[Summary]
Some international organizations have run terminology databases in
their own field of expertise for their translation services. In
1997, some databases were freely available on the web, to be used
by language professionals throughout the world and by the internet
community at large, for example ILOTERM, maintained by the
International Labor Organization (ILO), TERMITE (ITU
Telecommunication Terminology Database), maintained by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and WHOTERM (WHO
Terminology Information System), maintained by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
***
In 1997, some specialized terminology databases maintained by
international organizations in their own field of expertise were
freely available on the web, to be used by language professionals
throughout the world and by the internet community at large.
Here are three examples with ILOTERM, maintained by the
International Labor Organization (ILO), TERMITE (ITU
Telecommunication Terminology Database), maintained by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and WHOTERM (WHO
Terminology Information System), maintained by the World Health
Organization (WHO).
ILOTERM is a quadrilingual (English, French, German, Spanish)
terminology database maintained by the Terminology and Reference
Unit of the Official Documentation Branch (OFFDOC) at the
International Labor Office (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland. As
explained on its website, the primary purpose of ILOTERM is to
provide solutions, reflecting current usage, to terminology issues
in the social and labor fields. Terms are available in English
with their French, Spanish and German equivalents. The database
also includes the ILO structure and programs, official names for
international institutions, national bodies and employers' and
workers' organizations, and names of international meetings and
symposiums.
TERMITE, which stands for “Telecommunication Terminology Database”,
is a quadrilingual (English, French, Spanish, Russian) terminology
database maintained by the Terminology, References and Computer
Aids to Translation Section of the Conference Department at the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland.
This database has been built on the content of all ITU printed
glossaries since 1980, and regularly updated with recent entries.
WHOTERM, which stands for “WHO Terminology Information System”, is
a trilingual (English, French, Spanish) database maintained by the
World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland. It has
included: (a) the WHO General Dictionary Index in English, with
the French and Spanish equivalents; (b) three glossaries in
English: Health for All, Programme Development and Management, and
Health Promotion; (c) the WHO TermWatch, an awareness service from
the Technical Terminology, reflecting the current WHO usage, but
not necessarily terms officially approved by WHO, with links to
health-related terminology.