The social role of Terminology:
challenges of building a termbase to non-specialists
Ana Rita Remígio
CLLC – Universidade de Aveiro
CLUNL – Universidade Nova de Lisboa
European Parliament
Luxemburg, 05.09.2014
CONTENTS
Technical Communication & food labels…
 Understanding food labels
 Building a termbase for the consumer & the social role of Terminology
 The terminographical process
 The role of communicative contexts
 specialised corpora building and exploration
 Concluding remarks & comparison with IATE
…back to Technical Communication
2
TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
… …
TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
technical
communicator
product
user guide
user
3
… AND FOOD LABELS
“When I was president of the Society for Technical Communication, I
gave the President’s Award to the US Food and Drug Administration
for their food labels.
I thought then – and continue to believe now – it is one of the most
incredible feats of technical communication ever pulled off. The FDA
managed to develop a clear, consistent means of informing consumers
what’s in their food.” *
Saul Carliner, 2010
Concordia University, Montreal
* our highlight
4
Source: www.CartoonStock.com
READING FOOD LABELS
"I read all package labels for my health. Now my eyes are shot!"
5
Source: http://a7.idata.over-blog.com/0/07/29/61/pr-2005-actimel.jpg
Ingredients
Yogurt (skimmed milk, skimmed milk
concentrate/ powder, cream, yogurt
cultures), skimmed milk, sugar/liquid
sugar (sucrose 8.4%), strawberry
(2.1%), dextrose, milk mineral
concentrate, stabiliser (modified
tapioca starch), natural flavouring,
acidity regulator (sodium citrate), L.
Casei Danone culture (Lactobacillus
casei DN 114001), vitamins (B6, D).
Source: http://www.allmystery.de/i/
ta8ee79_OrbitSpearmint1.jpg
Source: https://farmacialinaida.s3.amazonaws.com/
a06D000000SfhTo20121204185843_big.jpg
Ingredients
made of: sorbitol, gum base, natural and artificial
flavours, less than 2% of: mannitol, xylitol, soy
lecithin, malic acid, citric acid, acesulfame K,
aspartame, fumaric acid, sucralose, color (yellow 6
lake), BHT (to maintain freshness. Phenylketonurics:
contains phenylalanine.
Ingredients
Demineralised whey,
skimmed milk, vegetable
oils, lactose, fish oil,
potassium chloride, sodium
citrate, calcium lactate,
magnesium sulphate ,
calcium carbonate, vitamin
C, potassium hydroxide,
taurine, iron sulphate,
potassium carbonate, zinc
sulphate, niacin, vitamin E,
pantothenic acid, vitamin A,
copper sulphate, riboflavin,
thiamin, citric Acid, vitamin
B6, beta carotene,
manganese sulphate,
vitamin K, folic acid,
potassium iodide, vitamin
D, biotin, vitamin B12.
6
Source: http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.pt/wu_cache/img/058/mis_50141612/Becel_Pro_Activ_250g_0000x0000_0.jpg
DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT’S ON A
FOOD LABEL?
plant sterols esters
potassium sorbate
β-carotene
bad cholesterol
?
emulsifiers
carotenoids
margarine
7
How can Terminology contribute to the
transmission of scientifically valid and
accurate information on functional food to
the consumer?
8
BUILDING A TERMBASE FOR THE CONSUMER
terminographer
AlFαBeTa
9
10
esterol vegetal
Sinónimo:
fitosterol
Definição:
ingrediente, naturalmente presente em pequenas quantidades nas plantas e em alguns
alimentos de origem vegetal, que, em quantidades significativas, diminui a absorção de
colesterol no intestino, contribuindo para a redução dos seus níveis no sangue
Informação adicional:
Os esteróis vegetais estão naturalmente presentes,
por exemplo, nos óleos vegetais, cereais, legumes
e frutos, embora em pequenas quantidades.
Esta substância contribui para a redução do
colesterol total e do colesterol LDL. O colesterol
HDL permanece inalterado.
THE SOCIAL ROLE OF TERMINOLOGY
12
KNOWLEDGE AND POPULARISING SCIENCE
Knowledge production
interdisciplinarity
Knowledge dissemination
hyperspecialisation
13
THE SOCIAL ROLE OF TERMINOLOGY
 Terminological resources
 target public: translators, technical writers, specialists, students, ...
 a means to an end: “the practical terminologist (…) should never lose sight of
the fact that the text is both the source and the destination of the term”
(Shreve, 2001:775)
 Our proposal
 termbase targeted at non-specialists
 termbase as popularising science resource (establishing bridges)
 disseminating Terminology as a special subject field, its goals and applications
14
THE SOCIAL ROLE OF TERMINOLOGY
 Sager
 “terminologies oriented towards a mass market”
 “the need for a terminological information service for the general reader”
(1990:228)
15
(Pointer, 1996)
16
BUILDING A TERMBASE FOR THE CONSUMER
17
Systematisation of
terminographical processes
Comparison
Rondeau (1984)
Cabré (1993; 1999)
Rey (1995)
Meyer and Mackintosh (1996)
Dubuc (2002)
L’Homme (2004)
The PAVEL (2004)
Arntz, Picht, et al. (2004)
Not adequate to our needs
Absence / inexistence of:
→ communicative dimension of analysis;
→ data validation stage;
→ final stage for data update;
→ clear delimitation of the preparatory stages of the terminographical process.
18
3
phases
pre-terminography
pre-translation
terminography
translation
post-terminography
post-translation*
Terminographical
process
3
dimensions
conceptual
conceptual
communicative
communicative
textual
linguistic**
*
Gouadec, 2002; 2005; 2007
**
Sager 1990; Cabré, 1993; L’Homme, Heid, et al. 2003
19
TERMINOGRAPHICAL PROCESS
Pre-terminography
Phases
Stages
— goals setting
— special subject field conceptual representation
— communicative contexts identification
— specialised corpora building
Terminography
— termbase architecture
— terminology constitution
— conceptual systems building
— definition writing
— term records filling
Post-terminography
— data validation
— termbase industrial and commercial application
— data update
20
TERMINOGRAPHICAL PROCESS
Pre-terminography
Phases
Stages
— goals setting
— special subject field conceptual representation
— communicative contexts identification
— specialised corpora building
Terminography
— termbase architecture
— terminology constitution
— conceptual systems building
— definition writing
— term records filling
Post-terminography
— data validation
— termbase industrial and commercial application
— data update
21
articles in
maganizes and
newspapers
popularising
science
monographies
articles in
popularising
science
magazines
food labels
FAQs
project
abstracts
ads
marketing
material
product
presentation
leaflets
glossaries
TEXT PRODUCERS
faculty
researchers
food industry
actors
science
communicators
journalists
consumer
23
Text selection and
corpus
organisation
identification and
extraction
term candidates
and potential
definitions
meet the needs
of the consumer?
24
COMMUNICATIVE CONTEXTS
faculty
researchers
science communicators
CC1
food industry
actors
journalists
CC3
CC2
consumer
25
CORPUS DESIGN
ALFα Corpus
faculty
researchers
science communicators
Tokens: 77,662
Reference corpus
Tokens: 13,447
CC1
25,163
food industry
actors
journalists
CC3
CC2
consumer
29,031
23,468
26
textual
dimension
conceptual
dimension
communicative
dimension
corpus / text
linguistic vs.
extra-linguistic
text producers,
communicative intentions,
target public
Corpus-based terminographical process
corpora
building
corpora
exploration
design & text
selection
computational
tools
term candidates
identification &
extraction
data validation
definitions
identification & extraction
beyond the
corpus
27
STUDY CORPORA
ALFα Corpus
ALFαsterols
subcorpus
ALFαsterols
reference corpus
popularising discourse on
food items with plant sterols
scientific discourse
on food items with plant sterols
28
CC1: faculty, researchers, science communicators
CC2: food industry actors
CC3: journalists
15 texts
13 texts
26 texts
19 texts
STUDY CORPORA
29
EXPLORING SPECIALISED CORPORA
 Oxford WordSmith Tools
WordList / Concord
 terminology constitution
textual
3
dimensions
 definition writing
communicative
conceptual
30
TERMINOLOGY CONSTITUTION
31
TERMINOLOGY CONSTITUTION
Term candidates
 Criteria
special subject field
frequency
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
32
RISCO DE DCV
32 DCV
ÓMEGA 3
27
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
26
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES
24
FLORA INTESTINAL
20
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
20 SAÚDE
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
20
GORDURAS SATURADAS
19
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
15
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
14 PROBIÓTICOS
44
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
13 DOENÇA
42
EXCESSO DE PESO
13
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
13
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
12
Term candidates
COLESTEROL
Freq.
146
122
GORDURA
92
IOGURTE
87
SANGUE
54
54
AÇÚCAR
49
LEITE
45
NUTRIMENTO
38
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
VITAMINAS
32
32
TERMINOLOGY CONSTITUTION
faculty
researchers
science communicators
Term candidates
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
RISCO DE DCV
ÓMEGA 3
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
Term candidates
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
Term 32
candidates
RISCO DE DCV
32
COLESTEROL
27
DCV
26
ÓMEGA 3
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
32
32
Term candidates
27
COLESTEROL
26
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARESDCV
Freq.
146
24
122
92
GORDURAS SATURADAS
20
GORDURA
20
IOGURTE
20
SANGUE19
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
SAÚDE 15
54
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
EXCESSO DE PESO
14
AÇÚCAR
13
LEITE 13
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
13
PROBIÓTICOS
44
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
12
DOENÇA
42
NUTRIMENTO
38
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
VITAMINAS
32
FLORA INTESTINAL
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
food industry
actors
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
87
54
49
45
journalists
Term candidates
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
RISCO DE DCV
32
ÓMEGA 3
32
Term candidates
27
146
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
COLESTEROL
26
122
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES
24
DCV
FLORA INTESTINAL
20
GORDURA
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
20
Freq.
Freq.
146
122
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES GORDURA
24
92
FLORA INTESTINAL
87
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
IOGURTE
20
87
54
GORDURAS SATURADAS
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
15
AÇÚCAR
49
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
SANGUE19
15
SAÚDE
14
AÇÚCAR13
54
GORDURAS SATURADAS
20
IOGURTE
20
SANGUE
20
SAÚDE
19
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
45
EXCESSO DE PESO
LEITE 13
45
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
EXCESSO DE PESO
14
LEITE
13
PROBIÓTICOS
13
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
13
DOENÇA
42
13
PROBIÓTICOS
12
DOENÇA
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
12
NUTRIMENTO
38
NUTRIMENTO
38
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
VITAMINAS
32
VITAMINAS
32
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
54
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
44
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
92
54
49
44
42
33
COMPARISON OF THE NUMBER OF TERM CANDIDATES
1
Term / token ratio
0,9
0,8
0,7
0,6
CC1
faculty, researchers, science communicators
0,4
CC2
food industry actors
0,3
CC3 journalists
0,5
0,2
Ref. corpus
0,1
0
CC1
CC2
CC3
Ref. corpus
0,2
‘Unique’ term / token ratio
0,18
0,16
0,14
CC1
0,12
0,1
CC2
0,08
0,06
CC3
0,04
0,02
0
CC1
CC2
CC3
Ref. corpus
NEED TO REDESIGN THE CORPUS?
35
TERMINOLOGY CONSTITUTION
faculty
researchers
science communicators
Term candidates
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
RISCO DE DCV
ÓMEGA 3
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
Term candidates
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
Term 32
candidates
RISCO DE DCV
32
COLESTEROL
27
DCV
26
ÓMEGA 3
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
32
32
Term candidates
27
COLESTEROL
26
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARESDCV
Freq.
146
24
122
92
GORDURAS SATURADAS
20
GORDURA
20
IOGURTE
20
SANGUE19
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
SAÚDE 15
54
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
EXCESSO DE PESO
14
AÇÚCAR
13
LEITE 13
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
13
PROBIÓTICOS
44
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
12
DOENÇA
42
NUTRIMENTO
38
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
VITAMINAS
32
FLORA INTESTINAL
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
food industry
actors
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
87
54
49
45
journalists
Term candidates
Freq.
FACTORES DE RISCO
62
LEITE FERMENTADO
46
ACTIVIDADE FÍSICA
45
ÁCIDOS GORDOS
RISCO DE DCV
32
ÓMEGA 3
32
Term candidates
27
146
GÉNERO ALIMENTÍCIO
COLESTEROL
26
122
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES
24
DCV
FLORA INTESTINAL
20
GORDURA
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
20
Freq.
Freq.
146
122
DOENÇAS CARDIOVASCULARES GORDURA
24
92
FLORA INTESTINAL
87
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
IOGURTE
20
87
54
GORDURAS SATURADAS
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
15
AÇÚCAR
49
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
SANGUE19
15
SAÚDE
14
AÇÚCAR13
54
GORDURAS SATURADAS
20
IOGURTE
20
SANGUE
20
SAÚDE
19
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
45
EXCESSO DE PESO
LEITE 13
45
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
EXCESSO DE PESO
14
LEITE
13
PROBIÓTICOS
13
EXERCÍCIO FÍSICO
13
DOENÇA
42
13
PROBIÓTICOS
12
DOENÇA
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
12
NUTRIMENTO
38
NUTRIMENTO
38
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
ALIMENTAÇÃO
36
VITAMINAS
32
VITAMINAS
32
HIDRATOS DE CARBONO
PRESSÃO ARTERIAL
COLESTEROL SANGUÍNEO
54
NÍVEIS DE COLESTEROL
ALIMENTOS FUNCIONAIS
44
ADITIVO ALIMENTAR
92
54
49
44
42
36
DEFINITION WRITING
37
Os fitosteróis actuam substituindo o colesterol (em virtude da sua
semelhança estrutural com este) no momento da absorção (ao nível
do intestino).
identification of contexts rich in
conceptual information
Por terem uma estrutura muito semelhante ao colesterol, os
esteróis vegetais competem pelo espaço disponível nestas micelas.
Quando presentes em quantidades significativas, estes ingredientes
tendem a ocupar espaço das micelas antes reservado ao colesterol.
os esteróis vegetais diminuem a absorção do colesterol, diminuindo
assim o valor do colesterol no sangue.
esteróis vegetais, o ingrediente activo responsável pela redução do
colesterol no organismo.
1. ingrediente;
2. substância naturalmente presente nas plantas e
em alguns alimentos de origem vegetal;
3. presente nas plantas e em alguns alimentos de
origem vegetal em pequenas quantidades;
4. tem uma estrutura química semelhante ao
colesterol;
5. compete com o colesterol, no momento da
absorção deste no intestino;
6. em quantidades significativas, diminui a absorção
de colesterol no intestino;
7. reduz o colesterol no sangue.
systematisation of
conceptual characteristics
identification and highlight of
conceptual characteristics
ingrediente, naturalmente presente em pequenas quantidades nas
plantas e em alguns alimentos de origem vegetal, que, em
quantidades significativas, diminui a absorção de colesterol no
intestino, contribuindo para a redução dos seus níveis no sangue
definition writing
38
DEFINITION WRITING
faculty
researchers
science communicators
food industry
actors
journalists
39
COMPARISON OF NUMBER OF CONCEPTUAL CHARACTERISTICS
0,2
0,18
0,16
0,14
0,12
0,1
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,02
0
Term: plant sterol
Contexts rich in conceptual
info / token ratio
CC1
faculty, researchers, science communicators
CC2
food industry actors
CC3
journalists
Ref. corpus
CC1
CC2
CC3
0,12
Ref. corpus
Conceptual characteristics / token ratio
0,1
CC1
CC2
CC3
0,08
0,06
0,04
0,02
0
characteristic 1
characteristic 2
characteristic 3
characteristic 4
characteristic 5
NEED TO REDESIGN THE CORPUS?
41
DEFINITION WRITING
faculty
researchers
science communicators
food industry
actors
X
journalists
X
42
CONCLUDING REMARKS
→ Communicative contexts and corpora building and exploration:
→ terminology constitution
→ definition writing
→ Need to redesign the specialised corpus?
→ Relevance of reference corpus?
→ Future work:
→ data validation
→ readjustment of definition writing methodology
→ beyond the corpus
43
… BACK TO TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION
technical
communicator
terminographer
food labels
AlFαBeTa
44
Source: www.CartoonStock.com
FOOD FOR THOUGHT…
“She read the ingredients listed on the food label”
45
COMPARISON WITH IATE
46
COMPARISON WITH IATE
47
COMPARISON WITH IATE
Definition
ingredient, naturally present in small quantities in plants and in some foods of
plant origin which, in significant amounts, reduces cholesterol absorption in
the intestine, thus contributing to the reduction of blood cholesterol levels
Note
Plant sterols are naturally present in certain foods, for instance, vegetable oils,
cereals, vegetables and fruit, though in small quantities. This substance
contributes to the reduction in total cholesterol and in LDL cholesterol. HDL
cholesterol remains unchanged.
48
COMPARISON WITH IATE
Definition
ingredient, naturally present in small quantities in plants and in some
food of plant origin which, in significant amounts, reduces cholesterol
absorption in the intestine, thus contributing to the reduction of blood
cholesterol levels
Note
Plant sterols are naturally present in, for instance, vegetable oils,
cereals, vegetables and fruit, though in small quantities. This substance
contributes to the reduction in total cholesterol and in LDL cholesterol.
HDL cholesterol remains unchanged.
49
Thank you!
Ana Rita Remígio
[email protected]
50