Mūsdienu latviešu terminogrāfijas nākotne – būt vai nebūt?

Abstract

The experiences and observations of lexicographers and dictionary publishers are very important for the study of contemporary terminological dictionaries, as they not only reveal practical aspects of publishing terminological dictionaries but also provide insight into the challenges of contemporary lexicography and terminography. Therefore, within the framework of the study, lexicographers and publishing representatives were interviewed – the editor Ieva Jansone (Zinātne Publishing House), the editor-in-chief Inta Kalniņa (Avots Publishing House), the chairman of the Terminology Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and director of State Language Centre, Māris Baltiņš. The aim of the article is not only to highlight the main problems of Latvian terminography today (founded on the knowledge of publishers and editors with several years of experience in the field) and their possible solutions but also to shed light on the further development of the field. The opinions of publishers and terminologists were juxtaposed with the results of an online survey conducted among students regarding the use of dictionaries and their views on current issues in contemporary terminography. The article presents the main challenges of contemporary Latvian terminology and terminography: lack of financial resources; time-consuming work in creating a terminological dictionary; incomplete understanding of the status of the Terminology Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences; prevailing method of taking the term directly from a foreign language; development of specialised terminology is not recognised as a scientific work; publication of dictionaries not approved by the Terminology Commission; the future of printed dictionaries and their competitiveness with electronic resources. Lexicographers and publishers confirm that, for the existence and development of Latvian terminography, fundamental changes should be made related to financial funding, the role of the Terminology Commission, and the recognition of terminology development as scientific work. Despite the shortcomings of electronic terminological resources, online accessibility and convenience seem to outweigh dictionary users’ concerns about the reliability and quality of the source. Therefore, the importance of the Latvian National Terminology Portal, established with a status of national importance, to make the latest official terminology easily accessible and usable by everyone is crucial. Although some fundamental current problems in Latvian terminography require significant changes, moving towards a solution will ensure the development of the field, its research, the development of new terminological resources, and public access to the latest specialised terminology.