Cover not available

In:Handbook of Terminology: Volume 2. Terminology in the Arab world
Edited by Abied Alsulaiman and Ahmed Allaithy
[Handbook of Terminology 2] 2019
► pp. 31–58

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

Chapter 2
Terminology standardization in the Arab world

The quest for a model of term evaluation

Published online: 29 January 2019
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.2.03dar
Abstract
Standardization is a polysemous term. It refers at the same time to the standardization of terms used in scientific and technical fields as well as the process of elaborating standards (or norms) in industry and other economic sectors. In fact, most people immediately think about ISO standards when they hear the term standardization. However, an encyclopedia devoted to scientific, legal, Sufi and technical terminology aims primarily to standardize terms, and this is the focus of the present paper. Whether standardizing terminology itself or standardizing the principles and techniques of managing terminology the ultimate goal of the process is always quality control and assurance. In the Arab World, the standardization of the terminology belonging to a particular subject field, be it a science (such as chemistry, linguistics and physics), art (such as painting), doctrine (such as Marxism) or vocation (such air-traffic and agriculture), attracts more attention than the standardization of terminological principles and techniques or the elaboration of industrial standards. Indeed, whether in language academies, specialized periodicals or in conferences organized by language academies, the Bureau for the Coordination of arabization in the Arab World (BCAAW) or by universities, the terminological issues and problems in the Arab world are greatly discussed.
This article discusses standardization particularly with respect to the Arab World and examines its motivations, core principles, and problems. It also outlines the various attempts that both specialized institutions and individuals have made to standardize Arabic terms (e.g. Lakhdar Ghazal 1977; Hamzaoui 1986a; Heliel 1987 and Darir 2004). The aim is to suggest guidelines that, with further elaboration, could serve as a comprehensive model for the standardization of terms not only in Arabic but also in other languages.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: The problem
  • 2.Causes of the terminological problem
  • 3.Why standardization?
  • 4.Standardization or unification?
  • 5.Arabic efforts in the field of terminology standardization
  • 6.Involvement in International Standards Organizations
  • 7.General evaluation of terminological work in the Arab world
  • 8.A viable comprehensive model of term evaluation
    • A.Linguistic criteria
      • 1.Correct linguistic usage
    • B.Terminological criteria
      • 2.Economy, concision or morphological singularity of form
      • 3.Transparency and clarity
      • 4.Frequency or widespread use
      • 5.Unequivocalness
      • 6.Productivity and systematicness
      • 7.Consistency
    • C.Socio- and psycho-terminological criteria
      • C1.Psycho-terminological criteria.
      • 8.Familiarity
      • 9.Credibility and prestige
      • C2.Socio-terminological criteria.
      • 10.Snobbism, fashion and the role of established linguistic usage
      • 11.Lack of undesirable interference from the vernaculars
      • 12.Maximum distinctiveness
    • D.Aesthetic criteria
      • 13.Aesthetic considerations
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (55)
References
Abid, Abdellatif, and Zouhaier Marrakechi. 1988. “Present Situation of Terminological Activities in the Arab World.” TermNet News 21: 2–7.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Abou Abdou, Mohamed. 1984. L’arabisation – et ses Problèmes. Rabat: IERA.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Faṟhān, I. 1984. Al-Mawsimu al-Ṯaqāfī al-Ṯānī li-Mağmaᶜ Al-Luġa al-ᶜArabiyya al-‘Urduniy. Manshūrāat al-Majmaᶜ.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Ḥamad, A. T. 1995. “Tawḥīd al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-ᶜArabi wa Subulu Našrihi.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 39: 169–184.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Hilālī, S. 1988. “Tabāyun Muṣṭalaḥāt al-Maᶜāğim al-ᶜIlmiya wa ‘Aṯaruhu ᶜalā al-Taᶜrīb.” Al-Lissān Al-‛Arabī 30: 219–240.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1995. “Taṭwīru Manhağiyyati Waḍᶜ al-Muṣṭalaḥāt al-ᶜIlmiya.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 39: 59-86.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Ḥur, A. 1994. Al-Muᶜğamāt wa al-Mağāmiᶜ Al-ᶜArabiya. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr Al-Arabi.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Kasimi, Ali. 1978. “Problems of Technical Terminology in Arabic Lexicography.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 16 (1): 15–24.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1980a. “Al-Muṣṭalaḥiyya”. Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī, vol. 18, No. 1: 7-20.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1987a. “Naḥwa Taṭwīri Bunūki al-Muṣṭalaḥāt.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 28: 77–83.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1989. “‘Iškāliyatu Tawḥīd al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-ᶜArabiy.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 32: 77–84.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Khatib, A. M. 1983. “Manhağu Binā’ al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-ᶜIlmi al-ᶜArabi.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 20: 85–101.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Khatib, A. Sh. 1982. Muᶜğam al-Muṣṭalaḥāt al-ᶜIlmiya wa al-Faniyya wa al-Falsafiya. Beirut: Maktabat Lubnān.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1992. “Alfāẓu al-Ḥaḍāra bayna al-ᶜĀmmī wa al-Faṣīḥ.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 36: 161–174.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1997. “Ḥawla Tawḥīd al-Muṣṭalaḥāt al-ᶜIlmiya.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 44: 9-32.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al Khuli, Muhammad Ali, 1982b. Muᶜğam ᶜilm al- ‘Aṣwāt. Riad-Saudi Arabia: Matābiᶜ al-Farazdaq at-Tiğāriyya.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Malā’ika, J. I. 1995. “Manhağiyyatu Waḍᶜi al-Muṣṭalaḥ wa Tawḥīdihi.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 39: 134–139.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Ṭawīl, Fāris. 1995. “Naḥwa Manhağiyatin Šāmila lil-ᶜAmal al-Muṣṭalaḥ̱i.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 39: 225–276.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Zargān, M. A. 1996. “Al-Daᶜawāt al-Mubakkira ilā Tawḥīd al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-ᶜIlmi al-ᶜArabi.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 41: 69–73.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
As-Sāmarrā’ī, I. 1982. Al-ᶜArabiya Tuwāğihu al-ᶜAṣr. Baghdad: Dār al-Jahid.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ash-Shihābī, M. 1955 [1965]. Al-Muṣṭalaḥāt al-ᶜIlmiyya wa al-Faniyya fi al-Luġa al-ᶜArabiyya fi al-Qadīmi wa al-Hadīṯ. Egypt.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Al-Shihābī, M., 1959. "Tawḥīdu al Muṣṭalaḥāt fī al-Bilād al-ᶜArabiyya". Mağallat al-Mağmaᶜ al-ᶜIlmi Al-ᶜArabi. Cairo-Egypt, 11: 157-161Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
At-Tūnjī, M. and Raji Al-‘Asmar. 1993. Al-Muᶜğam al-Mufaṣṣal fi ᶜUlūm al-Luġa. Vol. 2 Appendix 2. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ᶜIlmiya.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bakalla, et al.. 1983. A Dictionary of Modern Linguistic Terms. Beirut: Librairie du Liban.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chawqui Amin, Mohamed, and Ibrahim Al-Turzi. 1989. Al-Qarārāt al-Mağmaᶜiya fi al-‘Alfāḍ wa al-’Asālīb. Mağmaᶜ al-Luġa al-Arabiya: Al-Hay’a al-ᶜāmma.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cowan, J. Milton (ed.). 1976. Hans Wehr A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. London: Harrap.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
cOmar, A. M. 1989. “Al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-’Alsuniy wa Ḍabṭ al-Manhağiyya.” Alam Al-Fikr 20 (3): 5–24.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darir, Hassane. 1993. “The Unification of Arabic Scientific Terms: Linguistic Terms as an Example.” The Arabist, Budapest Studies in Arabic 6–7: 155–179.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2004. “The Unification of Arabic Scientific and Technical Terms: Linguistic Terms as an Example.” Unpublished dissertation, Forthcoming as “Towards a Model for Arabic Scientific and Technical Terms Standardization: Linguistics Terms as a Case Study.“
Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. Encyclopedia Universalis, s.v. “terminology.” CD-ROM, version 4.0. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Esber, Nabil. 1998. “La Trans-Dénomination Terminologique en Arabe.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 45: 3-12.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fassi Fehri, A. 1986. Al-Lisāniyāt wa al-Luġa al-ᶜArabiya. Casablanca: Dār Tūbqāl.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Felber, Helmut. 1980b. “International Standardization of Terminology: Theoretical and Methodological Aspects.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 23: 65–79.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ghalafān, M. 1998a. “Al-Muᶜğam al-Muwaḥḥad li-Muṣṭalaḥāt al-Lisāsiyāt.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 46: 146–163.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goosse, André. 1975. La Néologie Française Aujourd’hui: observations et réflexions. Paris: Conseil International de la Langue Française.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
̱Hamād, A. A. 1983. ᶜAwāmilu al-Taṭṭawur Al-Luġawī. Beirut: Dār al-Andalus.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hamzaoui, M. R.. 1985. “Al-Manhajiyya al-ᶜArabiyya li Waḍᶜ al-Muṣṭalaḥāt.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 24: 41–51.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1986a. Al-ᶜArabiyya wa al-Hadāṯa. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-Islami.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1986b. Al-Manhağiya al-ᶜĀmma li Tarğamati al-Muṣṭalaḥāt wa-Tanmīṭihā. Beirut: Dar al-Gharb al-'Islami.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hamzaoui, M. R. 1988. Mağmaᶜu al-Luġati al-ᶜArabiyya bi-Dimašq. Dar at-Turki li-an-Nashr.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haroun, Abdulslam N. 1990. Comprehensive Dictionary of Terms Approved by the Arabic Language Academy for Engineering and Technical Sciences. Cairo: El Sonna Book Shop.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heliel, M. H. 1987a. “Ḥawla al-Muṣṭalaḥ al-Lisāni wa Qāmūs al-Lisāniyāt.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 28: 29–75.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heliel, Mohamed. 1988c. “A Proposed Course for Terminology Teaching and Training in the Arab World.” TermNet News 21: 12–16.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ḥijāzī, M. F. 1993a. Al-Baḥṯ al-Luġawi. Egypt: Maktabat Gharīb.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1993b. Al-'Uṣul al-Luġawiyya li ᶜIlm Al-Muṣṭalaḥ. Egypt: Maktabat Gharīb.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Khalaf-Allah, Ahmed, and Mohamed Chawqui Amin. 1963. Mağmaᶜ al-Luġa al-ᶜArabiyya fī Ṯalāṯīna ᶜĀman, vol. 3, Mağmūᶜat al-Qarārāt al-ᶜIlmiyyya. Egypt: Al-Hay'a al-ᶜĀmma.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Khalīfa, Abdelkarīm. 1984. Al-Mawsimu al-Ṯaqāfi al-Ṯāni li-Mağmaᶜ Al-Luġa al-ᶜArabiyya al-‘Urduniy. Manshūrāat al-Majmaᶜ.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lakhdar Ghazal, Ahmed. 1977. Al-Manhağiyya al-ᶜĀmma li al-Taᶜrīb al-Muwākib. Rabat.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Messaoudi, L. 1997. “Al-Muṣṭalaḥ Al-Ṭibiy wa Taqāṭuᶜ al-Mağālāt.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 43: 34-39.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mseddi, A. 1984 Qāmūs Al-Lisāniyāt. Tunisia: Ad-Dār al-ᶜArabiyya lil-Kitāb.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pickett, Joseph P. 2000 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Salība, Jamīl, 1953. "Taᶜribu al-iṣṭilāḥāt al ᶜilmiᶜyya". Mağallat al-Mağmaᶜ al-ᶜIlmi Al-ᶜArabi, Damascus-Syria, 28: 18-27Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Samacna, J. H. 1993. “Al-Muṣṭalaḥiyya al-ᶜArabiyya al-Muᶜāṣira.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 37: 161–168.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1998. “Al-Ḥaraka al-Muᶜğamiyya bi-Maktab Tansīq at-Taᶜrīb.” Al-Lisān Al-‛Arabī 46: 40-55.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sāra, Q. 1989b Al-Taᶜrīb: Ğuhūdun wa ‘Āfāq. Damascus-Beirut: Dar al-Hijra.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (2)

Cited by two other publications

Affeich, Andree & Rima Baraké
2025. Terminology in the Arab world. In Terminology throughout History [Terminology and Lexicography Research and Practice, 24], ► pp. 424 ff. DOI logo
Safar Alqahtani, Asrar
2023. The Impact of Using Memsource Termbase System on Developing Terminological Competence for Saudi Freelance Technical Translators. Arab World English Journal :300 ► pp. 1 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue