Problems of terminology in civil engineering

The professional terminology of Ukrainian researchers and geotechnical specialists was previously formed in Russian within the framework established by the Soviet authorities, as both science and higher education were not allowed to use the Ukrainian language. Therefore, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the Law on Higher Education, textbooks and national science of independent Ukraine were naturally formed by translation into Ukrainian. Meanwhile, during the Cold War, Soviet science developed behind the Iron Curtain from the West, with virtually no scientific and technical exchange. This led to significant differences in the development of entire fields of science. Now, on the way to integration into the European Union, cooperation with European colleagues has increased significantly, and mutual understanding in English is very important. The aim of this work is therefore to find ways of unifying national terminology in the field of civil engineering, particularly geotechnical engineering, to a level acceptable to our Western colleagues who are guided by European standards. The terms «civil engineering» and «geotechnics», which are relatively recent additions to our profession, are used incorrectly even in approved regulatory documents. From the point of view of English terminology, the terms «construction and civil engineering» and «geotechnics and foundation engineering» seem rather strange, because construction is a part of civil engineering and foundation engineering is a part of geotechnics. The difference between the terms «geotechnics» and «geotechnical engineering» should also be taken into account, as the former deals with the relevant scientific foundations and the latter with the application of these scientific foundations. The discipline of «soils and foundations» is known in Western universities as «foundations» and is an important component of «geotechnical engineering». At the same time, the research translation «Bases and Foundations» is never used in professional English literature, except by Russian-speaking scientists, although the word «base» is sometimes used, but not as often as in our country. Unfortunately, the misunderstanding of professional terminology has significant negative consequences, which are highlighted. The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of Ukraine dated 14.09.2011 ¹ 1057 «On Approval of the List of Scientific Specialties» combines geotechnical and mining mechanics into the scientific specialty 05.15.09 and assigns it to the group of specialties «Development of mineral resources» 05.15.00, while geotechnical mechanics is actually the theoretical basis of geotechnics and a practical tool of geotechnical engineering. The scientific specialty 04.00.07 «Engineering Geology» is classified by the Order as a group of geological scientific specialties, although it is much more related to construction, and the specialty 03.00.18 «Soil Science» is generally classified as a group of biological scientific specialties. At the same time, the order does not include the group of specialties «Civil Engineering» at all, and the group of scientific specialties 05.23.00 «Construction» does not include the specialty «Geotechnical Engineering». It was suggested that on behalf of the Conference to address the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine with a proposal to introduce appropriate amendments to the Order of 14.09.2011 № 1057 «On Approval of the List of Scientific Specialities». Based on the analysis of the legislative regulation of the activities of public organisations, a new name of the national public organisation «Ukrainian Public Organisation of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering» is proposed for discussion by the conference participants.