Brief Introduction to Terminology. Example of Elaboration of a Terminological Work in Galician

The history of terminology as a science is sketched, tracing its beginnings to the 16th century; Andreas Versalius's (1543) glossary of terms pertaining to human anatomy is mentioned. The rapid growth of terminology in the 20th century is noted & illustrated with Teresa Cabre's (1993) chronological periodization, differentiating: (1) systematization (1930-1960), (2) documentation (1960-1975), (3) institutionalization (1975-1985), & (4) international collaboration (1985-present). Cabre's study is also used when discussing the domain delimitation, definition, objectives, interdisciplinarity, & methods of terminology. An example of terminology work in Galician is reported, describing the collection & terminographic treatment of specialized terms found in the section "O noso planeta" (Our Planet) in the 2001 issues of the periodical O Correo da Unesco (The UNESCO Courier). Applying the precepts of communication theory of terminology & using computer technology tools, an electronic database was constructed for a corpus of 749 Galician terms on the Earth's ecology; the design of lemma entry & term definition principles are specified. Z. Dubiel