Terminology. International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication - Volume 15, Issue 1, 2009

Teaching terminology is a strategic response to the European Educational Convergence guidelines, taken by the Polytechnic University of Madrid. It is vested in a new course “English Terminology for Architecture and Building Construction” offered in the “Master of Techniques and Systems of Construction”. The course is interdisciplinary, integrating material from the various sciences involved in architectural practice and exploring it through the discipline of applied linguistics, as recommended by Cabré (2003). The approach is bilingualized, working with Spanish architecture professionals in the medium of English. Students are made aware of the dynamic nature of terminology through corpus-building, and given first-hand experience of terminography through compiling their own bilingualized1 termbanks of English architectural terms. A model online termbank system (TermFinder), which is being co-developed for architecture and building construction after successful testing in other professional fields, is also discussed

In English this paper could be entitled Hands on Terminology. It outlines an active and creative method for guiding students’ first steps in applied medical terminology through corpora-based project work on a chosen body part, such as brain, heart, skin, tonsil, etc. Specialised corpora in English and French are purpose-built by the students and analysed with WordSmith Tools. Morphemic analyses are carried out including remarks on etymology and synonyms, then meronomies, taxonomies, disease fact files and bilingual glossary files are created. This method has been used at master’s level since 2001 : it gives excellent results with self-motivated students capable of taking initiative

Teaching terminology is not only a goal in itself, but also an important part of teaching translation, and terminology tools are essential to teaching terminology effectively. However, electronic tools for translators and terminologists have often been relegated to a small number of courses within translation programs, preventing students from fully and realistically appreciating and evaluating their usefulness. This article presents some of the reasons why this has been the case, and proposes some potential solutions to the problem, including the creation of the Collection of Electronic Resources in Translation Technologies (CERTT), a centralized bank of resources to aid in the teaching of terminology and translation tools. We present the idea behind CERTT, as well as its contents, design and philosophy

A Terminology course for Translation students must deal with the role of terminology in the translation process from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The objective of such a course is not to train translators as terminologists or documentation professionals, but rather as language mediators whose job is to facilitate interlinguistic communication. Translation students should thus learn how to carry out descriptive terminological work oriented towards producing a suitable target text. This means developing specific strategies as well as learning how to use available resources with a view to producing optimal translations. In this context, a truly effective Terminology course program must be adapted to fit new professional profiles. Such a program would target terminology management against the backdrop of specialized language translation. The specific characteristics of the translation process are what determine the type of terminological competence required.

Teaching activities in the field of Translation Studies should reflect the changes that have been taking place in recent years within the framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). One of the main changes brought about has been to make students active participants in their learning processes. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a method of instruction that encourages students to “learn-to-learn” by working cooperatively in groups to find solutions to real-world problems. Using PBL methods, translation students can develop the problem-solving skills necessary to meet the challenges posed by terminology work in their day-to-day activities as professional translators. This paper illustrates how terminology courses may be adapted to current European higher education requirements using PBL methodology.

Terminology is part of the program of university degree in Slovenia. The purpose of the paper is to study some parameters in terminology teaching within the framework of French legal terminology offered by the Department of Translation at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. The program takes into account multiple aspects, which represent an important issue in translation. Mastering legal terminology is often a source of difficulties, since law, as any specialized discipline, uses its own vocabulary. The present article suggests an analysis of some specificities of legal terminology in particular for the teaching of the French legal system in Slovenian legal education.