Terminological works in Onomastics

Abstract

Terminological works in Onomastics  

Adequate terminology is a prerequisite of the study and development of a subject area. This realization leads to the compilation of terminological dictionaries and glossaries; such comprehensive works, however, are not to be found in Hungarian Linguistics and Onomastics. This paper points out the active presence of terminological questions in today’s international Onomastic Studies, and outlines the important terminological research programmes and their results pursued in foreign languages, laying special emphasis on the ICOS project still in progress. The author discusses the previous, unsuccessful attempts to systematize and describe Hungarian Onomastic terminology, and presents some typical terminological issues appearing in the Hungarian literature. The paper calls attention to the existing problems of Hungarian Onomastic terminology, and – in accordance with the thriving international research programmes – emphasizes the need for and importance of the compilation of a Hungarian, or multilingual, onomastic terminological dictionary.