The IATE Project - Towards a Single Terminology Database For the European Union

The IATE project was launched in early 2000 for the creation of a single central terminology database for all the institutions, agencies and other bodies of the European Union. By mid-2001, it had reached the prototype phase. It is evident that the attempt of uniting the terminology that has been created in different institutions, with different approaches to terminology and different working cultures, was not an easy task. Although the implementation of the system has, from a technical point of view, already reached a rather advanced stage it is predictable that user feedback during the prototype and pilot phases will still lead to a number of changes. The biggest challenge of the project, however, lies in its introduction in the terminology and translation workflow of the participating bodies. This is illustrated in the second part of the paper by the example of the European Parliament's Translation Service. PART ONE: CURRENT STATUS OF THE IATE PROJECT