Croatian Legal and Administrative Terminology in Klaić’s Dictionary of Foreign Words

Abstract

The paper analyses foreign words from Klaić’s Dictionary of Foreign Wordswhich are also legal and administrative terms or parts of the phrases of legal andadministrative terminology in the context of the vocabulary alterations in the newCroatian penal legislation.Upon the terminological analysis i.e. the comparison of legal and administrativeterms in the old and new Croatian penal legislation, it has been determined thatKlaić’s Dictionary of Foreign Words has a quality treatment of the new words,which are also legal and administrative terms or parts of the phrases of legal andadministrative terms ( originating from Latin, Greek, Gaelic, Italian, Turkish andEnglish), while words from the Russian and Serbian language are not represented ina satisfactory amount in the editions either prior to or after Croatian independence.It is concluded that Klaić’s Dictionary of Foreign Words was a purposeful workingaid in the long-standing functioning of the administrative services of the Ministryof Justice and the Committee of Legislation of the Croatian Parliament, whichprepared the new Croatian penal laws and edited and harmonised the terminologywith the Croatian language standard.