Subterminologi

Subterminologi is a theoretical concept in linguistics and information science that describes the study of subterms within a terminological system. It focuses on how main terms create, constrain, or relate to smaller, more specific units of meaning, or subterms, and how these relationships affect classification, search, and knowledge sharing.

Origin and usage: The term is a neologism used in contemporary knowledge-management literature. It is not widely formalized, and users sometimes distinguish subterminology from broader terminology and from morphological sub-terms. It often overlaps with subfield-specific vocabularies and domain thesauri.

Key concepts: Subterminologi examines hierarchies of terms (hypernyms and hyponyms), affix-based derivation, polysemy across domains, and the functional role of subterms in discourse. It emphasizes granularity control and contextualization of terms for domain-specific indexing and retrieval.

Methodology and tools: Researchers employ ontologies, controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, semantic networks, and corpus-based analysis to identify subterms, define relations, and maintain consistency across languages and domains.

Applications: Subterminologi has implications for improved information retrieval, more precise indexing of scientific literature, better cross-disciplinary communication, and enhanced educational resources through standardized subterm usage.

Challenges: The approach must contend with variation across languages, domains, and corpora; the absence of formal standards; the handling of polysemy and multimembership; and the need to maintain updates in dynamic fields.

See also: Terminology, Ontology, Taxonomy, Lexicography.