Linguistic Terminology and Policy
PROF. MARIA TERESA ZANOLA
COURSE AIMS
The importance of the transference of knowledge and institutional and commercial
exchange has promoted great development of specialised communication, whose
most distinctive characteristic is the suitability of its use of terminology. The
development of a language is measured based on the development of its
vocabulary; such a system goes hand in hand with the appearance of new
situations, which require communication to create state-of-the-art tools, suitable for
increasingly composite textual typologies.
The course aims to use methodological consideration and practical activities to
teach students the knowledge and skills needed to approach the study of speciliased
terminology in an in-depth manner. The course presents the main linguistic policies
in operation for Euro-American languages. These languages have generated
terminological products which form the guidelines within environments such as
technical, scientific, humanistic and social communication.
Furthermore, the course allows for the practice of terminological activities mainly
oriented towards linguistic services within legal and institutional, medical and
economic-financial sectors, within the technical writing sector, the information and
documentation sector and within linguistic planning.
COURSE CONTENT
The scientific and methodological foundations of terminology: descriptive
approaches, notional systems, definition of notions, choice of terminological data,
criteria of terminological quality.
Relations between terminological development and international co-operation in
the field of linguistic planning. Terminology and neology.
Constitutive processes in the most significant terminological traditions of the EuroAmerican linguistic region. The main institutions operating in the field of
terminology.
Terminology and scientific translation: characters of specialist oral and written
texts and their different types. Terminology and applications in specialist
communication: specialist texts, unity of knowledge and unity of terminology.
Terminology, localisation and the Internet: terminological databanks, documentary
corpora, sectorial computer tools.
Terminological elaboration and production: elaborating glossaries. Case studies.
READING LIST
Compulsory reading
G. ADAMO, La terminologia, in R. GUARASCI (ed.), Dal documento all'informazione, Iter, Milano,
2008, pp. 227-247.
ID., La terminologia per gli interpreti e traduttori, «Moderne Sprachen», 2000, 44, pp. 141-149.
G. NENCIONI, Lessico tecnico e difesa della lingua, «Studi di lessicografia italiana», Accademia della
Crusca, 1987, IX, pp. 5-20.
M.T. ZANOLA (ed.), Terminologie specialistiche e tipologie testuali. Prospettive interlinguistiche,
EDUCatt, Milano, 2007, e Terminologie specialistiche e prodotti terminologici, EDUCatt,
Milano, 2011.
EAD. (ed.), Costruire un glossario: la terminologia dei sistemi fotovoltaici, Vita e Pensiero, Milano,
2012.
EAD., Terminologie e politiche linguistiche (c.d.s.).
Two readings among the following:
M.T. CABRÉ, La terminología. Teoría, metodología, aplicaciones, Editorial Antárida/Empúries,
Barcelona, 1993 (trad. fr.: La terminologie. Théorie, méthode et applications, Les Presses de
l’Université d’Ottawa – A. Colin, Ottawa-Paris 1998).
EAD., La terminologia tra lessicologia e documentazione: aspetti storici e importanza sociale,
<http://web.tiscali.it/assiterm91/cabreita.htm>, 2000.
R. DUBUC, Manuel pratique de terminologie, Linguatech, Québec, 1992 (trad. ingl. : Terminology :
A Practical Approach, Linguatech, Brossard-Québec 1997).
G. NENCIONI (ed.), Saggi e memorie, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, 2000.
J. SAGER, A Practical Course in Terminology Processing, Benjamins, Amsterdam, 1990.
R. TEMMERMAN, Towards New Ways of Terminology Description. The Sociocognitive Approach,
Benjamins, Amsterdam/Philadelphia, 2000.
M.L. VILLA, L’inglese non basta, Mondadori, Milano, 2013.
E. WÜSTER, Einführung in die Allgemeine Terminologielehre und terminologische Lexicographie,
Romanistischer Verlag, Bonn 1991 [1975].
M.T. ZANOLA (ed.), Terminologie e ontologie. Definizioni e comunicazione fra norma e uso,
EDUcatt, Milano, 2013.
Suggestions for further reading will be provided by the lecturer during the course.
TEACHING METHOD
Lectures, supervised practical work, seminars, projects and applicative laboratory work.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
Relations, projects and practical work. Final oral examination.
NOTES
Further information can be found on the lecturer's webpage at
http://docenti.unicatt.it/web/searchByName.do?language=ENG or on the Faculty notice
board.