THEORETICAL ISSUES OF TERMINOLOGY AND TERM IN THE CONCEPTS OF WORLD LINGUISTIC DISCOURSE

Abstract

The overview of the formation and development of the theory of terminology is presented in the article. Specific definitions of the concepts “terminology” and “term” are analysed. Various aspects of the theory of terminology are considered and topical directions of its development are specified. Terminology is recognised as a separate discipline by many scientists. In the modern world the important role of terminology is undeniable, as the level of society development is determined by the state of national terminology. It reflects the state of science of a particular society and is an essential component of politics, economy, and culture. A modern dictionary of each language contains a variety of terms from different fields of human activity and knowledge. Since new realia continue to emerge, and the language cannot form the required number of new terms to denote them, the main term formation processes come to be terminologization and reterminologization. The methods of the traditional (classical) theory of terminology, which was devised by Austrian scientist E. Wüster and aimed at the standardization of specialized speech, no longer satisfy modern researchers and have caused numerous discussions since the end of the 70s of the XX century. One of the key issues is the definition of the concept “term”, the connection between professional vocabulary and terminology, and the characteristics inherent in terms. Terminology as a science is developing and one of the consequences of this is its approach to linguistics, in particular to lexicology. Modern linguists attribute variable characteristics to the term, recognize polysemy and synonymy as its appropriate characteristics. New schools of terminology and directions are appearing. All over the world, at the national and international level, there are numerous institutions and organizations that solve the tasks of language standardization, terminological planning, unification and internationalization of terminology, as well as legislative support for the use of terms. Further research on terminology is an important factor for accelerating scientific and technological progress and is a necessary condition for sharing the advances in science and technology worldwide.