( oconjuga e) -ēju, -ē, -ē, pag. -ēju, pā ej. Locī (da bības ā dus)
(in English: oin lec  e bs).
locī ( oin lec ) loku, loki, loka, pag. locīju, pā ej... 4.G ama ikā–mainī 
ā du o maslocījumos aipe sonās(in English: Ing amma – ochange
he o mso wo dsincases,pe sons). L. lie ā du. L. da bības ā du.
VPTSV ( e m dic iona y):
deklinēšana
a. declension,declining
. Deklinie en
k . склонение
Nomenu (lie ā du, īpašības ā du, skai ļa ā du) un o nozīmē lie o u
ā du ( ie niek ā du, lokāmo di dabju) locīšana, . i., g ama isko o mu
mainīšana dzim ē, skai lī un locījumā.
(In English: changingo  heg amma  o mso nominaingende ,numbe ,
case)
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Sk. a ī konjugēšana.
konjugēšana
a. conjuga ion
. Konjugie en
k . спряжение
Da bības ā da locīšana, . i., g ama isko o mu maiņa pe sonās, skai -skai -
ļos, laikos, kā ās un iz eiksmēs.
(In English: changingo  heg amma  o mso  e bsinpe sons, ense,
oice,mood)
Sk. a ī deklinēšana.
locīšanask. deklinēšana;konjugēšana
ENTRIES FOR EXPRESSING THE ‘ATTRIBUTIVE’ CONTENT
LVV (common language dic iona y):
ienkā šs(simple) īp.; ienkā ši(simply) aps . 1. Tāds,kassas ā no iena
elemen a, ienasdaļas ... (in English: suchwhichconsis so oneelemen ,
onepa ...) V. eikums. 2. Tāds,kasna g ū s,na sa ežģī s ... (in Eng-Eng-
lish: suchwhichisno complica ed ...) V. uzde ums ... 3. Pa as s,pie icīgs
... (in English: o dina y,modes ...) V. ēdiens ... 4. Tāds,kamna īpašu
p i ilēģiju ... (in English: suchwhichhasnop i ileges ...) V. da ba cil ēks.
VPTSV ( e m dic iona y):
ienkā šāpagā ne,impe ek s
a. pas inde ini e
. Impe ek n
k . простоепрошедшее
Da bības ā da laika o ma, kas izsaka da bību, kas i no ikusi pi ms
unas momen a, piemē am, Es ikkoa nācumājāsnoskolas ...
(In English: he ense o mo a e bexp essinganac ion ha  ookplace
be o e hemomen o speaking)
ienkā šs eikums
a. simplesen ence
. ein ache Sa z n
k . простоепредложение

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Teikums, ku ā i ikai iens g ama iskais cen s ... (In English: hesen-sen-
encewi honlyonesyn ac iccen e) ◊ ienkā šs paplašinā s eikums.
Sk. a ī eikums;salik s eikums;g ama iskaiscen s.
As we can see om compa ison o en ies, he main di e ences a e:
In LVV (common language dic iona y) he e a e:
1) only single wo ds as headwo ds;
2) g amma ical o ms, e e ences o a pa o speech;
3) easy, comp ehensi e explana ions;
4) all meanings in one en y;
5) absence o synonyms in he head o en ies;
6) g amma ical p ocessual meaning ep esen ed by a e b.
(The e a e no e m equi alen s in o he languages.)
In VPTSV ( e m dic iona y) he e a e:
1) bo h single wo ds and wo d combina ions as headwo ds;
2) absence o g amma in o ma ion;
3) de ini ions (explana ions) wi h ele an cha ac e is ics o he concep ;
4) only one concep explained in one en y;
5) synonyms in he head o en ies;
6) g amma ical p ocessual meaning ep esen ed by a noun.
(Te m equi alen s in o he languages a e gi en.)
Conclusion: Taking in o accoun abo e men ioned peculia i ies o common
language and e m dic iona ies, we can conclude ha om he heo e ical
poin o iew he e is a subs an ial mo i e o deal wi h he e minog aphy
as he speci ic in e disciplina y subjec cons i u ed o undamen als om
lexicology, lexicog aphy and e minology.
In his case, pu ing aside o he peculia i ies, le us pay some addi ional
a en ion o he ole o di e en pa s o speech in e minology, in
gene al, and in e m dic iona ies, in pa icula .
I is well-known ha e ms a e no speci ic wo ds. Te ms a e wo ds in a
speci ic unc ion: o deno e by a wo d o wo d combina ion a uni o con-
cep sys em o he espec i e b anch o science o o he espec i e sphe e
o ac i i y. In o he wo ds, we usually say ha e ms a e no subs an ional
i ems bu unc ional ones.
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This speci ic unc ion o he e m is wo old: o nomina e and o desig-
na e he concep . Denomina ing linguis ic uni s usually a e nouns (e. g. in
linguis ics, he nouns sound,mo pheme,wo d,sen ence, ansi i i y a e used
in he unc ion o linguis ic e ms), o wo d combina ions wi h a noun as
he basic componen o hese wo d combina ions (e. g. he noun language
is he basic componen o wo d combina ions na u allanguage,a i icial
language,signlanguage which a e used in he unc ion o he e ms).
Nouns a e he class o wo ds ha ha e he possibili y o [de]nomina e all
di e en kinds o ealia – objec s, p ocesses, quali ies, quan i ies, condi-
ions, e c. The e o e exac ly nouns i well o he unc ion o e ms.
Dominan ole o nouns as ep esen a i es o app op ia e concep s ixed
in e m dic iona ies is undoub ed and is emphasized by a numbe o lin-
guis s and e minologis s. Di e en iews a e exp essed abou o he pa s
o speech, in pa icula – e bs. In some cases bo h nouns and e bs we can
ind as headwo ds in ISO s anda ds (e. g. in ISO/IEC 2382). Le us com-
pa e some examples o de ini ions gi en o nouns and e bs in hese ISO
s anda ds, and pay a en ion o numbe o concep s and essen ial ea u es
men ioned o concep s in hese de ini ions:
display A isual p esen a ion o da a.
o display To p esen da a isually.
s o age The e en ion o da a in a s o age de ice.
o s o e To e ain da a in a s o age de ice.
p og amming The designing, w i ing, modi ying, and es ing o
p og ams.
o p og am To design, w i e, modi y, and es p og ams.
I acco ding o he seman ic (and e minological) iangle he concep
is men al p esen a ion o he objec and he e m is lingual p esen a ion
o he concep , han how many concep s a e p esen ed in hese examples?
Th ee, o six? I we compa e he “lingual p esen a ion” o concep s in
hese de ini ions: “a isual p esen a ion” and “ o p esen isually”, o : “ he
e en ion ... in a s o age de ice” and “ o e ain ... in a s o age de ice”, o :
2 4
“ he designing, w i ing ...” and “ o design, w i e ...”, – we should conclude
ha concep s a e exp essed by wo ds wi h he same concep ual con en
only di e ing in g amma ical o m pu suan o app op ia e pa o speech.
The e o e, i seems ha mo e con incing is he iew o hose linguis s
and e minologis s who conside he nouns as he main ep esen a i es o
he app op ia e concep s in language bu e bs asse as e minological
uni s which in poin o ac exp ess he same concep , di e in g amma
(mo phological o syn ac ical) a ia ion o modi ica ion and a e used o
con ex needs, in discou se. O cou se, he e a e some peculia i ies in di -
e en subjec ields, e. g. in ma hema ics, echnical e minology, o spo .
The subs an i e na u e o a e m is based on he adequa e na u e o a
concep . A concep ion o such e minological i em as he e meme (Skujiņa
1996) gi es o he wo ds o di e en pa s o speech (and/o wo d o ms)
a possibili y o be alloca ed a de ini e place wi hin he e minological
ocabula y: he e m (noun) as ep esen a i e o he concep is he cen-
al membe o he e meme (e. g. he e m ansla ion) bu a e b and
o he wo ds o wo d o ms (pa iciples, ad e bs, adjec i es) in poin o ac
exp ess he same concep a e seconda y membe s (e. g. o ansla e,
ansla ing, ansla ed).
E e y scien i ic ac i i y is based upon p inciples. In La ia, o a numbe
o decades he main e minology asks we e ca ied ou and p inciples we e
adop ed acco ding o E. Wüs e ’s (Wüs e 1979) iews and Aus ian e mi-
nology school, in con o mi y wi h sys emic app oach in he amewo k o
he so called “ adi ional heo y” o e minology (Cab é Cas ell í 2000: 35).
These asks ha e su iced o achie e ce ain goals in na ional e minology
de elopmen acco ding o scien i ic equi emen s and p inciples de eloped
in classical in e lingual e minology heo y. These asks in we e no ca ied
ou only o he s anda diza ion o e minology bu also o en ichmen o
na ional lexical sys em in pa icula .
As a conclusion I would like o s ess ha du ing a numbe o decades
(since abou he 1960s) e minology science has become a mul idisciplina y
subjec cons i u ed on undamen als o linguis ics, and i s sub-b anches –
lexicology, lexicog aphy, de i a ology, e c., as well as on undamen al ele-
men s o logics, philosophy, cogni i is ics, on ology, communica ion sci-
ence, e c.
Besides (as i is s essed in e minology li e a u e (Cab é Cas ell í 2000:
55)), while being in e disciplina y, e minology is also ansdisciplina y,
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since he e is no s uc u ed discipline wi hou a e minology and no way o
exp essing and ans e ing scien i ic knowledge wi hou e minology. Al-
hough o e minology i is cha ac e is ic ha he di e si y o applica ions o
he main scien i ic p inciples o e m- o ma ion play pi o ole up ill now.
Now in e minology science we can indica e o a sea ch o new
app oaches ha would help accoun o he complexi y o e minological
uni s wi hin he amewo k bo h o gene al and specialized communica ion,
aking in o accoun he syn ac ical and communica i e na u e o e ms in
ex s. Ne e heless, i does no mean o deny he adi ional app oach. I
means ha he basis o a new heo y o e minology would accoun o
bo h he ep esen a ional and he communica i e unc ion o e minology
(Cab é Cas ell í 2000: 36, 46). The new app oach means, i s , o asse he
main scien i ic p inciples, and, second, o ocus on he di e si y o e m
applica ions.
The “new heo y” is p e e ed o be no a solely “linguis ic heo y o e -
minology” bu “ e minology heo y o e minology” which “would concei e
e ms as se s o denomina i e and concep ual uni s belonging o na u al
language” and “ ep esen ing special knowledge wi hin a pa icula domain,
and se ing p o essional communica ion” (Cab é Cas ell í 2000: 53).
CONCLUSIONS
1. Since he i s w i en sou ces du ing abou i e cen u ies Li huanian
and La ian e minology s ep by s ep has become mul idisciplina y and
a he ich o ul ill all necessa y s a e language unc ions which become
u gen a he end o 20 h cen u y and a e opical up ill now. Close con ac s
be ween La ian and Li huanian e minologis s began since he middle o
60ies o 20 h cen u y when egula con e ences on e minology and language
cul u e we e hold in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn. This was he ime when
e minology was p oclaimed as a sel -con ained in e disciplina y subjec
cons i u ed on undamen als om linguis ics, as well as on undamen al
elemen s om logics, philosophy, cogni i is ics, on ology, communica ion
science, e c.
2. F om he linguis ic poin o iew, i s o all e minology adi ionally
was ea ed as a pa o lexicology. The lexicological aspec o e minology
supposes o espec he speci ic cha ac e o he e minological s a um in
he gene al lexical sys em o a language, he in e ela ions o e ms and
non- e ms, e minological and gene al ocabula y, he connec ions be-