Terminological problems in a Hungarian language consulting service

The paper analyses how language users report and conceptualise terminological problems in emails addressed to the Language Consulting Service of the Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics. Using a qualitative, data-driven approach within the framework of Language Management Theory, the study investigates 45 anonymised email correspondences selected from a corpus of more than 12,000 email threads (2011–2025). The analysis identifies six major types of terminological problems: adequacy, new term, linguistic concept, variant, meaning, and replacement. Most inquiries concern the evaluation of existing terms or the search for new ones, demonstrating users’ active involvement in terminology management. In a small number of cases, collaboration with the Research Centre’s Terminology Research Group enabled expert input in solving user-initiated language problems. The results show how institutional language consulting connects individual linguistic reflection with organised terminology work, contributing to the continuous development of Hungarian terminology.