Lecture 4

TERM – CONCEPT – OBJECT

The semiotic triangle and terminological work

• The semiotic triangle (language symbol – thought/concept – referent/object in the real world) is relevant for terminology, but the focus of terminological investigation is more pragmatic. (See – with a critical eye – “eCoLoTrain, Terminology Module”, Basic principles)

From ISO 704 – Terminology Work / Principles and Methods

(1)Main activities in terminology and terminology management:

• identifying concepts and concept relations• analysing and modelling concept systems on the basis

of identified concepts and concept relations• establishing representations of concept systems

through concept diagrams• defining concepts• attributing designations (predominantly terms) to

each concept in one or more languages• recording and presenting terminological data,

principally in print and electronic media (terminography)

From ISO 704 – Terminology Work / Principles and Methods

(2)• “Objects, concepts, designations

and definitions are fundamental to terminology and therefore form the basis of this International Standard.”

Term (1)

A term or terminology unit is a word or expression that designates a concept specific to a subject field and the corresponding object in the world.

Designations (usu. terms)-designate or represent a concept- are attributed to a concept “The set of designations belonging to one

special language constitute the terminology of a specific subject field.” (ISO 704)

Term (2)

Morphologically speaking, a terminology unit can be:

• a simple term;• a complex term;• a terminological phrase.

Term (3)

A simple term is a one-word unit which consists of a stem, with or without affixes, e.g.,

• to co-produce (v.), • commentator (n) • monochrome (adj)

are simple terms despite the fact that they contain more than one morpheme. These terms – used in the field of television production – are considered to be simple because the affixes (co-, -ator) and the combining form (mono) cannot occur as separate terms.

Term (4)Complex terms are made up of two or more words

with a grammatical relationship. Like simple terms, they can be different parts of speech.

• Captive audience (adj + n. = n.), • director-producer (n+n=n), • close-up (adv+prep=adj), • ultrawide-angle lens (adv-adj + n +n = n) and • to lip sync (n + v = v) are examples of complex

terms used in television production.Like simple terms, complex terms represent a

single concept. Elimination of any one element of a complex term would change the concept.

Term (5)

Phrases are characteristic means of expression used in a special language. They are made up of a group of words and have a higher syntactic function than simple or complex terms.

Examples of phrases in television production: • request for copyright clearance (nominal

phrase), • filmed on location (participial phrase) • to preempt a program (infinitive phrase)

e.g., October 28, 2008 We preempt this program to bring you a message from …

Television viewers expecting to tune in to "The New Adventures of Old Christine" on CBS Wednesday night will get a jarring surprise — the sitcom will be replaced by a show that might be titled "The Old Adventures of New Barack."

For 30 minutes starting at 8 p.m., CBS, NBC and Fox will preempt their normally scheduled programming to air a campaign infomercial — Obamercial? — from Barack Obama …

Concept (1)A concept peculiar to a field or discipline can be described

by the aggregate of its essential characteristics. For example, we can describe the concept watch by identifying such characteristics as:

• “having a face and hands”,• “being used to tell time”, and • “having a movement driven in any of several ways”.These are necessary characteristics but not sufficient to

distinguish a watch from all other related concepts, i.e. other timepieces -> we have to add the characteristic of

• “being designed to be worn on a wristband, pin or chain”. The necessary and sufficient characteristics of a concept,

which enable us to distinguish it from all other concepts, are referred to as essential.

Concept (2)• The essential characteristics of an object

need not be given in any particular order. The essential characteristics of watch above, for ex., could be listed in any order and they would still be sufficient to describe the concept. In this respect concept description differs from definition, which requires that essential characteristics should be organised hierarchically (e.g., “A small portable timepiece, especially one worn on the wrist or carried in the pocket.” )

Object (1)

The terms peculiar to any field – physics, medicine, biology, chemistry – serve to designate realities that are tangible or intangible. ->

Object must therefore be considered in the broadest sense and defined as encompassing any part of the perceivable or conceivable world. Objects can be material (e.g., computer) or immaterial (e.g., energy).

Object (2)From the earliest times, thinkers have thought

to categorize objects into various classes in an effort to structure and order our knowledge of the world. Here is the list of the well-known Aristotelian categories, somewhat expanded:a. entities (material objects, immaterial objects and principles)b. properties (quantities, relations and qualities)c. activities (operations, processes, states)d. dimensions (space, time, positions)

ISO 704 againObjects are:

- perceived or conceived, and- abstracted (or conceptualised) into concepts

Concepts:- depict or correspond to an object or a set of objects;- are represented or expressed in language by designations or by definitions; and- are organized into concept systems.

Designations (terms, appelations or symbols):- designate or represent a concept- are attributed to a concept

Definitions:

-define, represent, or describe the concept.

Specificity to Subject Field (1)

The terminologist always investigates terms in the context of the field to which they belong. General-language words are constantly being borrowed by different disciplines to name new concepts and designate new realities In the process, their meaning is broadened, narrowed, or otherwise changed; they are assigned, as it were, a new semantic load; e.g., street furniture in urban planning.

Specificity to Subject Field (2)

A subject field can be divided into several subfields. This breakdown of a field enables the terminologist to pinpoint the specific area of a field to which the terms belongs, e.g, the term ratings is used: - generally in broadcasting, - more specifically in TV production, - even more specifically in audience measurement, - so ultimately it comes under audience research.

Specificity to subject field (3)

A single term can be used in several different fields, but the concept it covers changes in each one. Carrier, for ex., is used:

·  in telecommunication – to refer to a company involved in the transmission of telephone signals;

· in transportation – to denote a company that transports goods or passengers by land, water or air;

· in insurance – to designate a company that indemnifies for losses and provides monetary benefits, i.e., an insurance company; and

·   in medicine – to refer to someone who harbours and disseminates a microorganism or other agent causing an infectious disease to which he/she is immune (e.g., TB…). (Cf. carrier in http://hallo.ro/)

Specificity to subject field (4)

For the terminologist, these terms are distinct because the concepts and realities they designate are distinct. Strictly speaking, a term belongs to a single subject field.

Relationship between term and concept: Convention (1)

The relationship between word and meaning is based directly on convention. The same can be said of term and concept. E.g., scholars agree that there is no intrinsic reason for bellis perennis to be called daisy in English, or, conversely, for the E. term daisy to denote bellis perennis and not something else...

Relationship between term and concept: Convention (2)

The conventionality of the relationship between term and concept is reflected in the fact that:(a) two or more terms can represent the same concept (synonymy); and, occasionally,(b) a single term can represent two or more related concepts (polysemy)

Relationship between term and concept: Motivation (1)

While there is no natural connection between term and concept, a term can nonetheless be motivated.

A term is considered to be motivated when the morphemes it contains provide an idea of the concept it covers. Examples:

• Film library is motivated or transparent because the concept it represents – a place in which films are organised and kept for use – can be seen through its form.

• Soap opera is unmotivated or opaque because there is nothing in its form that is indicative or suggestive of the concept. Some terms have (partly or entirely) lost their motivation, eg, blackboard.

Motivation (2)In special languages motivation is considered desirable

in newly created terms. The motivation of a term can also prove valuable in concept classification, provided the established meaning of morphemes is respected, particularly in the case of forms borrowed from Latin and Greek. Ultimately, motivation helps strengthen the relationship between term and concept by making it less arbitrary.

However, the way in which some terms are created appears to be totally haphazard. Take, for ex., the combining form path, which is used in the formation of numerous medical terms. (Gk pathos = suffering, disease) In some cases, it is used to refer to someone who suffers from a disease, such as psychopath, or to the disease itself: myopathy, neuropathy, cardiopathy, osteoarthropathy.

In other cases it is used to designate - someone who administers treatment:

naturopath, homeopath, osteopath- the system of therapy itself:

naturopathy = a system of therapy based on preventative care, and on the use of heat, water, light, air, and massage as primary therapies for disease homeopathy (see next slides)osteopathy (Home assignment: Find out what it is!)

HOMEOPATHY (1)Homeopathy is a well known branch of

medicine in the UK and in Europe. Homeopathic treatment is available under the National Health Service in Britain. Homeopathy was started by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, who was born in Meissen in 1755. His ideas were admired and taken up by a London doctor, Frederick Quin, in the 1850s. Lately, new research has been carried out into the effectiveness of homeopathic medicines.

HOMEOPATHY (2)

Curious about how quinine could cure malaria, Hahnemann ingested quinine (cinchona) bark and experienced alternating bouts of chills, fever, and weakness, the classic symptoms of malaria. From this experience he derived the principle of similars, or ‘like cures like’: that is, a substance that can cause certain symptoms when given to a healthy person can cure the same symptoms in someone who is sick.

HOMEOPATHY (3)

Hahnemann also discovered that if the homeopathic medicines were “potentized” by diluting them in a water-alcohol solution and then shaking, side effects could be diminished. Some homeopathic medicines are diluted to concentrations as low as 10-30

to 10-20,000. Critics of homeopathy contend that such extreme dilutions of the medicines are beyond the point at which any molecules of the medicine can theoretically still be found in the solution.

HOMEOPATHY (4)On the other hand, using recent

developments in quantum physics, scientists who accept the validity of homeopathic theory have proposed that electromagnetic energy may exist in the medicines and interact with the body on some level. Researchers in physical chemistry have proposed the ‘memory of water’ theory, whereby the structure of the water-alcohol solution is altered by the medicine during the process of dilution and retains this structure even after none of the actual substance remains.

Monosemy and Polysemy

One term represents one concept monosemy.

One term represents two or more concepts polysemy

Polysemy is a natural characteristic of special languages, but one that needs to be controlled. Special languages require clarity of communication. Polysemy, within a subject field, or worse, within a subfield, can create considerable confusion.

Terminological work should, therefore, strive, insofar as possible, to discourage or eliminate polysemy within a special language. If polysemy cannot be eliminated, each concept represented by a term must be carefully delimited in order to clarify semantic boundaries.

Synonymy Some schools of thought also believe that a

concept should be designated by only one term. This is certainly far from reality of special languages, as two or more terms are often used to designate the same concept.

There are numerous reasons for synonymy:• parallel use of the inventor’s name and an

essential characteristics as elements of complex terms, e.g., Likert scale and summated scale;

• parallel use of a trade name and a specialised term, e.g., aspirin and acetylsalicylic acid;

• parallel use of regionalisms, e.g. random sampling and probability sampling, and so on.

Problem: synonyms give the appearance of representing different concepts.

The importance of terminological research of pinpointing all differences among synonyms.

(See lecture on SYNONYMS)

Classification of concepts The knowledge structure of a subject

field is made up of concepts that are interrelated. These concepts acquire their full meaning through their relationship with other concepts. It is therefore essential to identify such relationships in order to determine the position a concept occupies in a given subject field or subfield.

Intrinsic relationships

There are two types of intrinsic relationships among concepts: hierarchical and non-hierarchical.

Hierarchical relationships are either generic or partitive

• In a generic relationship, concept A encompasses and is broader than concept B. (Eg, sampling includes unsystematic sampling, which in turn can include judgement sampling and quota sampling.) = hyponymy/hyperonymy (inclusion)

• In a partitive relationship, concept A is the whole and concept B the parts. Eg, bicycle is the whole, and frame, fork, wheel, pedal, saddle etc. are the parts = meronymy

Non-hierarchical relations include:- oppositional relationships, e.g., systematic

sampling vs. unsystematic sampling. - associative relations, such as

-causal connections, e.g. biased sampling (cause) and biased results (effect),

-occupation – agent/person (coalmining-coalminer)

-activity – place (coalmining – coalmine)-material – product (wool – cardigan)-process – product (weaving – cloth)-process – method (storage – freeze-dry)

(or: physically related to, spatially related to, functionally related to, conceptually related to…)

Extrinsic Relationships

In practice, the concepts of a subject field can be categorized according to the methods with which the field operates. E.g., if we wanted to categorize the concepts falling under audience measurements tools, we could do so under questionnaires, questions and attitude scale. This type of classification is particularly useful in preparing a subject field breakdown (see lecture on SUBJECT-FIELD RESEARCH)

Conclusion

Term and concept together form a unit. The relationship between them must be clear and unambiguous, hence the need to study the terminology units that make up the nomenclature of a given field. Such study forms the basis of all terminological work.

Home assignment:

List five motivated terms used in a given subject and explain why they are motivated.

Thank you!