Overview
ISO 22128:2008 - Terminology products and services: Overview and guidance provides a structured framework for the production, delivery and procurement of terminology products and terminology services. The standard identifies and describes product and service categories, outlines generally-accepted terminology practices (GATP), and sets out the quality features expected in deliverables. It is intended as guidance for work contracts in the field of terminology and focuses on terminology for specialized language (not general-language lexicography).
Key topics and technical points
- Terminology product categories: terminographical products, terminology documents, educational products and terminology tools (computer applications supporting terminology work).
- Terminographical products: printed and electronic terminologies, terminology databases, systematic terminologies, lists, vetted terminologies, pictorial and multimedia terminology resources. Distinctions are made for monolingual, bilingual and multilingual deliverables.
- Terminology services: strategic and project consulting, terminology management, preparation and delivery of terminographical resources, tool development, reference/information services, education and training, and potential accredited certification services.
- Core concepts and structure: standard defines terms such as candidate terminology, designation, embedded terminology, macrostructure (arrangement of entries) and microstructure (data within each entry).
- Deliverable requirements and customization: guidance on what constitutes a deliverable (entries, textual support such as definitions or contexts, indexes, tables of equivalents), customization options (macrostructure, language identifiers, formats) and publication considerations.
- Quality guidance: Annex A offers recommended practices for developing quality terminology products and services, emphasizing clarity of scope, consistent microstructure, and reproducible processes.
Practical applications
- Drafting clear work contracts and statements of work for terminology projects.
- Designing and specifying terminology databases, glossaries, multilingual term bases and embedded glossaries in technical documentation.
- Establishing terminology management workflows and procurement criteria for translation/localization teams, technical authors, and terminologists.
- Specifying deliverables and quality expectations for suppliers of terminology tools, consulting services and training.
- Terminologists and lexicographers working with specialized language
- Localization and translation managers procuring term bases
- Technical writers and subject-matter experts preparing embedded glossaries
- Software vendors building terminology tools and terminology management systems
- Project managers writing contracts for terminology services
Related standards
- ISO 1951:2007 (presentation/representation of dictionary entries) - referenced for entry presentation
- ISO 1087‑1 (terminology - basic concepts) - source of key terminology definitions
Keywords: ISO 22128, terminology products and services, terminology standard, terminographical products, terminology management, terminology tools, specialized language guidance.