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Basic Principles of Term Formation in Russian
In the Russian language word formation methods can be subdivided into four major groups, namely morphological; morphological and syntactic; lexical and semantic; and lexical and syntactic processes (Martinovich, 2011). The morphological method and partially the morphological and syntactic group are considered as synchronic (Volinec, 2003, p. 5). Term creation is mostly synchronic, but the lexical and semantic method, as well as the lexical and syntactic process, is relevant for the term creation processes, as term creation is often carried out artificially. All four conventional word creation processes can be applicable to terminology.
Morphological term formation of simple words can be subdivided into prefixal, suffixal, postfixal and their combinations. Prefixal, suffixal and the combination of prefixal and suffixal methods are the most frequent. These cases are of a great value to Corporate Governance terminology. The postfixal method usually refers to the creation of reflexive verbs: конвертировать (konvertirovat', i.e. to convert) – конвертироваться (konvertirovat'sja, i.e. to be converted).
In the sphere of Management, Russian terms are mostly based on foreign term elements. The assimilation processes are vast, e.g. the term хеджирование (hedzhirovanie) was created on the basis of the term hedging (hedge) (Lingvo) with the help of a suffix. Suffixes “-ir”, “-ova” and “-n” as well as inflexion “-ie” were added to the base. The term accountability has two equivalents in Russian: отчётность (otchjotnost') and подотчётность (podotchjotnost') (Lingvo). The latter was derived from the first with the help of prefixation. The prefix pod- (under) in this case stresses the liability of staff etc., adding the meaning of subordination. Mixed cases of the suffixal and prefixal methods can be also seen in Management Terminology: the adjective внебалансовый (vnebalansovyj) corresponds to the term off-balance (IFC). The base of the term was borrowed by means of Direct Loan: “- balans- ”, i.e. balance, then the prefix “vne-“ (L.t.: over, out of, outside), the suffix “–ov” and the inflexion “–iy” forming the adjective were added.
The morphological term formation method also comprises the process of complex word creation, i.e compounding, which is subdivided into compounding of word bases and compounding of words (Martinovich, 2011).
In Russian, word bases can be joined by means of the connecting vowels e or o, e.g. the term правоотношения (pravootnoshenija, i.e. legal relationship) was created by fusing the words право (pravo, a right) and отношения (otnoshenija, relationship) with the vowel o connecting them. The process can also be accompanied by suffixation, e.g. the term правомочный (pravomochnyj), corresponding to the English terms “legally competent” and “legally qualified” (IFC), is a product of the compounding of the two bases: “право” (pravo, a right) and “моч” (moch from мощь (moshh'), power; like in the word polnomochie, authority) and a subsequent addition of the suffix –n and the inflexion iy. The bases can be also joined with a simultaneous process of truncation or null-suffixation; or without a connecting vowel (fusion).
Abbreviation corresponds to the process of creating abbreviated forms in English and is sometimes regarded as a non-morphological process (Volinec, 2003, p. 14). However, it can be included in this group which deals directly with word base compounding. In the Russian language abbreviations can be of different kinds employing initial and final letters, syllables, sounds etc. The abbreviation МСКУ (MSKU) is an initialism retrieved from the term международная сеть по корпоративному управлению (mezhdunarodnaja set' po korporativnomu upravleniju, or International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) (IFC).
Complex words can be obtained by means of joining whole words. The parts of such words can be both declined, or act like the product of fusion with only one word being declined. Duplication is also possible. It is impossible to use a noun as an attributive in Russian and that is why the complex terms письмо-соглашение (pis'mo-soglashenie, L.t.: letter-agreement) and риск-аппетит (risk-appetit, L.t.: risk-appetite) were created on the bases of the terms engagement letter and risk-appetite respectively (IFC).
The morphological and syntactical methods of word formation include processes of grammatical category change. Substantivation, i.e. the shift from the category of adjectives, adverbs, numerals or participles to that of nouns, is the most frequent case within this group. The Russian terms заведующий or управляющий (zavedujushhij, upravljajushhij, L.t.: being in charge, managing, governing) are equivalents of the English term manager (Lingvo). The nouns were converted from the participles and preserved the typical suffix “–ush’”.
The lexical and syntactic method refers to the process of fusing the elements of a phrase and occasionally of a sentence. The term вышеизложенный (vysheizlozhennyj, above-stated) represents the fusion of the adverb выше (vyshe, above) and the adjective изложенный (izlozhennyj, stated).
The lexical and semantic method corresponds to semantic transfer. This method results in polysemic terms. Homonyms, in this respect, cannot be regarded as a result of semantic transfer. Homonymic lexical units represent neither a single superordinate meaning, nor a source and a target, they just happen to have the same form. For example, the lexical unit среда (sreda), meaning Wednesday, is a homonym of the term среда (sreda), meaning environment, surroundings etc. (Martinovich, 2011). The form of the lexical units is the same, which is just a coincidence.
All term formation processes in Russian can be represented in the following chart:
Term formation methods in Russian
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Morphological
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Simple Lexical Units
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Prefixal
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Complex Lexical Units
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Compounding of Word Bases
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Suffixal
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Postfixal
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Compounding of Words
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Combinations
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Morphological and Syntactic
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Grammatical Category Change
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Lexical and Semantic
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Fusing the Elements
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Lexical and Syntactic
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Semantic Transfer
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