The future of dictionaries and term bases

Abstract

The present article focuses on similarities and differences between printed and online dictionaries, as well as term bases. Starting from a central idea that the revolution of translation resulted in the development of computer-assisted translation tools, we argue that the quality (reliability) of a term base is a basic requirement for a professional translator, who has to take advantage from all possible online and offline resources. We offer examples of possible problems in both dictionaries and term bases, then two terms are compared in matches from printed dictionaries and an online dictionary / term base. The conclusions try to foreshadow the possible future of these resources based on present developments in the age of globalization and localization.