Centre of Expertise for Dutch Terminology: A Digital Platform for Professional Language

When it comes to terminology, the Dutch-speaking regions have a long tradition of collaboration. Since the eighties there have been several partnerships and committees, all lead by the Dutch Language Union. There was a growing awareness that a central point was needed to bring together all information concerning Dutch terminology and to make it generally accessible. Since 2016, the Dutch Language Institute (INT) in Leiden manages and develops all Dutch language materials. The whole spectrum of language, including professional language, regional languages and dialects, is now given attention, making it no more than logical for the INT to accommodate the Centre of Expertise for Dutch Terminology (ENT). The main task of the ENT is to offer information, facilities, products and services in the field of terminology. Apart from that, research is done into the professional language of three specific fields: legal language, medical language and the language of higher education. In this article I will go deeper into the wide range of information supplied by the ENT, including specific software tools for terminological tasks. I will also describe several of the terminology projects that are being conducted at the Dutch Language Institute.