SOME ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTEMPORARY LATVIAN TERMINOGRAPHY: CHALLENGES, SOLUTIONS, OPPORTUNITIES

While studying the state of contemporary Latvian terminography, it must be acknowledged that terminological dictionaries are issued very often. The present research examines 450 Latvian terminological dictionaries that have been published in the last 30 years. Terminological dictionaries represent 30–40 % of the entire Latvian lexicography. Their characterization has a wide variety, both in terms of the authors and publishers, in terms of language selection and in terms of target audience. In addition, there are dictionaries approved by the Terminology Commission and dictionaries that are not approved by any official institutions. There is a lack of studies on the habits and needs of term dictionary users. In addition, publications of criticism or analysis about the qualitative performance of such dictionaries are also rare and no criteria has been developed to fully analyse and evaluate the development of terminology’s theory and practice. In this article, the authors have focused on exploring the situation in order to clarify the main trends in the characteristics of the terminography of Latvia. This was done through interviews with representatives of leading publishers who confirmed that the publishing houses are losing interest in issuing terminological dictionaries and discussion with the Chairman of the Terminology Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences. The authors have identified the main issues in organising the terminology process and determined answers to specific questions: what determines the dictionaries’ choice and credibility factor; how is feedback sought after a new dictionary is issued; what alternatives exist in areas where terminological dictionaries have been missing for decades, etc. Finally, the study analyses the new Latvian National Terminology Portal, which has been in operation for two years, with an aim to provide information on terms and to allow everyone to participate in the process of creating new terms.