Sonderband 2. International Council on Archives. Dritte Europäische Archivkonferenz, Wien 11. bis 15. Mai 1993. Tagungsprotokolle (1996)

3. Session / Séance. Sharing of Experience and Exchange of Staff / Partage d’Expériences et Echange des Personnes - Thibodeau, Sharon: The Pitfalls of Terminology and linguistic Barriers / Pieges de la Terminologie et Barrieres linguistiques (english 207 - français 217)

3. Session/Séance: Thibodeau, Pitfalls of Terminology and linguistic Barriers

Sometimes the challenges of translation result from the fact that the concept or activity to which terms refer are variously understood even among archivists who speak the same language. The activity to which the English phrase „records management“ refers is a good example. In the United States alone this phrase is used as often to describe a single aspect of the life cycle of records (filing or scheduling, for example) as it is to refer to all aspects of the cycle.

While there are ample examples of terminological pitfalls in the path of opportunities to share archival experience, there are also efforts underway within the ICA to find ways to avoid these hazards and overcome linguistic barriers. One such effort is the Terminology Project with its goal of providing a new international dictionary of archival terminology. Another such effort, one with which I am more familiar, has as its goal the development of international professional standards or rules governing archival practices.

Searching for a Lingua Franca

Professional standards are the epitome of shared experience because they both reflect and shape it. As the expression of shared experience, standards can be viewed as a kind of „language“, a „lingua franca“ that enables members of a profession to exchange information, ideas, and techniques. The Lingua franca is a set of universally recognized concepts. The process of concept recognition is amply illustrated by recent work by the International Council on Archives in the area of archival descriptive standards. This work began with an invitational meeting hosted in cooperation with the National Archives of Canada in Ottawa in October 19881.

The meeting’s stated purpose was

to report upon and discuss current developments in the field of descriptive standards in various

countries, to define what are meant by descriptive standards, and to develop resolutions for future

action that could serve as the basis for medium and long-term planning1 2.

In their reports on current developments, participants introduced the conceptual candidates for inclusion in the „lingua franca“ of archival description. Examples of these concepts include3:

access points, discussed by representatives of Canada and Italy as the means of indexing archival description.

document group defined by the representative of Mexico as „the set of archival material of all sorts, brought together by individuals, legal entities or institutions in the exercise of their functions or their activities, over a given period of time. The documents comprising a group form an organic and functional unit“.

1 Participants included representatives from: Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States and Zimbabwe.

2 Letter of invitation signed by Harold Naugler, dated April 21, 1988.

3 The examples are taken from papers distributed at the Ottawa meeting, including, in particular, the papers by Jean Dryden (Bureau of Canadian Archivists), Deng Song Dian and Yang Shu Qin (China), Paola Carucci (Italy), Victoria San Vicente (Mexico) and Peter Horsman (The Netherlands).

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