Université de Montréal - Thèse sous forme numérique

38Termium PlusequivalencematchDEF - The relationship that exists between terms designating the same conceptin different languages. Where the concepts designated are not quite the same,the equivalence of the terms is only partial and must be reflected in the semanticlabels (e.g. generic-specific) used to identify the relationship between the terms.OBS – Normally the validity of the equivalence is demonstrated by the textualmatch.Interestingly, the observation field (―OBS‖) suggests that interchangeability is acharacteristic of the equivalence relationship as ―the validity of the equivalence isdemonstrated by the textual match‖, i.e. two terms in different languages are equivalentswhen they can be used in the same situational context. This is in line with the view ofequivalence as a relationship that is obtained at the textual level to which we referred insection 2.2.1.1.Termium‘s definition along with that of Hartmann and James (1998: 51) alsostress that the relationship may not be symmetrical, an idea shared by otherterminologists. Probably because of this, Picht and Draskau (1985) prefer to formulatethe nature of the relationship between equivalent entities in terms of ―congruence‖ (ofsystems of concepts). They argue that the use of a ‗system of concepts‘ is an importantaid in the elaboration of a terminology, namely because it enables one to recognize ―thedegree of congruence between the systems of concepts of different languages; this inturn is indispensable for the recognition of equivalence‖ (1985: 92). To sum up, both inlexicography and in terminology the nature of the equivalence relationship is one ofmore or less symmetrical correspondence.