THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LOGOPAEDIC TERMINOLOGY
Summary

   The successful development of a computerized system to assist logopaedic diagnostics and therapy cannot proceed without introducing some degree of order into the burgeoning logopaedic terminology. My own efforts in this field have led to the indexation and, to some extent, ordering of the basic vocabulary of the discipline in A Dictionary of Logopaedic Terminology.
   Since the publication of my dictionary five years ago the Polish logopaedic terminology has been the subject of a number of stimulating debates, some of which took place at the above-mentioned logopeadic conferences. The discussions spurred me to carry on my lexicographical labours; they bore fruit in the compilation and publication of the following books: A Desk Logopeadic Dictionary, A Dictionary of Key Words in Logopaedy, A Logopeadic Mini-Dictionary of Autistic Terminology and A Logopaedic Dictionary of Diagnostic Terminology (also on CD-ROM).
   Nowadays there are good prospects of integrating Polish and European logopaedy. Polish specialists have recently taken up regular contacts with the International Society of Logopaedists and Phoniatrists as well as with a number national logopaedic associations, e.g. the Union Professionnelle des Logopedes Francophones (UPLF), Vlaamse Vereniging voor Logopedisten (VVL), and Deutsche Beziehung Logopädischen (DBL). There has also been a perceptible increase in contacts with logopaedists from the neighbouring countries of Central and Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania, Belarus and Slovakia. One should expect that the trend towards European and global integration will bring about further internationalization of R&D terminology in all fields, including logopaedy.
   The application of the techniques of information science to various aspects of logopaedy as well as other developments which are discussed below have already resulted in a dramatic multiplication of logopaedic terminology. This makes the need to impose some order on the exuberant new growth even more urgent. My dictionaries, which were compiled in conformity with the 9th Revised International Classification of Diseases (ICD), represent a sustained effort to meet that need. Meanwhile, in 1995, the World Health Organization published ICD-10, an update of the 1992 international list of names of diseases (IND).
   Not only has the WHO been attempting to bring a degree of order into medical terminology. National organizations and international "terminological centres" all over the world have been active in harmonizing and internationalizing the available specialized terminology. To coordinate these activities, i.e. to help order and disseminate a unified terminology, the International Terminological Information Centre Infoterm was opened in Vienna in 1971. It is now in the process of making its work available through the TermNet.

Theoretical and methodological foundations of logopaedic terminology

Terms and terminology

   The word terminology can refer either to a collection of terms or (less often) to a body of knowledge about any set of terms. The first element of the compound is derived from the Latin word terminus, i.e. definite time, landmark, sign; the other element is the Greek logos, i.e. word (about something), science. The latter is used to form names of academic discipkines and specializations, e.g. philology, aphasiology, lexicology, etc., and as a consequence of its wide application is hardly unambiguous. Already the original double reference indicates that it is not exactly compatible with the principle of unquivocality, an elementary criterion of value of a scientific term.
   For this reason it is necessary to distinguish two senses of the word terminology as it is already the case in the distinction between historical knowledge and the academic discipline of historiography. We need to make a distinction between terminology as a descriptive term denoting a class of terms and terminology as a scientific discipline. The latter could be defined as the 'study of the creation, structure, and functioning of terminological systems within the framework of science and technology'. In a narrower, historical sense terminology refers to applied terminology in its various branches, e.g. normative (concerned with the ordering of existing vocabulary), terminographic (compilation of terminological lexicons), informatic, translatological, didactic, etc.
   In view of the fact that logopaedic terms form a component of both specialized scientific texts as well as the lexical resources of the language, the discipline of terminology belongs to the field of linguistics, or, more precisely, to applied linguistics.
   A list of major issues that arise in connection with the theory and practice of this discipline includes: a/ the definition of the term, b/ the status of the term as a lexical unit, c/ the semantic peculiarity of the term, d/ distinctive features of term grammar, e/ history of terminology, f/ functional and stylistic heterogeneity of terminology, g/ term identification in various kinds of texts, h/ conventionality and manipulability of terminology, i/ basic rules of terminological politics, j/ terminological practice and the terminological saturation of language.

A definition of terminology

   A broad definition of terminology can be found in dictionaries of literary terms. Terminology, we are told, is a set of terms used in a given scientific discipline or a branch of technology, in philosophy, law, etc., which includes both its theoretical concepts as well as its generally accepted vocabulary. Terminology is the core of any discipline and establishes within its discourse a high-precision zone: it covers all the definable meanings that are expressed in the language of that discipline and are understood in the same way by all its practitioners. The terminologies of individual disciplines are characterized by internal order; this is especially true of the theoretical terms, whose range and mutual relationships are usually delimited with great care. It is worth noting the way in which the lexicographical explanation stresses the role of terminology as a thematic distinctive feature of multifunctional scientific discourse. Traditionally, a term has been defined as a word or group of words with a conventional meaning which corresponds precisely to a concept. This definition sharpens the semantic borderlines and enhances the unequivocality of a term. According to E. Wüster, the pioneer of the theory of terminology, nothing is more importnat than the definition of the relationship between the concept and its corresponding term. He also insists on the primacy of concepts in the study of systems of terms.

Nomenclature and terminology

   In his discussion of the origins of the words term and definition W. Nowicki (1978) suggests the following solutions. A definition should be treated as a special case of a range of more general and less precise descriptions, which include for example some commentary, enumeration of less relevant features (from the point of view of the defined concept); the description refers to the name, while the definition to the term; we describe a name, but we define a term; a set of names adds up to a nomenclature, while a set of terms forms a terminology, or a terminological system of a given scientific discipline or branch of technology.

Empirical and theoretical terms

   Science reconstructs reality in two ways, from the empirical level up to theory or from theory down to empirical facts. Empirical, or elementary terms, which refer to objects of sensory experience are connected with the lowest, descriptive level of abstraction. Theirs is the language of experientially verifiable data, e.g. 'a child', or 'speech organs'. Higher levels of abstraction, which can sustain discourses of a hypothetic or metatheoretical character, are founded upon a more complex mode of thinking and require a different set of theory-oriented terms. The two types of levels are mutually dependent. The ratio of theory-bound and empirical terms varies in accordance with the development stage of a given discipline.
   It is generally assumed that abstraction is an inalienable attribute of scientific knowledge. This is so because scientific knowledge is perceived as a highly-ordered conceptual system, embracing scientific laws and theories. In ordinary communication information is conveyed by means of comprehensive ideas which refer to their objects in toto, whereas concepts, the vehicles of scientific communication, derive their effectiveness from the selective abstraction of only some aspects of their referents. The precision, which is an asset in science, may be cumbersome in everyday life. Nevertheless, contemporary everyday perception has assimilated quite a number of items from the professional vocabulary.

Professional terms

   Professional terms are usually defined as expressions or phrases that are used primarily by a professional or occupational group. These terms can be further divided into an 'official' vocabulary, used on public occasion and the words and phrases used informally, when members of the profession communicate with each other. Although the border between specialized, professional knowledge and popular knowlege is on the whole blurred, there is a strong case to argue a close connection between professional terms and the spoken, colloquial variety of language. It is in analyzing this relationship that terms like 'popular knowledge' and 'popular emotive evaluation' (with regard to values that are apprehended with the certainty that comes from practice) demonstrate their great usefulness.
   Apart from peculiar expressions and phrases, professional statements are larded with words which reflect on the one hand a more specialized understanding of a particular section of reality, on the other hand an emotional attitude towards things or situations that matter for the given profession, occupational group, or community. That is why professional vocabulary overlaps with official scientific terminology, as in the case of lexical items like word salat used by psychiatrists to derfer to a condition within the area of speech pathology. The metaphoric term is equivalent to incoherent speech production, schizophasia, jargonophasia, i.e. completely nonsensical utterances that lack logical connections between words and in which the word sequence seems to be ruled solely by sound similarity. Such utterances are characterized further by the frequent occurence of fancy formations (neologisms) and portmanteau words (contamination), which are usually produced spontaneously in the fast-flowing speech. This type of speech behaviour can be found in schizophrenia and states of extreme mental confusion, sometimes in an advanced obsessions, accoustic (cognitive) aphasia. It manifests itself in sudden 'slips' in thinking and speaking, lapses into uncontrollable associations, abrupt break-downs of continuity of thought, accumulation of muddled and irrelevant statements.
   Whereas terms and professionalisms are primary desigations of professional concepts, jargon is a collective term embracing all the purpose-made equivalents and expressive synonyms of official vocabulary items. Jargon does not form a system, it lacks generic and categorial terms, and its potential to produce extended nominal constructions is very limited. While it shuns anything like systematic description, jargon tends to pick up professional terms and align itself with the speech habits of artisans and the popular idiom at large. In any case it prefers expressions that are vivid, clearcut and functional. The two instances cited above, 'word salat' and 'slips', can be treated as transitional forms, not fully lexicalized, i.e. occupying a grey area between the professional colloquial and jargon (each of them combines a generic specificity with a striking expressiveness.

Specialized terms in specialized sublanguages

   Is there any justification for the use of terms like 'sublanguage', 'technolect' or 'register of logopaedic speech' with reference to functionally and stylistically varied oral or written expressions employed by logopaedists in their professional discourse? Any attempt at answering this question must be preceded by a closer examination of the meaning of those terms.
   A 'sublanguage' is a nottoodistinct variant of the natural language, distinguished on the basis of sociological parametres as well as a handful of formal features. Sublanguages fill the whole spectrum of speech behaviour, although any of the individual sublanguages is marked by few distinct grammatical and lexical characteristics. It usually owes its distinctness to a set of specialized terms, which represent the product of the endeavours of a discipline to impose unequivocal, systemic order on a section of extralinguistic reality. We are faced here with specialized sublanguages that can be regarded as class of utterances whose function it to identify and makes statements about things that are peculiar to a given discipline.
   The term 'subcode' as an element of the sociolinguistic situation refers primarily to the language used by the sender: by choosing a certain kind of specialized vocabulary he signalizes to what language community he actually belongs. The term 'sublanguage', with its strong sociological connotations, is a blurred-edged hybrid. Defined in this way, any sublanguage retains its autonomy as far as communication is concerned, i.e. it contains all the liguistic elements that are necessary for the construction of a given type of texts or utterances. It is also worth noting that this approach imposes no limit on the number of sublanguages that can be identified.

Register as a set of utterances

   'Register', a term often used in recent linguistic and stylistic research, is defined as a consistent variability of language conditioned by its use in a given social context, a professional or other field, or in discussions of a certain theme. The idea of a register as a characteristic configuration of functional choices on various levels of language is close to the concepts of sublanguage or genre, i.e. a class of utterances.

Logopaedic terms in the text of an utterance
Theme - rheme in the information process

   A student of terminology may find it interesting to compare text sequences which exhibit various types of detailed academic exposition. Let's examine two extracts, or conceptual text variants taken from opening paragraphs of two discussions of stuttering. W. Tłokiński (1986) writes "stuttering [theme] is one of the most complex and persistent speech defects [rheme]. It is characterized [an anaphoric linkup] by disturbed speech rhythm and impediment of expressive speech fluency and leads to a significant disruption of the communicative function of speech". According to A. Pruszewicz (1992), "stuttering [theme] is characterized by halted and interrupted speech; it refers to all kinds of impediments of speech fluency [rheme 1] conditioned by spasmodic action of the articulatory and respiratory muscles [rheme 2]". "Stuttering", he continues, "is characterized by a failure to coordinate the functioning of speech apparatus, i.e. the respiratory, articulatory, phonic, mimic, and gesticulatory functions."

Discourse and communication

   Like any other texts, professional academic texts may be analyzed with the help of discourse theory to establish their inner dynamics. This type of analysis focuses not on the abstract, static, formal language structure, but on the diverse expressions of that structure. They are examined from the point of view of conceptual thought processes and pragmatic factors that are paralinguistic. In other words, discourse theory is concerned first of all with text interpretation.

The text structure of lexicographic information headed 'stuttering': a case study

   We have compared a few lexicographic items which contain varying amount of information on stuttering. The item headed stuttering in Józef Surowaniec's A Dictionary of Logopaedic Terms is a summary which highlights the essential features of the term. Its word list functions as a minitext equivalent of a dictionary explication, e.g. stuttering, Lat. balbuties, battarismus; synonyms: battarism 'heavy stuttering', spluttering, socioaffective dysphasia, dysphemia, spastic syllabic dysarthria, stammering, laloneurosis, logoneurosis 'with neurotic background, cf. H. Fernau Horn (1969), M. Seeman (1974)', spasmophemia, traulism, lallation, halting speech.
   The word list is followed by the following explanations. "Stuttering is a speech disability manifested by [symptoms] distortions of the phonic language substance on the suprasegmental level; it is characterized by [characteristic features] disruption of the rhythm, pace, and the melodic component of speech as well as its fluency; failure to coordinate the respiratory, phonic, articulatory, mimic and gesticulatory movements; sometimes it is characterized by glottis contraction; repetition, displacement, or halting articulation of sounds; abrupt, involuntary pauses; occasionally it may take the form of a temporary spasmophemia, i.e. complete inability to speak..."
   From the terminological point of view we are interested in the ways of text condensation and transformation in the structure of the lexicographic item. Let's compare the previous example with the normative definition of stuttering in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10):
   F98.5 Stuttering, stammering: this condition is characterized by [symptoms] frequent repetition or prolongation of sounds, syllables and words, or frequent moments of hesitation or pauses, which disrupt the natural rhythm of speech [a normative directive]. It should be recognized as a disability only in so far as the level of its occurrence impairs significantly speech fluency. This does not include F95 (tics), nor F98.8 (cluttering speech) [the defined concept is brought into sharp relief by excluding other, similar concepts]. Cf. F98.6 Cluttering speech: "a condition in which fast speech is punctured by fluency breakdowns, but without repetition or hesitation; this occurs at a level which impairs speech understanding. The speech flow is uneven and disrythmic; abrupt sound emissions lead infrequently to faulty phrasing". This definition does not include F98.5 (stuttering), nor F95 (tics).

Thematic dominators of logopaedic utterances

   By applying terms like lattice and semilattice to the description of text structures it is possible to distinguish a class of text elements which shall be called dominant terms. They can be subdivided into thematic, modal, illocutionary, and praxeological (pragmatic) dominators. The category of dominators includes the socalled key words. Although it may belong to a several conceptual systems, the thematic text unit has a lot in common with the idea of key words.

Modalities of a professional utterance

   The corollary of a claim that an utterance has the status of a scientific statement is that that its signs are an objective representation of the referent. The object of such utterances is to cause or control action. They are by nature imperative; their mood is optative, i.e. they belong to the same category as requests, wishes, encouragements, orders, demands, etc. They instruct or spell out postulates, directives, or conditions of effective action.
   To illustrate this point let me quote from the methodological chapter of the handbook Logopaedy by I. Styczek. The section called "Methods of treating stuttering" appears as the last part of an exposition on the subject stuttering (balbuties):
1. Symptoms, 2. Causes of stuttering, 3. Logopaedic practice:
a/ in the case of children in preschool age, b/ in the case of school children (information for teachers), 4. Methods of treating stuttering. In the last section we are told that "prior to the breathing exercises and in the course of them the patient should try to relax all his muscles. He should also remember not to draw air too deeply. No special breathing exercises are recommended for children age seven or eight; their breath control is best improved while playing and singing".

Text connectors

   Connectors not only determine the text structure, they may also indicate the type of sentences that occur in the text. They mark for example the logically significant elements like theses, premisses, definitions, etc.
   The concept of stuttering is of limited use in logopaedic practice [thesis, premiss]. It is so because of a number of various definitions of stuttering that have been suggested, differences in the range of the concept, the aetiology of stuttering, and even the ranking of its distinctive features [justification, the conjunction 'because of']. It is generally known [connector of obvious judgment] that disturbed speech fluency is one of the basic symptoms of stuttering [thesis, key words like 'speech fluency', 'disturbed', the idea of aetiology], though we also know that fluency can be impaired as a result of other factors [complication, a problem to solve, the connector 'though']. That is why we have to solve the problem of a practical definition of stuttering to distinguish it from other conditions with similar (as seen from the same, i.e. practical, perspective) symptoms [a research postulate, connection forged by means of the conjuction 'that is why']. It should be done in order to find the best forms of therapy [justification, indication of purpose, anaphoric connector 'it']. It requires a clear identification of the constitutive features that characterize stuttering [conclusion, anaphoric connector 'it'] even at the cost of ignoring some of the less manifest elements [concession, modal connector 'even'].

The complexity of verbal conceptualizations

   Let us now re-examine those speech elements that get disrupted by stuttering and try to define our basic concepts [a postulate to make a definition, a motivational factor issuing in action 'try to define', the inclusive 'us' which makes the reader share in the author's reflection]. We shall begin our analysis by focusing on the primary object of disruption, that is speech fluency [reminding the reader of the defined object and the definiens, transition coherence marker (connector) 'we shall begin our analysis'].
   SPEECH FLUENCY - easy and confident construction of a phonic stream which is understandable to the receiver [global definition, gist]. By SPEECH FLUENCY DISORDER I shall call all those things which sigificantly impair the construction of the phonic stream and which make understanding by the receiver difficult [a partial definition, illocutionary connector in the form of a metalingual commentary 'I shall call']. Speech fluency disorder, so defined, is an inherent quality of stuttering [introduction of sharp conceptual contrast within the bounds of a given discipline, logopaedy].

Text unit theme

   Text unit theme is an expression which unquivocally states the given unit is about; it is therefore a dominator which is uniquely attributed to only one unit of the text.
   Theme is one of the fundamental notions that are still in need of an adequate logical theory (as distinct from stylistic, communicative-grammar, theory-of-literature, psychological approaches). The term 'key word', which is of special interest to us, comes from a different set of concepts, namely the theory of information languages, a subdivision of the information systems theory, which in turn is a vital part of information science.

Cognitive perspective in terminological studies
Professionalisms and the interpretation of specialist contents

   It is not sufficient to describe terminology as a "set of terms" or "the science of terminology". Terms are, after all, both products and basic tools of sustained mental processing and modifying data. That work is predominantly cognitive, although it is also to some extent practical. In addition, we have to take into account that no individual set nor any system of terms exists in isolation; each of them is a vital component part in one or more specialist, professional languages, often called technolects. Technolects play an increasing role in the modern world. Their function, though, is not only communicative but in a large measure cognitive. Technolects, together with the terms they give rise to, are both products and cognitive tools of identifiable smaller or larger groups of specialists.

Cognitive structure as a foundation of terminological studies

   In his cognitive grammar model R.S. Jackendorff (1983) suggests that the elusive external world is reduced to order at the cognitive structure level where metalingual information and language are made to match one another by means of a finite set of conceptual well-formedness rules. In effect we get a handy language model of reality, where ideally each concept matches a corresponding lexem (name, term). In practice, cognitive blind spots occur in those places where no appropriate lexem or its textual equivalent can be found; in those cases we need to resort to cognitive macro-units to provide us with semantic representations of the odd utterance.
   Students of terminology are especially interested in the problem of manipulating the contrastive meaning of a given word to such an extent that it can be made to convey the old term in a new conceptual form. In discussing this point I have drawn on the premisses of Ronald Langacker's cognitive grammar (1995) and the onomasiological theory of Kurt Baldinger (1984). More interesting ideas can be found in studies dealing with text linguistics (T. van Dijk, I. Melchuk, and A. Zholkovski).

Models of logical and natural categorization

   Categorization is based on comparing and generalizing. On the grounds of category creation criteria, internal ordering of categories and divisions between categories we may distinguish two models of categorization, the logical and the natural.
   For the logopaedist an exemplary case of speech disorder known as mutism has a clear set of features such as persistent silence as a result of a psychological shock, absence of speech, lack of stimulation to speak (while the understanding of speech remains unimpaired), break-up of communication with the environment. There are however untypical accompanying symptoms which remind one of mutism - hysterical aphonia, inhibitive stuttering, psychogenic aphonia, speech neurosis (logoneurosis), logophobia, articulative apraxia. In our interpretation we refer them to the exemplary case in so far as they display sufficient kinship with it.

Cognitive acts in individual categorization system

   Rather than revealing to us the nature of things under consideration our cognitive acts constitute an open-ended process of interpretation. The individual cognitive system is a secondary effect of human action; reflection usually sets in only when the language user is confronted with problems in his terminological (norm-building) project.

Scientific categorization and common knowledge

   Terminologists are interested primarily in the mechanisms of categorization. Nevertheless even norm construction depends on commonsense knowledge and the popular world view embodied in language.

Cognitive definition in a set of terminological assertions

   A cognitive definition, appropriately modified with regard to texts which represent science, general knowledge, specialist knowledge, etc., should contain the following elements (as listed by R. Langacker), a/ indication of the scale and range of the semantic structure, and b/ relative foregrounding of semantic structures and the specific cognitive perspective in the language of science. The latter should take account of the overall research orientation as well as the approach and diverse points of view, in our field for example the divergent positions of individual speech defect specialists. To illustrate this point let me quote from a handbook of clinic phoniatry: "There are many (over thirty) theories that seek to explain the causes of stuttering, yet none of them gives a comprehensive account of its origin. Latest research points out that stuttering is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon as far as its clinical picture and aetiology is concerned. Quite a number of causes and reasons can be made responsible for stuttering; so e.g. Keitel (1977) suggested that it may be caused by malfunction of the brain cells that control the temporal speech factor (Zeitgeber-zellen)... According to Seeman stuttering is an effect of changes in the functions and parameters of processes taking place in the subcortex, especially in the corpus striatum and globus pallidum, which are linked with hypertonia and hyperkinesis of respiratory, phonic and articulatory muscles.

Professional instruction: the narrative perspective

   It is not uncommon to find within a single paragraph or expository sequence of a professional handbook two apparently contradictory tendencies. They can be identified and named with the help of the 'scalar' explanation used in cognitive linguistics. On the one hand the text uses ambiguous formulations, vague and context-bound on popular knowledge; on the other hand the reader is confronted with a number of unequivocal terms from the specialist, scientific register. Cf. the following example from the handbook of clinical phoniatry: "... speech aphonia and articulative apraxia result from the loss of "go ahead" commands, i.e. the failure of activating stimuli from the cortex and subcortex to arrive and spark off speech activity". Moreover, the text does not separate clearly enough statements of fact from normative declarations or statements based on intuition. Cf. the following recommendations and practical advice from a logopaedic handbook: "In the case of disglossic patients the specialist's intervention will aim at correcting the position of the speech apparatus. Exercises to stimulate phonematic hearing or kinesthesia are unnecessary, while it is very important to put the patients on an aural selfcontrol course. That kind of selfmonitoring is slow to develop, but systematic exercises reinforce the newly acquired articulation patterns. It is certainly worthwhile to begin work on sound correction with an explanation of the articulation of that sound." The author of the handbook assumes the narrative perspective of professional instruction; that he writes for the prospective reader of professional literature is indicated by a number of functional markers, e.g. the normative phrase 'it is certainly worthwhile', etc.

Categorial and subcategorial ordering of defining sentences

   In traditional terminological studies the concept means more or less a generalized idea of a certain class of objects, which embraces their common and specific features. It is generally accepted that the matrix concept (a set of finite number of features which are attributed in the same measure to all referents of that concept and to no other referent) is a typical and natural tool of man's cognitive representation of reality; the criterion of its existence is to be found in its definition. Cognitive psychology, on the other hand, prefers a different understanding of 'concept': it tends to see it as systematized knowledge about an object which can be subsumed by no definition. There exists a hypothesis about the structure and functionning of man's universal and natural concepts. Natural concepts, as they are called, consist of a flexible but relatively stable conceptual kernel (type, prototype), i.e. a mental representation of the ideal referent, which includes all its exemplary features and the features that shadow them (together they form the conceptual field).
   The technique of definition proposed here depends on two elements. One is the concept of the typical object and the exemplary (prototype) situation, the other is the category of kinship similarity which enables one to gather the logopaedic dictionary data according to their closeness to the prototype kernel.
   In our field the task in hand is to identify sets of detailed configurations that would fit the requirements of the scientific and the professional terminology respectively.

Basic cognitive operations in term generation

   The task of introducing order into specialist terminology involves a number of basic cognitive operations such as categorization, classification, semantization, structuration, topicalization, prediction, transformation, comparison, correction, transfer.
   It seems that the cognitive approach allows us to operationalize the processes of terminological normalization, compilation of specialized dictionaries, definition and tesaurization of specialist terminology.

The theory of cognitive dissonance

   The theory of cognitive dissonance is founded upon the following theses: a/ cognitive dissonance acts like punishment, b/ persons that are painfully aware of the dissonance try to eliminate or diminish it; they also try to avoid situations which produce or increase the dissonance; c/ the dissonance can be diminished or removed by changing one's beliefs or adopting new beliefs, e.g. a belief that makes light of the beliefs that have led to the cognitive dissonance in the first place, or a belief that appears to demonstrate that the dissonance was merely an illusion; d/ individual beliefs which give rise to the cognitive dissonance may prove resistant to change.

Definition-making in logopaedic dictionaries
Problems of definition-making from the cognitive perspective

   It is interesting to examine the problems involved in definition construction from the cognitive perspective. Any construction activity is accompanied and guided by the awareness of the desired goal, i.e. the idea of a complex whole (a structure) which is the endresult, the awareness of the means that can be chosen in order to reach that end (the tools) as well as the awareness of the qualities of the medium, or the object of our activities (in this case it is the medium of language, which is the object of the terminological endeavour).
   Every construction process consists in joining discrete elements into wholes; this is often preceded by some adjustment of those elements to ensure that they fit the appropriate place and function in the whole. This general rule applies as well to conceptual constructions which support the creation of a dictionary item. To understand a concept means to know the elements of its contents in their mutual relationships and to be aware of its place in a structure of higher rank (in our case it is the terminological system of the logopaedy). It may also be said, in keeping with the 'engineering' manner of the discussion, that the construction of a concept involves putting together some elements and fitting them into a larger whole. This formula covers both creative construction as well as non-creative procedures like all kinds of analyses.

Characteristic features of the classic definition

   A real definition of an object - it may be an individual thing, or a whole genus (set of individual things), or a relation between individual things - is a sentence which attributes to it an unequivocal description, i.e. makes a statement which can be truly attributed to one object only (a real definition with the features of a classic definition).
   A definition in which the definiendum consists of no more than one word is a clear definition. When the definiendum is a compound which includes other words than the key one, it is called a contexual definition. In the most common form of definition the defined word or phrase is linked with the defining segment (definiens) by the word 'is'.
   If the range of the definiens, i.e. the explanatory phrase, extends further than that of the definiendum, the definition is too broad. If, however, the range of the definiens is subordinate to that of the definiendum, the definition is too narrow.

Inductive definitions

   The inductive definition consists of two elements, the initial condition and the inductive condition. The former states which objects certainly belong to a given set; the latter states what what relation a new object must have to the objects that already belong to the set in order to be included in it as well.

A definition as a description of meaning

   Definitions that focus on the common characteristic feature of their situational use are divided into analytical and synthetic (projective) definitions depending on whether it is intended to explain the meaning of a term already in use or to fix the meaning of a term that is put into circulation respectively.
   Because of their composition normal definitions are divided into clear and unclear (contextual). The definiens in a clear definition contains nothing but the term to be explained, while in the contextual definition the defined term appears together with its typical variables. The latter definition is resorted to in the case of incomplete, or dependent expressions, i.e. words and phrases that derive their meaning not from discrete referents but from the role they play in the context.
   Definition by abstraction is used to identify a common property in objects that are in a way identical, e.g. disorders, disfunctions, abberations in various speech impediments.
   After considering definition by abstraction, which is in fact a variant of the contextual definition, we may pass on to a clear definition of a term in hand, if we use the word "property", "characteristic feature", etc.
   In accordance with the equal relation rule a given set can be divided into classes of abstraction, so for example in the set called impediments the classes of abstraction are represented by speech, voice, hearing, reading, counting impediments, etc. Cf. the terminological compound 'impeded speech rhythm' appears in the description of bradylalia and tachylalia. Impeded speech rhythm leads in turn to impeded speech fluency, speech rhythm, speech melody and intonation.

Nominal definitions: contents and range

   Let's note the way article F98.4 Movement stereotypes makes use of analogies: "spontaneous, repetitive, useless and often rhythmical movements; swinging body movements, nodding and turning the head, curling hairs, compulsive mannerisms like snapping fingers or clapping; autodestructive actions may occur as well, such as banging the head against hard objects, slapping one's face, pressing fingers into the eyes, biting hands [nails?], lips or other parts of the body. All stereotype movements usually accompany some form of mental retardation.
   In lexicography one may put side by side two or more series of dictionary explanations, each based on a different verbal or textual conceptualization. They may be evaluated on the grounds of their comprehensive information value; likewise the appropriate modifications in the explanatory format can be subject to a similar assessment. Cf. the following dictionary explanation
- specyficzne zaburzenia ortograficzne, Eng. specific spelling disorder, specific difficulties accompanying the process of acquiring correct spelling habits; with the normative international definition of Specific spelling disorder (F81.1),
- specific, significant inhibition of spelling competence (while tests show no corresponding reading disorder) which is not explained by low mental age, poor sight, or inadequate teaching history. The handicap affects both scanning and spelling skills.
- specific retardation of spelling competence (without corresponding reading disorder); it does not include agraphia (cf. R48.8), or spelling difficulties connected with reading disorders (cf. F81.0) or resulting from poor teaching.

Synthetic and analytical nominal definitions

   A nominal definition is called synthetic (projective) if it is backed by a terminological convention. Nominal definitions that do not have this backing are called analytical (descriptive). The latter can be offered only for those words that have acquired - in the language in which the definition is formulated - a meaning justified by usage and not dependent on any convention. An analytical definition is harder to make when the meaning of defined word cannot be pinned down with the required precision in the language in which the the definition is formulated; consequently, the outcome is too general or too imprecise and fixes satifactorily neither the scope nor the meaning of the defined term.

Definitions in metalinguistic and objective stylization

   If a definition refers to an expression, which implies that the definiens is linguistic and the explanation is put in another language, it is said to possess a metalingual stylization. If a definition appears to refer to an object outside language, it is has an objective stylization. Very often the two types of stylization intertwine in dictionary explanations.
   The inductive definition consists of two elements, the initial condition and the inductive condition. The former states which objects certainly belong to a given set; the latter states what what relation a new object must have to the objects that already belong to the set in order to be included in it as well.

Ostensive and reductive definitions

   Ostensive definitions are rather peculiar. Due to the presence of a nonverbal component, the 'pointing gesture', as well as the metalingual objects (refrents of the defined term), the ostensive definition does not occur in texts that are subject to logical analysis. It is however present in analyses which deal with verbal expressions of empirical theories. In those theories the distinction between theoretical and empirical concepts is taken for granted.
   Theoretical and professional terms that make use of popular metaphors should be provided with reductive definitions that would bind them to specific empirical terms. In the absence of definitions ensuring the empirical base those terms, for all their theoretical strength, may appear weak.

Partial and real definitions

   In the partial definition the distinction between the definiendum and the definiens is maintained. The partial definition is formulated in objective language - not in metalanguage - in the form of a conditional which introduces a new predicate into the given language. Because it is a conditional and not an equation, the expression contains only some validity criteria of the newlyintroduced term, e.g. the conditioning of the range of knowledge about a given disorder. The criterion may be the sufficient condition only, or the necessary condition only, or just some of the necessary conditions and some of the sufficient conditions. The necessary condition is usually formulated in such a way that one spells out the condition sufficient for the negation of the given term. Consequently the partially defined term is always blurred. In a terminological dictionary the names of such 'fuzzy' concepts usually appear with the comment 'modalization on account of uncertainty of judgement', e.g.
   Asperger's Syndrome (F84.5) - a disorder with an uncertain nosological status, characterized by disturbed social interactions as in autism and by a limited, stereotype repertoire of interests and activities. It differs from autism chiefly by lack of general retardation of speech development and cognitive functions. This disorder is often accompanied by conspicuous clumsiness and a tendency for the symptoms to continue until adolescence and adulthood.
   Real definitions which meet that requirement present a comprehensive synthesis of all that is known in a given discipline about the defined object. Cf. a medical term like the following.
   Rett's Syndrome (F84.2). So far observed exclusively in girls. After normal early development, there sets in a partial or complete loss of speech, motor skills, manual ability and a slowing down of cranium development. The first symptoms of the disorder occur between the seventh and the twenty fourth month. They are recession of purposeful hand movements, steroetype hand washing and hyperventilation. Social development and playing skills are impaired, whereas social interests are not affected. Body ataxia and apraxia often followed by choreatic movements appears in the fourth year. The consequence is almost always considerable degree of mental handicap.
   Precision requirements are similar to those of the normative definition. Precise demarkation is often introduced by the functor "It does not include".
   Speech Understanding Disorder (F80.2). In this cluster of disabilities speech understanding skill falls below the average level for the child's mental age; in almost all the cases it is paralleled by disturbed speech expression. Disturbances in the production of sound-words [verbal signals] are frequent. [It occurs in ...]. [Hyponyms:] Congenital disorders of accoustic perception, developmental disphasia or aphasia (receptive type), Wernicki's aphasia. This syndrome does not include acquired aphasia with epilepsy (Landau-Kleffner's syndrome, F80.3), autism (F84.1), disphasia or aphasia: (R47.1), expressive type (F80.1), selective mutism (F94.0), speech development retardation caused by deafness (H90-H91), mental handicap (F70-F79).
   The first part of the dictionary explanation can be treated as an implication: If 1/ speech understanding skill falls below the average level, 2/ it is paralleled by disturbed speech expression, 3/ disturbances in the production of sound-words are frequent - then ... it is the disorder identified in the lexico-graphic terminological cluster titled Speech Understanding Disorder.

The reductive definition in defining ready-to-use terms

   If a partial definition is used to define theoretical terms by means of elementary or empirical terms, we get a reductive definition; the adjective 'reductive' indicates the nature of the transition from theoretical to empirical concepts. Cf. a handbook example:
   Conductive hearing loss: 1/ cochlear reserve min. 15 dB; 2/ osteoconductivity level within the normal auditory range, 3/ the speech audiometry threshold level corresponds to the decrease in tonal audiometry, 4/ very good speech understanding, at high-level volumes reaching 100%, 5/ hearing loss does not exceed 70 dB.

Operational definition: definition by means of the relevant operations

   An operational definition is a reductive definition of a theoretical concept which lists the operations necessary to form that concept. The expressions employed to describe the operations are empirical terms and it is in that capacity that they are used to define the theoretical term. The truth value of the sentence is defined by the description of the verification procedure, etc.
   The concept of the operational definition can be extended to other definitions in which instead of monitoring the operations performed by the observer are described. Cf. the following term explanation in audiology:
   Perceptive hearing loss: 1/ lack of cochlear reserve, air and bone curve at c. 10 dB, 2/ worse speech audiometry threshold levels, volume increase results in poorer understanding (the curve rollover effect), 3/ hearing loss across the volume range, no limit, 4/ often lack of tolerance to loud noises, flatted dynamic sound curve in hearing, narrow gap between hearing threshold and discomfort threshold.

Descriptions of terminological concepts

   In terminology each concept is defined by its description. The description includes the already known features (properties) of the concept, such as signs, concepts, names, symbols, etc.
   Concept descriptions can be divided into two categories: descriptions of content (the definition proper) and descriptions of range or scope.
The definition is also called an explanation of the concept. A definition constitues the concept by means of stating its characteristic features within a single system of concepts.
   A concept definition (demarkation) is a description which enumerates those features of its content that refer to more than a single system of concepts.
   A range description is a concept description by means of enumerating its subordinate concepts which remian at the same level of abstraction; if objects assigned to particular concepts are enumerated, a class is formed.

Links between subjects and terms in logopaedic terminology
Principles and methods of the conceptual term theory

   An important part of that field of knowledge is Wüster's term theory. Here are some of Eugen Wüster's outstanding contributions: 1/ a description of the relations between the object, the concept, the sign of the concept, and the lingustic sign, 2/ a definition of the manifold relations between concepts, which makes them absolutely unequivocal and ready for computer processing (in contrast to semantic structures), 3/ a definition of intraconceptual links, 4/ an explanation of the difference between conceptual and thematic classification, 5/ suggestions how to solve the problem an international terminological code, 6/ laying out the foundation of a general theory of terminological rules and the development of terminology.
   By comparing the concepts of any discipline - in our case logopaedy - we cannot fail to notice that they are interrelated. The relations that are determined by similaries in their content are called logical relations, or relations of abstraction. Thay are to be distinguished from ontological relations which refer to relations between objects that express interconceptual links indirectly. Apart from logical relations there are also thematic relations which play a major role in documentation and information. Theme means here any subject referred to in a given document. Themes are also represented by concepts. Thematic relations enable us to order themes which are connected by conceptual links that are looser than logical relations (the latter makes it possible to arrange concepts into well-ordered systems). 'Interconceptual' logical relations are content relations that justify systems of concepts. Thematic relations are occurrence relations that lead to thematic systems.
   Here is the subject of a documentary item from a dictionary of logopaedic terms, formulated in the terminology of information-and-search languages and systems, and presented in the form of a terminological cluster, i.e. a generic aggregate together with a series of equivalents in foreign languages:
   Z-052 zaburzenie mowy; Eng. allophasia, speech disturbance, dislogia, lalopathy, speech defect, speech disorder, disphasia; Fr. allolalie, troubles de la parole, troubles du langage; Ger. Sprachstörungen; Rus. Synonyms: speech defects, speech deficit, speech aberration, speech pathology, disturbed verbal communication, disturbed language communication, distorted speech.
   In the terminology of information-and-search languages and systems we shall be looking for the subject of the document, i.e. its theme (idea or problem) which is a representation of a portion of external reality. In scientific information the theme is sometimes identified with the main theme of the document, i.e. the most important theme, which was the primary cause of the emergence of the document. In volumes containing contributions by diverse authors there are other subjects of the same rank as the main subject, and accordingly the same balance of themes. Moreover, there are secondary subjects, whose role is to help introduce the reader into the main subject, and accesory subjects, which merely offer a more detailed presentation of the main subject. The latter usually make use of the explanations of a specialist dictionary, e.g. [item: speech disorder], disorder in speech production (speaking) and understanding, i.e. disturbances in the process of verbal communication [a periphrastic definition]; the disturbances are caused by disfunction of the speech apparatus [cause, aetiology]; they affect the whole of the patient's speech or only parts of it (content, verbal form, phonic expression) [specification, range]; three types of verbal communication disorders are matched by three types of speech disorders characterized by distortions of the substance, form and content of the language [information about the criteria of division, in metalinguistic stylization]; in general terms exogenous (caused by external factors, environmental) and endogenous (caused by internal factors) [metaterminological stylization].

Ontological relations between objects

   There are all sorts of ontological relations between objects, e.g. 1/ range relations (spacial contingency) 2/ sequential relations (temporal contingency), 3/ relations of the type material - product (metonymy), 4/ cause - effect relations.
   Only constant mereological relations can be employed for the construction of paradigmatics of information-and-search languages; while they form the paradigmatic relations, inconstant mereological relations form merely associative relations.
   Associative relations exist between expressions with similar content or between exprressions that occur often in the same context. These relations do not have to be symmetrical or transitive; in natural languages they are secondary since they most often reflect relations that exist bewteen elements in the real world.

Ontological systems as classes of objects

   An ontological system can be described as a typology of objects, a conceptual system as a typology of concepts and a thematic system as a typology of themes. Certainly the most important ontological systems are the range systems, presented in the form of schemes or diagrams exhibiting the range of things. Specialist typologies are based on conceptual or range systems. Cf. Table 1. Aetiological typology of speech disorders in metally handicapped children.

Mental representation of the features of objects and occurencies

   The concept, which is the mental equivalent of a name, has been put in the centre of our terminological discussion. It is one of the fundamental elements in the process of thought as well as the tool of mental reflection and comprehensive grasp of the distinct features of objects and occurrencies. No terminological activity can start without a description of concepts. That is why it is impossible to establish the sign of a concept without a description of the concept.

Classification of features in raditional logic and in terminology

   In terminological interpretation features are the smallest elements of a concept; a concept is composed of one or more features. Features are ascribed to the properties of objects; they are employed to describe, and in particular to define or discriminate between concepts of the same rank (specifically restrictive features) and to arrange concepts in conceptual systems. The structure of a conceptual system depends on the type of features that has been selected, i.e. a particular group of features (primary concepts). What features are in a given case essential for the construction of a required set, depends on the discipline.
   Sometimes two or more features of concept are so closely connected that either in conjunction with other features can produce equivalent concepts. Such conditionally identified features are called equivalent, cf. synonyms of Brock's motor aphasia, cortical motor aphasia, kinetic aphasia, motor speech apraxia.

Relations of logopaedic concepts

   A look at logopaedic concepts leads to the conclusion that they too are bound by a network of relationships. Logical relations (interconceptual) are relations of content which function as justification of a conceptual system. This category includes relations of primacy, subordination, equivalence, crisscross, diagonal ascent (going into greater detail) and diagonal descent (generalization from two concepts). There is usually an overlap between two concepts brought together for comparison, even if the overlapping part is very small indeed. If one concept has exactly the same features as another one plus one feature to spare, the former is then subordinate, while the other is primary. So for example 'aphasia' is a primary concept with regard to 'transcortical aphasia', whereas 'peripheral disarthria' is subordinate to 'disarthria'.
   In the field of terminology we are often faced with the fact of concepts partly overlapping. That is a challenge to tidy up the terminology and arrange the relevant concepts into a system.

Types of conceptual links

   There are three types of conceptual links: 1/ determination, restriction, narrowing down of the range of a concept as a result of boosting its content; amplification of detail, narrowing down the range of the general name by adding another general name, cf. the following generic catalogue of lisps: interdental, addental, lateral, stridoral, labial, guttural, nasal; 2/ conjunction of concepts (content integration), compound sentences with two or more main clauses connected with the co-ordinate conjunction 'and', valid if 'and only if' each of the clauses is valid; logical product, e.g. visual-verbal-motor aphasia according to J. Konarski's typology, motor ands sensory transcortical aphasia (following K. Goldstein's typology); 3/ disjunction of concepts (range integration), the relation of disjunction or opposition expressed by means of words or sentences that are mutually exclusive and connected with the conjunction 'or', analogy in the choice of synonyms of the basic term.

Conceptual classification in logopaedic literature

   Conceptual systems can be presented in a number of ways; at any rate it is advisable to go for the version that is most appropriate for the task in hand. The structure of a conceptual system depends on the criterion of division (choice of the type of feature), that is features with one degree of abstraction should be assigned to one group. Cf. this example: disorders of the disglossal type can be divided into various categories, depending on the criterion of division, e.g. 1/ damage to the speech organs results in the following types of disglossia: labial, dental, mandibular, gnathic, lingual, palatal, guttural, nasal; 2/ disglossia may be due to neuromuscular causes or may result from mechanical failure or damage; 3/ it may be a result of an incapacitating illness - inflammation, complication from diseases, injury, etc.; 4/ disglossia may affect the pronunciation of a sound or group of sounds and be named accordingly.
   It can happen that the same discipline can be served on equal terms by two or more conceptual systems.
The logopaedic classification of speech disorders is concerned with the question what needs to be done to improve and make more reliable the processes of communication. It tries to work out appropriate logopaedic procedures as well as an overall logopaedic strategy.
   Internationally, it is of paramount importance for concepts to have the same content. Unless this is ensured, communication between members of various language communities and different professions will be very difficult or even impossible. The task of standardization requires systematic work in the field of terminology, in particular the thesaurization of conceptual systems and drawing up of normative guidelines. In charting conceptual systems terminologists should pay as much attention as possible to existing typologies, classifications and documentary thesauruses.

Synonyms in Polish logopaedic terminology
Synonyms in the language

   A synonym is a surrogate word whose meaning is equal or nearly equal to the original word and consequently can replace the latter in some contexts. Full synomyms, i.e. words that can act as replacements in all contexts, are few; most of them are foreign loan words that function side by side a native word, e.g. Pol. reranie = rotacyzm (from Lat.). There are, however, lots of partial synonyms, e.g. words that are close in meaning, cognates, words that refer to the same thing but display varying degrees of emotion or carry other connotations. Here is a series of synonyms attached to Pol. 'belkot': babble / blabbering / anarthria / total dislalia / multiple dislalia / disarthria / idioglossia / idiolalia / jabbering / stammering / inchoate speech / slurred speech / defective speech / incoherent speech / echolalia / echophasia / echophrasia / echology / nasality / open nasality / nasal resonance / rhinism / rhinophonia / rhinolalia / open rhinolalia / nasalization / oral stereotypy / verbigeration / cataphasia / cataphrasia / repetitive speech / logorhea / speech torrent / garrulity / polyphrasia / voice disorder / disphonia / phonasthenia / mutation-induced voice distortion / rhinophonia / stridor / speech defect / speech aberrations / speech pathology / disturbances in verbal communication / distorted speech.
   Although synonyms are treated as if they were equivalent words, or doublets, in fact there is no pair of words or phrases that have identical meaning.

A general division of synonyms

   Synonyms can be divided roughly into the following categories. Ideographic synonyms differ conceptually, while stylistic synonyms differ from one another because of their stylistic colouring. Apart from these, there are systemic and textual synonyms.
Synonymy may extend to stylistic structures, e.g. inhibited speech development / inhibition of speech development, hearing loss / otitis / deafness.
   Affixes with idententic meaning represent synonymic morphological forms, e.g. the affixes a/ hyper-, hyperphrasia / hyper-logia, hyperkinesis / hyperkinesia; b/ hypo-, hypokinesis / hypokinesia, hypoxia / hypoxemia, hyporhinophonia / hyporhinolalia, c/ dis-, disphasia / disphemia, disgraphy / disorthography, diskinesia, d/ a-, aphasia /aphemia, akinesis / akinesia.
   Lexical synonymy can be illustrated by the following examples, stuttering / stammering, garrulity / talkativeness / logorrhoea.
   Stylistic synonyms - which may carry distinct emotive overtones as well some differences in meaning - can be divided roughly into the following groups: chronological, stylistic, emotive, territorial, socially marked. In a pair of chronological synonyms one is obsolete or out of date while the other is its modern or currently used equivalent, e.g. aphemia / aphasia, deafness / hearing loss. Stylistic synonyms are common in literary or formal styles, e.g. patient / person / child, a dislalic patient / a case of dislalia. Emotive synonyms are emotionally charged, e.g. stutterer / stammerer. Territorial synonyms can be paired so that one item is the standard word while the other is the local (or dialect) form. Socially marked synonyms are colloquiallisms, jargon or non-standard expressions, e.g. burr, roll (for uvular rhotacism).
   Heterogeneous synonmys are words of similar meaning that have different roots, e.g. jabbering / dislalia.
   Cognate synonyms are word of similar meaning who have common roots, e.g. aphasia / disphasia, aphemia / aphemnesthesia, agraphia / logographia / graphesthenia.
   Semantic synonyms are words of similar meaning have the same referent, but view it from different perspectives, carry different nuances of meaning, etc., e.g. tic speech / explosive speech / staccato speech.

Synonymy in non-terminological lexis

   Logic and cognitive psychology employs matrix, or natural, concepts. In their early phase, when they form loosely structured aggregates of cognitive representations, these concepts are referred to as conceptual complexes.

Terminological synonymy

   The functions of terminological synonymy are analogical to the functions of general logic, e.g. focusing, emphasizing gradation, etc., which leads to doubling, antonymy and hyperonimy.
   Synonimization in the case of terminological synonyms refers to various kinds of nominalization in which equivalents become words with similar meaning (there are no perfect synonyms, as we have already noted). We may distinguish two types of terminological synonimy. Equivalent synonymy operates in those cases when the replacement expresses the same concept or is almost on target ('blurred focus'), whereas quasisynonymy refers to those cases in which the equivalence is only partial owing to the dependence of the substitute terms on different systems of thought, theories, schools, and the manner of their practical implementation.

Distinct characteristics of terminological synonymy

   In comparison with its non-terminological counterpart, terminologocal synonymy has some characteristics of its own. Terminological synonyms consist of more or less chains of synonyms which are made up of single words or phrases (terminological compounds), e.g. alexia / visual aphasia / word blidness / speech blindness / visual and spacial disorder affecting reading and writing.
   Within one terminological system (metadialect) we can distinguish coordinate terms, primary terms, subordinate terms, and terms that are merely associated with the head term.

Synonym types in logopaedic terminology

   In logopaedic terminology there are synonyms to refer to the same concepts in neighbouring fields, e.g. rhinolalia / rhinism / rhinophonia (in phoniatry), nasal pronunciation / nasalization / twanging sound (linguistics, psychology, colloquial speech).

Thematic relationships in a logopaedic dictionary
Themes in the subject index

   Themes in documentation and scientific information - the 'objects' of thought which the documents deal with - are brought together in the subject index.
   The subject index is a list of themes that are mentioned in a book. By theme we understand the names of referents that express the concepts in the index material, e.g. names of an individual object, an abstract concept (idea), problem, discipline, occurrence, proces, person, geographical item, institution, anonymous work, historical event.
   Key words, or a set of highly significant expressions for a given content, is called subject index, and the procedure of staking out the content by means of key words is called indexation.

Table of content and subject index

   The table of content and the subject index consist of names, of which some may be terms. Names that are selected for an index must not be long.
   The difference between the table of content and index lies in the manner of structuring of the registered information sequences. The table of content reflects to some extent the structure of the text, while the subject index is subject to no such requirement.
   The table of content enables one to search through the material: its headlines that list the themes or problems use names or questions. 'Theme' means in this context a concept or assertion referring to the subject of the text.

Theme as object and theme as class

   In the framework of information-and-search systems we are specially interested in the concepts of theme as object and theme as class. The former is a representation of the things the document is about. They can be names of real or ideal things, their parts and properties, names of occurrencies, actions, states, etc. We are interested in the most popular themes to be found in sets of search features of documents and expressed in the language of subject index items.
   Themes as classes are representations of all or most of the things of the discipline the document refers to, e.g. names of academic disciplines, cultural life, practical activities, etc. They are used as a rule in those cases when the thing referred to has no fixed name, or the scope of the discipline is disputed, or when the document refers not to one object, but to a whole class of them.

Multidimensional classifications

   Object-oriented thematic classification records the themes of a document and not the manner of their presentation. Multi-dimentional classifications have a greater semantic capacity. They take at least two cuts through the semantic field, according to different principles of division. So for example in Ranganathan's two-point classification the field is surveyed twice: first, according to the generally accepted principles of the division of knowledge, and for the second time in line with the themes featured in the documents, arranged into five basic categories (the individual, matter, energy, space, time). These branch out further into subcategories (aspects, facets, points of view, subfacets, etc.

Content and rank relations (merology)

   Content and rank relations, or theme and rank relations, is the name given to hierarchical relations that do not concern range. Like conceptual systems, thematic systems also contain concepts, but they refer to relationships between elements of content as they are mediated by concepts in a given document. Thematic systems can form frameworks of disciplines, embracing conceptual systems or range systems, corresponding to individual themes.

Horizontal and diagonal relation in conceptual systems and range systems

   Two themes that are bound by horizontal or diagonal relation, without logical or ontological relations crossing, are called cognates. Cf. bradylalia, tachylalia; stuttering - echocorrector - an apparatus used for speech correction (speech correction, speech correction exercises), legasthenia - visual perception, difficulties in reading and writing, visual analysis and synthesis.
   Thematic hierarchy is a classification of themes in which themes are ranked in relation to one another in accordance with the hierarchical principle. As the primary theme subsumes the subordinate theme, the latter cannot be discussed without mention being made of the major theme. A thematic hierarchy can be a conceptual hierarchy, but it does not need to. If it does not, it is a bogus hierarchy, cf. logophasia - mutism, lalorrhoea - lalation.

Theme links:
theme disjunction and thematic series

   Just as in the case of concept links, there are theme links. But unlike concept links, which produce new concepts, theme links result in no new concepts. A theme link merely suggests that the constitutive elements of a theme link are present in a given document.
   A conjunction of themes means that two or more themes are discussed jointly in a given document.
   A disjunction of themes means that two or more themes are discussed independently from one another in a given document.

Division of sequential (syntagmatic) relations

   A division of the arguments of sequential relation depends on the type of expression to which they belong. Consequently there are a/ relations between of classes, b/ intraserial relations, and c/ intrafacet relations. Depending on the nature of the relationship sequential relations can be divided into indefinite relations, vector relations, comparison relations, discrimination relations and influence relations.

Theoretical foundations of specialized vocabulary thesaurization
Ontological categories in information science

   When we refer to objects, things, properties, states, occurrencies, etc., we employ concepts that are properly called ontological. The term 'category', introduced by Aristotle, refers to concepts which are used to distinguish the elementary components or aspects of the real world. Since the 1970's ontological categories have attracted a great deal of attention in information science.

Universal Decimal Classification (UDC)

   The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) is a monohierarchical classification with an extended system of auxiliary subdivisions. That makes the UDC structure similar to facet classification. UDC makes use of two elementary lexical items arranged in templates, which contain classificatory symbols that belong to ten major classes.

Descriptors - ascriptors

   A dictionary of descriptor language is called a thesaurus. The purpose of the thesaurus is not only to offer the reader a word list, but also to normalize the language so that the relation between a name and the concept that it expresses was unambiguous in either direction. The carrying out of a project like that requires the suppression of ambiguity and synonymy, i.e. expressions with polyvalent or equivalent meaning respectively. The elimination of synonymy is effected by means giving preference to no more than one equivalent in index compilation. The preferred item is called descriptor, while the suppressed synonyms are called ascriptors. The pool of ascriptors contains items that may be elevated to the rank of descriptors: this occurs when a new slot is to be filled in a specialist dictionary. Ascriptors (synonyms, or quasi-synonyms) can be of interest to a cognitive linguist who studies the dynamic aspects of the conceptual system, e.g. the diachronic aspects of the expansion of science or in the choice of a cognitive variant that is best suited to record a specific point of view, an approach or tradition, a research methodology or paradigm, etc.
   What makes a thesaurus different from other dictionaries or indexes is their terminological control function.
   If a descriptor language tends to be ordered, at least partly, the emergence of some hierarchies is the consequence. The most common hierarchy is one which establishes the relations of primacy and subrodination between name ranges.

Types of thesauruses

   The differences between various kinds of thesauruses depend on a/ the range of terminological systems, b/ the nature of the hierarchical relations, c/ the number and type of descriptive parametres, d/ the method of terminology presentation. Regardless of the differences the thesaurus as a variant of a terminological dictionary always presents a comprehensive survey of a given specialized field by way of systamatizing the appropriate set of descriptors.
   The structure of a specialized dictionary of the thesaurus type
   According to Y.N. Karaulov (1981) the structure of a well-made thesaurus should consist of the following elements:
(1) a classification scheme that divides the conceptual field of that specialized discipline into conceptual areas (in a specialist thesaurus their number is not big, usually no more than 15);
(2) an index of all descriptors that belong to the relevant conceptual areas (in any area are ordered in accordance with semantic principles, i.e. synonyms, kind, genus, associations, thematic groups; the number of descriptors from one conceptual area in specialist thesauruses varies from a few thousand to tens of thousands, depending on the type of dictionary (narrowly specialized or covering a wider range);
(3) an ideographic section; there each descriptor names a semantic field (termfield or microfield);
(4) an alphabetically arranged dictionary of terms and phrases with an index of the relevant termfield; that section can be compiled in the same manner as an ordinary explicatory terminologial dictionary.

Isolata as a document theme

   The isolata is the simplest expression in Ranganathan's facet classification. It is any element of the universe of knowledge, which considered in isolation is not a document theme.
The term 'isolata' functions against the background of distinctions, built round a handful of terms like 'modifier', 'focus', and 'a nest of descriptors' (a configuration of focuses). A modifier is an descriptor of aspect or an auxiliary descriptor, i.e. an elementary lexical unit which, as a synsyntactic expression of the descriptor language, functions as a language exponent of a catagory. The word 'category' refers here to any set of accidental functional features or an ontological category like logopaedy - logopaedic practice - logopaedic prophylaxis - logopaedic diagnosis - logopaedic therapy.

Thematic classifications in thesauruses

   A thesaurus consists of an alphabetical and a systematically arranged thematic part. The latter contains descriptors only. In thesauruses thematic classifications can appear in various forms, e.g. a chart, a tree, a table, etc.

Thematic relations in a thesaurus

   Thematic and conceptual relations featured in thesaurues can be classified from a number of perspectives. So, one may distinguish (1) universal relations like e.g. kind - genus; relations dealing with science in general, e.g. discipline - object; relations that occur in specific scientific fields, e.g. error and defect in logopaedy; (2) paradigmatic (synonymy, correlation) and syntagmatic relations, e.g. activity - tool; (3) conceptual relations of the whole - part type; linguistic relations (synonymy); (4) hierarchical and non-hierarchical relations, e.g. kind - genus, and feature - the feature-bearer respectively. Thsaurization of Polish logopaedic terminology

Descriptor language in a domain thesaurus

   Thesuaruses belong to the category of normative dictionaries, which comprise alphabetically ordered terms from a given field or discipline. The structure of a thesuarus should let the user go through the index and check the required information with maximum efficiency. That is why the terms in a thesuarus are divided into descriptors, i.e. those that are selected for indexation, and ascriptors, which are not recommended for indexing, though they may interest a linguist and terminologist.
   A descriptor is an elementary lexical unit that can function as an autosyntactic expression (i.e. one that is a sentence in the logical sense) in the descriptor language, usually in paranatural notation in conformity with the paradigmatic framework of the thesaurus.
   Depending on the number of natural languages that are tapped by the descriptor language we distinguish monolingual and multilingual dictionaries. The range of the semantic field is the major factor in determining the category to which any given thesaurus belongs, e.g. a specialized field, a branch of knowledge, a macrothesaurus, etc.
   The logopaedic thesaurus described in this study should aim at meeting the criteria of a branch thesaurus, whose semantic field represents the thematic field of one discipline in its theoretical (scientific) as well as practical aspects. The latter includes logopaedic practice, which can be further divided into a number of specialized practices such as symptoms of speech disorders, studying causes of speech disorders (aetiology), prevention, diagnosing, logopaedic therapy.

The structure of the thesaurus:
alphabetical and hierarchical order

   To exhibit clearly the hierarchical and associative relations thesauruses are given either an alphabetical-and-hierarchic or an alphabetical-and-systematic structure. The latter consists of two semantically conjoined parts, the alphabetical and the systematic.

Rank (hierarchy) in the systematic part of the thesaurus

   In the construction of the systematic part of the thesaurus 'hierarchy' means - with reference to general semantic relationships, not in a strictly logical sense - such a configuration of elements of a set or a class that each element except one is subordinated to another element and each class is subclass of another class.

The construction of a facet dictionary

   The construction of a facet dictionary contains the following steps.
(1) A division of all descriptors according to the basic categories, i.e. key concepts in the given discipline, to which it should be possible to relate, in the process of definitionmaking, all the other concepts employed in the creation of groups of descriptors, provided that each descriptor fits the range of that category. Cf. in logopaedy 'speech disorders' is a key category, while 'diagnosis' and 'logopaedic therapy' are subcategories within the key category 'logopaedic practice'.
(2) The division of categories into subcategories, i.e. concepts with a range narrower than the category 'facet' which covers several aspects of a given category, cf. classification of speech disorders with regard to causes (facet: aetiology) or symptoms (facet: symptoms), cf. aetiological and symptomatological classification of speech disorders.
(3) Ordering of descriptors within the individual subcategories, alphabetically and hierarchically. It were ideal if it could be done with maximum precision with the help of logical classification.
(4) Alphabetical rearrangement of the facets, giving each a number and affixing numbers to descriptors within each facet.

Ontological categories of multidimensional classification

   In multidimensional classification the semantic field to be analyzed is scrutinized at least twice according to different sets of rules. So in Ranganathan's two-point classification the universe of knowledge is surveyed twice: first, in accordance with the generally accepted principles of the division of knowledge, and, for the second time, in line with the themes featured in the documents, arranged into five basic, ontological categories.
   Every discipline which belongs to those categories is presented in accordance with a standard facet formula: a/ tools (means) necessary for the implementation of actions or procedures, b/ man's purposive activities, c/ procedures, d/ parts of the objects of study or products, e/ objects of study or their systems. Moreover, there are three facets they have in common: kind, source of information, time and space.

The technique of facet classification

   The thesaurus in its facet version is by far a richer and more modern tool than the traditional subject indexes to classificatory tables. The compilation of a hard-edged classification system of terms recommended for indexing is an important advance on the incomplete, ad hoc ordering of the older thesauruses. The technique of facet classification will be particularly useful in the introductory part of the thesaurus, built round the following system of key concepts, language - speech - speaking, communication, and disturbances in communication.

The category of disturbances in verbal communication

   Disturbances in verbal communication against the background of normal verbal communication and logopaedic practice aimed at eliminating or alleviating speech disorders are the two key categories that stand in the very centre of the theory and practice of logopaedy.

Various typologies of speech disorders and the formation of logopaedic terminology

   Classificatory schemes of speech disorders differ considerably from one author to another [facet: the individual]. Cf. G.E. Arnold and Luchsinger, M.Y. Khvatsev, E.M. Morley, R. West, S. Borel-Maisonny, L. Kaczmarek, and others. Differences in identifying speech disorders are an indication of the difficulties in arriving at a clear picture of the complex functionning of the speech apparatus as well as our inadequate knowledge of the causes of the speech disorders. These difficulties are aggravated by the use of various terminologies to name one and the same thing and the effect of uneven historical development of logopaedic terminology in Europe's world of medicine.

Thesaurization of the text of a professional sublanguage

   In terminological lexicography the method of thesaurization can be used to produce efficient, updated reviews of the performance of a given discipline. In this way succesive thesuaruses can mark the stages in the development of professional knowledge.

Studies on logopaedic terminology in use
Putting currently used terminology into order

   One of the aims of this study on logopaedic terminology was to suggest ways of introducing a degree of terminological order into this discipline and outlining its basics. That of course had to affect in a way all the concepts and terms in the field of logopaedy. To broaden the scope of the study the Polish material was embellished with terms and equivalents from a number of European languages, English, Czech, French, Lithuanian, German, Russian, Slovak, as well as Latin and Greek.

Indexing, or thesaurization of logopaedic terminology

   The use of natural language in the information-and-search system means that uprocessed (i.e. not subjected to normalization or purged of ambiguity) natural-language words and phrases are also employed for coordinated indexing of documents. It is believed that the use of natural language as the language of the information-and-search system has many advantages. But it must be remembered that natural language encompasses both written and spoken language. The latter, however, can hardly be employed as an information-and-search language: it is written language and its lexical resources that can function properly in that role.

Terminological confusion in logopaedy

   The prevailing use of the term 'cure' is a similar case.
Several authors speak of 'curing aphasia' (autism, juvenile disphasia, disgrammatism, disarthria, abrupt hearing loss, stuttering, logophobia, incoherent speech, mutism, nasal pronunciation, speech disorders, etc.) instead 'treating a patient with aphasia', etc.
   Similarly 'hypnologopaedic cure' is used instead of 'the use of hypnotherapy in logopaedic treatment';
   'hypnotic cure' in the sense 'treatment by persuasion after inducing the patient into hypnotic sleep in the treatment of neuroses, alcoholism, etc.' instead of 'the use of persuasion in psychotherapy in the course of non-medical (pedagogical or psychotherapeutical) treatment.
   Cure is to be left to physicians (doctors) who in cooperation with the logopaedist, phoniatrist, laringologist, otolaringologist, otorhinolaringologist, orthodentist, neurologist, psychiatrist, etc. treat patients after diagnosing and identifying any specific disease which is listed in the international roster. Speech disorders are not listed as diseases; so the people who stutter or suffer from aphasia do not undergo cure. They suffer from disorders that can be treated, eliminated, alleviated, etc. They can be taught to control, overcome, etc. their disabilities. A mechanical transfer of the vocabulary of medical procedure, including all the specialized medical disciplines, into logopaedic treatment, which is basically pedagogical introduces all sorts of confusing implications (not only in terms of language, but also competence).
   Unlike the physician, the logopaedist does not work on a cure, but tries to educate the patient (the child) by means of preventive, corrective and retentive treatment. Confusion over competence implications will continue unless we mend our speech habits and allege that physicians treat speech disorders and logoaedists cure them.
   Other examples in point concern the use of the term 'reeducation' in the sense 'treatment, alleviation, removal'.
   Cf. 'reeducation of problems' instead of 'reeducation of patients with problems', or 'removal / alleviation of problems';
   'reeducation of dislexia and disgraphia' instead of 'treatment of dislexia and disgraphia'.
   Another handful of examples of faulty usage concerns the word 'speech' in the sense 'speech acts in the process of verbal communication'.
   Cf. 'speech analysis' instead of 'analysis of the patient's speech', etc.;
'likely speech-disorder case' instead of 'child / patient exhibiting symptoms of speech disorder';
   'speech stimulation' instead of 'encouraging a child / patient to speek;
   'speech improvement' instead of 'improving / enhancing the functionning of the speech apparatus'.
   Let me also note the inapproriateness of the phrase 'voice malfunctioning / disability' instead of 'malfunctioning of the articulation apparatus, voice disorders', etc.
   In routine logopaedic practice, press advertisements, adress cards and professional biograms phrases like 'improvement / enhancing of functions' are used instead of 'enhancing the functionning of organs', 'speech improvement / rehabilitation' instead of 'helping the patient to improve his speech performance', 'sound articulation training' instead of 'training the patient to produce articulate sounds'. To sum up, instead of saying, incorrectly, that the logopaedist cures, alleviates, lessens, eliminates defects we should make it clear that he trains, educates, suggests ways of controlling or overcoming speech defects.
   Another factor contributing to the terminological confusion is the fact that the meaning of the same term varies in neighbouring disciplines.
   Cf. 'aspiration' in logopaedy and linguistics refers to the voicing of the 'h' sound; in psychology it means the desire to excel;
   'assimilation' in logopaedy and linguistics refers to the levelling off of differences in neighbouring sounds; in psychology it means adaptation to the environment;
   'morphology' in logopaedy and linguistics refers to a division of grammar; in psychology it means studying the variety of forms, it refers to empirical observation and experience.
   Another source of ambiguity and possible confusion is the use of terms like 'language', 'speech', and 'verbal communication'. Especially the term 'speech' possesses a variety of definitions and connotations in this multidisciplinary terrain. Moreover we are frequently confronted with the quasi-synonymous use of the term 'speech' for two different things, individual speech acts in the process of verbal communication and the complete utterance (a verbal message).
   Finally, complications can arise from the use of terms with pejorative connotations, such as stammerer, etc. They are applied to individual persons who happen to suffer from a certain speech defect, but the name tends to generalize the disability and extend it, most unfairly, to an identity tag. To avoid this it would be better to use more tactful formulas, which distinguish the person from the disability.

Interdisciplinary nature of logopaedic terminology

   Unproblematic exchange of information between neigbouring disciplines depends very much on terminological clarity. The great majority of terms used in logopaedy belong to a common stock of logopaedic and pedegogical vocabulary; specialists in both fields attach to them the same meaning. The same is true of the research and teaching methods in Polish studies; this is can be verified by comparing entries in the relevant dictionaries of key words. According to one check there are at least 320 common terms in the lexical resources of those disciplines.

Equivalence across national languages

   Inadequate translation has contributed to the spreading of such equivalents as 'balbut' / 'stammerer', 'a severely handicapped person' / 'invalid of the third degree', 'a federation of speech-defect invalids' / 'an association of persons with speech-defects', 'a dislectic society' or 'an autistic society' / 'a society for the promotion of dislectic (autistic) persons', 'speech society' / 'an association of persons with speech disabilities', etc.
   Foreign equivalent form intertextual relations with parallel native terms and often acquire a special status, especially in specialist texts.
   Transfacial treatment has been extended to equivalents from foreign languages, English, Czech, French, Lithuanian, German, Russian, Slovak, as well as Latin and Greek.

Varieties of logopaedic dictionaries

   In all Europen languages the term 'dictionary' is customarily used with regard to any word list presented in alphabetical order. In terminological lexicography the key role is accorded to the terminological dictionary. My contribution in this field includes: 1/ A Dictionary of logopaedic terms, 2/ A Short Logopeadic Dictionary, 3/ A dictionary of Key Words in Logopaedy, 4/ A Logopaedic Minidictionary of Autistic Terms, 5/ Logopaedic Dictionary of Diagnostic Terminology.

The Beginnings and the Future of Normalization

   The terminological project in the field of logopaedy, whose aim is the ordering of terminology, comprises indexing, verification and naormalization. Normalization of logopaedic terminology is necessitated by the endemic ambiguity of the existing terms, the overabundance of synonyms, inconsistencies that crop up even within the discipline itself; moreover, there is the need to bring logopaedic usage into conformity with the general rules of the Polish language.
   The current debate on the Polish logopaedic terminology dates back to a conference of logopaedists in 1992; that event was in effect the starting point of the normalization process. In assessing the impact of the conference its participants have agreed that it is necessary to raise the standard of their contributions in line with the rules of the Polish language, observe the terminological guidelines with regard to specialist terms and work towards the internationalization and unification of logopaedic terminology, which would result in more effective participation in the international exchange of information.

Normalization precendent

   Terminology normalization is a special case of ordering procedure. In enforcing terminological orders the following guidelines should be followed: a/ items that fail to conform to the agreed terminological standards should be marked (for example the symbol DNU - Do Not Use - could be used); later they should be withdrawn; b/ items that fail to conform to general usage should be marked by an examation mark (!) and later withdrawn; c/ recommended terms should be enhanced (bold style) and terms whose use is to be discouraged should likewise be marked (small or thin font) as it is already the case in dictionaries of key words. The precedent has been set in my dictionaries. I would urge that any future publications show no less concern for the maintenance of terminological order. It will not be easy; to illustarate the difficulties ahead I would like to draw on one example. To replace the term 'aphemia', introduced by Broca in 1861, Trousseau recommended the term 'aphasia' in 1865. Although the change has been generally endorsed, the old term continues to crop up in specialist texts.
    It seems that along with the normalization of the vocabulary of logopaedy one should embark on the task of unifying and normalizing the terminology, and especially the key word resources, of the neighbouring disciplines. The aim should also be to harmonize the terminology with international usage and thus further the ongoing ingration processes.

Nomenclature of the International Statistical
Classification of Diseases and Health Problems - the Tenth Revision

   In the process of normalizing logopaedic terminology it may be helpful to draw on the Nomenclature of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health Problems (the Tenth Revised Version), and especially Chapter 17, which deals with developmental and congenital defects as well as chromosome-conditioned malfunctions and aberrations.

A summing-up of the recent studies on logopaedic terminology

1. Each lexical item contains a complex referent description, which is conditioned by a number of factors and which takes into account such parameters as the language system, the conceptual apparatus, the language user and the exigencies of the text. Hence it is useful to distinguish four aspects of terminology, the systemic, semantic, pragmatic, and textual. The multidimensionality of the lexical unit makes room for a multiplicity of complementary descriptions.
2. A terminological aggregate or system can be asessed from the point of view of a/ content, which reflects the current state of the discipline; b/ the logical structure of the system or the basic principles of the construction of the set; c/ the shape of its linguistic components. The first two aspects belong to the competence of the specilists in the field, the last one should be assessed by a linguist (terminologist).
3. It is by no means easy to answer the question what are the criteria against which the normalize dterminology should be judged. Specific remedial recommendations should take into account the peculiar nature of the dicipline and its development track record. If the standard language norms are the starting point, the peculiarities of word-building, syntactic conventions, or 'terminological nods' in the given field must not be ignored. Although the terminology under review certainly shares in the general normative structure and evolutionary drift of the standard language, it may also be allowed the status of a legitimate cognitive variant of that language and judged accordingly.
4. At least three approaches are available to studies of language material from the terminological perspective. They are 1/ an approach which is concentrated on the analysis of isolated terms or small clusters of terms (this method does not seem to be very promising), 2/ a syntagmatic approach which explores terms in their context, attempts to discriminate between semiterms, occasional (ad hoc) expressions, quasi-terms and nonce terms, and proceed to an analysis of their functionning (this is a necessary first step in the process of normalization), 3/ a paradigmatic approach, i.e. a comprehensive, complex analysis of the term list of a given discipline or specialized field of inquiry. Its aim is to arrive at a systemic account of the terminology, viewed in relation to terminological micro- and macroareas; it pays due attention to the relationship term - referent - concept and theoretical implications of term definition (work on a specialized thesaurus require kind of approach).
5. Among the various methods of studying term content such as definition analyses, association tests, expert opinions, seme and field analyses, special mention should be made of methods employed in applied linguistics. As a rule they combine theory with a good grasp of practical considerations that are involved in term standardization; at the same time they tend to be interested in a full and comprehensive description of terms unlike the purely theoretical approaches. Another promising method of constructing thesauruses is based on the principles of conceptual cognitive analysis.
6. The explanation of a term in a thesaurus entry contains what looks like a series of prefabricated, non-contradictory definitions, a kind of condensed dictionary with explanations. This is so because the information 'gate' into the thesaurus is a head term specified by the meaning of the adduced synonyms. In this respect the thesaurus can play a major role in studies on the feasibility of translation and comparisons of languages peculiar to various contents, trends, schools of thought, methodological paradigms within one discipline. The synonyms and quasi-synonyms listed in a thesaurus entry function as verbal explication indexes of the commesurability of various theories.
7. With the help of comprehensive methods, inspired by cognitive term description methods we may get a better insight into the peculiar nature of logopaedic terminology viewed as an integral whole, though composed of various facets or aspects, devised to assist our understanding of speech defect correction. Hence one may claim that the terminology and nomenclature of logopaedy's ancillary disciplines - linguistics, the behavioural sciences, biochemical sciences - form a unique configuration.
8. Compiling a logopaedic thesaurus, which involves tackling the issue of term standardization, has revealed the heterogeneity of the vocabulary resources of that discipline. Logopaedic terms have diverse historical origin, represent terminological microsystems of various trends and schools in medicine and linguistics, possess different semantic statuses (e.g. proper terms, elements of a nomenclature, theoretical and empirical terms, basic (key) and secondary terms, terms that are specific to a given discipline and loan terms from neighbouring or ancillary disciplines, terms with a very precise denotation and quasi-names whose semantic value is hard to gauge, terms alienated from their habitual conceptual context. In these circumstances an analysis of any given set has to include a semantic interpretation of its history on the grounds of an appropriately chosen theory or a one-off mindset, adopted just for the course of the the analysis.
9. Work on thesaurus compilation requires specialist knowledge as well as methodological and terminological competence. An information-and-search dictionary represents an open model of professional knowledge in a given field. A terminological dictionary, constructed with the assistance of thesaurization techniques, highlights the issues connected with term standardization, although it is clear that unless the conceptual content of a term is established, its direct and indirect semantic links within its terminological micro- and macroarea is traced and systematized, no normative recommendation will carry the requisite authority. Terminological lexicography has come a long way and can boast no mean achievements; there are, however, many problems that are still waiting to be solved.