Terminology service and terminology work

The Prime Minister's Office provides a free, publicly available terminology service offering advice on how to translate anything from pääministeri (Prime Minister) into French to valtioneuvoston ohjesääntö (the Government Rules of Procedure) into Russian.

Inquiries to the Terminology Service:

Tel. +358 295 160 528 (on weekdays between 08.00 and 12.00)
Fax +358 9 160 22163
[email protected]

Inquiries concerning Swedish terminology:

Diana Nyberg, Information Specialist
Tel. +358 295 160 293
[email protected]

Terminology work

Terminology work involves defining concepts in special fields (such as tax law or education policy) and agreeing on recommendations for equivalent terms in selected languages. Its purpose is to improve the quality of communications by ensuring the use of the same term for a specific concept in all circumstances.

In a government context, it helps public officials across administrative branches to better understand each other’s messages and assists translators in choosing the best terms for their translations. The methods behind and results achieved by this work are further utilised in the production of data systems such as patient registers and the development of ontology-based search tools.

Example

  • term in Finnish: virkasuhde definition: an employment relationship governed by public law, created when a person is appointed to a public office or to discharge another set of public duties
  • term in Swedish: tjänsteförhållande
  • term in English: public-service employment relationship