Introduction
Identification of different terms is important, especially in two cases, when the language where the term is taken is a second one for a student and when the term is taken from the specific field of knowledge. The language of specific terminology in most cases is not understood by native speakers, saying anything of nonnative speakers. To provide a systematic terminological investigation of any term, a student should create a scheme according to which he/she will conduct research. The main purpose of the current paper is to choose a sub-domain (passive house), to present a terminology case file for the selected five concepts, and complete a term record for each of the five concepts.
Terminological information sources
First of all, it should be noted that we want to give information on the terms connected with the passive house. The taken term is referred to the language of special purposes. To explain what is meant, it should be pointed that:
LSP [language for special purposes] is a formalized and codified variety of language, used for special purposes…with the function of communicating information of a specialist nature at any level… to inform or initiate other interested parties, in the most economic, precise and unambiguous terms possible (Picht & Draskau 1985, p. 3)
The concept choice is one of the most important stages of the systematic terminological investigation on the passive house as it gives us an opportunity to be sure that the information you read is exactly what you need (Bowker & Pearson 2002, p. 38). Before beginning the term consideration, the following steps should be completed, “determining research objectives, becoming familiar with the subject field, selecting and evaluating the documentation, and preparing a breakdown of the subject field” (Dubuc 1997, p. 55). Describing the passive house, it is possible to present the term in several concepts, broader, superordinate, subordinate, specific, and non-hierarchical concepts (Wright & Budin 1997, p. 565).
Completed 5 term records (one record per concept)
Now, we want to represent you with the completed 5 term records (one record per concept) related to the passive house terminology. The following terms are going to be explained low-energy house, thermal insulation, heat recovery, heat demand, and energy saving.
Energy-saving terms will be considered in the broader concept that includes the term nature of the topic it deals with (Pavel and Nolet 2001, p. 24). So, energy saving is the term that is related to passive housing and eco-friendly homes, when the building is completed according to the technologies which allow reducing the energy that is spent on house heating.
A superordinate concept is “a concept in a hierarchical relationship whose semantic features are inherited by those concepts that are subordinate to it” (Pavel and Nolet 2001, p. 117). Low-energy house is subordinate to the innovative technologies which make it possible for architectures to create houses of compact construction, which are thermally insulated and the ventilation should be properly organized. The creation of low-energy houses would have been impossible without technological development.
A subordinate concept is a concept that is closely related to the other term with the broader meaning (Pavel and Nolet 2001, p. 117). Thermal insulation is the term that is closely related to the low-energy house term and passive housing in general. Thermal insulation may be related to several items, windows, doors, or walls. The higher level of thermal insulation, the better results will be achieved after the house is ready.
A specific concept is a concept that “has the broader intension and that inherits semantic features from its hierarchically superior generic concept” (Pavel and Nolet 2001, p. 116). Heat recovery, for example, is the term that is hierarchically lower than low-energy house and means the technology that makes it possible to reduce the level of the energy consumption while heating the house and not allow this energy to leave.
The non-hierarchical concept is the concept that makes it possible to explain the term without reference to the other term in the field of study. In other words, the definition of the term may be completed without reference to the notions in the field of study. Heat demand is the term that means the level of heat consumption in the buildings. The term is used when the new house is built, especially when workers have to characterize the benefits of the house.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the passive house sub-domain was chosen for the systematic terminological investigation. The main stages of the process were researched and the concepts of the terminology presentation were presented. It may be said that there are two types of concepts in the systematic terminological investigation, hierarchical and non-hierarchical. There is several hierarchical concepts. We presented the following, broader, superordinate, subordinate, and specific. The terms that were explained with the help of different concepts depend either on each other or on the notions using which they are characterized. Only one term was explained according to the non-hierarchical concept.
- Terminological concepts (Passive house)
- Hierarchical non-hierarchical (heat demand)
- Broader (energy saving) Subordinate (thermal insulation)
- Superordinate (low-energy house) specific (heat recovery)
References
Bowker, L & Pearson, J 2002, Working with Specialized Language: A practical guide to using corpora, Routledge, London/New York.
Dubuc, R 1997, Terminology: A Practical Approach, Montreal: Linguatech Quebec.
Pavel, S & Nolet, D 2001, Handbook of Terminology, Public Works and Government Services, Translation Bureau, Ottawa.
Picht, J & Draskau, H 1985, Terminology: an introduction, University of Surrey, Guildford.
Wright, SE & Budin, G 1997, Handbook of terminology management, Vol. 2,: John Benjamins Publishing Co., Amsterdam/Philadelphia.