Terminology in the field of Government Public Policies:

What support instrument for the performance of the Brazilian Sign Language interpreter

Abstract

This study aims to identify and systematize what we refer to as political-administrative terminology, with a view to proposing a glossary for federal government management, focused on newly established areas of the current administration, namely: the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples (MPI), the Ministry of Women, the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), and the Ministry of Racial Equality (MIR). The research is guided by a central question: Does the lack of systematized bilingual terminographic materials in Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) compromise the linguistic and conceptual quality and clarity of interpretations in this domain? Additionally, the study seeks to determine whether there are already academic studies documented in the literature. To achieve this objective, the study also undertakes the following: (i) identifying the terminology used in speeches and events of the Federal Government, focusing on the aforementioned areas; (ii) investigating situations of interpretation from Portuguese into Libras that involve this thematic field; and (iii) mapping networks, websites, and training and reference materials that present terms from the defined field in sign language. The research aims not only to document the existence of these term-signs but also to propose a model of terminographic organization that can support both the training and professional practice of interpreters. The theoretical framework is based on the Communicative Theory of Terminology (Cabré, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2008) and on translation studies assumptions related to (sub)terminological competence (Cabré, 1999; Schnell & Rodríguez, 2006; Vázquez, 2006; Montero & Faber, 2009; Umaña, 2010; Waquil, 2017; Bevilacqua, 2018). Methodologically, a qualitative approach was adopted, using Videographic Evaluation (Sousa et al., 2019), which allows for detailed analysis of video records and facilitates the identification and transcription of term-signs. As a result, we present a repertoire of terms organized into terminological categories: (a) a political-conceptual dimension and (b) a procedural dimension, which concerns the organization of terminology in a way that highlights the process of concept construction. At the end of the study, theoretical and methodological guidelines are described for a proposed glossary aimed at sign language interpreters and translators (TILS) working within the Federal Government. The study seeks to achieve both academic and practical impact by strengthening discussions on Libras terminology and proposing tools to improve the training of TILS operating in governmental contexts.