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). The novelty of this study lies in the
detailed scientific analysis of the de-symbolization of lexical units as a universal way
of forming a legal terminological system. The theoretical significance of this research
is determined by the possibility of introducing the issue of the legal terms formation
into the context of the theory of language, the historical linguistics and the terminology
studies. A method has been proposed for describing the process of terminologization
(de-symbolization) of lexical units. The description of the legal terms was carried out
taking into account the specifics of this area of notions and semantics.
Research results. According to our research, the term is a sign that has lost its
symbolic properties. A symbol acts as a complex notion characterized by its internal
inconsistency, which manifests itself in the symbol's duality. To clarify the issue of
forming a symbol word and its further transition into a sign word, it is necessary to
return to the initial period of the coming-into-being of the language. A symbol as a
social phenomenon has an objective source of origin. It develops in accordance with
changes in social life, where it functions as a social motive force. The essential
characteristics of a human being, viz. consciousness and activity, find harmonious
unity in a symbol. This makes it possible to analyze the symbol both as a sign form of
the reflection of the social reality in people's minds and as a necessary element of
people's activity. The latter is actually the source of the ability of human consciousness
to reflect the reality.
The main semantic process determining the terminologization of a word is its de-
symbolization as a lexical unit. De-symbolization is considered as one of the promising
nominative processes, understanding of which is possible through the restoration of the
semantic foundations of terminological units. De-symbolization is a universal process,
but, within the framework of this study, we limit ourselves to analyzing the lexicon
constituting the body of legal terminology in the German language.
M. K. Mamardashvili and A. M. Pyatigorskiy, the authors of the "The Symbol
and the Consciousness" paper, distinguish primary and secondary symbols. While the
primary symbols (and the primary myths correlated with them) lie at the level of
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