To me the compilation and software-assisted semi-automatic analysis of corpora seems absolutely indispensable for terminology
Pascaline Dury is a senior lecturer in the Applied Foreign Languages Department (LEA) of the Language Faculty at Université Lumière Lyon2, where she teaches specialised translation and terminology from Level 2 to MA. She is also course leader for the International Communication in Health Sciences Masters programme (M2CISS). In addition, Pascaline Dury is a statutory member of the Terminology and Translation Research Centre (CRTT) at Université Lumière Lyon2 and her regular publications through the Centre make a significant contribution to its research.
Her most notable publications include: Quelle(s) traduction(s) pour le terme anglais greenwashing? (How should one translate ‘greenwashing’ into French?) Quelques observations croisées en terminologie (A few comparative observations on terminology); Les noms du pétrole: une approche diachronique de la métonymie onomastique (Words for oil: a diachronic approach to nominative metonomy), and Building a Bilingual Diachronic Corpus of Ecology: The Long Road to Completion. For further details see the list available through the CRTT.
In our interview, she outlined her opinions on translation, terminology and their impact in academic and professional contexts.
1. You are one of a team of linguists at the Terminology and Translation Research Centre (CRTT) at Université Lumière Lyon2. Can you tell us about some of the Centre’s most important work?
The work of the CRTT focuses primarily on the study of specialist language, which is achieved by compiling and analysing corpora, as well as through the use of lexicology, translation and terminology. For around three years the CRTT has also been producing a study on terminology and documentary research as part of a contract with the DGLFLF (Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France, the French Culture Ministry’s General Delegation on the French Language and the Languages of France).
2. You are also a senior lecturer for the International Communication in Health Sciences MA course (M2CISS). How do you incorporate terminology into the course and what impact does this discipline have on your students?
During the Masters programme students take a terminology course with a view to compiling a bilingual French-English glossary containing around 40 specialist terms related to a particular medical specialisation. The glossary is created in the form of a database, so having a good command of the software is very important, as is the indispensable knowledge associated with editing a glossary of terms. Given that this glossary is intended to fulfil a specific need, the students must find a professional ’client’ to do the work for. This year, for example, one student compiled a glossary on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) for AFM-téléthon’s portal of documents.
The completion of this bilingual glossary of terms is essential in order to pass the MA and although the students spend a lot of time compiling it, they nevertheless enjoy having to find a client with a genuine need for terminology; it gives them the feeling that their work is really making a difference.
3. Is it an informative exercise for freelance translators to do terminology work? Why?
While compiling a glossary certainly goes beyond what a translator would have time to do in their professional life, this work enables the students to understand the immense benefits for the translator of having access to documentary and terminological research which has been carried out before the translation itself.
4. Looking at the most frequently researched topics by linguists at the CRTT, it is clear that corpus-based research is a rather contentious issue. To what extent are corpora useful and what impact do they have on terminology?
To me the compilation and software-assisted semi-automatic analysis of corpora seems absolutely indispensable for terminology. The sheer volume of terminological information that can be accessed through a specialised corpus facilitates the study of many important aspects in this field: neologisms, the lifecycle of terms, the role of context, collocations etc.
5. Ecology is one of the fields which you have researched the most. From a linguist’s perspective, what are its most interesting aspects?
Ecology is a fascinating field to study from a terminological point of view for several reasons. It is a field that draws great attention from the media, which certainly has an effect on the lexicon. It is also constantly evolving, which is extremely interesting, particularly for the study of neologisms and terminological obsolescence. Lastly, the field of ecology has diversified considerably; it is no longer simply the study of plants and animals and their habitats, but also protecting the environment, tackling urban pollution, developing renewable energies etc. These areas all produce additional terms for the terminologist to study.
6. Specialist language is normally thought of in terms of its technical and scientific aspects. Can you explain what you mean when you talk about “metaphor in specialist language”?
Metaphor in specialist language is a research topic that we focused on during a conference organised by the CRTT in 2008. We felt it was important to see how devices such as metaphors and metonyms, which are well known in what we may call general language, can also be used in specialist language particularly when creating new terms – and what translation difficulties this can pose when switching from one language to another.
7. Computer terminology tools and computer-assisted translation are becoming increasingly popular. In what circumstances would you recommend the use of a computer program? What are the benefits of using software for language work?
It is difficult to give a very precise response on this subject. Many CAT tools exist, although they do not all have the same features or facilitate the same type of work. Certain tools, for example, allow translators to compile mini-glossaries of terms, whereas others do not. In the MA programme we try to introduce students to two or three CAT tools so that they can choose the one which is best suited to their individual needs.
8. Which specialist fields currently require collaboration with linguists in France?
All specialist fields need collaboration with linguists!
Apart from the ’traditional’, well-known fields which have garnered interest from linguists for some time (such as medicine, the environment, law, the economy etc.), many others could be the subject of very fruitful terminological research. I am thinking here of a collaboration which is taking shape between the CRTT, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and the CTR (Centre for Textile Research) in Copenhagen to carry out a diachronic study of the terminology associated with fur and leather. The objective is to produce a multilingual glossary in this field which is designed for professional use.
9. What job prospects do young people who have studied specialised translation or terminology have in France? Are universities offering them an education which is tailored to meet the demands of the job market?
The objective of a Masters like the M2CISS is of course to prepare students as well as possible for the world of work. That is why internships are so important (a three to six month internship is compulsory), because they allow students to make the transition between university and professional life.
In M2CISS the majority of lessons are taught by professional translators and healthcare professionals, so naturally the discourse used is oriented towards the world of work.
10. How do you envisage the future of terminology? Will it become more or less popular? Will it be a profession in its own right or will it function more in collaboration with universities and research centres?
It is difficult to say. It is certainly true that there are still relatively few professional terminologists in France (for example, the DGLFLF that I mentioned earlier only has three full-time terminologists). However, I am convinced that terminologists could have a place in a great number of large businesses, both public and private, since the work of a terminologist is not confined to translation. It also involves compiling bilingual or multilingual glossaries and databases, documentary and terminological research and even scientific writing and the creation of ontologies.
Interviewed by Mioara Stroe
Mioara Stroe is a self-taught terminologist and strives for a calm and safe social environment. She graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Bucharest with a degree in French and Portuguese Philology, and obtained a Masters in Translation from the University of Lisbon. She took a break from her studies in order to carry out research at the University of Lyon as part of an Erasmus exchange. She has become a passionate terminologist since completing her dissertation project about the terminology associated with animal by-products which are not destined for human consumption and a traineeship with the Terminology Coordination Unit of the Directorate-General for Translation at the European Parliament has allowed her to broaden her knowledge of terminology.