Towards a systematized diachronic terminology: some basic concepts in focus

Abstract

Diachrony has not always been an aspect discussed by terminological studies that can be based on different perspectives. Among them, Diachronic Terminology (DT), conceived as an approach that has the main characteristic of focusing on this aspect, has received more attention in recent decades by several works, whose common characteristic is the adoption of a terminological-diachronic approach. The diversity of these research is enormous, which and, according to Dury and Picton (2009), generates vague and imprecise theoretical and methodological contours in Terminology. To contribute to an organization of these contours in Brazilian Portuguese, since, in our country, studies (especially the theoretical ones) in this regard are still incipient, this paper presents an overview of international and national research by highlighting their main characteristics in terms of contribution and basic conceptions. Based on this panorama, the use of some terms in these studies that refer to the phenomena analyzed, and their theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. Thus, it is hoped that this work may arouse more interest in this approach and, going further, it can serve as an initial guide, as it discusses some paths that can be followed by investigations to be developed especially in Brazil.