Meetings on Administrative Language and Terminology
Abstract
These meetings took place on 8th and 9th June in Vitoria. They were organized by the Secretary of Linguistic Policy and the Basque lnstitute of Public Administration (IVAP).
Dijferent professionals attended these meetings. People from the Basque Academy of Language (Euskaltzaindia), Local Administration, the University, etc: all having in one aspect or another a direct relation with this subject. The objectives of
these meetings were:
- to analyze the work carried out on this subject in recent years.
- to analyze the present situation.
- to exchange different points of view.
- to take the necessary measures towards working together in the future.
- to determine the means by which the ellaboration and unification of the terminology should be attained.
Discussions were held on six reports:
- Levels of Administrative Language and Terminology Problems.
- Non-linguistic Problems in Terminology within the Administrative Field.
- Means for creating Administrative Terminology.
- Translation from only One Language, and other Matters.
- Administrative Terminology and its relation to neigbouring fields.
- Criteria and Mens to unify Administrative Terminology in Basque.
One of the most interesting aspects of this meeting was the contrast of the almost opposite points of view, between the linguists and the jurists. The former advocated the autonomy of the language insisting that the translation rather than being between languages should be between administrations; for this reason, and bearing in mind that we work with conventions, we must try to create networks of conventions in Basque. The jurists, on the other hand, pointed out the need for terminological precision, and for legal terms exactly equivalent to those in Spanish which would go against the aforementioned linguistic autonomy.
Neverthless, it was said that the problem of delivery, which means that it should be looked at from a viewpoint which is wider than the purely lexical one; and if we could create this type of language in Basque without having to resort to translation we would achieve both; the so longed for precision one and the creation of a network of conventions, the one the linguists talk about: Although bearing in mind the importance of translation in this field, also insisted upon was the need to provide all kinds of means in order to improve the working conditions of the translator.
