The value of indigenous knowledge systems in the development of Zulu medical terminology
Language may be studied not only from a linguistic point of view, but also with regard to extra-linguistic factors such as indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). These systems, broadly speaking, concern the lives, thoughts and culture of the people who speak a particular language. Zulu language development, for instance, can be enhanced by reverting to indigenous knowledge which is imbedded in the language instead of relying solely on linguistic methods of term creation. In this manner the speaker's understanding of newly created terms will also be improved. In this article world view and taboo are two of the indigenous knowledge-related systems applied and exemplified with reference to the development of Zulu medical (technical) terminology. Generally, a person's mother tongue offers him/her a framework for his/her perception of the environment or world (world view). Taboo, on the other hand, is an umbrella term referring to terms that are unsuitable for use in a specific social context.
Terminography in African languages in South Africa
The various ways in which terminologies are being developed in African languages in South Africa are surveyed and the methodological and other problems endemic in the present situation are analysed. Term-development processes such as derivation, semantic transfer, deideophonization, paraphrase, compounding, and borrowing are discussed and standardization problems are outlined. Historico-political developments in South Africa have led to a situation of unco-ordinated efforts to satisfy the ever-increasing need for new terms in the African languages, and to a consequent lack of consensus on methodological principles. The purpose in analysing these problems is to provide information and proposals which may contribute to some amelioration of the situation.
Terminological development and organization in China
Terms are products of the development of science and culture. As science and culture develop, more attention is paid to the formulation and normalization of terms. From this point of view we can understand why in the Warring States' Period, a time when 'a hundred schools of thought were contending' in the 3rd Century BC, Xunzi wrote Zheng ming pian [On the definition of names] . Terminology work is closely linked with translation work. Translation raises the question of what principle should be adopted in translating terms: phonetic or semantic. This question is an old one. In translation of the Buddhist Scriptures which began during the Han Dynasty period and reached its high tide under the Tang, many Buddhist terms from Sanskrit were absorbed. Many yichang [translation centers] were set up. The largest center was headed by Master Xuanzhuang. Addressing the question of phonetic or semantic approaches, he put forward the principle of Wu Bu Fan, 'five kinds of terms that do not need translating'. (For details, see Fayun 1143: Preface.) The translation of scientific works began in the Ming Dynasty. Many works on astronomy, mathematics, the calendar, surveying, agriculture and irrigation, and technology were translated through collaboration between foreign and domestic scholars. Especially during the latter half of the 19th Century, many scientific terms were introduced in translations of scientific and technical works mainly by Jingshi Tongwen Guan and Jiangnan Zhizao Ju. Before the publication of Huaxue jianyuan translated by Xü Shou, the most common chemical elements, such äs gold, copper, iron, chlorine, etc., had only common names in Chinese. In the process of translating this work, the nomenclatural principle of coining new Chinese characters according to the first syllables of the Latin names of these chemical elements was adopted.