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Article published In:
Terminology as a Societal Resource: Possibilities and Responsibilities in a Changing World
Edited by Nina Pilke, Niina Nissilä and Hans Landqvist
[Terminology 27:1] 2021
► pp. 80–109

Organising terminology work in Sweden from the 1940s onwards

Participatory expert roles in networks

| University of Vaasa
| University of Vaasa
| University of Gothenburg

The present study deals with organised terminology work in Sweden from the 1940s to the late 2010s. Using archive material, we describe how practical terminology work was carried out in Sweden during the period 1941–2018/2019, when the Swedish Centre for Technical Terminology/the Swedish Centre for Terminology (TNC) was the central actor. Thereafter, we discuss models for building a new infrastructure for terminology work after the closure of the TNC in 2018/2019. This discussion is based on interviews and analyses of articles and current reports. The study shows that multifaceted contacts with experts, academia, industry and society have played an essential role for terminology work in Sweden since the 1930s. In the current situation (2019), the activities are being reorganised and responsibility for terminology work is distributed between several actors. A new main actor is the government agency known as the Institute of Language and Folklore (Isof). Finally, we discuss future visions for terminology work in Sweden.

Keywords: terminology work, Swedish Centre for (Technical) Terminology, Institute of Language and Folklore, language for specific purposes, expertise, networks, participatory roles
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Research setting and research design
  • 3.Societal context: Sweden, the TNC and terminological work
    • 3.1Economic conditions, technical development and political conditions
    • 3.2Technical education, research and professionalisation
    • 3.3The TNC in Swedish society 1941–2018/2019
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1The Interested Party Model (1941–1983)
      • 4.1.1Expertise, networks and the TNC
      • 4.1.2John Wennerberg, expert networks and formal survey letters
    • 4.2Restructuring phase with multiple organisational setting (2019–)
      • 4.2.1Cultivation of specialised language with emphasis on follow-up and language resources
      • 4.2.2Terminology work focusing on concept analysis
  • 5.Discussion and future research
  • Note
  • Abbreviations
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 5 July 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/term.00059.pil
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