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Terms as linguistic and domain specific units

A translation perspective

 | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Published online: 9 March 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/term.00089.kol
Abstract
This paper stands at the intersection between specialised translation and terminology. Terms and their relations are rather central in specialised texts and become even more important when texts are transferred into another language, i.e. within specialised translation. The analysis discusses the needs of specialised translation and how they could be covered through a terminological representation method in order for it to be a useful tool for translators of specialised texts. The needs of specialised translation are presented thoroughly following an analysis divided into levels of equivalence. A graphic representation of two axes of a Cartesian coordinates system is used to depict the progressive saturation of the needs at several levels of equivalence in specialised translation using an adequate terminology representation.
It is argued that in order to provide a good translation of a specialised text, translators do not just need equivalents for the terms involved. They also need a good domain representation that will help them increase their domain knowledge, translate the text sufficiently up to the highest levels of equivalence and suggest new translations for terms in case of non-equivalence. Moving from terminological resources that mainly focus on terms as linguistic units to resources that consider terms not just as linguistic but also as domain-specific units can be the key to the saturation of the needs of specialised translation at all levels of equivalence.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Equivalence at various levels: The x-axis
    • 2.1Equivalence at the lexical level
    • 2.2Equivalence at the grammatical level
    • 2.3Equivalence at the textual level
    • 2.4Equivalence at the pragmatic level
    • 2.5Equivalence at the semiotic level
  • 3.Non-equivalence
  • 4.Terminological representation: The Y-Axis
    • 4.1Types of terminological resources
    • 4.2Criteria
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Notes
  • References
References (30)
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