POLYSEMY OF ENGLISH LEXICAL UNITS AS A STONE OF TRANSLATING SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY. БАГАТОЗНАЧНІСТЬ АНГЛІЙСЬКИХ ЛЕКСИЧНИХ ОДИНИЦЬ ЯК КАМІНЬ ПЕРЕКЛАДУ НАУКОВО-ТЕХНІЧНОЇ ТЕРМІНОЛОГІЇ

Abstract

The aspects of terminology are currently among the most relevant issues of translation theory and linguistics. Terminological units belong to the layer of vocabulary, which on one hand, takes an important position in the general national vocabulary of any language, is developing at fast rates, and is highly demanded by specialists of different branches and, therefore, provokes interest of numerous philologists. On the other hand, it can cause many difficulties for a translator of specialized literature. Lack of knowledge about the origin, word-formation, classification, functioning, peculiarities of term translating can prevent obtaining adequate results. Authors of the present article study polysemy of English terminological units to make adequate and accurate translation that is the feature of high linguistic proficiency. The only meaning of a term hinders developing its polysemy, but one should remember that each concept is influenced by linguistic processes and thus, should be studied. The research analyzes the phenomenon of polysemy in the terminological system of the English language, describes reasons of polysemy appearance, as well as determines specificity and ways of translating English terms. The work also identifies factors, influencing the process of translating polysemous terms. The authors of the research note that when translating polysemous terms from English into Ukrainian, different tools of inter-language transformation are used, particularly lexical and semantic transformation like specification, generalization and method of semantic development, as well as lexical transformation. However, the principal focus should be made on the context. It is impossible to choose the method of translating without considering the context of the term use, because translation can be different in different contexts. Contextual meanings appear in the process of a word use in the language depending on the surrounding and is expressed under the effect of a narrow, broad, and extra linguistic context. Thus, context is of principal importance as it helps translators identify the only correct meaning and choose the proper equivalent in the target language.