Polylexical terms in compulsory education: An analysis within the VEB project

Authors

Keywords:

basic specialized vocabulary, multiword terms, terminology teaching, terminological comprehension, school dictionaries

Abstract

This article examines the presence of multiword terms within the project "VEB. Basic Specialized Vocabulary in Compulsory Education: A Corpus-Based Extraction and Analysis". Drawing on a corpus of more than 20,000 terms extracted from curricular materials, the study shows that multiword terms constitute a substantial portion of the specialized vocabulary used in schools, particularly in subjects related to the natural sciences. The analysis identifies three major sources of cognitive difficulty for learners: the lexical complexity of the constituent elements, the semantic relationships that structure the components, and the challenge of integrating these elements into a single conceptual unit. The article also highlights the limited representation of these terms in the main reference dictionaries available in Catalan schools (DIEC2 and DIDAC), a gap that may hinder students’ access to essential curricular concepts. The paper concludes with recommendations aimed at strengthening the connection between pedagogical practice, terminological research, and lexicographic resources.

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Published

2025-12-29

How to Cite

Masson, L., & Porras-Garzón, J. M. (2025). Polylexical terms in compulsory education: An analysis within the VEB project. Terminàlia, 2(32), 37–46. Retrieved from https://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/Terminalia/article/view/156395

Issue

No. 32: December 2025

Section

Articles

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