Evaluation and Usage of Terms: Sociolinguistic Perspective Cover Image

Terminų vertinimas ir vartosena: sociolingvistinė perspektyva
Evaluation and Usage of Terms: Sociolinguistic Perspective

Author(s): Ilona Sideravičiūtė-Mickienė, Daiva Aliūkaitė, Laima Kuprienė
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Vytauto Didžiojo Universitetas
Keywords: term; subject reality; attitudes; sodai characteristic.

Summary/Abstract: On the basis of the sociolinguistic questionnaire data of the paper aims at the analysis of the usage of terms and their choice. Here the author inquires into the perspective aspects, such as ordinary speaker's reactions towards the used terms, with what type of discourse they relate the employment of terms and whether they manage to identify the social characteristics of the speaker according to it. Special attention is devoted to the exposal of the operation of terms in communication whether positive or negative and to the problem of priority in the usage of national and international terminology. The paper claims that terms are related exclusively with the scientific discourse and they are used by educated individuals. On the whole, terms are evaluated positively, with the exception of the cases of their excess. An excessive employment of terminology makes the participants in the communication confused. The selection of terms depends on the subject discussed and concrete communication. As a rule, ordinary speakers are apt to choose international terms or their Lithuanian equivalents only in order not to overburden the very act of communication. They seem to expect the same strategy on the part of other participants. On the other hand, the so-called naive evaluations of the facts of language (i.e. terms) by the ordinary speakers reveal the level of the society linguistic education. To sum up, it should be pointed out that, rather frequently, the speakers' determinations towards terminology and their evaluations revealing their real knowledge of terms are more or less of prescriptive character. The real situation (i.e. the data of the investigation) shows that, in fact, the employed international terms do slightly transform the conception of reality itself.

  • Issue Year: 09/2007
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 75-82
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Lithuanian