Terminology and Reference Services at the United Nations

Terminologists systematically sift through United Nations documents and other reliable sources for new terms, which they research and enter into the UNTERM database. United Nations Office in Vienna supports a web-based terminological portal – VINTARS.

Terminologists keep abreast of terminology developments in their assigned language in the fields of activity of United Nations bodies. They produce up-to-date standardized terminology for use in the United Nations, carry out linguistic research and prepare electronic terminology records on specialized topics of interest to the United Nations. Normally, terminology work includes the following steps: identifying the documentation relevant to the topic, researching the concepts, extracting terms, writing record in the database and update it as needed.

Whether creating an entry in a multilingual terminology database or providing other translation-support services, such as referencing, terminologists create hypertext links to the texts of major documents, if possible in all six languages, whenever they are available on the Internet at reputable and durable websites. Usually source information is provided for every term and its synonyms as well as for every element contributing to the record. Such approach helps terminologists and their colleagues in other language services to do further research and evaluate the reliability of the record’s elements. Providing the reference to the documents that first triggered the creation of the record, terminologists indicate their symbols and link to the electronic version whenever it is available in Official Document System (ODS) search. Referenced files are downloaded to local drive or electronic library, in order to avoid the problem of “dead” links, where Internet web pages have disappeared or been moved.

Thus, terminologists aim to harmonize the editing rules for terminology records and to transmit this institutional memory to the next generation of terminologists.

Since terminologists are expected to have in-depth knowledge of terminology used in the United Nations, these positions are open only to language professionals who are already working in the United Nations or have worked there in the past.