Cultural Terminology and European Values

dr Piotr Nagórka, Anna Porczyk, DA, & Małgorzata Dubasiewicz, MA; University of Warsaw & University of Gdańsk, Poland, ID CLEaR2017-469;   Abstract: Methods employed in terminology research have been determined as dependent on the subject of study. Terminology can be seen as divided into hard science terminology, its subjects reliant on achievements in natural sciences assisted by technical knowledge, and cultural terminology, its subjects motivated by developments in dogmatic sciences alongside human social domains. Research methods proposed for cultural terminology need specification. These methods benefit from influences of related disciplines. Solutions offered by culture analysis and literary science prove applicable, as do propositions advanced by familiar contributors (epistemology, linguistics, information science). Cultural terminology research in the field of ethics results in maps revealing concepts of values, encoded in European languages. An element of a large scale project, the conceptual maps are contrasted to contribute to discovering which values across European language cultures can be viewed as ‘shared’. With refined methods producing a provisional conceptual map of ‘common’ values, the project gains a solid foundation for seeking a representative model. A target map of common ethical values merits recognition as an educational tool to promote Europeans’ moral bequest.

KEY WORDS: conceptual maps, cultural terminology, European languages, semantic models of ethical values, values oriented education