Motivation of Military Discourse Terms (on English Language Material)

Abstract

Specifics of motivation of terminological items of military sublanguage formed in semantic way is covered. The material is the English articles devoted to the military topic. In the analyzed sublanguage there is high frequency of cases of semantic motivation, arising from a metaphorical transfer of the meaning of words of common language. The study of military terminology in the aspect of its motivation is relevant in connection with active formation of terminology of the military sublanguage in conditions of modern technological progress. The study of the phenomenon of motivation in sublanguages gives an idea about general laws of development of a specific language as the language system. The terms are considered in the light of such criteria as the presence of motivation, type of motivation, type of a motivated term and the direction of metaphorization of motivated terms. The most productive metaphorical models of military terms in the English language are determined. The cases of combination of different types of motivation within the same term are revealed. It is discovered that multi-component terms containing more than two components have a lower degree of motivation of the name. The results of comparative analysis of the types of motivated English military terms and their Russian equivalents are presented.