L. I. Pochynok

Буковинський державний медичний університет, Україна

New Terminological Coinages in the Sublanguage of Politics

of Modern Ukraine

New lexical coinages of any language and the enrichment of its vocabulary are conditioned by certain circumstances, first and foremost by progress in science and engineering. There are yet the other – social factors promoting the formation of new lexical units.

The enrichment of terminological systems of sublanguages keeps pace with the replenishment of the vocabulary of words in general use and is stimulated by the similar factors.

The latest events in Ukraine proved that it concerns not only the terminological systems of science due to achievements of the latter, but also equally those associated with the social sphere and political life.

Over some 3-4 years a number of words rendering special notions have come into being. So, the word "Майдан" which long before the tragic events belonged to the words in general use with the meaning of a square for meeting on different occasions (often festive events) during the so-called "orange revolution" acquired the semantics of disagreement with the policy of the government in power and manifestation of certain ideals as to the development of the society. Today the square Maidan Nezalezhnosti is associated with the heroic death of the people in Maidan and the other corners of our country fighting for ideals of democratic Ukraine. The Ukrainians will remember forever the word "Maidan" as a symbol of heroism of the best Ukrainian sons and daughters who have given their lives in the struggle against authoritarian governing the country.

The formation of new terminological coinages is realized in different ways. The above given example illustrates the terminologization or semantization of the word in general use on the metaphoric basis, that is acquiring by it a new meaning. The same is true of another lexical unit – "небесні янголи" ("небесна сотня") – a biblical phrase reinterpreted to the meaning of the heroes of Maidan who died defending their rights and freedoms. Another word in general use "тушка" in the meaning of the body of a killed animal undergoes the similar metaphoric transformation and inclusion into the terminological system of the language of politics as it acquires a figurative meaning of an immoral politician – a deputy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, in particular, who when bribed easily changes his or her ideological and political convictions and parties.

A peculiar word characteristic of the present-day life is the nomen "мажор" applied to a person high in the social scale or a person in close relationship with the latter who has commited a crime and gone unpunished. The semantization of the given word is realized in the way of borrowing a word from another language (English in this case), namely the word «major» – an adjective denoting "головний", "основний", and substantivized with the acquired metaphoric meaning described above; thus, the language system provides the borrowed lexical element with its system-acquired properties, viz. a firm connection with one and only one special notion within its system and structural relations with the other notions in the same system.

The terminological system of the sublanguage of politics is being enriched by neologisms formed in the way of generalization of certain signs of a subject (object or phenomenon), for example, traits of a separate individual. So, the proper name "Тітушко" − a Ukrainian surname, today is perceived as a notion denoting an individual without any moral principles, and applied to a bribable and able to perform illegal and even criminal actions person. The other meanings of the word are "a provocateur", "a criminal". The term is of the feminine gender "тітушка" and is also used in plural – "тітушки".

Despite terminologization of the above given words in general use, i.e their inclusion into a certain terminological system they (the words) are on everybody’s lips today. The question is that the newly coined terms go out of the limits of the terminological system and simultaneously function as words in general use in the reinterpreted meaning of the notion they render. According to V. Gumboldt "the terminologized words as much as they would break their connections with a common language system, when coming into a special terminological one still preserve the possibility of restoring their former shades of meaning and the ability to acquire new semantics… At any favourable moment the shades of former and new purports may revive and brim over the rigid monosemantism".

Thus, to sum up we may state that the limits of the terminological systems are often shifted and the process of term-forming is not irreversible. The distinction between terms and non-terms is stipulated by a wide context of usage of this or that lexical unit.

Literature:

1. Д'яков А.С. Основи термінотворення: Семантичний та соціологічний аспекти. – К.: Вид. дім "КМ. Academia", 2000. – 218c.

2. Marchand H. Categories and Types of Present –Day English Word –Formation /Harrold Marchand.- Wiesbaden, 1999. – 379p.