Building a system of Vietnamese Physics terminology

1. Ask a problem

Scientific terminology in general and physics terminology in particular in our country have had stages of development. The first person to compile scientific terminology in our country was Professor Hoang Xuan Han, with the book Scientific Nouns. Physical science develops rapidly, so many new concepts appear, requiring appropriate terms. In recent years, due to the needs of physics research and teaching, many new terms have been used. However, some terms are given spontaneously, used by one person, followed by another, lacking consideration, selection and consistent use. The writing, pronunciation, and connotations of many terms are not unified. In the current situation in our country, it is urgent to build and perfect a system of physics terminology to be used consistently and widely in science, technology, and daily life in the country as well as in international exchanges. This work will contribute to promoting research, teaching and training in physics, contributing to the development and enrichment of the Vietnamese language. Completing the system of Vietnamese physics terminology also contributes to implementing Task 8 in Section II of the Physics Development Program to 2020 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 380/QD-TTg. The Vietnam Physics Association has proposed compiling an English-Vietnamese Physics Dictionary with the main purpose of thereby building and popularizing a system of physics terminology in a broad sense, including including terms from astronomy, materials science, nanoscience and technology, and terms from other fields of science and technology related to physics. This proposal has been accepted by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and is being implemented as a content of the Academy’s scientific research project, referred to as the Physics Dictionary Project.
The main tasks that need to be performed in the Physics Dictionary Project include:

i.The most complete collection of English physics terms from dictionaries and scientific texts.
ii.Find Vietnamese terms corresponding to English terms.
iii.For each Vietnamese term, there is a short explanation, stating the main connotations of that term.

Especially recently, right after the VIII Congress of the Vietnam Physics Association, at the Conference “The major tasks of physics and the multidisciplinary field of materials science and technology in our country” held on July 7, 2018 in Hanoi, Prof.VS. Nguyen Van Hieu called on the Vietnam Physics Association to mobilize the entire physics industry of our country to participate in implementing the national scientific task: Compiling the Encyclopedia of Physics and Astronomy (Volume 2) in the Project to compile the Vietnam Encyclopedia. One of the important goals of this Project is also to contribute to building and popularizing the Vietnamese physics and astronomy terminology system.

2. The construction of a system of Vietnamese physics terminology

The ultimate goal of the project is to build a system of standardized Vietnamese physics terminology that most fully meets the requirements for use in text and speech, and is widely and consistently used throughout the country and in international exchange. The construction of a system of Vietnamese physics terminology is carried out according to the following requirements:i. Each concept is represented by a single term, with very few exceptions. Each term represents only a single concept.ii. The system of Vietnamese physics terminology needs to ensure scientificity, consistency, easy to remember, easy to use in reading and writing, convenient for scientific research, teaching and learning, transmitting and disseminating knowledge in society, and exchanging science and culture internationally.iii.Use, selection and creation of terms. – If a Vietnamese term is already available, is being widely used, with unchanged connotation, it will still be maintained, and explained according to the familiar connotation. – If a Vietnamese term has a change in connotation, it needs to be explained according to the connotation updated with reality. – If there is a Vietnamese term that is being used, but is not reasonable, it should be considered and, if necessary, replaced with another reasonable term. more.- If an English term has more than one corresponding Vietnamese term, with the same connotation, then it is necessary to choose the official term among them. The remaining terms with equivalent meanings need to be considered whether they should continue to be used or be completely eliminated, depending on the specific situation. – If there is no Vietnamese term (corresponding to a certain English term), a new Vietnamese physics term needs to be created.iv. Creating Vietnamese physics terms – When creating new terms, priority should be given to using Vietnamese words. It is necessary to choose a word whose meaning is most consistent with the English term, that is, with the concept that needs to be expressed. – When you cannot find a suitable Vietnamese word, you can use a foreign word, usually English, French, or Chinese… as a Vietnamese term. These words are called words The word has been Vietnameseized. These terms need to be short, easy to understand, easy to remember, and easy to use in terms of pronunciation and writing. Words originating from foreign languages ​​are translated into Vietnamese according to English or French reading, depending on the specific situation, with attention to the most commonly used way. Transliteration and writing are done mainly according to the rules used in the education sector, with changes to suit reality when necessary. Words of Chinese origin are read according to Sino-Vietnamese sounds. In some cases, compound words can be used and created according to Chinese grammar rules, but include words that are both Sino-Vietnamese and Vietnamese. This has happened and has been accepted, for example semiconductor, microwave, one (Here “mot” is a foreign term that has been Vietnameseized), ammeter…

3. Community participation

The English-Vietnamese Physics Dictionary project hopes to have the participation of a large number of scientists, technologists, teachers, students and everyone in building a system of Vietnamese physics terminology that meets the requirements as stated above.
Tasks that require widespread input from everyone include:

i.Determine the requirements for the Vietnamese physics terminology system.
ii.Select, use and create Vietnamese physics terminology.
iii.Suggest terms that need to be changed, terms that are missing and need to be created.
iv.Discuss some terms mentioned in the document “Discussion of Vietnamese physics terminology” attached here.
v. Suggest additional terms that need to be discussed.

Discussants can download the file “Discussion of Vietnamese physics terms” and write their opinions in the “Opinion” column, in the line corresponding to each term. Discussants can also write their opinions in word documents. The discussant should write down their name and contact address, to facilitate communication when necessary.

Suggestions and discussions should be sent to the Physics Dictionary topic’s mailbox at the address tudien.vatli@gmail.com

Many comments sent will be posted on The Society of Teaching Physics group.

All comments submitted will be gathered, researched and used as a basis for the Physics Dictionary Project to build a system of Vietnamese physics terminology.

The team implementing the Physics Dictionary project would like to sincerely thank the community’s interest and active participation.