Теория языка | Филологический аспект Методика преподавания языка и литературы №4 (4) Декабрь 2019

Техническая терминология энергетической сферы как переводческая проблема

Рахат Хорлан Айбарқызы
магистр гуманитарных наук, Казахстан, Алматы, КазУМОиМЯ им. Абылай хана, преподаватель кафедры практики речи иностранных языков, rakhat_lana@mail.ru
Қоңырбай Жансая Асқарқызы
магистр педагогических наук, Казахстан, Алматы, КазУМОиМЯ им. Абылай хана, преподаватель кафедры практики речи иностранных языков, zhan.askarovna@mail.ru

Аннотация: Данная статья посвещена терминологии энергетической сферы и ее переводу как переводческой проблеме. Перевод в сфере энергетики является одним из самых сложных видов технического перевода с точки зрения узкоспециальной терминологии. Это статья рассматривает терминологию как обьект терминоведения и как отдельную часть лексической категории. Понятия «терминоведение», «терминосистема» и «терминология», которые иногда рассматриваются как синонимы тоже были проанализированы. Благодаря анализу разных терминологических дефиниц были выявлены главные свойства энергетических терминов. А также вопросы касательно особенности перевода терминов были рассмотрены и проанализированы.
Ключевые слова: терминология, терминоведение, терминосистема, энергетческие термины, свойства энергетических терминов, особенности их перевода

Rakhat Kh.A
MA of humanitarian sciences, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL, teacher at the Department of Speech Practice of Foreign Languages
Konyrbay Zh.A.
MA of pedagogical sciences, Kazakhstan, Almaty, Ablai Khan KazUIRandWL, teacher at the Department of Speech Practice of Foreign Languages

Abstract: The article deals with the terminology of energy sphere and its translation as a translational problem. Translation of term in the sphere of energy is one of the most difficult types of technical translation in terms of highly specialized terminology. The article discusses the issue of terminology as it is the main object of research of terminological sciences and it is fair to consider it as a separate area of knowledge. The notions as terminological sciences, terminological systems, terminology which are ususally used synonymously are considered as well. Most importantly, there were revealed properties and specific features of energy terms in the light of analysis of different definitions concerning the phenomenon of term as well as the peculiarities of translation of technical terms As well as the subject upon peculiarities of transaltion of technical terms were shortly described.
Keywords: terminology, terminological system, energy terms, properties of energy terms, peculiarities of term transaltion

Rapid technological change affects all aspects of human activity. It is inconceivable to imagine the modern sphere of science without the exchange of information and innovative ideas between experts from different countries. Scientific and technical translation is becoming increasingly popular in all areas of activity and requires a decent level of translation competence. Translation of technical terminology in the sphere of energy is one of the most difficult types of technical translation in terms of highly specialized terminology. The theme of this work is very urgent, since rapid development of the energy industry entails a rapid increase in the number of terminological units of this sector. The problem of translation of energy terms is becoming more popular due to the fact that many domestic companies are eager to move to a more modern and efficient technical development of the west and with the upcoming EXPO exhibition. This paper is aimed at studying the definition of terminology as a separate lexical layer, definitions of term, its properties and features. Because in order to identify the most suitable methods of translation, it is important to understand the core of terminology at first hand.

1. Terminology as a separate lexical category. Definitions of terminology

Since term (and terminology in general) is the main object of research of terminological sciences, it is fair to consider it as a separate area of knowledge. In terminological studies terms are studied in terms of their typology, origin, form, content (meaning) and functioning, as well as their use, ordering and creation. Since the properties and behavior of a term are to a large extent caused by its terminology, some scientists propose to consider terminology, which is a set of terms used in the specific field of knowledge as the main object of terminological studies.  [1, p.9].

According to A.V. Superanskaya the term "terminology" has various definitions as: 1) a set of terms (concepts and names) of particular branch of knowledge; 2) the study on the formation, composition and functioning of terms in general; 3) general terminological study [2, p.14]. She notes that in the 70s the term "terminological sciences" which refers to the 2nd and 3rd definitions was introduced. As for the term "terminology", it is often used in the 1st meaning. Although all the above definitions of the word "terminology" still remain faithful relevant, "as the polysemy of the term" terminology" is a phenomenon marked in the international terminological practice" [2, p.17]. As  for S.V. Grinyov-Grinevich, he clearly defines terminological science as the study of terminology and the terminology itself as a set of terms. Grinyov-Grinevich’s definition of terminology is common for the works of different authors as M.Yu Volgin, V.M. Leychik, F.A. Tsitkin etc.

Terminology is closely and inextricably connected with science. The terminological "sector" of language is addressed to the purposeful reflection and expression of socially organized reality (science, technology, art, politics, law, etc.) [2, p.7]. A.V. Superanskaya calls terminology "a tool with the help of which scientific theories, laws, principles, regulations, terms and their totality are formed" [2, p.8]. Thus, the terminology is an integral part of science and technology. Terminological activity has both practical and theoretical directions. The main focus of practical terminological activity is the inventory of terms which is the collection and description of all terms that belong to a selected domain (subject area, knowledge of the field) or a fragment thereof. Several tasks are performed as a part of this process: to establish the boundaries of the selected area; to select sources and the terms from those sources; to carry out lexicographical processing of terms; to describe terms (to provide all known information about them) [1, p.14]. The object of this kind of work is the terminology and the result of this work is presented in the form terminological system which is "ordered set of terms with a fixed relationship between them, reflecting the relationship between the concepts of these terms" [1, p. 15]. The most comprehensive definition of the “terminological system” can be found in the work of T. Nekrasova. The terminological system is a complex and dynamically stable system and its main function is in full representation of the model of a particular area of knowledge or activity. In her works we also find another confirmation that the concept of "terminology" and "terminological system" is not synonymous, "... not every set of terms may be a terminological system; only a high level of terminological development leads to the creation of terminological systems" [3, p. 76].

2. The evolution of terminological systems

According to M.Yu. Volgina, all terminological systems are constantly evolving and updating. Some terms are replaced with more successful peers, others generally fall out of use, there are constantly emerging new terms - neologisms. Modern terminology has artificially generated a lexical layer, each unit of which has certain limitations for its use and the optimal conditions for its existence and development [4, p.171]. Scientific and technical terminology is the most dynamic part of the lexical-semantic system of language. Terms in it are always being created and developed (sometimes extending and sometimes narrowing). Thus, the field of scientific and technical terminology is updated and extended constantly in contrast to the common vocabulary, where most of the objects and phenomena have long been identified.

There is a question about autonomy of terminological lexicon, namely, whether it is an independent system or significant and integral part of a common language.  A.V. Superanskaya in her works asserts that "the terminology is an autonomous part of lexicon" and rejects the concept of terminology as a part of the literary language [2, p. 18]. The author believes that terms of each branch of knowledge form their particular terminology and the value of each term is fully revealed only in the latter system. Thus, the terminology refers to the special vocabulary, it is a significant part of it and demands a particular approach for its study. T.V. Nekrasova, in contrast, believes that the combination of terms that are based on concepts and lexical-semantic relations is an essential part of the common language and inseparable from it. Terminology as a vast layer of lexical structure of language, is inextricably connected with units of the national language. Accordingly, the term studies should be carried out within the general theoretical and applied linguistics [3, p. 74]. Thus, we can truly recognize that the terminological system of the energy sphere is a very dynamic and ever-changing lexical layer as the sphere of energy described by this terminological system is also in constant transformation. As the term is the main element of the terminological system of the energy sphere it is necessary to give a definition to this concept.

3. Definitions of Term

There is no one clear definition for the term in the linguistic literature. In current research works the term is often presented as a word or phrase denoting the notion of a special sphere of knowledge or activity. The most elaborate and detailed definition of the term can be found in M.A. Terpak’s works: "the term (including scientific and technical terms and terms of organizational and administrative documentation) is a unit of a specific natural or artificial language (word, phrase, abbreviation, symbol, the combination of words and letters, a combination of words and numbers, symbols) which as a result of spontaneous development or particularly conscious collective agreement has specific terminological value; the term is a word that is necessarily correlated with a certain unit of corresponding logical-conceptual system in terms of its content" [5, p. 281].

Another more concise definition is given by Superanskaya: "the term is a special word (or phrase), adopted in the professional activity and used in special circumstances, it is the main conceptual element of language for special purposes" [2. p. 14]. According to F.M. Tsitkin the term is "the linguistic sign, representing the scientific concept of special, professional knowledge of the industry" [6, p.10]. From the abovementioned study of terminology it can be seen that the term might not always accurately express the special concept, it is not always straightforward or expresses only one idea, it is not always included in one terminological system, it is not always just one word; the term does not always reflect in its semantic structure the characteristic features of the object of nomination. Studies have also shown that the terms do not always have accurate semantic boundaries and express precisely delineated concepts. [6, p.9].

4. Properties and features of energy terms

The above given definitions of the term have referred to its basic properties or the requirements imposed on it. Majority of the scientific works do not delimit properties and requirements of terms, so it is better to study all of them as one. The founder of the Soviet terminological school D.S. Lotte presented following requirements to the scientific and technical terms: consistency; being independent of context; unambiquity or uniqueness (which is absolute and relative); accuracy; brevity (the latter two conditions often come into conflict with each other and with the creation of the term one of them is neglected) [6, pp.10-11]. E.V. Pavlova enlists another linguistic features of terms: adequacy, the uniqueness within a certain terminological system, accuracy, brevity, being semantically logical, the existence of definitions, lack of expression and stylistic neutrality, being independent of context (with permissible deviations), being systematic. Nekrasova T.V. adds to the above mentioned properties and characteristics of the term being nominative, aimed, stable and reproducible in speech. Also she divides the requirements for the term into three groups: semantic, formal and pragmatic (functional). Semantic features include semantic consistency (correspondence of a term to a concept); uniqueness (with the exception of categorical ambiguity); reflecting full meaning, having no synonyms. Pragmatic (functional) requirements include being introduced in a professional communication (being common and usable); internationality, being up to-date (replacement of outdated terms with modern equivalents); euphony (ease of pronunciation and the lack of associative dissonance) [3, p.75]. Based on the study of the material, it can be concluded that the basic properties of energy terms are being systematic, being independent of context and uniqueness or unambiquity.

Beyond the terminological system, the term might lose its characteristic features. One of the most important properties of the term and terminology is being systematic; study of terminological units must take place within the system to which they belong [3, p.76]. The following important properties of the term to which are given a lot of attention is the unambiguity or independence from context. They are often mentioned together as they are closely connected. The question of whether the term has context independent or unambiguous feature still remains controversial. Although the term, on the one hand, characterized by correlation with well-defined concept and the desire for unambiquity as a result of which acquires a certain independence from the context, it does not mean that the terms absolutely do not depend on the context, since in context it reveals its significance. The reason for these different opinions is that scientists understand the context differently. As some have suggested context includes verbal environment, speech situation, the genre of statements etc. Others believe that the context is not necessary for term, since terminology does not deal with the context but with terminological field which replaces a context. Therefore, if you know the "terminological key" (terminological field), the context is not important. Terms can live out of context, if it is known to which terminology they belong. Through the membership to a particular terminology, the term gets the unambiguity and independence of context, as opposed to the ordinary words. Nevertheless, in order to properly understand the term, it should be considered in context, as only in the context the full content of the term can be revealead. You can illustrate this by the following examples: the phrase "Demand (electric)" acquires its meaning Потребляемая мощность (электрическая) only in the energy sphere; In general, this phrase has many meanings (like "требование", "запрос", "потребность", etc.) that are similar in meaning, but still delimited by specific areas of use. In addition to the properties of term that have been considered, it is worth noting that the term in its linguistic nature is an integral part of the lexical system of a literary language and also it differs from the other bits of words for its vast information saturation. Thus, the term is most accurate, concentrated and economical determination of a scientific or technical concepts [5, р.281]. As an example of it can serve such lexical item as Terminal, in many scientific fields having a value of "конечный пункт, ввод". In the energy sphere, the term acquires the meaning of "вывод электротехнического устройства". Another example: Rectifier a word can mea​​n "очиститель" или "детектор", while in the energy sphere has definite meaning as "выпрямитель".

Thus, we can conclude that the basic properties of energy terms by the majority of scientists recognized as unambiguity or uniqueness, context independence, consistency, accuracy, informativeness. Terminology as a collection of terms used in the specific field of knowledge, it is a key aspect in the study of terminological studies. Terminology is an integral part of science and technology. The main focus of terminological activity is the collection and inventory of terms, which can then be combined into a terminological systems. Terminological system is an ordered set of terms with a fixed relationship between them, reflecting the relationship between these terms called concepts. Term system is constantly evolving and dynamic part of the language. There are various definitions of the term, some of which included its properties and the requirements for it. Most concisely, the term can be defined as a unit of language, indicating the concept of a special field of knowledge or activity.

5. Peculiarities of translation of energy terms

In the process of translation of scientific and technical texts particular attention should be paid to the terms, as they carry in themselves the main content, as well as structure and encode specific information. Therefore, in the process of translation of terms the question of the possibility of achieving the maximum equivalence is particularly relevant. [7, p.2]. E.N. Bazalina believes that the main specificity of translation of terms lies in that the most important condition for the achievement of equivalence is to maintain the accuracy of the content of a original language units, ensuring absolute identity of concepts expressed by the terms of the original language and its translation. Identifying differences in the system of concepts expressed by the terms of the original language and the target language is an important step towards the harmonization of interlingual terminological system which provides solution to the problem of term translation. Speaking about the semantic differences of the two languages, it is worth to mention that the translation of energy terms not only shares scientific information, but it is also a part of linguistic-cultural communication in which the translator acts as an intermediary in the exchange of cultural and scientific heritage of different peoples. Therefore, a deep understanding of the linguistic culture and social culture of the source language is a prerequisite for achieving effective translation results.

S.V. Grinyov-Grinevich distinguishes between two basic situations that arise in the process of translation of terms: 1) when there can be found equivalents of the original term that are fixed in dictionaries of target language; 2) when there are no such equivalents [1, p.75]. In terms of the difficulty of understanding and translation of terms he divides them into three groups: a) the terms denoting foreign realias that are identical to domestic ones; b) the terms of foreign realias for which there are no corresponding domestic realias, but there are common terminological equivalents; c) the terms denoting foreign realias for which there are no domestic analogues and there is no generally accepted terminological equivalent [1, p.77]. V.M. Leychik distinguishes three general conditions of adequate translation of terms. Firstly, all separate terms of text should be adequately translated. Secondly, each term should be checked in terms of its terminological system both in the original language and the target language. And third, differences in terms due to the specifics of each language should be taken into account  [8, p.40]. When we talk about the second condition, we must consider the comparison of the term with a particular system. If terminological system developed and well established in both languages, the translated term must be included in the target language terminological system. Here, it must be noted that for several reasons the second condition can not always be done. Mainly because the same sphere of knowledge can be described by different terminological system based on different meaning and concept. The third condition of adequate translation is the need to consider so called "world picture" that is different in each language. When translator is faced with this problem it is possible to use descriptive or structural explanations (comments) [8, p.43]. Thus, in agreement with V.M. Leychik, we can say that the above three conditions must be considered when selecting a particular translation for energy terms. Among the most common methods of translation of terms are calque, transliteration, functional replacement and their combinations.

Like any other type of translation, translation of the energy terms is always striving for the highest possible accuracy and completeness of the transfer of information contained in the original. Since any mistake can cause serious consequences and lead to a completely wrong understanding of the information.

1. S.V.Grinyov-Grinevich, Terminovedenie: ucheb.posobie/-M.:Akademia, 2008, pp.9, 14, 15, 75
2. A.V.Superanskaya, Obshaya terminologiya: Voprosy teorii, otv.red.T.L.Kandelaki.-3-e izd. Ster.-M.:Editorial URSS, 2004, pp. 7,8, 14, 17
3. T.V.Nekrasova, Terminologicheskie edinitsi kak sredstvo effektivnosti inoyazichnogo obsheniya v professionlnoy sphere, Vestnik Severnogo arktichekogo federalnogo universiteta. Seria:gumanitarnie I socailnie nauki.-2008, pp. 74-76
4. M.Yu.Volgina, Perevod terminov kak klyuchevyh edinits specialnogo teksta/ Perspektivi nauki I obrazovania.- 2013, p.171
5. M.A.Terpak, Issledovanie terminologii nauchno-technicheskogo stylya, kak odnogo iz vidov informativnogo perevoda/Nauka I kultura Rosii.-2011, p. 281
6. F.A.Tsitkin, Terminologiya I perevod (k osnovam sopostavitelnogo terminovedeniya).- L’vov: Visha shkola, 1988, pp.10-11
7. E.V.Pavlova, Specifika peredachi terminov razlichnikh tipov pri perevode s angliyskogo yazika na russkiy/ E.V.Pavlova, T.G.Lapteva//Interekspo.Geo-Sibir,-2014,-No.2 pp.2-3
8. V.M. Leychik, Lingvisticheskie problemy terminologii I nauchno-technicheskii perevod. M.:Vsesoyuzniy tsentr perevodov, 1990, p.40-43