Number: 2007-008-1-400
Title: Development of a Multilingual
Encyclopaedia of Polymer Terminology
Task Group
Chairman: Cláudio dos-Santos
Members: Giuseppe Allegra,
Maximo Baron, Taihyun Chang, Alain Fradet, Jiasong He, Michael Hess,
Jung-Il Jin, Tatsuki Kitayama, Przemyslaw Kubisa, David Tabak, and
Jiri Vohlidal
Objective:
Fostering world-wide communications
in all areas of Chemistry has been a long established goal of IUPAC
activities since it was founded. This project is aimed at proposing
a web-based and user-friendly encyclopedia of polymer terms and
definitions translated into several languages. An online accessible
dictionary is to be built by combining translations of terms of
polymer science and their definitions.
Description:
This Multilingual Encyclopaedia will have the Glossary of Basic
Terms in Polymer Science as the starting point, and its available
translations will be used to edit an internet based dictionary.
Once it is loaded to IUPAC website, the user will be able not only
to look up any term and definition in English but also its translation
into the available languages. Basic terms and definitions in languages
other than English should be those recognized by the relevant National
Adhering Organisations (NAO).
It is clear that this project will rely
heavily on collaboration from nationals of non-English speaking
countries. Given the dimension of the project, languages that use
occidental characters will be chosen first (French, Spanish, Italian,
Portuguese, German; Dutch, Czech, Polish, etc); later, languages
with more distinct characters (such as Chinese, Japanese, Russian,
Korean, Greek, Thai, Arabic, etc.) will be incorporated. Every attempt
will be made to seek the co-operation, involvement and support of
the relevant NAOs. It is expected that this electronic dictionary
will be flexible enough that up-dating as well as addition of further
terms can be made straightforwardly, since all data will be based
exclusively on IUPAC documents that have already been approved.
This is an electronic project, but in
volume goes well beyond that of a normal terminology project. There
are examples of multilingual dictionaries, both printed and electronic,
from other organizations such as the one sponsored by ISO, but this
would be the first one directed entirely to the Polymer Chemistry
community, making the sponsorship of IUPAC so important.