Let’s do it together: Instances of cooperation in terminology work: Roles, tools, needs and difficulties

High quality multilingual terminology work is essentially a cooperative activity, as different roles (e.g. terminologists, domain experts, IT experts) interact to achieve the intended results. Furthermore, in the last decade the world of terminology has seen various efforts in fostering data sharing, exchange and mergers as well as the publication of previously in-house terminological data collections. The times when terminology was kept for internal purposes only and every organisation strived to meet internal demands by starting separate – albeit often similar – terminology projects are coming to an end: the era of cooperation in terminology has begun. However, several issues hampering cooperation and communication in terminology remain to be faced. Smooth collaboration between different professionals, challenges in work coordination, limited support from dedicated tools and a complex legal framework are some of the relevant aspects addressed in the paper.