DIANA ŠILOBRITAITĖ

Institute of the Lithuanian Language

J. Gaivenytė-Butler, St. Keinys, A. Noreikaitė

DICTIONARIES OF LITHUANIAN TERMS

In 2008, the Institute of the Lithuanian Language published an annotated bibliographical index of Lithuanian terminology dictionaries from 1900 to 2005, compiled by Terminology Centre staff members Jolanta Gaivenytė-Butler, Stasys Keinys, and Adelė Noreikaitė. This is a very important and useful publication, describing more than 500 translation, explanatory, encyclopedic, and explanatory-translation dictionaries, glossaries, and bulletins in various fields that contain Lithuanian terms.

The index comprises St. Keinys’s Lithuanian preface A Few Accompanying Words to the Bibliographical Index of Dictionaries of Terms (7–8), an English preface Accompanying words to the bibliographical index of dictionaries of terms (9–11), Bibliography of Dictionaries of Terms (13–228), Systematic Index (229–235), Systemic index in English (236–242), Index of Personal Names (243–252), and a bibliography (253–256).

The terminology dictionaries in the bibliography are arranged chronologically and numbered: 4 terminology dictionaries are recorded up to the declaration of Lithuania’s independence (1918), 8 from the independence period (1918–1940), and 168 from the occupation period (1940–1990); after independence was regained (1990–2005), as many as 320 terminology dictionaries, glossaries, and other works were published. Annotations have been written for almost all the dictionaries, indicating each dictionary’s type, structure, purpose, and approval status. The index also notes which dictionaries were issued on compact disc. After the annotations, the titles of the publications are given in English.

The Systematic Index groups and classifies the subject areas of all the dictionaries mentioned: 1. General section, 2. Philosophy. Psychology. Ethics, 3. Religion. Theology, 4. Social Sciences, 5. Mathematics. Natural Sciences, 6. Applied Sciences. Medicine. Technology, 7. Arts. Games. Sports, 8. Linguistics

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ra. Philology. Literary studies, 9. Geography. History. Each section is divided into subsections, which are further subdivided, for example, the subsection Computer Science, Technology and Use in the General Section (the other subsections in the section mentioned are General Subjects of Science and Culture. Librarianship and Bibliography. Journalism) is divided into Computer Programs, Computer Technology, and Computer Networks, and so on.

The index includes a few dictionaries that contain no Lithuanian terms (for example, Check-list of Lithuanian Lepidoptera =A checklist of Lithuanian butterflies). Encyclopedias of the Lithuanian language, medicine, music, technology, agriculture, and journalism are also included; others have been omitted. Other publications that are not terminological dictionaries, as well as terminology standards, are not included either. It should be noted that dictionaries in series devoted to a particular field, published in separate booklets, are likewise listed by section; for example, the 29 booklets of Technical Terms prepared in 1960–1969 by the Terminology Commission of the Institute of Energy and Electrical Engineering of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.

The bibliographic index of Lithuanian-language terminology dictionaries is intended for a broad readership: terminologists, language practitioners, lexicographers, and everyone interested in the Lithuanian language.

Received 2008-12-05

Diana Šilobritaitė Lietuvių kalbos institutas P. Vileišio g. 5, LT-10308 Vilnius E. paštas: [email protected]

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