Military terms are quite a large group of words in the language. The main purpose of this vocabulary is to designate objects, phenomena and concepts related to conquest and defense - the central topics in the history and politics of all times and peoples.
Assignment of military terminology
Military terms and definitions are part of an open dynamic language system that is subject to certain changes and lives in accordance with special laws of development.
Since ancient times, when military science came to the fore, took shape as a separate system, the thesaurus of special naming terms that are used by military specialists in a war situation and in the daily life of the army began to expand: local war, ideology and propaganda, weapons, combat training. With the increasing complexity of military equipment and the development of tactical and strategic capabilities, new names began to appear and become fixed in the language: landing, military aviation, nuclear forces. Tactically obsolete objects are gradually moving into the category of historicisms: ballista, gazyri, Table of Ranks, cavalry, Red Army soldier. There is also an integral indivisible "core"universal terms that have survived the centuries: soldier, captain, fleet, medal, victory.
In its main purpose, military terminology serves the interests of society and the state, as it is associated with fluid processes in political life (both external and internal).
Classification of military terms and definitions
In the modern world, military terms and concepts, as well as the objects they designate, are in a state of dynamic development in the context of continuous scientific and technological progress. Nevertheless, within the specific area to which it is assigned, the term remains a stable unit that does not change its meaning.
Among military terminology, it is customary to distinguish the following groups:
- military-political terms (strategic, tactical);
- military-diplomatic terms (organizational);
- military-technical terms (refer to different types of armed forces and branches of service).
Development of terminology in Russian
The origins of military terminology in the Old Russian language can be traced on the example of the text "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (presumably 1187). Since the "Word" is dedicated to a military campaign, the military terms of their time are richly represented here: regiment, scolding, squad, army, helmet, shield, spear, bow, arrow, etc.
Further, in the 17th century, as the language developed, borrowings-Latinisms and Germanisms began to penetrate into it. So, in the translation of the German book "The Art of War of the Infantry" (published in 1647) there ismany German military terms that still exist: musketeer, soldier, ensign, captain, etc.
In the course of military interaction and successful conquests in the XI-XVII centuries. the military lexicon was enriched with words from the Turkic languages: quiver, beshmet, guard, etc.
In the time of Peter the Great, the Russian language was enriched with military and naval terminology thanks to the active reformatory activity of the first Russian emperor. Thanks to the development of shipbuilding and the borrowing of advanced technologies from the Dutch and English languages, maritime terms have penetrated, and are now relevant in military affairs: raid, fleet, pennant, fairway, boat, flight (Dutch), boat, brig, midshipman (English).
France and Germany, whose armies were in the period of the XVIII-XIX centuries. the most organized and highly trained, brought into our speech such military terms as army, battalion, garrison, carriage, attack, landing, captain, march, mine, cavalry, courier, sapper, squadron (French), corporal, assault, guardhouse, bandolier, camp (German), etc. Language contacts contributed to the fact that carbonari, cavalier, barricade, bastion, arsenal, etc. came from the Italian language.
In the modern Russian language, most of the borrowings have been introduced by the English language and its American variant. These are mainly military professions and military equipment, the terms and definitions of which have analogues in Russian: helicopter - helicopter, sniper - shooter, submarine - submarine, aviator -pilot, etc.
Lexicography of military terms
Collecting together a meaningful "military" arsenal of language, compiling a dictionary of military terms, is not an easy task. On the one hand, this opens up the scope of the historical memory of the language, on the other hand, there is a specific urgent need for codification and systematization, related, among other things, to the legal side of the military life of society.
In 2011, a team of authors under the general editorship of D. O. Rogozin prepared a large scientific work - a unique dictionary-reference book "War and Peace in Terms and Definitions". This dictionary of military terms is devoted to all the groups of specific terminology we have previously named. It embodied articles devoted to special names within various sections - the theme of war and peace, military affairs, military history, modern topical issues of national and international security. So, for example, the Dictionary interprets martial law - a term that is widely heard even in peaceful areas:
martial law - the strategic deployment of armed forces in accordance with the requirements of war (i.e. bringing them to the highest levels of combat readiness)
The term system of the Dictionary reveals the problems of military science and the theory of wars, the history and classification of the Armed Forces and means of weapons, as well as economics, geography, pedagogy, history and law related to this area.
Military terms in the "living" language system
As you know, life does not stand still. In the modern world, military terms, as well as the objects they designate, are in a state ofdynamic development in the context of continuous scientific and technological progress. Of particular difficulty is the systematization of such a huge corpus of lexemes: according to L. F. Parparov, the number of supplies in modern armed forces reaches about 3 million items.
In addition, it has been noted that the activation of the "reproduction" of specific terms and definitions occurs during militaristic "outbursts", namely during periods of armed clashes, revolutionary coups, conflicts on ethnic and religious grounds: terrorism, separatism, "Bandera”, martyrs, “suicide belt”, etc.
Military terminology in speech
The sphere of use of military terms is not limited to the headquarters and barracks, the front line and the rear, - on the pages of popular newspapers and magazines, television programs cover political events, the situation in the domestic army, military conflicts, and, of course, the author-military journalist you can not do without special vocabulary.
Linguist S. G. Ter-Minasova noted that in the dictionary of the Russian literary language, a “reserve” of 98 options is presented to denote physical violence, and only 11 words and phrases to express kindness and humility. Surprisingly, even in the everyday use of the language, a significant arsenal of "spears and arrows" is hidden.
The role of metaphor in military terminology
Considering the history of mankind as a continuous "history of wars", it can be noted that military vocabulary has penetrated into many areas of life (politics,diplomacy, journalism, private conversations and everyday communication), entangling them with a network of metaphors: the struggle for purity, the war with the pen; face masks are jokingly called the "big guns" in women's skin care arsenal, etc.
B”, heavy flamethrower system TOS-1 “Pinocchio”, intercontinental strategic complex “Topol-M”, etc.
Meaning transfer in military terminology is often based on an associative impression or experience of a person. Therefore, to express the concept, words are used that express an ordinary name or concept: a booby trap; "caterpillars" of the tank; "Death scythe" (machine gun during the First World War); tank, tub (tank during the First World War), Tsar-tank, Rook (Su-25 aircraft).
The problem of translating military terms
When translating foreign texts containing military terms and definitions, difficulties often arise due to language inconsistencies caused by:
- lack of analogy between concept and reality (Army is the Ground Forces, not the army);
- inconsistency or incomplete match of terms (Military Academy is a military school, not a military academy);
- differences in the rank systems of the armed forces of different countries;
- differences in the arrangement of organizational and staff structures(a troop in the UK army is a platoon, and in the US army it is a reconnaissance company);
- short "period of life" of individual terms (for example, the dictionaries of the terms of the First and Second World Wars differ significantly, although less than 30 years have passed between them);
- a significant number of abbreviations and abbreviations that are difficult to decipher;
- an abundance of slang expressions (My feet are dry - I'm flying over land; No joy - the target is not detected).
