Domain-Specific Terminology

A Domain-Specific Terminology is a technical term set (of technical terms) used in some subject area.

• AKA: Technical Vocabulary, Specialized Nomenclature.
• Context:
  • It can be from a Domain-Specific Human Language.
  • It can be a Language-specific Technical Terminology, e.g. an English technical terminology.
  • It can be associated with a Academic Discipline, e.g. a Data Mining Terminology.
  • It can be represented in a Controlled Vocabulary, Glossary, or Lexical Database.
  • It can range from being an Informal Technical Terminology to being a Formal Technical Terminology.
  • It can range from being an Adhoc Technical Terminology to being a Technical Terminology Standard.
  • It can range from being a Basic Terminology to a Complete Terminology.
  • It can be the subject of a Terminology Discipline.
  • It can be created/maintained by a Terminologist.
  • It can be managed with a Terminology Management System.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • a Controlled Vocabulary.
  • a Data Science Terminology from the Data Science Discipline, with Data Science Terms.
  • a Machine Learning Terminology from the Machine Learning Discipline, with Machine Learning Terms such as: Inductive Logic Programming and Bayesian Network.
  • a Statistics Terminology from the Statistics Discipline, with Statistics Terms such as: Random Experiment and Probability Function.
  • a Biological Terminology from the Biology Domain, with Biological Terms such as: Escherichia Coli and Cell Membrane.
  • a Medical Terminology from the Medical Domain, with Medical Terms such as: Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome and Tuberculous Meningitis.
  • a Biomedical Terminology from the Biomedical Domain.
  • a Statistical Terminology from the Statistics Domain, with Statistical Terms such as: Bernoulli Trial and Random Variable.
  • a Computing Terminology from the Computing Science Domain, with Computing Terms such as: Algorithm and Quicksort.
  • a Legal Terminology from the Law Domain, with Legal Terms such as: Mens Rea and Actus Reus.
  • a Mathematical Terminology from the Mathematics Domain, with Mathematical Terms such as: Zero, π, Irrational Number and Infinity.
  • a Philosophy Terminology from the Philosophy Domain, with Philosophy Terms such as: Cartesian materialism, Consequentialism, Epistemology, ...
  • a Military terminology, Political terminology, Religious terminology, Rail terminology.
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • an Knowledge Base.
  • a Notation System.
• See: Lexicon, Terminology Extraction Task, Terminography, Technical Term Translation Task.

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References

2009a

• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_terminology
  • Technical terminology is the specialized vocabulary of a field, the nomenclature. These terms have specific definitions within the field, which is not necessarily the same as their meaning in common use. Jargon is similar, but more informal in definition and use, while legal terms of art or words of art have meanings that are strictly defined by law.
  • An industry term is a type of technical terminology that has a particular meaning within a specific industry. The phrase industry term implies that a word or phrase is a typical one within a particular industry or business and people within the industry or business will be familiar with and use the term.
  • Technical terminology exists in a continuum of formality. Precise technical terms and their definitions are formally recognised, documented, and taught by educators in the field. Other terms are more colloquial, coined and used by practitioners in the field, and are similar to slang. The boundaries between formal and slang jargon, as in general English, are quite fluid, with terms sliding in and out of recognition. This is especially true in the rapidly developing world of computers and networking. For instance, the term firewall (in the sense of a device used to filter network traffic) was at first technical slang. As these devices became more important and the term became widely understood, the word was adopted as formal terminology.
  • Technical terminology evolves due to the need for experts in a field to communicate with precision and brevity, but often has the effect of excluding those who are unfamiliar with the particular specialized language of the group. This can cause difficulties as, for example, when a patient is unable to follow the discussions of medical practitioners, and thus cannot understand his own condition and treatment. Differences in jargon also cause difficulties where professionals in related fields use different terms for the same phenomena. For instance, substantial amounts of duplicated research occur in cognitive psychology and human-computer interaction partly because of such difficulties.
  • The term jargon can, and often does, have pejorative connotations, particularly when aimed at "business culture". The marketing and public relations industries in particular have expanded the lexicon of jargon that marks the global business environment.

2009b

• (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology
  • Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that are used in specific contexts. Not to be confused with "terms" in colloquial usages, the shortened form of technical terms (or terms of art) which are defined within a discipline or speciality field. The discipline Terminology studies among other things how such terms of art come to be and their interrelationships within a culture.
  • Terminology therefore denotes a more formal discipline which systematically studies the labelling or designating of concepts particular to one or more subject fields or domains of human activity, through research and analysis of terms in context, for the purpose of documenting and promoting correct usage. This study can be limited to one language or can cover more than one language at the same time (multilingual terminology, bilingual terminology, and so forth) or may focus on studies of terms across fields.
  • Terminology is not connected to information retrieval in any way but focused on the meaning and conveyance of concepts. “Terms" (i.e. index terms) used in an information retrieval context are not the same as "terms" used in the context of terminology, as they are not always technical terms of art.

2009c

• (WordNet, 2009) ⇒ http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=terminology
  • S: (n) terminology, nomenclature, language (a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline) "legal terminology"; "biological nomenclature"; "the language of sociology"

2009d

• (Wiktionary, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terminology
  • Noun
    • 1. The doctrine of terms; a theory of terms or appellations; a treatise on terms, a system of specialized terms.
    • 2. The set of terms actually used in any business, art, science, or the like; nomenclature; technical terms; as, the terminology of chemistry.
  • Synonyms
    • nomenclature, vocabulary, language, wording, phraseology, jargon, lingo, -ese
• Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC)
  • Handbook of Terminology

2006

• (Cortés & Verdejo, 2006) ⇒ Jesús Andrés Cortés, and Rafael Rigol Verdejo. (2006). “Teaching How to Generate Complex Nominal Phrases Used to Define New Concepts or Describe Bbjects.” In: Proceedings of AELFE 2006.
  • Teaching technical vocabulary is a task which requires special techniques and the use of a context. Scientific texts incorporate complex noun phrases as part of their communicative function within a concept-oriented theory. The occurrence of these combinations constitutes a common feature of the above-mentioned texts.

2004

• (Jönsson, 2004) ⇒ K. Ingemar Jönsson. (2004). “On the Disparate Terminological Use of the Concept Cryptobiosis.” In: Journal of Fish Diseases, 27(3). doi:10.1111/j.1365-2761.2004.00534.x
  • Conceptual and terminological consistency is an important component of science, promoting clarity and preventing confusion. Scientists should therefore always try to avoid giving different meanings to the same term.

2002

• (Kageura, 2002) ⇒ Kyo Kageura. (2002). “The Dynamics of Terminology: a descriptive theory of term formation and terminological growth." Volume 5 of Terminology and Lexicography Research and Practice. John Benjamins Publishing Company. ISBN:9027223289

1997

• (de Bessé et al., 1997) ⇒ Bruno de Bessé, Blaise Nkwenti-Azeh and Juan C. Sager 1997. “Glossary of Terms Used in Terminology.” In: Terminology, 4(1).
  • terminology (3) [def] The vocabulary of a subject field.

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