Business Language
From APEC HRDWG Wiki
Introduction
The APEC Strategic Plan for English and other Languages recognizes the importance of business-oriented language for developing a competent workforce in a variety of industries found in member Economies and around the world. For that reason, APEC has supported such projects as the APEC Business English computer program.
Differences of language can create significant barriers between those attempting to conduct business across borders. In the interest of facilitating beneficial working relationships, it helps to have an understanding of each other's languages. The University of Texas at Austin, with assistance through the CIBER grant program from the U.S. Department of Education, has created a useful tool by videotaping interviews with business professionals of various languages. These video clips allow the viewer to hear native speakers of foreign language discuss culturally significant topics and introduces them to elements of foreign business vocabularies. The clips of professionals speaking languages spoken by APEC Members include Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish.
The CIBER program was founded to increase understanding of international affairs and economics in U.S. business schools. They have published a List of Foreign Language Courses with a business focus offered at the various CIBER campuses for the years 2006-2010. Courses offered by these schools that are relevant to APEC trade include Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Thai, and Vietnamese. The Ohio State University, one CIBER affiliate, is home to The Chinese Flagship Program. Students are prepared for China-related careers through an innovative and intensive two-year campus and overseas curriculum. The Chinese Flagship Program moves intermediate to advanced students' language proficiency to a professional superior level.
Table: Business English Glossaries
Many industries today in the APEC region and around the world use English as their working language or lingua franca. Therefore it is important for workers to receive instruction so they may learn the core vocabulary of their profession or trade in English. Learning the appropriate set of words begins the process of learning what is sometimes called the "Business English" of their industry. It is a step that can help workers do their jobs better. Many of the words in the lists that follow are found in regular English speech, but a thorough understanding of English is often not necessary to learn these specialized vocabularies. In a recent paper, Patricia Duff discusses this issue and highlights the importance of providing training for Business English.
The following table links to glossaries of English terms associated with various industries and sectors, corresponding to the 11 APEC Working Groups as well as various committees and other groups. The glossaries vary in focus and depth; some use short, simplified definitions, while others use more detailed encyclopedic entries. Several of the glossaries that follow contain links to further resources, acronyms, technical databases, and thesauri. Other organizations have compiled resources and glossaries in several languages for many topics. See for examples the United Nations' Terminological Database and Thesaurus.
This table contains samples of the many business glossaries available online.
Agriculture | ||
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General
Legal
Biotechnological
Ecological
Sustainable Production
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United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
United States Department of Agriculture
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Glossary of general agriculture terms from the Department of Agriculture and Home Economics of New Mexico State University, U.S.A.
Glossary of general agricultural terms and U.S. agricultural laws dating back to 1906 compiled by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, U.S.A.
Glossary of biological and biotechnological terms associated with food production from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
Thesaurus and glossary of agricultural, biological, and ecological terms compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agriculture Library who has collaborated with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture to develop a Spanish version.
Detailed glossary of sustainable development terms pertaining to agricultural production from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. |
Anti-Corruption | ||
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General
Fraud
Unethical Business Practices |
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Glossary of general terms pertaining to corruption and misconduct from the U.S. Postal Service.
Glossary of common fraud schemes and terms from Heads Up Fraud Prevention Association, an organization from Alberta, Canada.
Glossary of general terms pertaining to corruption and unethical business practices from the Independent Commision against Corruption in New South Wales, Australia. |
Business and Commerce | ||
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Entrepreneurship
E-Commerce
International
Finance
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Action Community for Entrepreneurship
Massachussetts Institute of Technology
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Glossary of basic finance tools from Singapore’s Action Community for Entrepreneurship.
Glossary of e-commerce terms from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology.
E-commerce glossary provided by New Zealand’s Ministry of Economic Development for businesses. |
Emergency Preparedness | ||
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General
Preparedness and Response
Catastrophic Events/Attacks |
United States Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Glossary of terms pertaining to emergency preparedness as relevant to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Response Framework.
Glossary of emergency preparation and response terms from the Fire Department of the City of New York, U.S.A.
Short glossary of terms pertaining to catastrophic events or attacks from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. |
Tsunami Preparedness |
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization | Glossary of terms identified by the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hawaii, U.S.A. pertaining to the study of tsunamis and oceanic waves.
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Energy | ||
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General
Resources
Commercial
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United States Department of Energy
New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development
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Glossary of general energy terms used by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Glossary and list of acronyms pertaining to a document about energy resources and consumption from the International Energy Agency and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
A glossary provided by New Zealand’s Ministry of Economic Development detailing terms associated with various commercial energy industries.
Glossary of terms related to nuclear energy materials, production, and regulation compiled by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. |
Fisheries | ||
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General
International Law/Technical
For Students and Teachers
Legal/Technical |
North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
Internet Guide to International Fishing Laws
New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries
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General fisheries glossary prepared by researchers at Louisiana State University and posted by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, U.S.A.
Glossary with simplified definitions of legal and technical terms pertaining to the fishing industry from the Internet Guide to International Fishing Laws.
A glossary resource provided by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries. This list is provided through ST*Rfish resources, a website designed for students and teachers of different industries.
Glossary from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization pertaining to fishing technology, law and policy, and marine resources. |
Health | ||
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Hospital Safety
Health Topics
Medical Terms
Chronic Diseases |
United States Department of Labor
United States National Institutes of Health
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Glossary of common terms pertaining to hospitals, specifically hospital safety issues and hazards, compiled by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Wordlist of health topics with links to articles and resources from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Glossary of medical terms in plain language intended for patients from the University of Kentucky HealthCare, U.S.A.
Glossary of terms pertaining to cross-national studies of chronic diseases conducted by the U.N. World Health Organization. |
Pandemic Flu |
Comprehensive glossary of terms pertaining to pandemic and avian flu, as well as acronyms and terms used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. | |
Human Resources Development | ||
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General Education
Workplace Safety
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North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
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Glossary of general education terms and related U.S. acronyms from the North Central Regional Education Laboratory.
Glossary of terms, acronyms, and legal decisions pertaining to the establishment of programs for English as a second language programs from the U.S. Department of Education.
Glossary of technical terms pertaining to distance, or online, education from the University of Idaho, U.S.A.
Glossary of Labor Law and Industrial Relations, with many thorough definitions, from the U.N. International Labor Organization.
Thesaurus of common workplace-safety terms in several languages from the U.N. International Labor Organization. (Scroll down to PDF)
Terms pertaining to employment and training compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor. |
Industrial Sciences and Technology | ||
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General
International Standards
Computer/Technology
Information Technology |
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Glossary of terms pertaining to telemetry and general technology from Texas A & M University, U.S.A.
Basic glossary of computer and technology terms for consumers from the Attorney General of the State of New York, U.S.A.
Technical glossary of information technology terms from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. |
Intellectual Property Rights | ||
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General
Legal
Patents |
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Glossary of general intellectual property terms provided by the governmental agency IP Australia.
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Legal Issues | ||
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General - U.S.A.
General - Australia
General - New Zealand
Parliamentary
Trial |
Legal Education Teachers Association of South Australia
New Zealand Legal Services Agency
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Glossary of general legal terms from the Judicial Branch of the State of Connecticut, U.S.A.
A glossary containing general legal terminology by New Zealand’s Legal Services Agency.
A glossary of commonly used parliamentary terms from the Parliament of Singapore.
Glossary of terms pertaining to the legal and trial systems from the Unified Court System of the State of New York, U.S.A. |
Life Sciences | ||
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Evolutionary Biology
Biology/Genetics |
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Evolutionary biology glossary provided by the Australian Museum Online.
Glossary of biology, biochemistry, and genetics terms from the Holmgren Lab at Northwestern University, U.S.A. |
Marine Resource Conservation | ||
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Water Resources and Population
Conservation |
American Association for the Advancement of Science
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Limited glossary of terms pertaining to water resources and population from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Glossary of terms pertaining to water resource conservation from the Colorado State University, U.S.A. |
Small and Medium Enterprise | ||
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General
Business Finance |
United States Internal Revenue Service
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List of general business terms with links to definitions and resources to assist small business owners from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
A glossary provided by the Singapore Statistical Resources Government Group. Provides terminology related to business finances and accounting terms. |
Telecommunications and Information | ||
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General
Electronic Communications
Information Resources
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United States Federal Communications Commission
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Glossary of general telecommunications terms designed for consumers, developed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
Glossary of electronic communications terms from ASEAN and the U.N.
Glossary of government management and information resources terms compiled by the British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services, Canada. |
Tourism | ||
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Corporate |
A glossary provided by Australia’s New South Wales Government Tourism group. The glossary serves as an overview of tourism terms as needed for a corporate audience. | |
Transportation | ||
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Governmental
Industry Thesaurus
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Mineta Transporation Institute
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Common customs terms used by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Glossary of industry and governmental terms pertaining to transportation by the U.S. government-sponsored Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University.
Industry thesaurus of transportation terms broken down into general topics and linked hierarchically, compiled by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board.
Glossary of aviation terms and related acronyms developed by the State University of New York, U.S.A. |
