New terms for new concepts : reflections about the Italian Translation of RDA.

The paper presents the work of the Italian Translation Working Group, describing its different steps and emerging issues. Authors argue that in a few but difficult cases, it was necessary, by hard conceptual work, to define whether the term in a chapter or section was used in its traditional meaning or in a meaning that was partially or completely new, because it was essential not to deprive the original text of its –real or attempted –innovative potential. In translating new terms of RDA, three possible approaches are to use in different cases: following tradition, common use, or relying on the context. The authors believe that all the three approaches are correct, but when the results from the first or the second approach are ineffective or doubtful, only the last one – relying on the context - can support the correct, and hopefully largely agreed, decision.