Terminology as a Translation Problem and the General Conditions for an Adequate Translation of Terms

Authors

  • Zilola Khudaybergenova

    Department of Contemporary Turkic Languages and Literatures, Bartin University, Merkez 74100, Türkiye
  • Nazan Penah

    Department of Contemporary Turkic Languages and Literatures, Bartin University, Merkez 74100, Türkiye

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i10.10957
Received: 8 July 2025 | Revised: 16 July 2025 | Accepted: 1 August 2025 | Published Online: 26 September 2025

Abstract

The rapid advancement of science and technology influences every aspect of human activity, making the sharing of knowledge and innovative ideas among experts worldwide essential to modern scientific endeavors. As a result, scientific and technical translation has taken on a crucial role across various fields, requiring translators to have a deep level of expertise. Terminology represents a specialized collection of terms associated with specific areas of knowledge, serving as a cornerstone in the systematic study of terminological sciences. In the realms of science and technology, terminology plays a central role in compiling, documenting, and organizing terms into structured frameworks known as terminological systems. These systems create coherent, organized networks of terms that are interconnected through predefined relationships reflecting the underlying conceptual links. A significant challenge in technical translation lies in the precise interpretation of specialized terminology. Technical documents are often saturated with terms that serve as key carriers of information. Errors in translating these terms can result in misunderstandings among professionals, even within the same field. Clearly, inaccuracies in terminology translation can trigger serious repercussions, such as impeding technological workflows, derailing project implementation, or stalling the development of companies within specific industries. Through this research, terminology has been identified as a distinct lexical category whose central unit—the term—is widely recognized across academic literature as a linguistic marker used to signify specialized concepts and phenomena. Key properties intrinsic to terms have been delineated, including consistency, unambiguity, independence from contextual nuances, absence of emotional connotation, and high informational density.

Keywords:

Translation; Term; Terminology; Technical Translation; Terminology Definitions

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How to Cite

Khudaybergenova, Z., & Penah, N. (2025). Terminology as a Translation Problem and the General Conditions for an Adequate Translation of Terms. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(10), 669–683. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i10.10957

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 10 (October 2025): In progress

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Article

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Copyright © 2025 Zilola Khudaybergenova, Nazan Penah

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This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.