Te minology in he E a
o Globalisa ion
SERGIUSZ
GRINIEWICZ
Uniue si y o Bialy s ok
he impo ance
o e minology in he e a
o globalisa ion
s ems
om
he ac
ha nowadays he apid
g ow h o scien i ic and echnological
knowledge is p ac ically impossible wi hou paying a en ion o he
s a e o e minology. Special lexical uni s comp ise
mo e han 90 pe cen
o
he new wo ds in mode n lang ages. The g ow h o scien i ic
and echnical
ocabula ies is much as e han ha o he e e yday
speech
ocabula y,
so
a p esen he numbe o e ms in some sciences
( o e, ample
chemis y
o biology) exceeds he numbe o common wo ds. We can compa e he
ollowing igu es:
he ull, unab idged e sion o he Webs e 's
dic iona-
y con ains abou 700,000
English wo ds;
he la ges
Russian
17- olume
dic iona y
ea s
some 120,000 wo ds
( hough al eady
he e
a e dic iona-
ies con aining ca.
200,000
wo ds); a he same
ime Russian
cons uc ion
e minology
numbe s
mo e
han 150,000 wo ds, mode n biological
e mi-
nology exceeds a million names o a ie ies o li ing beings, in chemis y
we know mo e han 1,5 million subs ances.
In indus y al eady
a he be-
ginning o he 1980s
mo e han 20 million ypes
o a ious p oduc s we e
manu ac u ed,
each
o hem ha ing i s own special
name.
Special
ocabula y no only al eady comp ises he majo pa o any ad-
anced na ional language bu also is he mos dynamic s a a
o language.
The so-called
"in o ma ion explosion" - ha is ex emely apid g ow h o
lows o scien i ic and echnological in o ma ion - caused
he e minologi-
cal e plosion
- ha
is eno mous g ow h o he numbe o new e ms.
Fo
example
a he beginning o he 1g h cen l y
acco ding
o ou calcula ions
he e exis ed abou 10 housand
building e ms;
a he beginning o he
20 h cen u y hei numbe g ew o 30-35 housand while a he p esen
ime i may come up o 250 housand.
I happens
because e e y 25 yea s
he numbe o sciences
and scien i ic
disciplines
g ows
wice,
and e e y
new science needs
i s
own e minology. I we
conside he
ac
ha
acco d-
10 Se giusz G iniewicz I Te minology in he li a o Globalisa ion
ing o he Encyclopaedia
B i annica in he 20 h cen u y as
much as
2,500
new sciences
and scien i ic
disciplines
came
in o being, hen he p oblem
o e minology in he 21s cen u y akes
i p ope shape'
We should also
pay a en ion o he ole e minologies o a ious b anches
o science
a e
playinginshapingou knowledgeo hesu oundingwo ldandou sel es,
hough his is usually unde es ima ed
and neglec ed
by he go e nmen s
(G ine , 1999).
one o he main p oblems, ha immedia ely a ises
in connec ion wi h
globalisa ion,
and could be clea ly obse ed,
is ha we ha e o ind ou
some
e ec i e
linguis ic means
o in e na ional
communica ion' F om lin-
guis ic poin o iew he e a e h ee possible
solu ions
o he p oblem o
communica ing in new condi ions, namely:
- es ablishing
uni e sally
accep ed
a i icial language
as
a means
o com-
munica ion;
- success ully
sol ing he p oblem o machine ansla ion;
o
- choosing one o he exis ing languages
as
a uni e sally
in e na ional o
d as ically
limi ing he numbe o in e na ional
languages'
The his o y o a emp s a in en in g a i icial languages is qui e imp es-
si e, lis ing a ious p oiec s o c ea ing "ideal" languages,
hough none
o hem became widesp ead.
Su ice i o say ha he mos widely used
a i icial in e na ional language
- Espe an o,
ega dless
o he ac o i s
cen ena y
exis ence,
did no eally succeed
in jus i ying g ea
expec a ions
o becoming he uni e sally known and p e ailing in use in e na ional
language.
I may be accoun ed
o by he essen ial
d awbacks
o i s c ea-
ion - deba able
lexical inno a ions, lack o p elimina y es ima ion
o he
possible
phone ic and g amma ical
p oblems o he people wi h a ious
iu. gnug" backg ound, e c. Bu hen, e en some mo e e icien a i icial
languages,
such
as
Occiden al
- ha
was
p oposed
by some
qui e compe en
and skil ul linguis s,
and has
many me i s,
namely,
i is easy
o unde s and,
e en
wi hou ex ensi e
linguis ic
knowledge
and
skills,
easy
o lea n,
hanks
o less
a i icial cons uc ions
o memo ise
- could no become
su icien ly
popula .
Bu hisop ionis'pe haps,ou o heScopeo e minologyscience' hough
some
p inciples
o cons uc ing
new wo ds a e
basically
he same,
whe eas
he nex wo a e di ec ly connec ed
wi h e minological p oblems.
The nex solu ion is nachine unsla ion The main obs acle
on he way
o e ec i e
machine ansla ion
lies in he ac ha in he dic iona ies
we
Te minologiia
12006
| 13 11
ind mul i ude o equi alen s o he soll ce e m. As was men ioned
in some
publica ions
(G ine , 1999),
when he dic iona y gi es
only one equi alen
o he sou ce e m, he ask o ansla o is a he
easy, hough he s ill has
o make su e ha he sugges ed
equi alen
has
he same meanings
as he
sou ce e m. Si ua ion becomes di icul i he e a e
wo a ian s o ansla-
ion o he sou ce e m. I becomes
e en
mo e complica ed wi h he g ow h
o numbe o p obable a ian s o ansla ion.
O en such lis s o equi alen s
include synonyms, a ian s
and qui e
di e en e ms side-by-side, hus u e ly emba assing
he use o he dic-
iona y. E en when ansla ing in o he na i e language
and pe ec ly well
knowing he di e ence be ween he p oposed a ian s,
ansla o does no
necessa ily know which o he synonyms is s anda dized and, he e o e,
p e e able.
In cases o ansla ing om he na i e language
ansla o has o
sol e a e y di icul p oblem o disc imina ing be ween he absolu e
equi a-
len s, a ian s,
pa ial and condi ional equi alen s
o qui e di e en e ms
which a e o en gi en in a dic iona y in a andom o de . In many cases he
occasionally used e ms a e ca e ully bu wi hou c i ical assessmen egis-
e ed by he au ho o e minological dic iona y and p esen ed
as
a ian s
o ansla ion, wha I am usually e e ing o as
"emba as
de ichesses". I
makes ansla o 's wo k eally ying. In he case o machine ansla ion i
ge s e en mo e complica ed, because hen he choice o equi alen is qui e
o mal - usually he i s one is supplied.
Sys ema ic compa ison o he na ional e minologies in he p ocess
o
c ea ing a dic iona y makes i easie and wi h mo e eliable esul s. I gi es
he oppo uni y o ge he clea pic u e o he exis ing synonymic and
quasi-synonymic ela ions be ween e ms wi hin na ional e minologies,
o choose he mos p e e able e ms ou o he g oup o synonyms and
o es ablish eliable equi alen s
o be used in ansla ing he co espond-
ing g oup o synonyms and o ensu e e e sibili y. Bu mos impo an ,
i p esen s
he oppo uni y o minimize he numbe o equi alen s o he
sou ce e m, in many cases lea ing only one equi alen . Un o una ely, his
p oblem is a om being sol ed and he p esen endencies in dic iona y
making gi e eason
o be scep ic.
The las solu ion is
he choice o one o he exis ing languages.
Globalisa-
ion o he indus y, economics, cul u e, e en he e e yday li e esul s in
o ming o new condi ions o he exis ence and in e ac ion o he na ional
languages.
One o hem is
domina ion o some languages,
chosen as means
o
72 Se giusz G inicwicz I Te minology in he E a o Globalisa ion
in e na ional
communica ion.
In ou
his o y
he e
we e imes o domina ion
o one o he.
p es igious
languages: in Middle Ages La in was a uni e sal
lan-
guage o li e acy,
he same
ole . 'as playecl in he Eas
by A abic; in he I
B h
and he 19 h
cen u ies
F ench was he language
o ed . ca ed pe sons
all o e
Eu ope. Now, since
he second hal o he 20 h cen u y English is g aclually
becoming domina ing language all o e he wo ld. Simul aneously
. 'e
can
iew lessening
o he numbe o he ac i ely
used
languages. Acco ding o
he UN calcula ions du ing he cu en cen u y app oxima ely
2,500
o he
p esen ly
unc ioning 3,000
languages will clisappea
om ac i e usage. Yo
may disag ee wi h me bu some
languages
ha e small chances o su i e. In
many cases
he e e ish a emp s o e i e'
and sus ain he p ac ically
ha dly
exis en
na ional
languages a e
in eaii y
iogging dead
ho ses.
In eali y, howe e , only hose lang ages
a e doomed o disappea ,
ha
al eady
ha e qui e limi ed usage
(such
as
one- illage languages).
In many
cases
disappea ance
would only mean a change
o s a us
- om language
o
dialec , as, in all appea ances,
i ecen ly
happened wi h Molda ian ha was
p oclaimed a dialec
o Romanian.
A he same
ime we may obse e qui e
he opposi e
p ocess
- some dialec s,
as o example Ca alonian and Galician
in Spain, P o encal in F ance gained he s a us o o icial languages,
The e may be wo causes o disappea ance o na ional languages
- he
mos na u al one being he na owing o he sphe e o applica ion
o a
na ional language
ans o ming i in o : local dialec and he nex one is
he in luence o a closely
ela ed language wi h he his o ically de e mined
adi ionally wide spec e o unc ioning (such
as he case o he Uk ainian
and he Byelo ussian languages which a he end o he 1980s we e being
almos comple ely ous ed by he Russian
language).
I ollows ha he su i ing languages
will widen hei unc ional domain
and a numbe o speake s will inc ease
ou side he coun ies o hei o igin
(i migh be men ioned as a cu ious ac ha a he p esen
ime bo h he
B i ish and he Russians cons i u e
na ional
mino i ies among he na i e
speake s o he espec i e
languages).
Wi h he commencemen o in e -
na ional applica ion o some o he exis ing languages we come ac oss
he
p oble n o hei e ec i e usage.
And he e he ques ion o he na ional
language
policy a ises.
A p esen we can obse e ha some o he poli ical decisions conce ning
language
in he eme ging
new s a es
ha e
only momen a y poli ical easons
wi h comple e igno ance o he na u al endencies o language
de elop-
IJ e n inologiia
| 2006
| l3
men and canno
he e o e be aken
se iously. The e o e
wo king ou sound
impa ial ecommenda ions
based on he analysis
o na u al p ocesses
o
e olu ion and, in pa icula ,
in e na ional
in e ac ion
o languages
becomes
a necessi y.
Such ecommenda ion i s o all should be conce ned wi h
e minology because,
i s ly, his pa o he wo d-s ock may be mos easi-
ly egula ed (special
lexis is qui e p obably he only pa o language
ha
migh be consciously
manipula ed
and con olled), and, secondly,
because
con olling special ocabula y
may enhance
g ea ly he p og ess
o science
and echnology.
When we speak o he mino languages
- and, acco ding
o he opinion
o p o . Pusz ay,
exp essed
a he Oc obe In e na ional Con e ence
"Te- -
minology o Na ional Languages
and Globaliza ion" (Vilnius, 2006), e en
languages
wi h 10 mln. na i e speake s
should be conside ed
as such, a
leas wo ac o s,
in ou opinion, should be conside ed.
Fi s ly, he numbe o people speaking
s a e
languages
o mino s a es,
such as
he Bal ic ones,
migh be subs an ially
inc eased
by he people o
o he na ionali ies
acqui ing hose languages.
Secondly, one o he mos e ec i e
means
o p e en ing disappea ance
o ela ed mino languages is hei conue gen deuelopmen , inc easing
chances o hei su i al. I is in e es ing
ha pu ely poli ical decisions
o
he 20s o he p e ious cen u y p oclaiming na ional languages
wha was
hen dialec s o he same lang age
made i di icul , bu could no p e-
en he possibili y o communica ion be ween
he peoples
o he Cen al
Asia coun ies. Bu wha he un a ou able condi ions, na u al disas e s
o disas ous
poli ical decisions
can no do, could be done by he people
hemsel es
- he hough less
uncoo dina ed
bo owing om di e en lan-
guages
- A abic, Russian,
English, Ge man, Pe sian
leads o inc ease
o
di e ences
o o me dialec s,
and, consequen ly,
mu ual unde s anding.
The con e gen policy implies ha he al eady exis ing p inciples
o
bo owing:
- ansli e a ion
is p e e able
o ansc ip ion,
because nowadays
he ma-
jo i y o bo owings is ca ied
ou in w i en o m;
- when bo owing pay a en ion o he o m a he
han meaning,
be-
cause meaning
is changing
(wi h de elopmen
o change
o he co es-
ponding concep ) much easie
han
he o m;
- o ensu e he easies
assimila ion
o bo owings i is allowable
o sim-
pli y hei o ms, e ading consonan
clus e ing
and owel hia uses
ha
| 4 Se giusz (] iniewicz I Te minology
in he
E a o G[< balisa ion

migh cause p oblems
in p onouncing; adap ing he endings
so ha
hey would con o m wi h he accep ed g amma ical pa adigms;
- wi h new e ms he al eady exis ing in e na ional o ms a e o be p e-
e ed;
- in many cases wide.ly known Old G eek and La in mo phemes could be
used
in o ming new na ional
e ms
(G ine , i987);
wo new p inciples o co-o dina ed language
policy should be aclded,
namely:
- he e should be he same sou ce
languages
o bo owing in o ela ed
languages;
- he o ms o he bo owings, i no iden ical,
should be as close
as pos-
sible and in case
o di e en na ional su ixes, he e sho ld be s ic
co espondence
o new wo ds wi h hose su ixes.
The na ional languages
p oblems o he newly independen s a es we e
mos ho oughly discussed a he beginning o he 1990s
a he numbe
o con e ences
in Uk aine
(Che no sy
7990,1991; Kie 1992), whe e he
possibili ies o con e gen de elopmen o ela ed
languages
and e ec-
i e me hods and p inciples o ensu ing coo dina ion in ela ed languages
de eiopmen we e analysed and e e ybody was qui e en husias ic. Un-
o una ely la e hey we e no implemen ed in Uk aine which led o he
p esen si ua ion
whe e in some cases
se e al na ional
e minologies, based
on a ious
p inciples
bu di e en om o ms in o he Sla onic
languages
a e sugges ed
o he cons e na ion
o specialis s.
The pe spec i es o e minological esea ch and p ac ical ac i i ies o
he commencing cen u y migh be qui e p omising unde he bene icial
ci cums ances
leading
o he elabo a ion and applica ion o he se o ules
o con olling he de elopmen o speciai languages.
Unde he ad e se
condi ions he end o he cen u y will wi ness he endless discussions
o he
mino p oblems o e minology science
while he oppo uni y o con ol
he e olu ion o he mainly used
languages
will be i e ie ably los . Un-
o una ely he gene al
expe ience o he human beha iou allows coun ing
a he on he pessimis ic
a ian o he o ecas .
C O NC LUS IONS
One o he opical
linguis ic
p oblems
o globalisa ion
is o e coming lan-
guage ba ie s. The e a e h ee possible solu ions
- accep ing
an a i icial
language as means o in e na ional communica ion, machine ansla ion
l5
Te minologiia
| 2006
| 13
o endowing one o he exis ing languages
wi h sup eme in e na ional
unc ions. Ano he opical p obie n is p ese ing
small na ional languages
which may be e ec i ely achie ed by con e gen
de elopmen o ela ed
languages. In any case he p esen si ua ion equi es
well-conside ed
s a e
Ianguage
policy.
RT TREN(E5
G ine
S.V. 987:'lc ninologi<al
bo owings. N!'o e nl 7 /8,37 -
17.
Ci inc' S.V. 1999: On lhc P incipl s
o Imp ouing T anslu i g
Ta minok gical Dic ionu i 's. Sl pskic I' ace
lu anis czn '. l8a. Slupsk. 95 105.
TTRMINOTOGIJA
GI.OBAI.IZA(IJOS
EROJE
S aipsnyje g ildcnami u ini l kalbq e minologi os klausin ai daba ini'mis globali-
zacijos sillygomis. Nag ine ami ys poZiu iai !kalbos ba ic q Salinimo p oblemos sp en-
dimE - op i nalios di b ines a p au ines kalbos suku imas, maiininis c imas i ienos
ii daZniausiai a ojamq kalbq pasi inkimas a p au ine.
Analizuojamos adinamqjq maZqiq au iniq kalbq iSsaugojimo p oblemos. Ypa ingas
demcsys ski ia nas giminingq kalbq c minijos kon e gencines ple os koo dina imo
poli ikos galim bcn. s.
TEPMilH0n0 il8
B PE illoEAn i3Aulill
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KOHRep e THo o pa3BuT 4 I TepMnHono .{u
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Gau a 2006-10-24
Se giusz
G iniewicz
Uni e si y o Bialys ok
Waska
4, m. 2O, Bialys ok,
15-481, Poland
E-n ail: [email p o ec ed]
I6 Se giusz G inieu'icz
I' e minolog in he E e o Globalisa ion