U6 SCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY

Question 1

Why don’t we use colloquial language for scientific terminology?

Answer 1

It lacks precision, conciseness and emotional neutrality and dosen’t provide universality.
There is a need to maintain the professional secrecy, incorporate new words and specific resources

Question 2

What are the general characteristics of scientific language?

Answer 2

• Universality: interantional, but adapts to spelling in each language
• Conciseness: economy of time
• Accuracy: 1 signifier, 1 meaning
• Neutrality: no affective components and use of 3rd person

Question 3

What are the origins of scientific terminology?

Answer 3

Traditional lexical heritage (greco-latin)
Words form modern languages (replaced latin words)
Vocab with other meanings:
- unknown origin
- associations of an indirect or metaphorical character

Question 4

Types of vocab with other origins?

Answer 4

• EPONYMS: names of invertors, places, gods…
• ACRONYMS
• ONOMATOPOEIAS

Question 5

Types of neologisms (new terms)?

Answer 5

Of form, of sense or syntactic neologisms

Question 6

What are neologisms of form?

Answer 6

Creation of a term or a new expression

Question 7

What are neologisms of sense?

Answer 7

Attribution of new sense to an already existing term

Question 8

From what words are neologisms formes from?

Answer 8

From Greco-Romas morphemes. These new neologisms have to have coherence with existing terms and universality

Question 9

What are the different combinations?

Answer 9

DETERMINATIVE, COPULATIVE AND MIXED

Question 10

What does the DETERMINATIVE combination consist on?

Answer 10

A main root the ir delimited by other roots, prefixes or sufixes

Question 11

What does the COPULATIVE combination consist on?

Answer 11

Several morphemes combine to associate their meanings

Question 12

What does the MIXED combination consist on?

Answer 12

A main root combiend with another root which ahve prefixes and sufixes to specify

Question 13

What vowel is inserted when there is a comb of 2 Greek roots or Greek + Latin?

Answer 13

Usually a “o” is added

Question 14

What vowel is inserted when there is a comb of 2 Latin roots?

Answer 14

Usually an “i” is added

Question 15

When using several words to form an expression what are the combinaitons?

Answer 15

In juxtaposed from or in a coordiinated way

Question 16

What is terminologisation?

Answer 16

Incorporation of a new meaning to a word in every day language

Question 17

What is an example of neologisms of sense?

Answer 17

Passing the meaning fo a term from one branch of knowledge to another, acquiring different meaning from the on it had in the first place

Question 18

What is syntatic neologisms?

Answer 18

Change of grammatical category or change of function of a word

Question 19

What are the reasons for scientific language to not have a logical and uniform criteria?

Answer 19

a) semantic phenomena
b) changes of meaning
c) associations of an indirect or metaphorical character
d) words of ambiguos meaning or unknown meaning

Question 20

Types if semantic phenomena?

Answer 20

• synonyms
• polisemia and homonimia
• antonyms
• generic - specific relations

Question 21

Difference between polisemia and homonimia?

Answer 21

Polisemia: dos palabras con significado relacionado
Homonimia: dos palabras con significado muy diferente

Question 22

Types of meaning changes?

Answer 22

• Transfer: simple change of meaning of a term
• Contraction: reduction of meaning occurs
• Expansion: term with a broader meaning than the starting point

Question 23

Nomeclature…

Answer 23

List or catalog of terms approved by a specific scientific community accorgind to norms that determine their meanings

Question 24

Classification…

Answer 24

Establishment and characterisation of systematic gruops according to the knowledge and resources available at any moment

Question 25

Nomeclature and classification are the solution to what problem?

Answer 25

The lack of LOGIC and UNIFORMITY of terminology