Organising terminology work in Sweden from the 1940s onwards : Participatory expert roles in networks

Abstract

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.