J. Kruopas – nuoseklios ir kryptingos fizikos terminijos tvarkybos šalininkas

ECHOES OF THE PAST Angelė KAULAKIENĖ Institute of the Lithuanian Language, Vilnius J. KRUOPAS – AN ADVOCATE OF CONSISTENT AND PURPOSEFUL REFINEMENT OF PHYSICS TERMINOLOGY Contemporary physics terminology is among the best-organized in Lithuania. This was undoubtedly due to many factors. However, perhaps the most important was the consistent and purposeful refinement of their own terminology by physicists themselves, with the help of linguists. Evidence of such purposeful refinement of physics terminology can be found in I. Končius’s textbook, which he wrote (from January 28, 1916, to December 23, 1919)1 while teaching in Estonia, after the Palanga girls’ gymnasium had moved to the town of Võru. While writing the textbook, he corresponded with many people whose names are given only by the initials G. D., G. G., R. S., and R. P., making it difficult to determine to whom the letters were addressed. Apparently, most of them were written to members of the Teachers’ Union. In her book „Ignas Končius and His „Žemaičio šnekos“ (V., 1992)2, L. Dzigaite speculates that R. P. may have been a physicist, since I. Končius wrote him the following letter: „Have a look; perhaps my writing is no good at all, in which case I will neither tear up books while cutting out pictures nor waste paper. All told, it will be over 400 pages“3. The sequence of correspondence was also discussed in part by I. Končius himself in the article „Physics Terms“4. An editorial note by A. Žvironas accompanying this article clarifies the stages in the writing of the „Physics“ textbook and some matters of terminology. It states that „a „Language Commission“ was established in Voronezh to determine physics terms, chaired by K. Būga. [...] while writing „Physics,“ the author [I. Končius] collected ter- 1 Ignas Končius. Literatūros rodyklė. Sudarė E.Makariūnienė. V., 1990. 142 p. 2 D z i g a i t ė L. Ignas Končius ir jo „Žemaičio šnekos“. V., 1992. P. 21–22. 3 K o n č i u s I. Fizika: Fizikos vadovėlis gimnazijoms: [Rankraštis] // VU BR.F1.F1039. P.70. Tekstas pateiktas autentiškas. 4 K o n č i u s Ig. Fizikos terminai // Gamta. 1938. Nr.3. P. 258–260. 93 minus and sent them to the “Language Commission” or directly to K. Būga, who approved the submitted terms, revised them, or “worked up” new ones5. As I. Končius points out, of the 158 words submitted for consultation, he received handwritten explanations and notes by K. Būga for 101. “Dear Sir! It is very difficult for a non-physicist to determine physics terms. My remarks will give Sveikas only a little material. I must say that I am a very poor smith. The forging work goes better for Jablonskis. In Sveikas’s physics textbook, I would like to find a Samogitian’s nails. The more Samogitian you write, the more human it will be. Daukantas shows that books on all sciences can be written in Samogitian. The terms lay with me for about 10 days, because they reached me while I was ill. Best wishes! Kaz. Būga”. All the words, word combinations, or sentences submitted for consultation by I. Končius, together with K. Būga’s proposed equivalents and explanations and the aforementioned letter, are kept in the Manuscripts and Rare Publications Department of the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.7 They form, as it were, two lists. The first, entitled “Physics,” covers one hundred lexical items from I. Končius’s physics textbook that he submitted for consultation. Besides physics terms, it contains quite a number of sentences or sentence fragments that I. Končius had questioned. He therefore provided most of them in both Lithuanian and Russian. I. Končius numbered all the words or sentences submitted for consultation. The other list is called “Physics Terms.” On one side of the page are written I. Končius’s terms, and on the other, K. Būga’s equivalents, most of them marked for stress, together with explanations. This is what the list looks like. Physics Terms I. Končius плотность K. Būga {thickness, thinness, firmness (of water {firmness?) of porridge, gruel thinness (putra blandì “dense”) {it seems, firmness of lumps, is it said? 5 A.Ž. Editor’s note // Ibid. P.260. The text is reproduced authentically. 6 Končius Ig. Physics Terms // Gamta. 1938. No.3. P. 258–260. 7 Manuscripts and Rare Publications Department of the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. F12, ap.1742. 94 The ratio of two numbers is as four to ten, as five. the ratio of two numbers (meeting): eight corresponds to four, as ten to five, space area, cavity (space) impermeability not getting wet, not becoming damp {waterproof “непромокаемый” > waterproofness building building (palace, palac in Eastern Lithuania “palace,” plural tantum) whole, integer number integer (whole, entire in other cases) fractional number fractional number = дробь = fractions [plural tant.?] weight, force of gravity weight, gravitational force cargo cargo, ōs, cargo intended or difference intended or difference (in Samogitian, “bė skyrōs”) wire wire, genitive singular, accusative singular rest peace, calm, calmness (absence of motion), non-movement motion motion (movement, rotation) {the most suitable, it seems, will be “motion” {cf. su-kušti (su-kušo) {to move, to set in motion absolute absolute relative relative literal (the meaning of the letter, букв. смысл, the meaning of the letter taken literally) uniform even, -en, uniform, of one formation (of one formation, uniform) in Eastern Lithuania rectilinear straight, -i (cf. eik nósies tiesumù [go straight ahead]), straight line (instrumental singular) the body moves rectilinearly and uniformly bodies {rotate straight and uniformly {whirl (uniformly) thin cylindrical glass tube {pipe {tube thin (slender) glass tube, cylindrical in shape (tube) 95 position and distance from a stationary body {place {distance {remoteness {motionless, unmoving {body {motionless time during which the distance was traversed time in which it was traversed {that distance {so much distance opposite case {backwards the contrary case? obstacle obstacle friction (of one object against another) friction (of one object against another, of one body against another) instantaneous {instantaneous, momentary; a sudden blink (acute; adv. acutely) continuous unceasing, endless, proceeding from an object, constant? independence of action independence of operation, of action (independence) counteraction action in opposition?? circumference wheel?? pulley, -s, pulley (that = is the very center, that which is bounded) round about with compasses circle {circumference, goes around (turns), circle {(in German) = curve (Lith.) arc = circular form (cf. surname Skri[t]-dàila) = disk opposite at the other end, contrary? opposite? direction {side (of thoughts, land), direction, {direction (which way does it go?), {that side where the wind blows resultant level, -na?? resultant of two forces; point, fulcrum {knob (dialectal: knob), {point support point (point of leaning) component daras difference {remainder (residue, -ue, residue??) {difference, distinction; inequality inversely proportional directly proportional direct proportion? (ėinas etc.) the distance traveled is directly proportional to time the distance traveled is measured in direct proportion to time 96 number of workers inversely proportional to time pair lever, Archimedean lever lever of the 1st kind lever of the 2nd kind equal-armed balance arm stalk (rod) universal gravitation universal weight-bearing weight-bearing straight line weight-bearing body, liquid plane emptiness unit the number of workers varies inversely with time pair (dial. dvéitas), pair lever Archimedes’ lever first-kind lever second-kind lever equal-armed, with equal arms (equal-armed?) balance arm stalk (rod, -s, -d), stemlet? common force of weight (dial. force of heaviness), force of attraction universal? (of the whole) world? weighing, heavy weighing straight line body, liquid, fluid – heavy, weighing plane, flatness emptiness unit, gen. sg. unit (cf. health, ugliness, life) {unit, perhaps it should be unity, {oneness – единство? It is only regrettable that I. Končius’s physics textbook for gymnasiums was never published. Its 312-page manuscript is kept in the manuscript repository of Vilnius University⁸. Examination of the manuscript of I. Končius’s physics textbook for gymnasiums brings the following points to attention. First, variation among one-word terms and the classifying components of compound terms, an abundance of descriptive terms, and inconsistent spelling of eponymous terms (which, incidentally, is still found today). These are entirely understandable and unavoidable phenomena, since at the time the textbook was being written, physics terminology was only taking shape. Second, the textbook also contains certain ⁸ K o n č i u s I. Physics: Physics textbook for gymnasiums: [Manuscript] // VU BR.F1.F1039. P.70. The text is presented in its original form. 97 standardization criteria: efforts were made to select Lithuanian equivalents for borrowings and to use pronominal forms of adjectives or participles to name subordinate concepts. Undoubtedly, I. Končius’s correspondence with K. Būga influenced the emergence of these criteria. After returning to Lithuania and teaching in Dotnuva, I. Končius formed a commission to consider physics terms in 19219. It included teachers from the agricultural and forestry school: V. Gaigalas, J. Murka, V. Ruokis, J. Stanišauskas, and J. Vienožinskis. The commission discussed about 1,600 terms and in the summer of 1922 submitted them for review to J. Jablonskis, and thereafter to the Terminology Commission, established under the Ministry of Education in 1921. The terms it considered were numbered and published for public scrutiny in the newspaper “Lietuva”10. Almost every list of terms began with an introductory note by A. Vireliūnas, secretary of the Terminology Commission. According to A. Vireliūnas, besides him, K. Būga, A. Dambrauskas, Pr. Dovydaitis, A. Smetona, and Iz. Tamošaitis served on the commission; somewhat later, J. Beinoris, K. Kepalas, J. Laurinaitis, Pr. Mašiotas, J. Murka, and A. Varnas also joined its work11. The list “Terms for Physics” was published in “Lietuva” in Lithuanian and Russian, but not in alphabetical order. A. Vireliūnas explains this misunderstanding in one introduction as follows: “I should note that the list by the esteemed I. Končius is arranged alphabetically, Russian–Lithuanian and Lithuanian–Russian. The commission, however, publishes his terms in Lithuanian–Russian order, not alphabetically. This is why it turned out so. The commission has firmly resolved to place Lithuanian terms first, explaining them in Russian, German, or another language. Following this resolution, it had to consider and publish the Lithuanian–Russian part of the list. But, through an oversight, the working commission prepared and submitted to the full Commission for consideration the Russian–Lithuanian- 9 Šenavičienė I. Fizikos raida Lietuvoje. 1920-1940. V., 1982. P. 88. 10 Lietuva. 1923. 108 (1225), P. 5-6; 109 (1226). P. 6; 125 (1242). P.5–6; 141 (1258). P.7; 149 (1266). P. 5; 209 (1326). P. 5; 218 (1335). P. 7-8; 233 (1350). P.7; 234 (1351). P. 5; 275 (1392). P. 7; 277 (1394). P. 6-7; 278 (1395). P.7; 285 (1402). P.7; 286 (1403). P. 7; 1924. 3 (1414). P. 6-7; 30 (1441). P. 7–8. 11 Lietuva. 1923. 218 (1335). P. 8. Stilius, rašyba ir skyryba netaisyti. 98 part. Later, even though people came to their senses, having started from the wrong end, they did not go back. For, when the Commission deliberates and considers matters, it cannot avoid correcting or changing terms, and as a result their alphabetical order is disrupted. Since, on the other hand, it was decided to publish the terms frequently, after each meeting, they had to be submitted to “Lietuva” in installments12. So what is this first Lithuanian physics terminology dictionary like? It is impossible to characterize precisely the type of the dictionary “Terms for the Needs of Physics.” It is a bilingual (Lithuanian-Russian) dictionary of terms, with elements of an explanatory dictionary, for example: 19. amperas (unit of quantity of electric current) – амперъ (единица количества тока), 1174. buvimas, bū- vis, -io, stovís; natural scientists are concerned with (measure, study, examine) the three states of matter – состояние, учение о природе рассматривает три состояния вещества, 14. amalgama, -os (Kinmeier’s amalgam – an alloy of 1 part lead, 1 part zinc, and 2 parts mercury, a metal-like substance) – амальгама (Кинмейера амальгама – металлический сплав 1 ч. свинца, 1 ч. цинка и 2 ч. ртути), and so on. This dictionary sought to include as much physics and technical terminology as possible. On the other hand, the author’s intention (to replace descriptive or compound terms with shorter ones, to select Lithuanian equivalents for international terms or loanwords, and to distinguish derivatives in the suffixes -imas, -ymas, -umas and endings -a, -as, -is according to meaning) was in a sense the beginning of terminology standardization, later becoming perhaps the principal criteria for standardizing terms in Lithuanian physics lexicography. Work on physics lexicography continued after the war as well. At that time, one of the main organizers of the work of ordering physics terminology was J. Kruopas. On January 30, 1954, the first meeting on issues of physics took place. There, Associate Professor A. Puodžiukynas delivered a detailed presentation, “On the Question of Physics Terminology.” As is evident from the minutes of this meeting, J. Kruopas also spoke in the discussions on terminological issues13. He noted that “the Academy of Sciences has a terminology commission whose task is to organize terminology. The terminology commission of the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Literature is ready to help clarify questions of physics ter- 12 Lietuva. 1923. 218 (1335). P. 7–8. Stilius, rašyba ir skyryba netaisyti. 13 MA CA, F27, Ap. 1; B54a. Tekstas pateiktas autentiškas. 99 minology. In 1940, physics terms were considered by the terminology commission. The Vilnius physicists have them, and some use them. I propose supplementing and refining the existing list of physics terms and considering it. I support Associate Professor Puodžiukynas’s opinion on establishing an organizing committee for terminological issues. I propose including representatives of various scientific institutions in the organizing committee. I propose reproducing the compiled list of physics terms and distributing it to physicists. KPI technicians are preparing a dictionary of technical terms. The terms should be coordinated with physicists. The terminology commission should include the coordination of physics terms in its 1954 work plan14. At the meeting, it was proposed that a physics terminology commission be established. Physicists H. Horodničius, J. Zdanys, Associate Professor A. Puodžiukynas, Professor P. Brazdžiūnas, and linguist V. Bartusevičius were appointed to it. This commission successfully continued the work begun by I. Končius’s commission, and in 1958 a small-format “Dictionary of Physics Terms” was published, covering 4,000 physics terms. Although J. Kruopas was not directly included in this physics terminology commission, as can be seen from the list of his articles and editorial work published in 1947–1968, held in the manuscript collection of the Library of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore15, he, as chair of the Terminology Commission, participated in considering and preparing 13 terminology dictionaries, including the aforementioned “Dictionary of Physics Terms”15. Moreover, as stated in the preface, the dictionary was reviewed by members of the Terminology Commission of the Institute of Lithuanian Language and Literature of the Academy of Sciences, J. Kruopas, A. Kučinskaitė, and V. Labutis, to whom the dictionary’s commission expresses its sincere gratitude16. How does this dictionary differ from I. Končius’s “Terms for the Needs of Physics”? First, it gives only nouns and adjectives as headwords and terms, not all parts of speech. Second, a concept is named by two synonyms, not several, with one given in parentheses after an equals sign, for example: degeneracija (= iš- 14 MA CA, F27, Ap. 1; B54a. Tekstas pateiktas autentiškas. 15 K r u o p a s J. Tarybiniais metais [1947–1968] išspausdintų straipsnių ir redakcinių darbų sąrašas // LLTI BR, F90-111, F90–112. 16 Fizikos terminų žodynas. Red. akad. P.Brazdžiūnas.V., 1958. 122 p. 100 formation), the prohibition principle (=Paul’s principle), sensitization (=sensibilization), variator (=switch) and so on. Third, no attempt is made to distinguish by meaning derivatives with the suffixes -imas, -ymas, -umas and the endings -a, -as, -is. Apparently, J. Kruopas’s authority also influenced these principles for compiling the “Dictionary of Physics Terms,” since one or another such principle can be found in his articles. Later, drawing on the principles used to compile the first and second dictionaries of physics terms, work began on a large four-language “Dictionary of Physics Terms,” which was published in 1979. It is considered one of the best terminographic publications. This was undoubtedly due to the ongoing collaboration between physicists and linguists. Received 1998 07 02 101