SYNONYMY IN TERMINOLOGY SYSTEM OF ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SCIENTIFIC TEXTS IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS

Abstract

The purpose is to identify the specificity of synonyms in the terminology system of the English language texts on economicsand determine the most widespread patterns for the formation of synonymous pairs on the basis of the analyzed material.

Methods. The following methods were employed in the research: general scientific (generalization, induction and deduction)and empirical-theoretical (analysis, synthesis) methods. The process of term-selection was performed with the method of continuoussampling. The descriptive method and the method of semantic-component analysis were used to distribute the synonymous terms intogroups and identify the specificity of synonymous relationships.

Results. Understanding the phenomenon of synonymy is an important precondition for improving language skills, since it impliesthe ability to choose the most accurate synonymous equivalent among a few variants of a certain concept and ensure the successof communication in this way. In spite of undesirability of terminological synonymy in scientific discourse, this phenomenon is especiallywidespread in the texts of economic orientation, since terms in this field of knowledge go beyond scientific use, enter social life and becomea part of common vocabulary. Therefore, the emergence of variants and parallel functioning of several duplicates is caused by opennessof this terminology system and its enlargement with common words. Since the area of economics covers a large number of participants, interacting at different levels, it is reflected –in a language dimension – in the scope of vocabulary designating the key concepts of this fieldand linguistic processes of the formation of terminology system. The most typical consequence of using the terminological apparatus bya large number of the native language speakers is a parallel functioning of a term and a common word (word combinations).

Conclusions. The widespread synonymy in the terminology system of the English language texts on economics is explained bythe specificity of this field of knowledge: the adjacency of economic concepts to everyday life that is reflected in the possibility of interactionbetween common and scientific vocabularies. The analyzed cases of synonymy show the pairs whose components have different stylisticmarking: one of the components mainly belongs to bookish words, whereas the other one – to common vocabulary. Moreover, inthe terminology system of the English language texts of professional orientation there are quasi-synonyms and relative synonyms. Themost widespread ways of the formation of synonymous pairs is a combination of a common verb and a specifically economic term. Theexamples of syntactical synonyms represent the pattern with one verb component and the combination of a verb and a noun.