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perform a role of a term, however trivial this word might be". So,
when discussing the characteristics of the terms we should pay
attention to the relation between a term and a word. Basing on it
three terminological schools are singled out in the terminology as a
science: 1) prescriptive, 2) descriptive and 3) socioterminology
and communicative terminology theory. In accordance with the
prescriptive school the term is a special unit (E. Wüster, D. Lotte).
The descriptive school considers that the term is not a special
unit but performs only a special function. That’s why any word
can be a term. As a result this school is called functional. The
representatives of the school are T. Panko, I. Kochan, H. Matsiuk,
V. Danilenko, V. Leichyk, B. Holovin, L. Hoffman . There is a
tight relation between the general language and the language for
specific purposes. There are also some viewpoints, according to
which the term is not always a word or word collocation of a
natural language, since it can be occasionally a nonlanguage sign:
@, H 2O, <, ?, +, Q, ºC as an element of a special symbolic
(semiotic) system.
In the early 1990’s socioterminology and communicative
terminology theory appear on the horizon as a reaction to the
hegemony of prescriptive terminology. Both theories present a
more realistic view of terminology since they base their
description on how terms are actually used in communicative
contexts. According to socioterminologists, standardization is a
chimera since language is in constant change. Polysemy and
synonymy are inevitably present in terminology and specialized
texts, and the use of one term instead of another can reflect the
knowledge, social and professional status of a group of users, as
well as the power relationships between speakers. Terminological
variation also points to the fact that concept systems and
definitions are not static. According to T. Cabré a theory of
terminology should provide a methodological framework for the
study of terminological units. She underlines the fact that
specialized knowledge units are multidimensional, and have a

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