SEDL / STP / STP806-EB / STP30136S

Is Standardization Always Necessary?

Nakos, D
Professor adjoint, Universit Laval, Qubec

Pages: 6    Published: Jan 1983

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Abstract

The problem of terminological standardization is closely linked to the problem of synonymy, that is, the fact that a certain number of terms can all have apparently the same meaning. Consequently, it is difficult to chooseand thus to standardizeone of these terms. It is also important when choosing a term to take into consideration certain criteria.

This paper shows that the problem of standardization is often due to a lack of thorough analysis of terms considered as synonyms by a number of authors. In certain cases, there is no need for standardization because they concern examples of false synonymy. And when standardization is necessary (as it often is), the need varies according to which of the two fields are involved, the scientific or the technical.