SLOVAK ONOMASTIC TERMINOLOGY IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Abstract

Almost half a century has passed since the compilation of handbooks on Slavic onomastic terminology. Their aim was not only to summarize but also to standardize and harmonize onomastic terminology. The development of onomastics as a linguistic discipline over the past decades has brought–and continues to bring–new impulses and pressures on the terminological system. Onomastic theory and the associated terminology are naturally divergent in relation to the development of national onomastic traditions or individual onomastic schools, which is reflected in the emergence of new terms–some appropriate, others less suitable or redundant. In the interest of objective scientific communication, there is therefore a growing need to harmonize specific terms both within national onomastic traditions and in the international context. This study focuses on the research of Slovak onomastic terminology and the prospects for its further development. It briefly presents the methodological foundations for its processing in the publication Slovak Onomastic Terminology (2024), as well as future research perspectives. The scientific article outlines both existing and planned research activities in the field of onomastic terminology within Slovak onomastics and proposes ways to broaden the international scope by harmonizing international terminology through the creation of a dedicated multilingual terminological database, ONOMTERM, in cooperation with the international terminology working group within the International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS). The database is intended to include an inventory list of terms currently used or historically used in various national onomastic schools, and thus in different languages. Among other functions, it may serve as a reliable resource for the broader harmonization of onomastic terminology.