Oksana Krymets

National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute”

Terminologization and Determinologization as a Result of the Inter-influence of the Language and the Scientific Picture of the World

© Krymets O. M., 2015

The article investigates the interinfluence of the language and national scientific pictures of the world, which is revealed in the processes of terminologization and determinologization. Semantic changes that occur during metaphoric reinterpretation or metonymic shift in meanings used generally and meanings of terms existing in the language were analyzed. Peculiarities of newly created units were characterized as to the breadth of their meanings, presence or absence of estimating-expressive components.

Keywords: language picture of the world, national scientific picture of the world, terminologization, determinologization, contraction of meaning, expansion of meaning.

The work concentrates on the inter-influence of the language picture and the scientific picture of the world. The author investigates peculiarities of these phenomena that differ from each other principally since the language picture is naive and nationally marked, whereas the scientific one is an objective and universal for various nations.

The language picture and the scientific picture of the world are the products of different types of human conscience: everyday conscience and scientific conscience. The language picture is not changing as fast as is the scientific one, the pattern of the content of the scientific picture is limited to the objective world, whereas the language picture contains the objective world as well as everything that exists in human conscience (subjective appraisals, moral categories etc.). The scientific picture of the world does not have a national character as to its content, but as to expression the language of science has specific national features in a society with a scientific tradition. This enables to speak about the national scientific picture of the world.

The national scientific picture and the language picture of the world are interwoven, they influence each other. At the same time the impact of the language picture of the world seems to be stronger than that of the national scientific picture. This inter-influence is effected in the processes of terminologization and determinologization.

Metaphor and metonymy are major factors of terminologization as a result of which the language of science is enriched with new units by means of reinterpretation of lexical units in general usage. In the process of terminologization the primary scientific idealization of the objects, processes, characteristics of the language picture of the world reflected in everyday conscience takes place. In this way the language picture of the world influences the national scientific picture. The very same role is played by metaphor and metonymy in the process of determinologization – formation of derivative names in general usage caused by reinterpretation of the meanings of terms from various fields of knowledge that are present in the language, which is a result of the reversed process – an impact of the national scientific picture of the world on the language picture of the world.

The essence of the process of metaphorizing a generally used meaning implies inclusion of new components into its semantics – terminological semes that modify the meaning and project it onto a certain term-system which is accompanied by annihilation of semes that denoted certain characteristics of the meaning in general usage. The process of metaphorical reinterpretation of the meanings of the existing terms, i.e. determinologization, is accompanied by expansion and simplification of the initial meaning, in many cases there are the meanings-eurisemants that can refer to a great number of denotates. Besides, the above process can lead to positivation or negativation of the meaning.

Metonymy is yet another factor of terminologization and determinologization. Formation of new terms occurs as a result of a metonymic shift in the meanings of generally used lexical units, which is yet another effect of the impact of the language picture of the world on the national scientific picture. Metonymic term-formation is a systematic process which is based on  certain patterns: “action – instrument for its realization”, “action – its result”, “part – whole”, “material – product made of it”, “container – content”, “action – manner of action”, “measure – instrument for measuring” etc.. The process of determinologization also employs metonymic patterns of reinterpretation (“object – usage of the object”, “feature – one who bears the feature”, “place – action occurring in the place”), although less actively, than in term-formation. Despecialization and expansion of the initial meaning also result from metonymic shifts.

Thus, the inter-influence of the language picture and the national scientific picture of the world is implemented in terminologization and determinologization of the existing generally used or specific units which occurs in the course of metaphoric reinterpretation or metonymic shift of the initial meanings.