Project: FIN-CLARIAH
Grant agreement: Academy of Finland no. 358720
Start date: 01-01-2024
Duration: 24 months
WP 2.4: Report on Initializing terminology collections
Date of reporting: 21-11-2025
Report author: Harri Kettunen (UHEL)
Contributors: Tiina Onikki-Rantajääskö (UHEL)
Deliverable location: The Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences – Tieteen termipankki
Since the last report in the autumn of 2024, 4,336 new concept pages have been created at the Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences (HTB) in the following 37 fields: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, Automation and Control Engineering, Biology, Biosensing and Bioelectronics, Biotechnology, Bioproduct Technology, Botany, Business & Economics, Chemical Engineering, Classical Studies, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Geology, History, Integration of science, Law, Linguistics, Literary Studies, Materials Science, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Media and communication studies, Mesoamerican Studies, Nutrition Science, Open Science, Philosophy, Photonics and Nanotechnology, Physics, Political science, Product Development, Sensory Science, Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering, Sustainability Science, Theology, and Translation Studies. Furthermore, numerous updates have been made to the database on each field. In addition, the fields of Arctic Research and Geography are working offline until there is a critical mass of terminology to be published at the HTB.
The total amount of concept pages as of November 22, 2025, is 46,353
HTB has also been working in close cooperation with the Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus) on the names of languages of the world. In 2024–2025 we have had ten meetings with Kotus (Elina Wihuri and Ulla Onkamo), along with the consultant of the project, Lyle Campbell (Emeritus Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa). The work continues in 2026 with the aim to cement names of 7,900 languages of the world in Finnish.
In 2024 we also started to develop semi-automated processes for detecting terms and their relevant definition contexts, continued in 2025.
Starting in January 2025, Aalto University has had a directive in which all doctoral students must ensure that the key terminology of their doctoral thesis is also available in Finnish and/or Swedish. This terminology work is now being implemented at the HTB, adding to the growing number of new fields in the database.
In 2025, HTB has had presentations and other activities at the following conferences, seminars, and other events:
Conference presentations:
In November 2025, HTB conducted two surveys: one targeting users and another aimed at content experts. Both surveys closed on 21 November. We received 436 responses to the user survey and 53 responses to the expert survey. For comparison, the previous survey was conducted in 2019, when the corresponding figures were 236 for the user survey and 56 for the expert survey. Because the survey deadline fell on the same day this report was finalized, the results will be presented at a later date.
In October 2025 HTB received an award (kannustuspalkinto) from the Finnish Association for Scholarly Publishing (Suomen tiedekustantajien liitto), with the following statement:
“The award was granted to the Helsinki Term Bank for the Arts and Sciences as recognition for its work in promoting multilingualism and sense of community within science, as well as supporting the scientific vocabulary of the national languages. The board of the Finnish Association of Scholarly Publishers considers linguistic diversity in science and the careful explanation of concepts to be extremely important. Diversity and carefulness stand out in a time when national science policy rewards the use of English and the sheer number of publications. The Term Bank helps preserve the vitality and relevance of the national languages as languages of science. Moreover, carrying out the project through volunteer work strengthens the sense of community and networks across academic disciplines at a time when the significance of associations is generally diminishing in Finnish society.”[1]
Publications:
[1] “Kannustuspalkinto myönnettiin Tieteen termipankille tunnustuksena työstä tieteen monikielisyyden ja yhteisöllisyyden sekä kansalliskielten tieteellisen sanaston hyväksi. Suomen tiedekustantajien liiton hallitus pitää tieteen kielellistä diversiteettiä ja käsitteiden huolellista selittämistä erittäin tärkeänä. Diversiteetti ja huolellisuus korostuvat aikana, jossa kansallinen tiedepolitiikka palkitsee englannin käyttämisestä ja julkaisujen määristä. Tieteen termipankki vaalii kansalliskielten elinvoimaa ja ajantasaisuutta tieteen kielinä. Lisäksi toteutus talkootyönä tieteenalojen yhteisöllisyyttä ja verkostoja tilanteessa, jossa seuratoiminnan merkitys vähenee yleisesti suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa.” https://tiedekustantajat.fi/tiedotteet/kannustuspalkinto-tieteen-termipankille-vuoden-tiedelehti-on-lahikuva
FIN-CLARIAH project has received funding from the European Union – NextGenerationEU instrument and is funded by the Academy of Finland under grant number 358720.
