LANGUAGES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES

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LANGUAGES FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES

• daniel.gile_at_laposte.net , daniel.gile_at_yahoo.com
• www.cirinandgile.com

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LANGUAGES

• MADE UP OF
• SYMBOLS
• RULES FOR THEIR USE
• THE SYMBOLS CAN BE
• - SOUNDS
• GESTURES
• IMAGES
• RULES DETERMINE THEIR
• SUCCESSIVE ORDER
• SPECIFIC FORM

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HUMAN LANGUAGES

• INFORMAL
• MIMICKS, BODY LANGUAGE, CLOTHING, SPONTANEOUS
  SOUNDS
• FORMAL
• WRITTEN, ORAL, SIGN LANGUAGES
• LEXICAL UNITS
• WORDS, IDIOMS, PROVERBS
• RULES
• GRAMMAR, WORD ORDER, STYLISTIC RULES
• NOTE CONTENT WORDS, FUNCTION WORDS

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HUMAN LANGUAGES AND INTERPRETATION

• ONE FUNDAMENTAL POINT IN HUMAN LANGUAGES,
• SIGNS MUST BE INTERPRETED
• IN OTHER WORDS,
• THEY MAY MEAN MORE THAN ONE THING
• UNDERSTANDING IMPLIES TAKING DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT
  THEY MEAN
• WHY DO SIGNS NEED TO BE INTERPRETED?
• FIRSTLY, BECAUSE OF PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS ?
• SECONDLY, BECAUSE OF OTHER FUNDAMENTAL FEATURES
  OF HUMAN LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ?

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PHYSICAL REASONS FOR THE NEED FOR INTERPRETATION
OF HUMAN LANGUAGES

• VERBAL STATEMENTS ARE PRODUCED AS SOUNDS OR
  VISUAL SIGNS
• SOUNDS ARE NOT CONSTANT AND STANDARD
• IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO IDENTIFY SPEECH SEGMENTS ON
  THE SOLE BASIS OF SOUNDS
• FEATURES OF THE SOUNDS ARE PERCEIVED BY THE EAR
  AND PROCESSED IN THE BRAIN
• WITH THE HELP OF
• PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELEVANT LANGUAGE
• AND IN PARTICULAR OF WHAT WORDS, SYLLABLES,
  PHONEMES CAN SOUND LIKE
• AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTEXT
• DECISIONS ARE MADE TO IDENTIFY GIVEN SOUND
  SEGMENTS AS WORDS AND SENTENCES

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PHYSICAL REASONS FOR THE NEED FOR INTERPRETATION
OF HUMAN LANGUAGES

• IN THE CASE OF WRITING, IMAGES ARE NOT CONSTANT
  EITHER, THOUGH THEIR SHAPES VARY FAR LESS, AT
  LEAST WHEN IN FONT
• IN HANDWRITING, CONSIDERABLE PROCESSING MAY BE
  REQUIRED
• EVEN TYPEWRITTEN STATEMENTS REQUIRE SOME
  INTERPRETATION
• AS THE FONTS, SIZES, ANGLES, COLORS VARY
• BUT THE PROCESSING EFFORT REQUIRED FOR
  INDENTIFICATION OF LINGUISTIC UNITS PRESENTED IN
  TYPEWRITTEN STATEMENTS IS GENERALLY FAR LESS
  INTENSIVE THAN THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO INDENTIFY
  SPOKEN SPEECH

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THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN LANGUAGES (1)

• HOW MANY DISTINCT WORDS ARE THERE IN ENGLISH, IN
  FRENCH, IN GERMAN, ETC.?
• IN GENERAL LANGUAGE, AROUND 100 000 OR LESS
• HOW MANY OF THESE DO YOU KNOW?
• PERHAPS 10 000 TO 30 000 IN EACH LANGUAGE
• DEPENDING ON YOUR EDUCATION
• HOW MANY WORDS DO YOU USE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
• PROBABLY ONLY A FEW THOUSAND
• HOW MANY DISTINCT ENTITIES COULD YOU HAVE TO
  REFER TO OR LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE REFER TO IN
  DAILY LIFE?
• (PEOPLE, OBJECTS, ACTIONS, PLACES, FEELINGS,
  SITUATIONS, PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS, ANIMALS,
  PLANTS)
• MANY MORE

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THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN LANGUAGES (2)

• YOU WILL THEREFORE
• USE THE SAME WORD FOR MORE THAN ONE ENTITY
• I WILL ALMOST ALWAYS MEAN YOURSELF (WHEN YOU
  SPEAK)
• BUT YOU, HE, SHE WILL MEAN THOUSANDS OF
  DIFFERENT PEOPLE THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE
• HOUSE MAY MEAN YOUR HOME, BUT ALSO OTHER HOUSES
• BOOK MAY MEAN MANY DIFFERENT BOOKS, ETC.
• EVEN COMBINATIONS OF WORDS WILL NOT BE ENOUGH TO
  ALWAYS NAME A SINGLE ENTITY YOUR BOOK, YOUR
  GREEN DRESS
• EVEN WHEN THEY DO, THEY WILL HAVE TO BE
  INTERPRETED, AS THEY WILL NOT MEAN THE SAME THING
  TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE

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THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN LANGUAGES (3)

• THIS IS INEVITABLE
• BECAUSE OTHERWISE, NAMES WOULD HAVE TO BE
  INVENTED FOR EVERY ENTITY ANYONE DEALS WITH
• AND EVERYONE WOULD HAVE TO KNOW THIS NAME
• NOT FEASIBLE
• OTHER POSSIBILITY USING A COMBINATION OF
  EXISTING LEXICAL UNITS TO NAME NEW ENTITIES
• THIS IS DONE EVERY DAY
• THE MEAL WE ATE YESTERDAY MAKES IT POSSIBLE NOT
  TO HAVE A SPECIFIC NAME FOR THAT MEAL
• BUT EVEN THAT REQUIRES INTERPRETATION

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THE NUMBER OF WORDS IN LANGUAGES (4)

• HOWEVER, WHEN DEALING WITH THE SAME ENTITY
  REGULARLY, IT IS MORE EFFICIENT TO FIND A
  SPECIFIC NAME FOR THE ENTITY, OR AT LEAST FOR A
  SPECIFIC CATEGORY OF WHICH IT IS PART
• UNIVERSITY DEGREE, LAPTOP COMPUTERS,
  APPLICATION SOFTWARE
• THE BEST BALANCE IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATION
  EFFICIENCY
• A RELATIVELY LIMITED NUMBER OF NAMES FOR
  ENTITIES REFERRED TO BY LANGUAGE
• THE MEANING OF UTTERANCES IS DETERMINED BY
• THE NAMES, THEIR VERBAL CONTEXT AND THE
  SITUATIONAL CONTEXT

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COMMUNICATION LAWS (1)

• VERBAL COMMUNICATION ENTAILS EFFORT INVESTMENT IN
  ORDER TO INTERPRET THE MEANING OF AN UTTERANCE
• PRINCIPLE OF RELEVANCE
• MINIMUM COGNITIVE EFFORT FOR MAXIMUM
  COMMUNICATIONAL GAIN
• THE COGNITIVE EFFORT REQUIRED
• DEPENDS ON THE RECEIVERS PREVIOUS RELEVANT
  KNOWLEDGE
• AND ON WHAT THE WORDS ACTUALLY MAKE EXPLICIT

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COMMUNICATION LAWS (2)

• UNDERSTANDING ? ANALYSIS (WORDS CONTEXT)
• REQUIREMENTS
• KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE
• EXTRALINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE
• THE MORE IN THE CONTEXT,
• THE LESS EXPLICIT THE STATEMENT NEEDS TO BE
• THE MORE EXPLICIT THE STATEMENT, THE LESS
  KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTEXT AND SITUATION IS
  REQUIRED
• DEPENDING ON THE MESSAGE, THERE ARE MINIMUM
  REQUIREMENTS IN TERMS OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
  LANGUAGE, AND OF THE CONTEXT

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EXPLICITNESS AND INFORMATION

• IN CONVERSATION BETWEEN A PROSPECTIVE BUYER AND A
  CAR SALESPERSON WELL?
• COULD MEAN HAVE YOU MADE UP YOUR MIND?
• OUT OF CONTEXT, COULD MEAN MANY THINGS
• HOW IS YOUR HEALTH?
• DID YOU LIKE THE FILM?
• ..
• IN SOME CASES, AUTHORS OF TEXTS DO NOT WANT TOO
  MUCH UNCERTAINTY IN THE INTERPRETATION OF
  STATEMENTS
• AND ADD WORDS EVEN IF THESE ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR
  INITIAL UNDERSTANDING
• CONTRACTS

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THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE (1)

• INITIALLY, PERHAPS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS AND BODY
  LANGUAGE
• THEN GRUNTS AND OTHER SOUNDS
• FIRST WORDS WERE PERHAPS NAMES
• THEN MORE WORDS FOR PERSONS, ANIMALS, PLANTS AND
  OTHER CONCRETE OBJECTS
• THEN SOME SORT OF GRAMMAR,
• MORE ABSTRACT WORDS,
• STYLISTIC RULES
• WRITING SYSTEMS

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THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE (2)

• LANGUAGES DEVELOP IN PARALLEL WITHIN HUMAN
  COMMUNITIES IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
• SO DIFFERENT WORDS, DIFFERENT GRAMMAR
• EVENTUALLY DIFFERENT WRITING SYSTEMS
• HOWEVER, THERE IS ALSO MUCH INTERACTION
• WITH IMPORTS OF LANGUAGE ELEMENTS FROM GROUP TO
  GROUP
• EVEN WHEN INTERACTION, GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF
  LOCAL LANGUAGES
• FROM LATIN FRENCH, ITALIAN, SPANISH.
• FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS
• LAW OF LEAST EFFORT
• SOCIOLINGUISTIC REASONS

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THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE (3)

• IN ANY HUMAN COMMUNITY, LANGUAGE IS ALIVE AND
  EVOLVES
• IN PARTICULAR
• NEW WORDS ARE CREATED
• AS HUMAN GROUPS START DEALING REGULARLY WITH NEW
  ENTITIES AND NEED OR WANT TO NAME THEM
• (NEED OR CONVENIENCE,
• EMOTIONAL OR SOCIAL REASONS
• HAVING TO DO WITH GROUP IDENTITY,
• SOMETIMES WITH INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY)
• ESPECIALLY CONSPICUOUS TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTS,
  PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES, SPORTS CATEGORIES

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FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGES

• LANGUAGE HAS SOCIAL FUNCTIONS, WHICH HAVE TO DO
  WITH COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BEINGS
• WE WILL FOCUS ON THESE SOCIAL FUNCTIONS WHEN
  CONSIDERING LSPS
• LANGUAGE HAS OTHER FUNCTIONS AS WELL
• MAINTAIN RECORDS
• HELP CONCEPTUALIZE THE WORLD

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SOCIAL FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGES

• THE BASIC SOCIAL FUNCTION OF HUMAN LANGUAGES IS
  COMMUNICATION
• (EXCHANGING INFORMATION, EXPRESSING FEELINGS,
  INDUCING FEELINGS, MAKING PEOPLE DO SOMETHING)
• ANOTHER IMPORTANT SOCIAL FUNCTION OF LANGUAGES IS
  TO HELP CREATE/MAINTAIN/STRENGTHEN SOCIAL
  COHESION IN GROUPS
• SPEAKING CERTAIN LANGUAGES OR VARIETIES OF
  LANGUAGE MAKES ONE BELONG TO A GROUP/MARKS ONE AS
  BELONGING TO THE GROUP
• THIS IS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE LIFE OF
  LANGUAGES AND GROUPS
• (DIALECTS, REGIONAL LANGUAGES, SLANG)

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LANGUAGE CLASSIFICATIONS

• NATIONAL LANGUAGES
• (ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, SPANISH, CHINESE)
• MANY OF THEM ARE NOT REALLY NATIONAL BUT
  SUPRA-NATIONAL
• WE WILL CALL THEM NATIONAL NEVERTHELESS FOR
  CONVENIENCE
• LANGUAGES OF ETHNIC GROUPS
• (WITHIN A MULTI-ETHNIC COUNTRY)
• BASQUE IN FRANCE AND SPAIN, YORUBA IN NIGERIA,
  ETC.
• DIALECTS COMMON ROOTS WITH A NATIONAL LANGUAGE,
  BUT NOT THE SAME
• CLASSIFICATION AS LANGUAGE OR DIALECT SOMETIMES
  PROBLEMATIC

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LANGUAGES AS SOCIOLECTS

• ALL THESE LANGUAGES ARE SOCIOLECTS,
• I.E. LANGUAGES DEFINED BY THE SOCIAL GROUP IN
  WHICH THEY ARE SPOKEN
• (NATIONAL/SUPRANATIONAL, REGIONAL, ETHNIC)
• LSPS ARE ALSO SOCIOLECTS
• DEFINED AS LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY GROUPS OF PEOPLE
  WHO SPECIALIZE IN SOME ACTIVITY
• WHICH OTHER PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW (WELL)
• THEY ARE FORMED WITHIN NATIONAL LANGUAGES
• THOUGH SOMETIMES WITH ELEMENTS FROM OTHER
  LANGUAGES
• AGE GROUP-SPECIFIC, REGION-SPECIFIC, ETHNIC
  GROUP-SPECIFIC, FAMILY-SPECIFIC SOCIOLECTS ARE
  NOT LSPS

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THE RANGE OF LSPS

• LSPS CAN BE SCIENTIFIC OR TECHNICAL
• BUT ALSO RELATE TO SPORTS
• TO ARTS
• TO HOBBIES
• TO GAMES CHILDREN PLAY
• ANY LANGUAGE WHICH IS CREATED AROUND AN ACTIVITY
  WHICH THE PUBLIC AT LARGE DOES NOT SHARE

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LSPS SPECIALIZED TERMS

• AS ANY OTHER LANGUAGE
• SIGNS
• RULES WHICH DETERMINE THEIR USE
• HERE, WE WILL BE INTERESTED IN VERBAL SIGNS
• (AS OPPOSED TO GESTURES, NON-VERBAL SIGNS, ETC.)
• THOUGH NON-VERBAL SIGNS ARE ALSO PART OF SOME
  LSPS
• THE BASIC SIGN OF LSPS IS THE SPECIALIZED TERM
• ALSO CALLED TECHNICAL TERM
• CONCEPTUALLY, IT CAN BE DEFINED AS A TERM USED
  ESSENTIALLY BY MEMBERS OF THE SPECIALIZED GROUP
• OPERATIONALLY, IT IS SOMETIMES DIFFICULT TO
  IDENTIFY
• SOMETIMES, IT LOOKS LIKE A NON-SPECIALIZED TERM
  USED IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE BUT IT IS DIFFERENT
  BECAUSE IT HAS A SPECIAL MEANING

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LSP GRAMMAR AND STYLE

• THE GRAMMAR OF AN LSP IS BASICALLY THAT OF THE
  NATIONAL LANGUAGE OF WHICH IT IS PART
• SOMETIMES IT HAS A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT GRAMMAR
• OFTEN IN THE USE OF VERBS
• SOMETIMES IN THE USE OF PLURALS WHICH DO NOT
  EXIST IN GENERAL LANGUAGE (LG)
• - FOR REASONS OF COMMUNICATIONAL EFFICIENCY
• (REPETITION, SPELLING OUT OF NAMES FOR LETTERS IN
  MILITARY LSPS)
• - BECAUSE OF THE INFLUENCE OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
• ARCHAIC LANGUAGE (LEGAL LSPS)
• - TO ADAPT TO A PARTICULAR SOCIAL STRUCTURE
• (MILITARY, POLICE)

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LSP MORPHOLOGY OF TEXTS

• LSPS ARE SPECIFIC NOT ONLY AT THE LEVEL OF SMALL
  UNITS SUCH AS WORDS AND SENTENCE STRUCTURES
• THEY ALSO HAVE PARTICULAR IDIONSYNCRACIES AT THE
  LEVEL OF TEXTS/SPEECHES
• (TEXTS FOR CONVENIENCE)
• IN THE FORM OF PARTICULAR TEXT STRUCTURES
• (CONSPICUOUS IN LEGAL TEXTS, BUT WILL ALSO BE
  STUDIED LATER IN SCIENTIFIC TEXTS)

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LSP AND GENERAL LANGUAGE

• AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, ON THE WHOLE, LSPS
  SHARE THEIR NATIONAL LANGUAGES GRAMMAR AND MANY
  FUNCTION WORDS
• BUT BOUNDARIES BETWEEN LSPS AND GL ARE NOT
  ALWAYS EASY TO IDENTIFY
• JUST AS BOUNDARIES BETWEEN AN EXPERT ACTIVITY AND
  AN ACTIVITY AVAILABLE TO ALL MAY BE DIFFICULT TO
  DEFINE
• SOME SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CONCEPTS MAKE
  THEIR WAY TO SOCIETY AT LARGE AND THUS MIGRATE
  FROM LSPS TO GL
• (MODEM, HIV, H5N1, DROIT OPPOSABLE IN FRENCH.)
• SO PARTS OF LSP MIGRATE INTO GL, BUT
• WHEN A WORD FROM GL MIGRATES INTO LSP,
• IT IS NO LONGER GL BECAUSE IT TAKES ON A
  SPECIFIC MEANING

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THE INTERNAL EVOLUTION OF LSPS (1)

• LIKE GL, LSPS EVOLVE
• THEY ACQUIRE NEW TERMS WHEN NEW ENTITIES ARE
  BEING HANDLED WITHIN THE SPECIALISTS GROUPS
• OFTEN, EVEN BEFORE THESE ENTITIES ARE NAMED IN
  EVERYDAY EXCHANGES
• IN PARTICULAR, NEW PRODUCTS, NEW METHODS, NEW
  CONCEPTS ETC.
• THIS IS SIMILAR TO WHAT HAPPENS IN GL, BUT
  RESTRICTED TO THE SPECIALISTS GROUP
• SOMETIMES, TO A SUB-COMMUNITY WITHIN THE
  SPECIALIST GROUP
• (A PARTICULAR COMPANY, MINISTRY, SPORTS CLUB ETC)

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THE INTERNAL EVOLUTION OF LSPS (2)

• THE MEANING AND/OR USAGE OF TERMS CHANGE
• PORTABLE IN FRENCH
• THEY INTERACT WITH OTHER NATIONAL (LSP) LANGUAGES
• ENGLISH IN THE LSP OF DATA PROCESSING IN MANY
  COUNTRIES
• THEY INTERACT WITH GL WHICH ALSO CHANGE
• NEW TERMS MAY BE CREATED FOR THE SAME ENTITIES IN
  DIFFERENT GROUPS
• THE IDEA THAT IN LSPS, THERE IS ONLY ONE TERM
  FOR EACH CONCEPT AND THAT EACH TERM HAS A SINGLE
  REFERENT IS WRONG
• IN FACT, THERE IS MORE FREEDOM IN LSPS THAN IN
  GL
• BECAUSE LSPS ARE LESS UNDER THE CONTROL OF
  NATIONAL ACADEMIES AND OTHER NORMATIVE BODIES

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THE SIZE OF THE LEXICON OF LSPS

• IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY WHAT THE SIZE OF AN LSP
  LEXICON IS
• IF ONLY BECAUSE THERE ARE LSPS WITHIN LSPS
• AS THEY ARE SPECIALITIES WITHIN SPECIALITIES
• LSP OF MEDICINE
• LSP OF CARDIOLOGY
• LSP OF RYTHMOLOGY
• THE SMALLEST LSP LEXICON COULD BE OF LESS THAN 10
  TERMS (?)
• THE LARGEST COULD BE OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF
  TERMS
• (MEDICINE?)

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (1)EXAMPLES FROM CIVIL
ENGINEERING

• DERRICKING
• DEWATERING
• DEVIL
• DIAMOND SAW
• FUSION WELDING
• DIFFERENTIAL PULLEY BLOCK
• HIGH-STRENGTH FRICTION-GRIP BOLTS
• HOYER METHOD OF PRESTRESSING
• REYNOLDS NUMBER, REYNOLDS CRITERION
• HOWE TRUSS
• HUMBER BRIDGE
• IMPERFECT FRAME
• REVETMENT

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (2)EXAMPLES FROM
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

• BACK-UP
• MOUSE LSP OR GL?
• MENU LSP OR GL?
• NETWORK - LSP OR GL?
• USB PORT - LSP OR GL?
• MODEM LSP OR GL?
• CRM
• FTP
• CLIENT-SERVER ARCHITECTURE
• CODE (IN SOFTWARE)
• ROUTINE
• HTTPS

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (3)EXAMPLES FROM
MEDICINE

• POLYARTHRITIS
• SCHATZKIS RING
• OCULOGYRIC CRISIS
• ACHALASIA
• IRON DEFICIENCY ANEMIA
• ABERRANT SUBCLAVIAN ARTERY
• HEARTBURN
• BRUSH CYTOLOGY
• DILATING INSTRUMENT
• ZENKERS DIVERTICULUM, PHARYNGEAL DIVERTICULUM
• GASTROESOPHAGEAL JUNCTION
• LEIOMYOSARCOMA
• ESOPHAGEAL LUMEN

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (4)EXAMPLES FROM LAW

• ADMISSION OF LIABILITY
• AMIABLE SETTLEMENT, OUT-OF-COURT SETTLEMENT
• ARBITRATION CLAUSE
• RECOVERY
• CIVIL LIABILITY
• FORMATION OF THE CONTRACT
• LEX FORI
• PARTY
• PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW
• STAY OF EXECUTION
• DISPUTE
• POINT OF LAW, POINT OF FACT
• BRIEF

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (5)EXAMPLES FROM
FINANCES

• SHARE BUYBACK
• SHARE CAPITAL
• CAGR
• CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENT
• CASH POSITION
• CURRENT ASSETS
• IBT INCOME BEFORE TAX
• IFO INCOME FROM OPERATIONS
• INTERIM DIVIDEND
• NON-CURRENT ASSETS
• OPERATING MARGIN
• PRE-TAX MARGIN
• REPEAT RATE

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE CREATED (6)PROCEDURES

• NAMES OF PEOPLE/PLACES
• DETERMINANTS ADDED TO EXISTING TERMS
• - SHORTENING OF EXISTING TERMS
• (SHORTENING OF WORDS, DELETION OF ELEMENTS IN
  COMPOUND TERMS, ACRONYMS)
• TRANSLATION OF EXISTING FOREIGN TERMS
• - ADAPTATION OF EXISTING FOREIGN TERMS
• (GRAPHIC, PRONOUNCIATION, GRAMMAR)
• ONOMATOPEAS
• ADOPTION OF WORDS FROM GL/ANOTHER LSP WITH
  SPECIALIZED MEANING
• CREATION OF NEW WORDS WITH EXISTING MORPHEMES
  (GREEK/LATIN, CHINESE CHARACTERS)
• ..

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WHO CREATES LSP TERMS?

• MOSTLY PRIVATE CREATION OF NEW TERMS
• (JUST AS IN EVERYDAY LANGUAGE)
• INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS (IN SCIENCE)
• COMPANIES OR DEPARTMENTS IN COMPANIES TO NAME NEW
  FAMILIES OF PRODUCTS OR FOR MARKETING PURPOSES
• ANONYMOUSLY, WITHIN A GROUP, WITHOUT IT BEING
  POSSIBLE TO KNOW WHO INVENTED THE TERM
• SOMETIMES, OFFICIAL OR SEMI-OFFICIAL BODIES
• (CORPORATE CONSORTIA, PRIVATE OR GOVERNMENTAL
  BODIES SET UP FOR TERMINOLOGICAL
  ACTION/COORDINATION)

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE ADOPTED (1)

• SOMETIMES BY OFFICIAL DECISIONS
• SOMETIMES BY USAGE, BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE THEM AND
  FIND THEM CONVENIENT
• IN ALL CASES, USAGE, NOT OFFICIAL DECISIONS IS
  THE MAIN DETERMINANT OF ACCEPTANCE
• LAW OF LEAST EFFORT
• LENGTH
• EASE OF PRONUNCIATION
• FEQUENCY OF ENCOUNTERS IN TEXTS OR SPEECH
• (IN MANY FIELDS, ENGLISH INSTEAD OF LOCAL TERMS)
• SOCIAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
• (INCLUDING SOCIOLINGUISTIC COHESION FACTOR)

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HOW LSP TERMS ARE ADOPTED (2)

• OFFICIAL BODIES CAN ONLY PROPOSE OR RECOMMEND.
  USERS WILL
• - ACCEPT
• - ACCEPT AND MODIFY
• (SHORTEN, ADAPT PRONUNCIATION)
• - REJECT
• SOMETIMES OFFICIAL TERMS DO NOT HAVE A CHANCE
• THIS IS ONE REASON WHY THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE
  TERM PER ENTITY TO BE NAMED
• (GROUPS PREFERENCES NOT THE SAME)
• - FROM THE START
• - OR OVER TIME, WHEN GROUP SHAPES THE TERM

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SUMMARY OF MAIN POINTS1. LSPs ARE
SOCIOLECTS2. THEY ARE LANGUAGES LIKE OTHER
LANGUAGES IN THEIR NATURE, AS THEY ARE MADE UP OF
DISCRETE SIGNS AND RULES FOR THEIR USE3. THEY
OVERLAP TO A LARGE EXTENT WITH GL, THE MAIN
DIFFERENCE BEING THEIR LEXICON.4. THEY FOLLOW
THE SAME EVOLUTIONARY LAWS THAT OTHER LANGUAGES
FOLLOW AND ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAW OF LEAST EFFORT
AND TO SOCIOLINGUISTIC LAWS5. THEY OFTEN
INTERACT MORE ACTIVELY WITH OTHER NATIONAL
LANGUAGES THAN GL AND MAY EVOLVE WITH MORE
FREEDOM THAN WRITTEN GL