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IS0
FOR STA N DA RD IZATl ON
I N T ERN AT1 ON A L O RG A N IZ AT1 O N
IS0 RECOMMENDATION
R 860
INTERNATIONAL UNI FI CATION
OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS
1st EDITION
October 1968
COPY RIGHT RESERVED
The copyright of IS0 Recommendations and IS0 Standards
belongs to IS0 Member Bodies. Reproduction of these
documents, in any country, may be authorized therefore only
by the national standards organization of that country, being
a member of ISO.
For each individual country the only valid standard is the national standard of that country.
Printed in Switzerland
Also issued in French and Russian. Copies to be obtained through the national standards organizations.
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BRIEF HISTORY
The IS0 Recommendation R 860, International unification of concepts and terms, was drawn
up by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37, Terminology (Principles and co-ordination), the Secretariat
of which is held by the Osterreichisches Normungsinstitut (ON).
Workonthis question by the Technical Committee began in 1952 and led, in 1966, to the
adoption of a Draft IS0 Recommendation.
In May 1967, this Draft IS0 Recommendation (No. 1189) was circulated to all the IS0
Member Bodies for enquiry. It was approved, subject to a few modifications of an editorial nature, by
the following Member Bodies :
Argentina Greece Romania
Australia India Spain
Austria Switzerland
Israel
Chile Italy Turkey
U.A.R.
Czechoslovakia Netherlands
France
Poland
Germany
Portugal
Three Member Bodies opposed the approval of the Draft :
Ireland
United Kingdom
U.S.A.
The Draft IS0 Recommendation was then submitted by correspondence to the IS0 Council,
which decided, in October 1968, to accept it as an IS0 RECOMMENDATION.
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ISO/R 860-1968 (E)
FOREWORD
Co-operation and communication between experts engaged in all branches of science and technology
are assuming ever-increasing importance as essential conditions for progress, both within each country
and between countries. For this exchange to be successful, technical terms should have the same
meaning for everyone who uses them. This goal can be achieved only if there is general agreement on
the meaning of these terms. Hence the importance of technical vocabularies, in which concepts and
terms, as well as their defuiitions, are standardized (terminological standards). It is just such stan-
dards which aid to assure mutual understanding.
These vocabularies are prepared by the National Standards Associations and by the Technical
Committees of ISO. During the work on terminology carried out by these bodies it quickly became
apparent that it was necessary to have directives applicable to any field of knowledge and that it
was possible to establish them.
Accordingly, IS0 set up a Technical Committee, known as ISOlTC 37, Terminology (Principles and
co-ordination), with the mission of finding out and formulating general principles on terminology
and terminological lexicography.
The IS0 Recommendations prepared by this Technical Committee deal with questions that fall under
the following four classes :
1. Vocabulary of terminology;
2. Procedure for producing national or international standardized vocabularies;
3. National and international standardization of concepts, terms and their definitions :
principles for their establishment and criteria of value;
4. Layout of monolingual and multilingual vocabularies, including lexicographical symbols.
The IS0 Recommendation included in class 2 deals with guidance in the'organization of the work,
while the other classes are concerned with technical details.
The following IS0 Recommendations have been or will be issued :
Class 1
ISO/R . . .,* Vocabulary of terminology
Class 2
ISOlR 919,
Guide for the preparation of classified Vocabularies (Example of method)
Class 3
ISOlR 704, Naming principles
ISO/R 860, International unification of concepts and terms
Class 4
ISOIR . . .,** Layout of multilingual classified vocabularies
ISO/R . . .,
Layout of monoligual classified vocabularies
ISOlR . . ., Lexicographical symbols
ISO/R 639, Symbols for languages, countries and authorities
The present IS0 Recommendation is a supplement to IS0 Recommendation R/704, Naming principles,
which contains principles applicable to any particular language or languages.
*
At present Draft IS0 Recommendation No. 781.
** At present Draft IS0 Recommendation No. 1659.
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ISO/R 860-1968 (E)
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction . 7
7
...........
1 . Internationalization of concepts and systems of concepts
1.1 Concepts . 7
1.2 Systems of concepts . 8
2 . Internationalization of the description of concepts . 8
2.1 Definitions . 8
2.2 Illustrations . 8
3 . Internationalization of the external form of terms . . 9
.... 9
3.1 Origin and value of international forms .
.... 9
3.1.1 Origin of international forms .
............ .... 9
3.1.2 Importance of international forms
3.1.3 International forms side by side with native forms . . 10
J
.... 10
3.1.4 Latin type forms are to be preferred to the international ethnic forms
3.1.5 National variants . . 10
.... 11
3.2 Competition between written and phonic forms .
3.2.1 Degree of international resemblance . . 11
.............. .... 11
3.2.2 Latin and Latin type words
3.2.3 Ethnic forms borrowed from a language using Roman characters . . 12
.
.... 12
3.2.4 Ethnic forms borrowed from a language using Cyrillic characters . .
.... 13
3.3 Root-words formed from Graeco-Latin roots .
.... 13
3.3.1 Root-words with Latin endings .
3.3.2 Root-words with assimilated endings . . 13
3.4 Words derived fromunaltered Graeco-Latinroots . . 14
.... 14
3.4.1 Pure Graeco-Latin suffixes (and endings) .
3.4.2 Assimilated Graeco-Latin suffixes (and endings) . . 14
3.4.3 Germanic, Slavonic etc . suffixes (and endings) . . 14
3.5 Prototype forms . . 15
.... 15
3.6 International abbreviations .
3.6.1 Abbreviations in general . . 15
3.6.2 Abbreviations of Latin words . . 15
4 . Internationalization of the internal form (= literal meaning) of terms . 15
4.1 Internal form of complex terms . IS
4.2 Internal form of transferred terms . 16
5 . Internationalization of the characters of writing . 16
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ISO/R 860-1968 (I
IS0 Recommendation R 860 October 1968
I NTE R NAT1 ON AL U N I FI CATI ON
OF CONCEPTS AND TERMS
INTRODUCTION
The interests of international understanding require that national terminologies should as far as
possible be unified.
The purpose of this IS0 Recommendation is to show the advantages, possibiiites and limits of the
international unification of concepts and terms. It will be useful to persons concerned with the
selection and coining of terms, especially during the preparation of standardized glossaries and
vocabularies.
Although the rules suggested in this IS0 Recommendation are applicable for general use, it is
possible that some of its particulars cannot always be accepted for use in non-European languages.
The international unification (internationalization) should concern five elements of terminologies.
These are
Concepts and systems of concepts.
(1)
Description of concepts, i.e. definitions and illustrations.
(2)
The external form of terms, especially the graphic form.
(3)
The internal form, i.e. the literal meaning of complex terms and of transferred terms.
(4)
The description of terms, i.e. the characters of writing.
(5)
1. INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CONCEITS AND SYSTEMS OF CONCEPTS
1.1 Concepts
The concepts should be unified. The best way for the unification of concepts is the establish-
ment of unified systems of concepts (see clause 1.2).
It is of primary importance to unify the meanings of such terms, the external or internal form of
which is equal or similar within the compared lahguages. There is a great danger of confusion in
such cases.
Examples : Pseudo-intemarional literal meaning The terms F* machine-outil D Werk-
(a)
zeugmaschine include all machines for cutting or forming any materials.
The term E machine-tool, however, which has the same literal meaning
(see clause 4.1) as the term F machine-outil and is generally equated to it,
in reality designates a specific concept, i.e. only machines for cutting
metals. By such differences misunderstandings may easily arise (pseudo-
international terms).
*
The letters D, E, F, etc. are symbole for the languages German, English, French etc. (see IS0 Recommendation
R 639, Symbols for languages, countries and authorities).
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ISOlR 860-1968 (E
Pseudo-international form. The electrotechnical terms E period F période
(b)
do not have exactly the same meaning as D Periode, as can be seen by the
following comparison :
D Periodendauer D Periode
Sv periodtid Sv period
= E period = E cycle
F période F cycle
IS period0 IS ciclo
Tme international form. The introduction of the international term metre
(c)
would not have had any advantage as long as the unit of length was not
standardized on an international basis.
1.2 Systems of concepts
Systems of concepts, i.e. classifications, should be unified.
Examples : Comparing the names of colours within several languages it is to be noted
(a)
that for some of them exact equivalents are missing in one or another
language. The reason for this is difference of the subdivision of the spec-
trum in the various languages.
Uniform correspondence between national terms designating different
(b)
types of operating conditions, protection and cooling of electric machines
will remain unattainable until the classification of these concepts has been
unified internationally.
INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE DESCRIFTION OF CONCEPTS
2.
2.1 Definitions
Wording of definitions should be unified.
Example : In the Vocabulary of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), care is
taken not only of the effective identity of the meanings of coordinated national
terms, but also of the establishment of official definitions (in English and French).
Translations of such standard definitions should be introduced progressively into
national standards.
The introductions, into a particular country, of definitions fixed by an international convention
should not be made without previous critical examination. In fact international definitions have
often been established on a basis corresponding to the particular use of certain other countries
(see clause 1.2).
2.2 Illustrations
If illustrations are used for the presentation of standardized concepts and terms, these special
illustrations are to be unified.
Examples : In so far as the national norms are derived from Recommendations of ISA,
(a)
IS0 or IEC, illustrations also are generally transmitted with the standard-
ized terms and concepts (e.g. illustrations for the concepts of fits).
This is all the more desirable, since most illustrations only represent
special cases of the given concept (i.e. specific concepts).
In the multilingual defining vocabulary of machine tool terms prepared for
(b)
the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), most illustrations have been
taken from national standards.
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ISO/R 860-1968 (
3. OF THE EXTERNAL FORM OF TERMS
INTERNATIONALIZATION
3.1 Origin and value of international forms
3.1.1 Origin of international forms. Two forms, graphic or phonetic, are etymologically identical,
if they come from the same basic form.
A national form is at the same time international, if there are in several other
languages forms etymologically identical with it; especially if all these forms are similar and
if the languages belong to different families.
There are four c a t e g O r i e s of international forms. These are :
Pure Latin (or Greek) words (see clauses 3.3.1, 3.4.1).
(1)
Example : omnibus; vide
National “Latin z’ype” words. The roots of these words are Latin (or Greek), without
(2)
popular modifications. Their endings have a national form, hence differ from language
to language (see clause 3.3.2). The suffixes, which many of these words contain, are
i Latin (or Greek) either unmodified (see clause 3.4.1) or assimilated to each national
language (see clause 3.4.2). Most “Latin type” derivatives were formed a long time
after the classic epoch.
Example : From the Latin word -caput, capitis have been derived the following
Latin type terms : EFS capitJal(adj.) 1 capitlale D kapitlal R JkapitJalfnyjJ;
E capitJalJism F capitfallisme IS capitlallismo D KapitJalJismus
R JkapitJallizmJ.
Ethnic words internationally accepted. These are words borrowed from a language
(3)
other than Latin (or Greek) to which they are assimilated.
Examples : (a) The Latin word caput has regularly changed into French taking
the form chieJ and afterwards chef: These forms were adopted by
the English language (chien, by German (chef), by Spanish Gefe)
and by Russian (/Sef/).
(b) The word FIS starter R /starter/ D Starter is borrowed from
English (starter).
(c) The word EF robot D Roboter is borrowed from Czech.
(d) The transcription of the Russian term /sputnik/ (see clause
L
3.2.4 (1)) provided the word E sputnik F Spoutnik D Sputnik.
Popular variants from ancient roots. There is, for ethnic words, also another kind of
(4)
internationality, which, however, is more restricted.
This occurs when several modern languages have inherited the same ancient root, each
assimilating it in a different manner, by popular evolution. This is found particularly
among Roman variants of Latin roots. For this kind of internationality the degree of
resemblance (see clause 3.2.1) is smaller and the languages generally belong to only one
family.
Examples : See clauses 3.1.5 example (b) and 3.2.2 example (a).
3.1.2 Importance of intemational forms. The importance of international forms lies in the fact
that they can be immediately understood by persons having no knowledge of foreign
languages. This however depends on the condition that such international forms have the
same meaning in the different languages (see, however, clause 1.1).
~~
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ISO/R 860-1968 (E
The following rule results : Having the choice, in designating a concept, between two
synonyms of equal quality, the one which appears in the same form in other languages is to
be preferred.
Examples : In English two words derived from the Latin are commonly used side
(a)
by side for the concept D Elektronenrohre, namely tube and valve.
With regard to the other languages tube should be preferred; cf.
F tube électronique I tub0 elettronico (in addition to valvola) S tubo
electronico.
It has been proposed to prefer the term F concept to the term.
(b)
F notion, since the expression E concept has the same meaning while
the term E notion does not. This would be contrary to the usage
established in terminology.
The terms E two-electrode valve F tube à deux électrodes D Zweielek-
(c)
trodenrohre; Zweipolrohre Sv tvaelektrodror were almost entirely super-
seded by the international word EF diode D Diode Sv diod. These
words had been proposed in 1921 by the Commission Internationale de
Technique Radiotélégraphique et de Signalisation Visuelle (CIRV).
3.1.3 International forms side by side with native forms, If, in a language, international terms are
taken as “foreign terms” and consequently are not accepted by everyone they should be
admitted into that language at least s i d e by s i d e with the national terms.
Examples : R motor by the side of R dvigatel ‘
by the side of D Stromerzeuger
D Generator
by the side of D Stander
D Stator
3.1.4 Latin type forms are to be preferred to the international ethnic forms. For technical terms
Latin type forms are to be preferred to the international ethnic forms, because they are more
neutral and more consistent with the greater part of the other international terms. They are
more appropriate to form derived and compound words. Foreign ethnic forms provoke the
resistance of the purist.
Examples : The “Comité d’étude des termes techniques français” has suggested the replace -
ment of the following English terms in
...