11 
This year’s first issue of the Contemporary Military Challenges is dedicated to 
military terminology. In over twenty years of the journal, we have not yet published 
a thematic issue specifically addressing this field, although throughout the years of its 
development, questions, dilemmas, and debates about the individual terms, concepts, 
and translations, and their true meaning have always been present. This does not 
mean, however, that nobody in the defence sector has dealt with this area. Quite 
the contrary; from the articles, our readers will be able to learn about the history, 
organization, development, opportunities and challenges faced by terminologists, 
proofreaders, translators, editors and, last but not least, all other stakeholders, not 
only from the field of defence, but also from the broader Slovenian environment.
The authors of the articles in this issue often refer to the historical context in which 
the Slovene language has evolved, putting an emphasis on the military profession. In 
this respect, it is important to note that Slovene military language has a rich history. 
On this occasion it is also worth mentioning the Slovenian nobleman and military 
Major, Andrej Komel Sočebran, the founder of Slovene military language. Among 
other things, he also endeavoured to translate various German military terms into 
Slovene. He published two books, Osnova vojstva (Basis of the Military in 1884, 
and Organizacija vojstva (Organization of the Military in 1890. The Slovene term 
“vojstvo” as the equivalent of “the military”, however, is no longer used in today's 
technical security-, defence- and military-related language. In 1996, the Ministry of 
Defence began to publish the journal entitled “Vojstvo”, but only until the year 2000. 
On page 3 of the introduction to the first issue of the publication, Dr Tomo Korošec, 
a professor and expert in military terminology, explained the reasons for choosing 
the word “vojstvo” as its title. He argued that with the word “vojstvo”, Komel had 
found an excellent translation of the German term for the military as an overarching 
term covering soldiers, war and everything related to the military and defence. In 
Slovene, all these words, including their adjectival derivatives, are derived from the 
EDITORIAL
THE ROLE OF TERMINOLOGY IN THE 
CONTEMPORARY SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
Liliana Brožič DOI:10.33179/BSV.99.SVI.11.CMC.22.1.00
Sodobni	vojaški	izzivi,	maj	2020	–	22/št.	1
Contemporary	Military	Challenges,	May	2020	–	22/No.	1
 12 Sodobni vojaški izzivi/Contemporary Military Challenges
same root voj- combined with different suffixes, such as -ak (soldier), -na (war), -ska 
(army), and -aštvo (military).
Unfortunately, neither the term “vojstvo” nor the publication with that title have 
been preserved. The number and variety of military terminology challenges have 
been significantly influenced by the integration of the Republic of Slovenia into 
the international security environment, as well as by the desire and the need to 
synchronize military technical terminology to ensure better organization and the 
effectiveness of joint efforts.
In the article Contemporary trends in Slovene military terminology by Tina 
Pečovnik, we learn about the procedures, criteria and laws in establishing standards 
and interaction with other terminologists and institutions in Slovenia. The author 
provides a typological classification of some of the most recent Slovene military terms 
and emphasizes the need for a more systematic collection and study of terminology. 
In this regard, she points out some of the demanding Slovene terminological choices 
for different concepts.
Tamara Derman Zadravec focused on the Standardization of Slovene military 
terminology. In her article, she explains in detail what the term standardization means, 
how standardization takes place and why it is needed in the Slovenian environment. 
She explains the reasons why it plays such an important role both within the Alliance 
and in the cooperation between NATO member states. Finally, she presents the 
guidelines for the future development of Slovene military terminology.
In the article Terminology management in Slovenian military environment and 
examples of good practice, Ana Hazler explains in detail how translators and 
terminologists in the Slovenian defence system and the Slovenian Armed Forces 
worked and continue to work. She specifically presents proposals for future efforts 
based on the findings obtained through a comparative analysis of the practices of 
other NATO member states in the area of  military terminology development.
Un-/justified terminological intervention in the use of Slovene equivalents for the 
term aircraft is the title of an article by Vanesa Škornik. She presents various 
aspects and dimensions of the challenges faced by linguists, proofreaders, translators 
and other subject-matter experts in the fields of security, defence and the military, 
as well as by others, such as air personnel or sailors. Which term is the right one to 
choose considering the usage, and how to justify it? More about this in the article.
In his article Standardization and terminology in NATO - the role of Centres of 
Excellence Rafael Kolbl writes about standardization in NATO, which is important 
for Slovenia's cooperation with other Allies. The NATO Mountain Warfare Centre 
of Excellence in the Republic of Slovenia also faces various challenges in the field 
of military terminology. The author presents variations in the understanding of the 
concept of mountains, whose altitude (hills, knolls, etc.) varies according to different 
Liliana Brožič
13 Sodobni vojaški izzivi/Contemporary Military Challenges
countries and regions in geographical terms, which consequently calls for a different 
approach to warfare. 
A case study of how to translate and, consequently, adequately define certain concepts, 
was prepared by Nina Raduha and Iris Žnidarič in the article Terminology as the 
cornerstone of the defence and military profession – the case of NATO's Strategic 
Communications Concept. Often, translation alone does not provide an adequate 
term in a certain subject-matter field, which means that an appropriate term still has 
to be found. When such a term already exists and means something else similar in 
some other subject-matter area, the challenge becomes all the more interesting.
In the article Impact of artificial intelligence development on national security, 
Mojca Pešec explains the terminology and definition of artificial intelligence, what 
this concept encompasses and where it appears in the field of security. There are 
many definitions and forms in many fields. Some of them are of particular interest to 
the security and defence systems and armed forces, which will in the future require 
additional attention dedicated to artificial intelligence terminology and systems in 
the field of defence and security.
What does the term strategy mean and what are the differences in its use within 
different scientific and research fields? What does the term military strategy mean 
and how does it differ from political strategy? Is it a theory or practice of strategy? 
The importance of strategies in history, their importance today, and what will happen 
with this term in the future, was explored by Pavel Vuk in his article Challenges to 
military strategy in the 21st century.
The number of female authors in this issue is far larger than the number of male 
authors. The year 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United 
Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which is dedicated to women, peace and 
security. The ratio between female and male authors in this issue is purely coincidental 
and has nothing to do with this anniversary; however, is it possible that the field of 
terminology is perhaps still more appealing to women, especially profession-wise?
EDITORIAL: THE ROLE OF TERMINOLOGY IN THE CONTEMPORARY SECURITY ENVIRONMENT