Terminology and lexicography

The word “terminology” has three meanings: (1) the set of practices and methods used for the collection, description and presentation of terms; (2) the set of premises, arguments and conclusions required for explaining the relationships between concepts and terms (in other words, the theory of terminology) and (3) the vocabulary of a special subject field. Taking these as a point of departure, this chapter clarifies the concept and position of terms and terminology. After giving a general introduction in Section 1, the concept of a term is clarified in contrast to general words in Section 2, by referring to existing definitions and characterizations of terms. In the process, the essential characteristics and theoretical status of terms are also introduced. Section 3 addresses the concept and characteristics of terminology as a set of terms, and clarifies the relationships between the textual occurrence of terms and terms registered to terminology, showing that terminology as a set has its own dynamism and systematicity, which cannot be reduced to textual occurrences. Section 4 discusses how the dynamism and systematicity of terminology can be observed and analysed. On the basis of these preceding sections, Section 5 introduces terminography, contrasting it with the theory and practice of lexicography.