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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.citation needed 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. Contents 1 Overview 2 Types of terminology 3 Terminology as a discipline 4 Typology 5 Terminological theories 5.1 Traditional theory 5.2 Social and communicative theories 5.3 Cognitive theories 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Overview

The discipline of terminology is based on its own theoretical principles and consists primarily of the following aspects: analysing the concepts and concept structures used in a field or domain of activity identifying the terms assigned to the concepts in the case of bilingual or multilingual terminology establishing correspondences between terms in the various languages compiling the terminology on paper or in databases managing terminology databases creating new terms as required Types of terminology

A distinction is made between two types of terminology: Ad hoc terminology which deals with a single term or a limited number of terms Systematic terminology which deals with all the terms in a specific subject field or domain of activity

Ad hoc terminology is prevalent in the translation profession where a translation for a specific term (or group of terms) is required quickly to solve a particular translation problem. Terminology as a discipline

As a discipline terminology is related to translation alongside which it is often taught in universities and translation schools. Large translation departments and translation bureaus will often have a terminology section or will require translators to do terminology research. Typology

Terminology is also defined by context the study of terms primarily concerned with organizing them by the context in which they are used. These contexts may include: Military terminology Political terminology Religious terminology Scientific terminology Technical terminology Rail terminology Terminological theories Traditional theory General Theory of Terminology1 Social and communicative theories Socioterminology2 Communicative Theory of Terminology3 Cognitive theories Sociocognitive Terminology4 Frame-Based Terminology5 See also Applied linguistics Concept Controlled vocabulary Critical vocabulary Dictionary Glossary Interpreting Jargon ISO/TC 37 Lexicography LSP dictionary Ontology Orismology Reference work Specialised lexicography Terminology standardization Translation Taxonomy Technical terminology Terminology planning policy Terminology extraction References Wster E. (1979). Einfhrung in die allgemeine Terminologielehre und terminologische Lexikographie. Teil 1-2. Springer-Verlag.  Gaudin F. (1993). "Socioterminologie: propos et propositions pistmologiques". Le langage et l'homme (Intercommunications) 28 (4): 247257.  Cabr M.T. (1999). La terminologa: representacin y comunicacin. Universitat Pompeu Fabra.  Temmerman R. (2000). Towards new ways of terminology description: the sociocognitive-approach. John Benjamins publishing company.  Faber P.; Montero S.; Castro M.R.; Senso J.; Prieto J.A.; Len P.; Mrquez C.; Vega M. (2006). "Process-oriented terminology management in the domain of Coastal Engineering". Terminology (John Benjamins Publishing Company) 12 (2): 189213. doi:10.1075/term.12.2.03fab. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/jbp/term/2006/00000012/00000002/art00002.  Further reading Sonneveld H Loenning K: (1994): Introducing terminology in Terminology p. 1-6 Wright S.E.; Budin G.: (1997): Handbook of Terminology Management Volume 1 Basic Aspects of Terminology Management Amsterdam Philadelphia John Benjamins 370 pp. External links Terminology from the OTTIAQ website TermNet - International Network for Terminology Infoterm - International Information Centre for Terminology ISO Technical Committee 37 "Terminology and other language and content resources" (ISO/TC 37) Muegge Uwe (2007). "Disciplining words: What you always wanted to know about terminology management". Tcworld (tekom) (3): 1719. http://www.tekom.de/upload/alg/tcworld307.pdf.  Faoterm from the FAO Terminolgy website The Online Dictionary of Language Terminology TermSciences the Scientific Terminology Database