Resumo

ALBERTS, Marietta. The development of Afrikaans technical language: Past, present and future. Tydskr. geesteswet. [online]. 2016, vol.56, n.2-1, pp.314-334. ISSN 2224-7912.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2224-7912/2016/v56n2-1a3.

Terminology development is an interdisciplinary activity that takes as its point of departure the concepts related to a certain subject area. Terminography practice depends on language development and lexicographical principles and practice. Unique, polythematic terminology products are needed for target user groups that have a specific interest in specific subject areas in different languages, and the needs of such groups should be taken into consideration when terminology is developed. All occupations andfields of knowledge need terms for exact subject-related communication, which explains the slogan of the international terminology organisation TermNet: There is no Knowledge without Terminology. Terminology development occurs in the framework of the language policy of the government of a country. South Africa has excellent legislation aimed at safeguarding the official languages and developing them into fully functional languages. Although this article focuses on Afrikaans, it is important not to deal with Afrikaans in isolation - all terminology-related activities should (where possible) take place in all the official languages, not only for the sake of individual languages, but especially for the sake of (specialised) communication. The development of the indigenous languages took place in consecutive phases. Afrikaans developed from a subservient so-called "kitchen language" to a high-function language that can be used in any field of knowledge. Currently, Afrikaans should be in a maintenance phase, but the language has (again) been relegated to a struggle for survival. At the same time, the African languages are not being properly developed as full-fledged academic languages, despite their official status. English remains the language ofpreference for many South Africans, and the other official languages are subjected to the hegemony of English. It is important to realise that a functional language is a language with a future. The political change in 1994 provided a legislative context for transformation and the redress of imbalances resulting from the previous dispensation. Language, among other issues, is seen as critical in fostering transformation in higher education and in society. Historically, the development of terminology in South Africa was a long and difficult process, but, at the same time, judged from the number of technical dictionaries published, terminology development has been extremely successful. Many technical dictionaries are currently out of print. There were (and still are) many duplications ofterminology projects, despite the existence ofseveral coordinating bodies. The mandate of the national terminology office, i.e. the Terminology Coordination Section, differs from that of its predecessors. In the past, bilingual technical dictionaries were compiled, but currently the mandate of the office requires the compilation of terminology products in all official languages. The office mainly tends to government-related terminology needs. Legislation dictates that government departments, with a view to communicating with the country's citizens, develop the terminology related to their core business in all official languages (at the national level) and, at the provincial and local levels, in at least the three major languages used in the province concerned. The private sector ought to be part of this strategy, seeing that it is an end-user of terminology as well. A recent audit has shown that various language bureaux collect terminology for internal use. Although this invaluable terminology work is being done in various subject areas, the terms are not readily available, the bilingual or multilingual polythematic terminology being available to the relevant institution only. Funds have recently been made available by the Department of Higher Education for the development of terminology at tertiary institutions. The aim is to develop a multilingual open term bank for higher education, with the primary beneficiaries first-year university students with an African language (including Afrikaans) as their mother tongue. The tertiary institutions that are currently actively involved in terminology development should collaborate to avoid duplication; however, the audit has shown that already several projects are being duplicated. Furthermore, terminological research should be made available online for learning and teaching purposes. The terminology should be of a high standard and its effectiveness should be measured frequently. Also, systems should be put in place to make it possible to comment on terminological data and revise and update data. Currently, different institutions keep term data bases, and a variety of data capturing software is used, which, ideally, should be compatible, so as to facilitate sharing terminological data. All available terminology (even out-of-print terminological products) should be accumulated in a central database, and/or a node with links to terminology databases should be established to promote the dissemination of terminology. Data should be digitalised and open-sourced to enable free access. Proper training in the principles and practice of terminography is needed. Currently no in-house terminology training is provided, and at tertiary institutions terminography mainly forms part of lexicography, linguistics, translation or interpreting courses. Tertiary institutions could assist the terminography practice by presenting proper terminology courses and appropriating funds for terminology development at all subject-related faculties. Terminology development is important for both language-related and subject-related departments at tertiary institutions. Collaboration among tertiary institutions should be encouraged, and new terms (neologisms) arisingfrom recent research should be documented and disseminated. It is important to take note of terminology activities by individuals and institutions. Academics, subject specialists and language practitioners (including those who have retired) could provide valuable assistance in defining concepts, and when translations are needed. A list should be kept of all role-players and collaborators (potentially) involved in terminology-related work. Although the publication of technical dictionaries is not regarded as a profitable business, publishing custom-made technical dictionaries aimed at different target groups, such as subject specialists and lay people, should be negotiated with media houses and publishers. Project leaders and the technical committee members currently doing the physical documentation of terminology should be compensated for their work. Grants should be invested, and the proceeds should be used to finance terminology projects. Significant progress would only be possible if terminography projects were properlyfinanced. It is important to realise that trained terminologists and enthusiastic/inspired subject specialists, academics and students are needed to develop multilingual polythematic terminology. Without terminology, exact subject-related communication would not be possible.

Palavras-chave : language for special purposes; language practitioner; legislation; needs assessment; ontology; polythematic; source language; subject specialist; subject-related communication; target language; technical committee; technical dictionary; term; term list; terminography; terminology; terminology development.

        · resumo em Africaner     · texto em Africaner     · Africaner ( pdf )