The theory of terminology has evolved considerably in recent years, responding on the one hand to new challenges in specialised communication and profiting on the other from new trends in general linguistics. The general theory of terminology, which used to be concerned largely with matters of standardisation, has given way to a more open approach, firmly set in the sphere of linguistics which is better equipped to account for the various scenarios used in scientific and technical communication. The communicative theory of terminology is a linguistic approach which studies terms simultaneously as units of language, of cognition and of social function. The article discusses the theoretical basis of this approach, and its suitability for describing terms and its empirical value in accounting for the diversity of the data but without foregoing the possibility of treating terms from other points of view.

Terminology has conventionally been biased in favour of synchrony and most studies carried out in the field have remained fixed on specialised language at a point in time. After having listed the possible reasons for the lack in the production of diachronic accounts of specialised languages, we shall discuss new developments, in the theory as well as in the methodology, of what may be called “modern” terminology. We will then show that the use of corpus linguistics and computer science has undoubtedly helped “modern” terminology to focus more on corpus provision and study in diachrony. We will finally show that a lot remains to be done for diachrony to join synchrony as a major interest of study in terminology, making it an area ripe for growth.

This paper presents concepts and systems for multilingual terminological and textual knowledge codification, representation, validation, management and sharing structured around the notion of genre. These systems operationalize the different stages of the ‘virtuous knowledge cycle’ within a dynamic, multilingual specialized web-dictionary and a multilingual, genre-based corpus of medical texts genre hierarchies or systems. The knowledge cycle approach mirrors ‘real life’ working processes and allows for repeated conversions of knowledge between its tacit and explicit forms, allowing knowledge to codify and spiral up from the individual to the collective level at corporate, ‘community of practice’. The paper reports on the results of the implementation of these concepts and systems in general and the web-dictionary in particular within the Danish health care, pharmaceutical, medical device and translation sectors which technologically have been fused into one collective ‘knowledge cluster’ and it discusses the opportunities for research and business that spring from fusion of language and health technologies.

In the information age we have more accessible data than ever before. At the same time there is undoubtedly a greater information need than ever before. We can distinguish between at least three types of information needs: communicative, cognitive and operational. Dictionaries will normally focus on one or more communicative functions, encyclopaedias normally on cognitive functions, user guides and manuals focus on operational functions. To perform such functions, we need reference books containing the necessary data. This is a main topic both in metalexicography and in terminography. Far less observations have been made to the no less important question: How and especially how quick can the user get access to the data ?