Transcript Helsingin Yliopisto

General language and special
language
General language: the language of everyday
communication
Special language: the language of people
working in a special field or profession (law,
medicine, etc.)
General language: the meanings of words and
longer expressions often relatively vague
Cf. e.g. the English word wet: no clear
boundary between wet and damp
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20.7.2015
 Special language: the meanings of words and
longer expressions are typically quite precise
 Cf. e.g. the English word wet in aviation:
specific criteria for a wet runway and a damp
runway
 In general language, meanings are usually
allowed to develop freely on their own
 In special language, the way meanings change
is controlled much more carefully than in
general language
 LSP (languages for special/specific purposes):
terminology work often of special importance
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20.7.2015
 In special languages, meanings either do not
change or they change slowly
 Cf. e.g. the meaning of the word department in
academic terminology: many new types of
department have appeared but the meaning of
the word has remained more or less the same
 For special languages, changes are usually
initiated by specialists working in the fields in
question (doctors for medicine, lawyers for the
legal profession, etc.)
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20.7.2015
 In general language, changes in meaning often
launched by the language use of ordinary
people also
 For many (though not all) countries, special
agencies or other official bodies exist for
controlling the development of language
 Why should we want to control the changes in
language? Relevance to translation?
 A general goal: the same expression, the same
meaning
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20.7.2015
 Reaching this goal saves time in translation:
no need to choose between synonyms
 Cf. the English expressions hard disk, fixed
disk: which one should you use if you are
translating into English?
 For LSP, controlling the development of
language is even more important: with no or
little control, the degree of precision in
expression suffers
 In terminology work, this is especially
important: the goal is one term for one concept
www.helsinki.fi/yliopisto
20.7.2015