The Challenge of Registering Terms in Lexicons

This study aims to deals with the problematic issue of documenting the modern Arabic terminology in lexical resources so that there are favorable outcomes particularly in relation to the communicative process in educational and scientific fields. Considering the need for standardizing and removing lexical ambiguities, the study attempts to offer Arabic or Arabized terms for the newly introduced concepts and neologisms. It also applies the principle of linguistic economy which prefers single-word expressions to multiple-word ones. Exploring the theoretical foundations of any field of science without having the proper terminology does not yield valid scientific outcomes. Arguably, all theories have their specific terms to demarcate their boundaries with other theories; so frivolous treatment of these terms would lead into a dysfunction of the respective theory. Accordingly¡ this research tries to provide some acceptable solutions by specifying Arabic equivalents for the western terms in order to establish an Arabic lexical base that is informed by both theory and practice of the western modern lexicography. These equivalents are not all the harvest of individual efforts of this author, but also the outcome of a survey for whatever is available or suggested in the relevant lexicons and reference books.