Terminology and terminography work in Slovenia

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Terminology and terminography work in Slovenia

• MARJETA HUMARFran Ramovš Institute of the
  Slovenian Language,The Scientific Research
  Centre SASA
• Ljubljana
• metahu_at_zrc-sazu.si

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Warm greetings from Slovenia!
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Slovenia

• Until 1918 part of the Habsburg Monarchy, from
  1918 to 1941 part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia,
  from 1945 to 1991 one of the six republics of
  communist Yugoslavia,
• An independent country since 1991,
• A democratic, law-governed, welfare state with a
  republican form of government,
• Member of NATO, and member of the EU since 1 May
  2004,

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• Capital city Ljubljana,
• Just over 2 million inhabitants,
• Official language Slovenian.

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Slovenian joined the ranks of privileged
languages at two critical moments

• In the 16th century, it was the 12th language
  that the Bible was translated into.
• It is one of the smallest languages that the
  Bible of the modern age has been translated
  into the Windows operating system and programs
  written for it.

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The position of Slovenian in the former
Yugoslavia

• Under the constitution Slovenian had equal status
  with other languages of Yugoslavia (Serbian,
  Croatian, Macedonian)
• In practice, however, it was not equal
• Serbo-Croatian was used in federal, military, and
  diplomatic institutions.

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The position of Slovenian in independent Slovenia
is defined by

• The constitution The official language in
  Slovenia is Slovenian. In those municipalities
  where Italian or Hungarian national communities
  reside, Italian or Hungarian shall also be
  official languages.

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The use of Slovenian is defined in further detail
by

• The Public Use of the Slovenian Language Act
  (adopted 2004)
• The Resolution on a National Program for Language
  Policy (adopted 2007)
• and various other acts.

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The Resolution on a National Program for
Language Policy 20072011 foresees
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• Carrying out synchronic and diachronic language
  research
• Revival and harmonization of the work of
  terminological groups, especially in natural
  science, technical fields, economics, management,
  and the military, as well as research on
  translation processes and strategies,
  hyperlinking, and development and accessibility
  of terminological databases.

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The actual position of the language following
independence and democratization
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• Slovenian is the de facto national language
• It is also used in nation-building areas the
  military, customs and diplomacy
• The use of Slovenian in information and
  communication technology and in mobile telephony

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• Increasing interest in learning Slovenian as a
  foreign language
• Following EU accession for the first time in
  history, Slovenian is being used as one of the
  official languages of a major international
  organization.

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Less positive aspects of the new position of the
language

• Following independence, the Slovenian state did
  not carry out a coordinated language policy

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• Altered relations democratization, the
  information society, globalization, European
  integration processes
• Due to EU directives, certain legal provisions on
  the preferential use of Slovenian in particular
  official or public spoken circumstances have been
  removed (e.g., free movement of goods and
  persons, science, and higher education).

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Advantages

• A historically developed feeling of Slovenian as
  a national symbol and cultural value
• The general recognition of Slovenian as a core
  element of Slovenian national identity
• The complete development of modern literary
  Slovenian

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• The constitutionally defined status of Slovenian
  as the official language of an independent state
  and recognized status as one of the official
  languages of the EU
• The existence of legal and executive regulations
  on the public use of Slovenian in education (as a
  language of instruction and curriculum subject),
  public services (healthcare, postal services,
  etc.), the media ...

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• A high level and variety of cultural events in
  Slovenian
• A network of research, development, and
  educational institutions dedicated to Slovenian
• A Division for the Slovenian Language at the
  Ministry of Culture, offering an opportunity for
  institutional harmonization of language policy
  activities.

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Disadvantages

• Slovenias geopolitical circumstances are very
  demanding regarding the preservation and
  undisturbed development of Slovenian
• Demographically, the Slovenian linguistic
  community is relatively weak (2 million)

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• Pressure on Slovenian in exercising the
  principles of free movement of goods, services,
  persons, and capital in the EU
• A lack of Slovenian textbooks in higher education

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• The belief in higher education that Slovenian as
  a language of instruction represents a barrier to
  students and professors from abroad, and that it
  must be replaced by English as a foreign
  language
• The mass use of untranslated foreign-language
  proper names (names of institutions, events,
  works of art, etc.) and the selection of foreign
  names for Slovenian businesses, bars ...

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Attention to Slovenian and its terminology

• As a small nation, Slovenians have also continued
  to exist because we have cultivated our language
  and Slovenian terminology.
• The first terminological dictionary was published
  in 19th century.

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Since independence in the 1990s there have
appeared

• Translating and translated dictionaries necessary
  for new social and political circumstances
  banking, stock exchange, economics, finance,
  computer science, business, insurance, law,
  military

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• Explanatory or translating dictionaries for
  established fields of knowledge automobiles,
  gemology, library science, military, pharmacy,
  mechanical engineering, electrical engineering,
  clothing technology, metallurgy, the oil industry

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• Explanatory or translating dictionaries for new
  fields of knowledge nuclear engineering,
  computer science, information technology, the
  Internet
• Most often translated from English and/or with
  English equivalents.

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• Alongside political changes, the past fifteen
  years have seen major changes affecting the
  language

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• Much new terminology is arising because of
  political openness and globalization
• New terminology is most often English
• Slovenian sciences are joining (or hope to join)
  international science
• The principle of supply and demand affects
  language use in the sciences.

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For the first time in Slovenian history the
question has appeared

• Should Slovenian terminology continue to be
  developed, or should it be adapted to
  globalization through the use of English in the
  sciences?

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Majority response

• The terminology should be Slovenian.
• The language of instruction at Slovenian
  universities is and should remain Slovenian,
  except for foreign language instruction.

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Minority response

• Slovenian science can receive global recognition
  only through English.

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The use of English is also supported by science
policy

• Academic conferences often take place only in
  English,
• Researchers earn more points by publishing in
  English,
• At the faculties there are rarely lectures about
  Slovenian terminology, but regularly about
  English terminology,
• Some academic journals are published only in
  English.

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The following deal with terminology and
terminography
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• The Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian
  Language of the Scientific Research Center of the
  Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts,
• The Slovenian Standards Institute,
• The Office for European Affairs,
• The Government Translation Office,
• Faculties, professional organizations,
  individuals, etc.

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Achievements of The Fran Ramovš Institute of the
Slovenian Language

• Every year we publish at least one normative
  explanatory dictionary of technical terms with
  foreign-language equivalents,
• We have produced the Slovar.Red 2.1 program for
  processing dictionary material,

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• We have produced the Konkord program for
  collection of material
• Approximately 200 external associates in various
  technical fields work on our terminological
  committees
• We are training research assistants for
  terminology work
• We cooperate with the Slovenian Academy of
  Sciences and Arts, ministries, faculties,
  societies, and professional organizations

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• We participate in academic and professional
  meetings in Slovenia and abroad
• We organize terminological conferences
• We are designing a corpus of technical texts in
  the Nova beseda online corpus
• We cooperate with Slovenians in cross-border
  areas
• We respond to questions from the public and carry
  out other tasks.

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Our basic principle for terminological and
terminographic work
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• A profession with an organized naming system is
  able to transmit its knowledge and develop new
  findings.

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Characteristics of dictionaries of The Fran
Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian Language
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• They are produced based on excerpts from
  Slovenian works and therefore they express the
  spirit and culture of the Slovenian nation
• The dictionaries are produced by committees
• Top experts in a given field and linguists
  cooperate in the committees
• At the time of production, the expressions are
  introduced directly into applied use in
  lectures, articles, etc.

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The Fran Ramovš Institute of the Slovenian
Language is currently working on the following
explanatory dictionaries
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• A general technical dictionary, botany, spatial
  planning, pharmacy
• Theater, art history
• Law, legal history, expressions in EU legal acts
• Apiculture, Skiing, Military
• Information technology and computer science.

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Future tasks in Slovenian terminology and
terminography

• Shaping consciousness of the importance of ones
  native language
• Ongoing Slovenianization of foreign expressions
• Producing a publicly accessible electronic corpus
  of technical texts

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• Producing explanatory normative dictionaries
• Producing at least bilingual and multilingual
  dictionaries for new fields of knowledge
• Producing manuals for terminological and
  terminographic work

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• Publishing lexicographic works in various
  formats
• Publication of recommended terminology on the web
  enables its immediate use
• Training experts for developing nomenclature and
  technical texts at all educational levels
• Securing greater financial support from the state
  for terminological work.