Essays on Writing and Language in Honor - Sino-Platonic Papers

Schrififestschrifi: <strong>Essays</strong> in Honor of John DeFrancis
THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AND TERMINOLOGY
Liu Yongquan
Institute of Linguistics
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
1.1 Language Information -- the Basis of the Information Society
There are many kinds of information, of which the most
important one is language information. Language is ubiquitous and
all-embracing. Any kind of material or any kind of spirit could
not be recognized and comprehended without transforming it into
language information. What is the so-called information society
like? One of the main features lies in the computer processing of
language informat ion (storage, retrieval, simulation,
transformation and transfer, etc.) with the aim of setting up a
modernized language information system, making optimum use of
language and making the most of the knowledge involved in it.
1.2 The Increasing Precision and standardization of Language
In order to meet with the actual needs caused by the
scientific and technological revolution, language is getting more
and more precise and standard. The efforts of language planners
(including ISO) play an important role in this process.
1.3 The Extension of Language Integration
It is virtually a visible trend that dialects are gradually
being integrated into a common language with the development of
society, the individual languages into a number of regional
languages and then into several international language(s).
2, DEVELOPMENT OF TERMINOLOGY -- AN INDISPENSABLE CONDITION FOR
THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
2.1 Terms -- Basic Information Units in the Information Society
As we mentioned above, a modernized language in£ armat ion
system will be set up in the information society. Concretely
speaking, various databases will exist in great numbers,
unifunctional or multifunctional robots will be seen everywhere.
Each country or group of countries will establish its own grand
language system, and through the networks from all directions a
gigantic language system will be founded in the world. The most
fundamental elements of these systems naturally are the strictly-