Translating ELSST into Slovenian: Challenges in Supporting Open Science and FAIR Principles

The European Language Social Science Thesaurus (ELSST) is a broad-based, multilingual thesaurus for the social sciences. It is owned and published by the Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) and its national Service Providers. The Slovenian Social Science Data Archives (ADP) are dedicated members of Consortium CESSDA and its mission to promote open science and cross-national harmonization of archives. Translating the ELSST thesaurus into Slovenian is a critical step toward achieving these goals, as it directly supports researchers and the broader research community by facilitating access to multilingual data. These translations enhance the usability of data archives, making them more accessible and interoperable, in alignment with FAIR principles and the values of open science. When it comes to Slovenian, the language's complex morphology and syntactic variability present unique challenges for developing and maintaining thesaurus translations. Unlike languages with simpler grammatical structures, Slovenian has a rich system of declensions, dual forms, and extensive word compounding. These characteristics complicate the alignment of concepts across languages in ELSST, as terms often need detailed contextual adaptation rather than direct translation. Overcoming these challenges requires collaboration with local linguists and domain experts to ensure translations are both accurate and culturally relevant. Despite these constraints, ADP remains committed to advancing this work as part of their broader effort to foster collaboration, accessibility, and equity in social science research across borders. ELSST's continuous development in languages like Slovenian underscores the importance of linguistic diversity in global social science research. It enables more inclusive access to data and fosters equitable participation in international academic discourse.