Настоящая статья посвящена вопросу синонимии юридических терминов английского языка. Были проанализированы синонимы с высокой частотностью использования, даны особенности и различия в их использовании, проведено количественное соотношение абсолютных и относительных синонимов.
Ключевые слова: юридические термины, абсолютные синонимы, относительные синонимы.
The article is devoted to the issue of synonymy of law terms in the English language. Synonyms with a high frequency of usage were analyzed, their particularities and differences are given, a quantitative correlation of absolute and relative synonyms is presented.
Key words: law terms, absolute synonyms, relative synonyms.
В современном терминоведении большой интерес представляет проблема синонимии.
А. А. Денисова пишет, что «синонимия самая сложная проблема терминологии как науки и терминов, так и объектов стандартизации» [Денисова, 1992]. Традиция считать синонимию крупным недостатком терминосистемы связана с именем Д. С. Лотте. Многие лингвисты упоминают о недостаточно глубокой изученности данного явления, что свидетельствует о неупорядоченности и неунифицированности в частности юридической терминологии.
В настоящее время некоторые терминоведы (В. А. Татаринов, Н. А. Шурыгин и др.) считают, что законы языка универсальны и что терминология также должна им подчиняться. Д. А. Керимов полагает, что иногда использование синонимов в законодательном тексте необходимо в целях сокращения большого количества повторений и, как следствие, стилистической корявости текста. Тогда как А. А. Ушаков замечает, что в борьбе за смысловую законодательную точность не надо бояться повторения, однообразности и известной сухости, нетерпимой в области художественного творчества, что главное в языке законодателя это точность. Ведь синонимия создает не только и не столько богатство юридического языка, сколько дополнительные проблемы в процессе его изучения и преподавания.
Наличие нескольких синонимичных терминов вызывает у пользующихся ими специалистов стремление находить между ними разницу, что приводит к искажению их содержания. Вместе с тем использование разных терминов вызывает неуверенность в том, что пользующиеся ими специалисты говорят об одном и том же понятии. Это приводит к затруднению взаимопонимания и вызывает бесчисленные споры о терминах. Поэтому в работах, посвященных нормализации терминолексики, традиционно выдвигается требование отсутствия синонимов, которое в ранних работах предъявлялось к термину, а в более поздних — к упорядочиваемой, особенно стандартизируемой терминологии.
При исследовании синонимии терминов важно учитывать различия семантики терминов, а также их структурное тождество / нетождество. В плане тождества и различия семантики юридических терминов в английском языке можно выделить:
1) абсолютные, или полные синонимы; 2) относительные или частичные синонимы. Для этих двух типов синонимов критерием является степень тождества компонентов их значения.
Абсолютными (полными) синонимами называются лексические и фразеологические единицы, которые обладают тождественными значением, стилистической окраской. Абсолютные синонимы не имеют ни семантических, ни стилистических отличий.
Исследование показало, что между абсолютными синонимами отсутствуют эмоционально-экспрессивные и оттеночные отношения.
Enquiry, Inquiry
Enquiry means asking a question, and inquiry is a formal investigation. The prefix ‘en’ comes from French, and ‘in’ from Latin. Enquiry is a request for truth, knowledge or information, whereas an inquiry is an investigation into something. Enquiry is preferred in British English, whereas the Americans are more comfortable with inquiry. In spite of there being a clear distinction in the meanings of the two terms, people often use them interchangeably.
Contract, contractual
As adjectives these words are mutual synonyms and are interchangeable.
Анализ исследования выявил, что абсолютные синонимы составляют меньшую часть синонимического ряда юридических терминов.
Относительными (частичными) синонимами называются такие лексические и фразеологические единицы, которые обладают семантико-стилистическими отличиями.
Выделяют три типа относительных синонимов: семантические (идеографические), стилистические и семантико-стилистические.
Семантические (идеографические) синонимы различаются оттенками значений.
Семантические синонимы могут отличаться
1) оттенками значения в характеристике признака, действия. Например,
Seller vendor
Vendors are sellers who sell products to end-users. They are at the final stage of any trade and business management system. They are defined as ‘someone who promotes or exchanges the goods or services for money’. Vendors are local sellers of any commodity, products, goods and services. They are known to sell these goods at the affordable and convenient rates. Their commission or profit percentage are fixed before, which they receive after sale.
Sellers sell their products to any purchaser, who would be willing to buy the products. They are defined as a ‘party that makes offers or contracts to make a sale to an actual or potential buyer’. Sellers are solely involved in the process of selling. They are only concerned with buyers and can sell products to anyone, who would comprise any role in the trade cycle.
Trial litigation hearing
Litigation is the stage when a lawsuit is filed up. Trial is the stage of the case in front of a judge and/or jury. Litigation could end in trial or not, depending on the outcome of pre-trial motions or the possibility of settlement.
All the communications, questions, motions, depositions and so forth between your side and the opposing parties are encompassed through this «litigation». All of this work being done through the course of 'litigation» has the end goal of having a «trial» where all of the evidence from both sides is presented to the jury.
Hearing is described as a legal gathering, in the court of law, wherein the judge discusses and decides the case, in the presence of the competing parties. It is less formal and shorter than a trial. Its main objective is to ascertain whether the charges imposed are worth pursuing or not.
Trial refers to the judicial proceeding in which facts and evidence are examined, to find out the guilt or innocence of the accused.
Acquisition takeover
Takeover is very similar to an acquisition where one company will purchase another for an agreed sum in cash or number of shares. Takeover will most probably be a hostile and unfriendly action in which one company acquires enough shares of another (more than 50 %) so that the acquirer is able to take over the operations of the target company. A takeover may also be a friendly one, in which the company that wishes to acquire the target may take an offer to the board of directors who may (in a friendly takeover) accept the offer if it seems beneficial to the future operations of the target company.
In acquisition one company will purchase the other; however, it is usually on a pre-planned and orderly manner in which both parties strongly agree if beneficial to both firms. In an acquisition, the company that acquires the target will be entitled to all the target company’s assets, properties, equipment, offices, patents, trademarks etc. The acquirer will either pay in cash to acquire the firm or provide shares in the acquirer’s firm as compensation. In most cases, after the acquisition is complete the target company will not exist, and would have been swallowed up by the acquirer and will operate as an indistinguishable part of the larger acquirer firm. In other instances, the target may also operate as a separate unit under the larger firm.
Tort crime
A tort differs from a crime because although it is a wrong doing it is classified as a civil offence. A tort interferes with another person or their property. Torts are based on injury to individuals due to negligence or personal damage.
A crime on the other hand, is a wrong doing that affects civilized society and falls under the laws of the state or federal government. The injured party is classified as the society and the laws broken have been set up by the state or federal government to protect the members of society.
Torts and crimes are tried in different courts and although both accused parties are known as defendants the charges of a tort are laid by a plaintiff while crimes are brought to court by the federal government. Crimes are tried in a criminal court while torts are brought to justice through a civil court.
The intent of a tort can be unintentional, it is accidental and caused by negligence. It is still damaging to the individual. A crime is an intentional wrong doing that affects society. Individuals may be caught up in the crime and suffer during the criminal activity, but generally the crime and criminals break the law and intend to gain from the wrong doing.
Intentional torts can be confused with crime because they often happen during criminal activity. If the injured party decides to sue for compensation, the criminal case becomes a tort. The perfect examples of a tort can be seen in motor vehicle accidents, cases of slipping and falling, medical malpractice, assault, product liability and workplace accidents. A tort that is part of a criminal activity is evident when someone driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs causes bodily harm to another individual involved in the accident. The crime is described as the way the guilty party drove, and the tort is the injury sustained by a private individual. Therefore, it is clear to see the role of a tort in a situation violating the safety and health of an individual during the course of what is classified as a crime.
Compensation for a tort is metered out for the individual based on the measure of wrongs and loss due to damages of the individual. Crimes are punished by society according to laid down laws. The punishment is deemed fair in the court.
The object of the law of torts is to compensate the individual, whose legal right has been infringed by the wrong doer. The object of the law of crimes is to punish the criminal in the interest of society.
Conviction sentence
We use terms interchangeably or synonymously without actually paying close attention to their meaning. The key to distinguishing the terms is to think of сonvictionas something that precedes a sentence.
The term conviction is traditionally defined as the outcome of a criminal prosecution that culminates in a judgement that the defendant is guilty of the crime charged. Thus, it represents one of two possibilities that typically arise at the end of a criminal proceeding: either the defendant will be found guilty or not guilty of the crime with which he/she is charged.
A conviction is a result of the verdict of a judge and/or jury. In contrast, a sentence is typically ordered by a judge.
The court cannot order a sentence unless the person has been found guilty or convicted. Therefore, a conviction must precede a sentence.
The term sentence is defined as the judicial determination and pronouncement of a punishment to be imposed on a person convicted of a crime. When we hear the term sentence, particularly in a legal context, we automatically think of a prison or jail sentence. Thus, once the defendant has been found guilty of a crime, or rather convicted, the court or judge will formally declare the appropriate punishment to be imposed upon the person. The court orders a sentence based on the relevant law applicable to the particular crime. A sentence may take various forms. Aside from imprisonment, it also includes the payment of fines, community service, restitution, rehabilitation programs, life imprisonment and probation, or in the case of serious crimes, the death penalty. Persons convicted of minor crimes generally serve a short term in prison and/or are ordered to pay fines. Further, in cases where the defendant does not have a history of committing crimes, a term of probation may be ordered by the court.
Branch, subsidiary
Branch and subsidiary are two common methods of businesses to expand. A branch is an extension of the parent company that carries out similar business operations whereas a subsidiary is a business where the parent company holds majority shares, thus has a controlling stake.
A branch office is not considered a separate legal entity. This means that the entity is not considered to be separate from the owners by taking the form of a limited liability company or a corporation. Its liabilities extend to the parent company, meaning the parent company can be sued in a legal matter. Branches are opened in order to have a presence in a wider geographical area, which allows the customers to enjoy easy access to the products and services of the company.
Unlike a branch, a subsidiary has its own legal status; therefore, it is considered as a separate legal entity. Subsidiary conducts its own business operations and liabilities, and legal claims cannot be passed on to the parent. If the parent company purchases a stake that exceeds 50 % in another company, the latter becomes a subsidiary of the parent, allowing the parent to exert the control over the subsidiary. Investing in a subsidiary increases the corporate value by strengthening the position of the parent. A subsidiary may or may not carry out the same business operation as the parent.
Agreement contract
Contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more entities, enforcing an obligation to do something or to refrain from doing certain things. But a legal agreement is not always a contract. Any agreement is considered to be legally binding and becomes a contract when the conditions are met. The conditions are offer and acceptance, intention to create legal relation and consideration. If any of these conditions is not met then the contract is not legally binding and it cannot be enforced on the other party.
A contract must contain the following essential elements:
Offer and Acceptance: Every contract must include a specific offer, and the acceptance of that specific offer.
Mutual Consent: The offer and acceptance must be freely consented to by the parties. All parties must agree to the same terms, and all must intend for a binding agreement to be formed.
Consideration: This is something of value that is exchanged between the parties. Consideration can take the form of money, goods, or services, but both parties must provide something of value for a contract to be formed. If only one side provides something, it is a gift, not a contract.
Competence: Both parties must comprehend the situation and understand what the contract will entail. Thus, no party can be a minor, under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or mentally deficient in a way that would prevent them from understanding the terms of the contract.
Legal Purpose: The purpose of the contract must fall within the confines of lawful conduct. In other words, a court would never enforce a contract regarding something illegal.
So long as a contract meets the requirements above, it is enforceable in a court of law, which means that a court can compel a non-compliant party to abide by the terms of the contract. Generally, a contract does not need to be in writing, and in many cases, an oral agreement with all of the elements listed above will constitute a valid and enforceable contract.
An agreement is an expansive concept that includes any arrangement or understanding between two or more parties about their rights and responsibilities with respect to one another. Such informal arrangements often take on the form of “gentlemen’s agreements,” where adherence to the terms of the agreement relies upon the honor of the parties involved rather than exterior means of enforcement.
Agreement refers to meeting of minds at a certain point. Agreement may be on business views, commercial views or domestic views. If an agreement is not legally binding it cannot be enforced by law. An agreement becomes a contract when it is made legally binding and on meeting the conditions listed above.
When the parties enter into an agreement they define the terms and conditions of the agreement themselves, whereas in some specific contracts terms and conditions are implemented by law.
Condition term
Terms are basically things that we agree to do or not to do. The buyer agrees to pay the money. The seller agrees to give him the property in return. The buyer agrees to take the property on lease for a period of 12 years. The landlord agrees to allow a tenant occupy his space as long as he pays rent.
Conditions are things that must be satisfied before the transaction becomes binding upon the two parties, the seller and the buyer. For example, some buyers insert a condition subject to financing, so that they can walk out of the contract without any penalty if they do not get required financing from a bank. Another common condition is due diligence that allows the buyer to verify all important details before committing to purchase.
In any transaction terms are mutually agreed conditions that need to be fulfilled for a transaction to be complete. Conditions on the other hand can be included at the last minute to satisfy the buyer
Put simply, conditionsneed to be satisfied or waived prior to a specified deadline in order for the sale to go forward, while termsare obligations to be performed as part of the contract.
Conditions have a time and date by which the action must be completed, referred to as the ‘condition date.’ If the condition date passes without the condition being waived, it effectively ends the deal.
Terms usually have monetary penalties to ensure that the other party performs what is required of them.
Lawsuit claim
A claim begins after a victim is injured or suffers property damage (or both) caused by another driver’s negligence. To cover the resulting costs, the victim pursues the at-fault driver, who turns the matter over to his insurance company. Once the insurance company is notified, it generates a claim number and assigns the case to a claims adjuster. The adjuster opens a claim and contacts the victim to negotiate a settlement. The negotiations hopefully result in a compromised settlement payment, where both parties are satisfied. If the two can agree on a settlement, a lawsuit will not have to be filed.
A personal injury lawsuit is filed when the negotiation process breaks down, and a compromise can’t be reached. The breakdown may occur because the claims adjuster denies their insured was at-fault, or doesn’t agree with the severity of your injuries and the amount you’re demanding. When claim negotiations hit a wall, the next step is a lawsuit which is brought to a court of law by one party against another.
Annex appendix
An annex and an appendix are both forms of addendums to a main document. An appendix contains data that cannot be placed in the main document and has references in the original copy or file. An annex, on the other hand, is usually a standalone document that offers additional information.
An appendix cannot be submitted without the main copy. The aim of an appendix is to add greater details, visuals and examples for better understanding of the main copy. An annex, however, is different from an appendix in the fact that it can be considered without the main text. It cannot be added to the main text but still has importance as regards the original copy.
Appendices are usually written by original authors whereas annexes can be written by outside party.
Reimbursement refund rebate
Rebate means an amount of money that is paid back to you because you have paid too much or as an incentive for buying something.
Refund as a noun means money that is paid back for something and usually it means that what was purchased was defective or unacceptable.
Reimbursement is very similar in meaning to refund. It means «an amount of money paid back equal to what has been spent». It is usually used when you pay for something for someone else, when you borrow from someone else, or when you pay for something now but you will be paid back later (such as when you have expenses for business travel).
For example: I keep my gas receipts so that I can be reimbursed by my company.
Expenses, disbursement
Expenses refer to all the money a company spends on office supplies, hiring employees and marketing products.
Disbursements include payments made on behalf of a person who will later get the money back as part of an agreement with the client. However, disbursements also include purchases of goods and services that are tax-deductible, such as medical purchases, in which the purchaser gets portions of the money back when filing income taxes. This differs from general business expenses.
Fraud swindle
Swindle is an act of cheating or defrauding money or property, tricking or cheating someone out of something which belongs to them.
Fraud is a deliberate deception for unfair or unlawful gain; cheat.
Thus swindling is one form of fraud.
Fraud is a much wider term, for example identity theft or forgery are frauds but we wouldn't say that they are swindles.
Forensic criminalistic
Criminalistic deals primarily with crime scene evidence collection and processing of fingerprints and ballistics, and, to some degree trace evidence, such as tread marks, tool markings.
Forensic science has to do with the more «scientific» endeavors, such as forensic anthropology, forensic botany, forensic geology, serology and DNA.
Interim temporary
As adjectives they mean the same thing. But interim also implies an intervening period. As an example, any interim job implies that the job duties are to be performed during the period between the former job-holder and the job-holder to be hired. An Interim CEO, for example, is CEO during the time between the old and the new CEO. Any job described as temporary, however, means that it will end at some point and not be taken back up. An example here would be contractors hired for a construction project. When the construction project is done, the contractors are done. The work was temporary.
Legal lawful legitimate
Legal, lawful, legitimate are some words that describe things, events and activities that are permitted by law and do not attract punishment under the law. However, the words legal and lawful are not synonymous as many believe.
Legal is a word that pertains to the science of law, its administration, its understanding, and even its practice. This is why everything associated with this profession is termed as legal and even the advice given by attorneys to their clients is termed legal advice. When we hear the word legal, we visualize the world of law courts, lawyers, judges and all the paraphernalia that together constitutes the legal system.
When an event, thing, structure, organization, agreement etc. are in accordance with the law, or are permitted and sanctioned by the law of the land, they are said to be lawful. Anything that conforms to or is recognized by law is automatically lawful. Anything lawful is considered to be not forbidden by law.
We shouldn’t also forget that both legal and lawful have got the meaning `allowed by law' but in this case lawful is a more formal word. But you cannot use lawful or legitimate with the meaning of “relating to the law“ instead of legal.
Legitimate means fair, morally or ethically acceptable `correct or acceptable according to a law or rule', `justifiable under the circumstances'. It may be legal to infect a computer with a virus, if there is still no law against it. But it isn't legitimate
to rescind, to repudiate, to terminate
Repudiateis to reject the truth or validity of something; to deny. While rescind is to repeal, annul, or declare void; to take (something such as a rule or contract) out of effect
The differences in meaning are quite subtle. A breaching party may repudiate the contract, but termination only occurs if the other party accepts the repudiation. If a party is induced to enter into a contract by a misrepresentation, they may be entitled to rescind the contract.
A rescission restores the parties (buyer, seller, brokerages and brokers) as though the agreement was never written. A rescission also releases the parties from any and all present or future liability.
While terminateis to end, especially in an incomplete state. A termination ends the agreement at that point in the agreement. A termination recognizes the agreement (unlike the rescission) and does not release the parties from liabilities.
to appoint, to assign
One is assigned a task, not a title or position.
to postpone, to delay, to defer
Postpone is voluntary, an action initiated by someone who has the authority to delay an existing plan.
You can use delaypretty much anywhere you use postpone, but delaydoesn't carry the same voluntary connotation.
Deferhas a suggestion of being de-prioritized. It is a much less common synonym for postpone. It also implies that the action was initiated by someone who has the authority to delay an existing plan, except that the postponement occurred due to something beyond that person's control.
While defer and postpone overlap, defer and delay do not so much. In other words, you can use delay in all these examples, but defer only fits where postpone also works.
to allocate, to allot
Allocate means to set aside for a specific purpose, to fix the place of, to locate. Allotmeans to divide or distribute by share, to appropriate for a specific purpose, to set apart or dedicate.
to repudiate, to reject
As verbs the difference between reject and repudiate is that reject is to refuse to accept while repudiate is to reject the truth or validity of something; to deny.
Также семантические синонимы могут отличаться
2) степенью проявления признака или действия.
Второй тип относительных синонимов, стилистические синонимы, различаются своей стилевой принадлежностью, т. е. употребляются в разных функциональных стилях речи. Например,
to accuse, to charge
If you accuse someone of doing something wrong, you say that they did it. For example, someone can be accused of being dishonest, or of a fault like laziness. If someone has done something that is against the law, they can be accused of a crime and put on trial in a court of law.
When the police charge someone or charge them with committing a crime, they formally accuse them of it. The police charge a person with a crime when they have evidence that the person was responsible for it. You can also charge someone with things like not doing their duty or lying. You do not use charge when referring to minor faults.
Responsibility liability
The terms liability and responsibility have distinct meanings in legal English.
To be liable for something means to be legally responsible for something, for example to be liable for damages. A liability is a legal obligation.
A company’s liabilities are its debts.
Responsibility refers to the care and consideration a person has for the outcome of their actions. It can also refer to a person’s accountability for an outcome to which their actions have contributed, together with any legal obligation they may have to repair any damage caused, as in the company director accepted full responsibility for the consequences of her actions.
In other words responsibility is moral obligation and liability is legal compulsion.
Responsibility is an obligation that you have to do something. Liability means that you're subject to repercussion if your duties are not finished.
to ignore, to waive
Ignore is to pretend that you have not noticed someone or something. Waive is to choose to officially ignore a rule, right, or claim
to abide by, to obey
Abide by is usually used for rules. E.g: to abide by the rules.
Obey is simply to do according to what someone has been instructed. It doesn't necessarily need to be a rule.
Mandatory compulsory obligatory
The collocates for mandatory are more things that are simply required by law, policy, or rule, whereas compulsory is more for specifical things that someone must do (e.g. education, military, sterilization). Obligatory, on the other hand, doesn’t have much of a strong affinity for certain things, and can be used generally for anything that is required by social custom.
to deem, to consider
Consider is (transitive) to think about seriously while deem is (obsolete) to judge; pass judgement on; sentence.
to infringe, to contravene, to violate, to break
Contravene is strictly legal, very serious, you won't find this word used in a day-to-day chatter. It is used by professional legal councils and people who want to sound knowledgeable.
Infringe is mostly legal, serious, intelligent people will use it when appropriate. Moreover an appropriate collocation arises here»...infringe upon a person's rights»...
Violate is more informal. In a serious conversation you can state again certain rights have been violated. Most likely case is sexual harassment. It can however be used in more casual instances.
Break can be serious as breaking the law or inconsequential as breaking the rules in a game.
Третий тип относительных синонимов, семантико-стилистические синонимы, отличаются оттенками в значении и стилистической принадлежностью. Например,
Claimant, plaintiff, pursuer
In law, a plaintiff is an injured party who has been either personally or physically injured and thus seeks justice for the injury caused to them in court. But in reality both claimant and plaintiff have the same meanings, they both seek compensation or justice of some form of relief. The majority of insurance companies use the word claimant in their vocabulary, which is a person who claims to have a claim against the insurance company for the negligent conduct of their insured who caused an injury to you. For example, if someone injures you in a car accident, you become in the eyes of the insurance world a claimant. If for some reason the insurance companies refuse to pay, you can take your injuries to court and show the court your claim as to why you deserve to be compensated thus you now become the plaintiff. In reality, both words have the same meaning, they both seek justice or some form of relief.
One more difference found is that plaintiff was used formerly in England and Wales, whereas pursuer was formerly used in Scotland.
Right entitlement
You could think of rights as establishing a claim to something. There are negative rights (i.e. freedom from...) and positive rights (i.e. right to...). An entitlement would be what you would require to have that right fulfilled.
For example, you have a rightto free primary education. As a right, you therefore have a claim to free primary education. To meet that right you would be entitledto the school system that includes teachers, buildings, learning materials, etc. and does not charge you directly for the service. You don't have a right to teachers, but your right to free primary education means that you are entitled to the goods and services necessary to achieve that right.
Rights can be claims to something, or claims to be free from something, whether they are «natural» or «positive» rights/claims, or created through a legislative framework. Entitlements are those things that must be provided to/withheld from a person in order to have those rights met.
Owner proprietor
A proprietor has an exclusive legal right or a title to own the thing in question (land, business, property) whereas an owner does not have an exclusive right but only an “interest” like control or use of the land, business or property etc. These are both synonyms of each other, they are interchanged in any way of business, but proprietor is often seen as more formal.
In some states and outside of the US though it can have a different meaning. In this rare case it may mean someone that owns an estate, but has no full ownership in the eyes of the law, in this case the higher ownership is held by the «owner». In certain businesses ownership is divided by percentages, the owner would be whoever owns a higher percentage.
Procurement purchase
Purchase is a common word, buying items for daily use from local markets or superstores. When you are purchasing, you normally don’t focus on specifications, evaluations, estimations, and quality. But when it comes to industrial or strategic buying the word procurement has been devised. It means that a thorough cost evaluation, cost estimation, market testing, market grading, substitution and alternative evaluation, specifications, need assessment, decisions are involved. When you are procuring it means you have to apply latest techniques of supplier selection, supplier capacity check, quality checks, pre-qualification of supplier, early supplier involvement, vendor managed inventory, bidding, auctions.
Стоит отметить, что синонимы сравнительно редко выступают в «чистом виде», в одной строго определенной роли: чаще всего в их употреблении совмещаются различные «роли».
По мнению А. П. Евгеньевой, невозможно провести границу между стилистическими и «идеографическими/семантическими» синонимами, «зачислив одни в стилистические, а другие только в идеографические. Основная, подавляющая масса синонимов служит и стилистическим и смысловым (оттеночным, уточнительным) целям, часто выполняя и ту и другую функции одновременно.
Итак, в нашей работе были проанализированы 34 группы синонимов (всего 75 юридических терминов). Из них абсолютные синонимы составляют наименьшую группу (около 6 %), остальную часть составляют относительные синонимы, из которых около 61 % — семантические синонимы, 21 % — стилистические и 12 % — семантико-стилистические.
Большую группу синонимов составляют относительные (частичные) синонимы, к которым относятся юридические термины, имеющие одно и то же ядро значения, но разные периферийные компоненты. Согласно проведенному анализу относительные синонимы активно и частотно используются во всех отраслях права английского языка. По нашим данным, на их долю приходится 94 % всех исследованных нами юридических терминов в английском языке.
По структуре лексические синонимы делятся на
разнокорневые
однокорневые, которые в свою очередь делятся на
− аффиксальные (contract/contractual)
− морфологические (loss/losses)
− орфографические (judgement как приговор и решение суда)
Наша работа показала, что к разнокорневым синонимам относится большинство исследуемых синонимов в терминологии английского юридического языка. Специфической чертой большинства разнокорневых синонимов английских юридических терминов является их принадлежность к типу относительных синонимов (с точки зрения семантики). Всего лишь небольшой процент синонимов может быть отнесен к однокорневым синонимам, в основном к аффиксальной группе. Тогда так синонимов из морфологической и орфографических групп в нашем исследовании выявлено не было. Однокорневые синонимы, как правило, относятся к разряду абсолютных синонимов.
Также эвфемизмы и сленг могут служить источником синонимии для английской юридической терминологии. Сильная связь юридической терминологии с социальной средой, которую она обслуживает, обусловила специфику юридической терминологии по сравнению с другими терминосистемами.
Некоторые термины, обозначающие особо тяжкие преступления, были заменены эвфемизмами, с целью сглаживания неприятного эффекта, такие как, например, capital punishment (death penalty), но в нашем исследовании мы не выявили подобных примеров, так как данная тема уже была довольно подробно изучена до нас.
Появление в английской юридической терминологии терминов-синонимов из сленга объясняется особенностями прецедентной правовой системы, более демократичной по своей сути, чем кодифицированная. Тот факт, что сторонам в процессе необходимо убедить в своей правоте присяжных и прецедент создает судья, заставляет прецедентную систему использовать язык более образный и доступный по сравнению с кодифицированной системой. Данный аспект подробно исследован в нашей предыдущей статье “Сленг в неформальном общении американских юристов.”
Литература:
- Денисова, А. А. Семантика терминов общей теории права: дис.... канд. филол. наук. / А. А. Денисова. — М., 1992. — 177 с.
- Лотте, Д. С. Основы построения научно-технической терминологии / Д. С. Лотте — М.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1961. — 154 с.
- Татаринов, В. А. Терминологические воззрения Г. О. Винокура и А. А. Реформатского // Филологические науки. / В. А. Татаринов М., 1992. № 5–6, 63–75 с.
- Татаринов В. А. История отечественного терминоведения: в Зт. Т.2 Направления и методы терминологических исследований: Очерк и хрестоматия. / В.А Татаринов. -М., 1999. Кн.2.
- Шурыгин Н. А. Лексикологическая терминология как система. / Н. А. Шурыгин. — Нижневартовск, 1997. 15 с.
- Dictionary of Law. Teddington: Peter Collin Publishing, 1995.
7. Brown Gillian D., Rice Sally. Professional English in Use. Law. — Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/thesaurus/law
