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In:Handbook of Terminology: Volume 4. Terminology planning in Europe
Edited by Rossella Resi and Frieda Steurs
[Handbook of Terminology 4] 2025
► pp. 580–600

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Legal comparison for terminology development

The case of German in South Tyrol

 | Eurac Research
 | Eurac Research
Published online: 26 September 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/hot.4.leg6
Abstract
The paper outlines the historical background and the current legal framework related to language and terminology policy and planning in South Tyrol. South Tyrol is a multilingual province in northern Italy where German and Ladin are officially recognised minority languages. The paper briefly touches upon Ladin and then focuses on the different approaches to terminology planning implemented over time for South Tyrolean German. It illustrates the legal comparative method applied to develop legal terminology for this local-only minority language and the standardisation procedure. By comparing the work and workflow of the South Tyrolean Terminology Commission to that of other standardisation bodies, the paper highlights the advantages and limitations of current approaches and offers some prospects that could help renovate the existing workflow.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Historical background
  • 3.Legal framework
  • 4.Approaches to terminology policy and planning
  • 5.The legal comparative method
    • 5.1Interlingual micro-comparison
    • 5.2Intralingual micro-comparison
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1Beyond South Tyrol: Some starting points for improvement
  • 7.Conclusions and future prospects
  • References
  • Legal references
References (61)
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