GERMAN LEGAL TERMS: RESTORATION OF THE SEMANTIC FOUNDATIONS

Abstract

The article deals with the analysis of the process of forming terminological units by means of lexis de-symbolization. The functioning of this way and its meaning for forming legal terminology is examined here. The lexical base of analysis is formed with the complex of lexis of the German legal terminological system. The objective of the current research is a multifaceted study and description of the semantic foundations of lexical units of law. The requirement to implement this objective has determined the need to solve the following research task: to investigate the process of de-symbolization of words, i. e. the transformation of words into terminological units primarily through the restoration of their semantic foundations (as exemplified by a number of German lexemes). The object of the research is the lexicon of the domain of the legal terminology of the said language. The subject of the research is the formation of legal terms as a result of the process of de-symbolization of the respective words (notions). The material involved in the study was considered from the standpoint of a systematic approach. In order to obtain objective data when determining the semantic foundations of terminological units of law, the descriptive method and the comparative one were used, as well as the method of semantic bundles (series). Examining the process of de-symbolization of lexical units makes it possible to draw the conclusion that the functioning of words in the context of certain semantic parameters determines the change in the content of those words' symbolic foundations. The words are used in a narrower sense, since they have become terms.