Silvia Pavel et Diane Nolet. Précis de terminologie/The Handbook of Terminology, adapted into English by Christine Leonhardt. Ottawa, Translation Bureau, Terminologie and Standardization Directorate, 2001.

As one of the oldest and best-known terminology databases, TERMIUM has had a profound influence on the field of terminology over the past thirty years. The Handbook of Terminology/Précis de terminologie provides a window onto the diverse demands of the profession and the way the field of terminology is viewed by those managing TERMIUM. New terminologists, language professionals, private firms and organizations collaborating with the Canadian Translation Bureau to maintain TERMIUM will find this a particularly valuable tool.

This bilingual publication by three well-seasoned terminologists is written in French by Silvia Pavel and Diane Nolet and adapted into English by Christine Leonhardt. The book seeks to maintain a simple style and broad accessibility, which is best achieved in the French version. Non-technical in nature, and with all specialized terms carefully highlighted in bold as they are introduced and later defined in the glossary, the Handbook will appeal to readers with no specialist knowledge of the field.

The manual begins by introducing the field of terminology, its key activities and its tools. The rest of the book builds upon these themes and is organized into three corresponding chapters: I. Principles of Terminology Research, II. Terminology Work Methodology, III. Terminology Work Tools.

Chapter I serves as theoretical background for the two more practical chapters that follow. The authors touch upon the more important theoretical underpinnings of the research methodology adopted by the Terminology and Standardization Directorate and treat such fundamental issues as: the importance and use of subject-field classification; the various relationships between concepts, i.e., generic, partitive and associative relations; the use of semantic features to identify a terminology unit; the single-concept principle; and the use of textual matching to establish equivalency. Unfortunately, given the nature of the work, many of the principles cannot be treated in any depth. In keeping, however, with its practical approach, the chapter is full of interesting examples that demonstrate the application of theory to practice. One notable inaccuracy, though, is the misrepresentation of the international standard on terminology principles and methods (ISO/FDIS 704: 2000). The standard does not advocate that “all of the terms that designate a concept are in a monosemous relationship with this concept in a specialized language: each one designates only this concept.” While the standard indicates this would be an ideal situation, it recognizes that the reality is otherwise.

Chapter II introduces all the intricacies of the research methodology used in developing terminology products. It treats, in a step-by-step fashion, the individual stages of terminography as practiced at TERMIUM. The chapter begins with the first step on how to identify and evaluate specialized documentation and then treats each operation in turn: establishing a concept diagram, extracting terms, establishing a base term list, compiling the data into terminology files, textual matching to establish equivalency between two languages, recording the data, revising the records, loading the records into the database and managing the database. The chapter ends with a quick look at the delivery of terminology products, to clients. Once again each step is illustrated by numerous well-chosen examples that clarify each procedure.

Chapter III covers the broad range of electronic tools available to terminologists in the federal government. Traditional library research tools have given way to computerized systems, be they virtual libraries, documentation databases, on-line search services or specialized portals. Terminologists have had to familiarize themselves with a whole new gamut of electronic and computerized tools. They have had to learn to make optimal use of optical character recognition systems, search engines, term extraction tools, electronic corpora and text alignment tools, concordancers as well as the numerous other terminology databases and specialized dictionaries increasingly available through the Internet. Research methodology has been expanded to include Internet user networks and discussion groups as means of keeping abreast of new terminology and new developments in the field. The chapter also describes some of the specialized in-house tools developed within the Translation Bureau: LATTER, the terminologist’s workstation; TERMICOM, a user-friendly data-recording tool for translators; YVANHOÉ, a computer-assisted term extraction tool; PUBLICIEL, an electronic-publishing application; and the Bureau’s own Internet Users Network, all designed to integrate with the TERMIUM system for managing terminology. The chapter offers an up-to-date description of terminology management through the use of electronic tools to research, extract and record terminology and it serves to illustrate to what extent computer technology and the Internet have changed modern terminography.

The manual ends with a series of appendixes, which include a list of the key standardization bodies around the world along with their Internet address, a list of useful Web site addresses for accessing terminology sources and reference works, and a description of the Language Management Infrastructure in Canada’s Public Service. The danger in providing Internet references is that they risk becoming outdated very quickly. Already the TransSearch site listed is no longer found at the address provided and is longer free. Other features at the end of each language section include a glossary of key terms written in the same highly accessible style as the rest of the Handbook, a bibliography for further reading and an index for easy access to the different topics in the manual.

The Handbook of Terminology is very much a “how to” guide, a valuable source for those seeking practical solutions to terminology problems or those about to embark on a terminology project. It offers a complete picture of the workflow process, from its inception to the final product, à la TERMIUM.