Dynamic semantics of professionalisms

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DYNAMIC SEMANTICS OF PROFESSIONALISMS

Mykhaylenko V.V.

Institute of lnternational Relations and Social Studies, MAUP

Annotation

lexical synchrony phrase

The present paper is aimed at revealing semantic correlation of the three socio-political terms (professionalisms): governance, government and administration and their dynamic semantics in diachrony. The investigation includes four steps: (1) the analysis of the word lexical meaning in diachrony; (2) the definitional analysis of the word lexical meaning in synchrony; (3) the distributional analysis of the lexemes in the phrase; (4) the analysis of the units functioning in the socio-political / socio-economic discourse and their frequency of usage in the British National Corpus. There are subsequent shifts towards a synchronic state and a perspective one which are important for both descriptive and theoretical semantics. The referred traces of the original meaning will be actualized under the influence of its lexical-grammatical and lexical-semantic combinability and function - they have acquired a broad range of lexical and syntactic structures in -various discourse registers in the course of time. The dynamics of the meaning of the given units reflect certain changes in the language societies. The differences and common features in their meaning have been illustrated in diachronic and synchrony.

As for the perspectives of the present investigation there may be three main tendencies: (1) contrastive semantics of the conceptual field of governance in English and Ukrainian -with the outcome into translation. (2) The parallel glossary of Governance making for the majors in Translation and Political Science. (3) Teaching Professional English in the framework of ELSP.

Key -words: governance, government, administration, etymology, semantics, distribution, discourse, corpus.

Анотація

Михайленко В. В. Динамічна семантика професіоналізмів. У фокусі пропонованої праці вирізнення семантичної кореляції трьох соціально-політичних термінів (професіоналізмів) governance, government, administration та їхньої динамічної семантики в діахронії. Дослідження складається з чотирьох кроків: етимологічного аналізу для опису лексичного значення слова в діахронії; аналізу визначення лексичного значення слова в синхронії; дистрибутивного аналізу значення лексем у фразі; аналізу одиниць, які функціонують у соціально-політичному і соціально-економічному дискурсі, та частоти їх вживання у Британському національному корпусі.

Ключові слова: управління, уряд, адміністрація, етимологія, семантика, дистрибуція, дискурс, корпус.

Defining the problem and argumentation of the topicality of its consideration. In the Political Science governance represents the norms, values and rules of the game through which public affairs are managed in a manner that is transparent, participatory, inclusive and responsive (UNESCO). The term started to gain prominence in the 1990-s and at present it refers to the importance of good governance in international development: “the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development” (World Bank, 1992). The concept refers to the task of running a government or any other appropriate entity for that matter, i.e. “the governing power in a state” [12]. In A. M. Kjaer's opinion “governance is the capacity of government to make and implement policy, i.e. to steer society” [11, 10-11]. Though, the governance is not a synonym for government in Global English or administration then is an authority to command and control other people and a rational concept denoting the nature of interactions between state and social layers [3, 17]. Consequently, the term governance in Lexical Semantics must include the component change in its meaning to reflect changes in the nature and role of the state following the public-sector reforms. J. Pierre and B. Guy Peters consider that the role that government plays in governance is variable and not a constant value, there are models of governance that are state-centric and some that are more society-centered [15, 29]. The dominant component of concept governance, as Polya Katsamunska stresses, is a process of steering and coordination [10, 14]. We are planning to reveal semantic correlation of the three socio-political terms governance, government and administration and their dynamic semantics in diachrony [see 6] and synchrony in the language system from the point of lexical semantics and in the discourse structure from the functional semantics. The present paper is divided into four parts: (1) the etymological analysis to describe the word lexical meaning in diachrony; (2) the definitional analysis of the word lexical meaning in synchrony;

(3) the distributional analysis of the lexemes in the phrase;

(4) the analysis of the units functioning in the socio-political / socio-economic discourse and their frequency of usage in the British National Corpus.

Analysis of recent research and publications. The theory of conceptual linguistics is aimed at “establishing better connections between the operational form of knowledge, which consists in action in the physical and social world and the predicative form of knowledge which consists in the linguistic and symbolic expressions of this knowledge” [20, 83-84]. The knowledge of the development of word lexical meaning in diachrony is a kind of key to the semantic structure of the words and their synchronic overt components and covert ones which preserve the traces of the original meaning [2, 18]. The study focused on the subsequent shifts towards a synchronic state and a perspective one which are important for both descriptive and theoretical semantics [5, 23].

The referred traces will be able to be actualized under the influence of its lexical-grammatical and lexical-semantic combinability and function - they have acquired a broad range of lexical and syntactic structures in various discourse registers in the course of time. It is known that 70% of words of the English Vocabulary are borrowings: fully- or partially-, or non-assimilated. This makes the speaker/reader frequently refer to the etymological dictionaries [8, 1]. Historical Lexicology used to be very popular now it is being resurrected to outline origin and dynamics of the meaning in order to understand its perspective thanks to the use of current research tools. Thus, Lexical Semantics must be differentiated into diachronic and synchronic semantics. Dirk Geeraerts distinguishes the given tendency in linguistics as Prestructuralist Diachronic Semantics (1870 to 1930) focused on change of meaning and Structuralist Semantics with its further differentiation into Generativist and Cognitive [5, 29].

Jos Trier heralded the Lexical Field Theory or Word Field Theory, in other terms, `Structural semantics' by his argument that words acquired their meaning through their relationships to other words within the same word field. I would admit that they share the common component in their lexical meaning when they are organized into a system. Originally, the lexemes must be related through one part of speech meaning. In the framework of Semantics words with a similar meaning can organize a semantic web (domain, field) which can represent a concept like “governance,” in our case, which will attract other lexemes governing, administration, government, direct, rule, regulate, etc. Three distinct types of structural relations among lexical items forming the methodological basis of lexical semantics are differentiated: (1) the relationship of semantic similarity leading to componential analysis; (2) lexical relations (synonymy, antonymy, and hyponymy) and (3) syntagmatic lexical relations which lay the methodological basis of lexical semantics [5, 25-29]. The evolution of lexical semantics towards logical semantics basically means its shift to sentential semantics. The current phase of semantics is the cognitive one which revives diachronic semantics. Cognitive semantics entails an encyclopedic view on meaning and has proved itself to be a highly productive paradigm for linguistic research [13, 97]. I suggest a comprehensive investigation of the three interrelated terms: governance, government and administration, socio-political / socio-economic `professionalisms with a common component constituting one conceptual system of “governance” in etymological, lexical-semantics, functional semantics and discourse semantics “socio-political/socio-economic” or “discourse ofpower” [9; lfl.].

The outline of the main research material. We shall start with the etymological analysis of the lexeme governance to determine its original meaning and dynamics of its change in the course of time [1; 2, 18; 8]. The definition tries to reduce the vagueness of a word by restricting the meaning (in a particular context) to a subset of a general meaning. Definition tries to reduce the vagueness of a word by restricting the meaning (in a particular context) to a subset of a general meaning. The distributional method of structural linguistic analysis can determine the systematic relations - semantic, syntactical and structural properties of the referred units, primarily, in phrase, sentence and discourse [2, 478; 14, 113]. William Croft writes that the distributional method defines syntactical categories in terms of their possibilities of filling certain roles in certain grammatical construction [4, 4].

I must admit the distributional analysis also reveals the lexical-grammatical and lexical-semantic types of combinability. Let's take governance which can co-occur with noun denoting company, territory and country: the governance of Britain, government in combination with the noun or adjective denoting the country: British Government or Government of Britain denotes a state executive body in British English but in the phrase Government of the USA or American Government denotes the system of power - legislative, executive and judicial. Administration in the American English stands for British Government as a state executive body. These illustrations prove the suggestion that words of the same category tend to have a large number of distributional regularities in common and demonstrate that words' distributional properties can be highly informative. Further on a discourse analysis is introduced to define occurrence / nonoccurrence of the three lexemes in professional (socio-political and socio-economic) discourse [see 17]. We share the thesis that “discourse” is language in social use that is very important for the professional discourse studies.

Governance is an authority, the right to command and control other people.

A. The etymological analysis of governance: it comes into English in late 14^th c., act or manner of governing, from Old French governance “government, rule, administration; (rule of) conduct” (Modem French gouvernance), from governer “to govern, rule, command” (see govern). In its original sense government comes to mean primarily “the governing power in a state”.

B. The definitional analysis of “governance:” governance is commonly defined as the exercise of power or authority by political leaders for the well-being of their country's citizens or subjects. It is the complex process whereby some sectors of the society wield power, and enact and promulgate public policies which directly affect human and institutional interactions, and economic and social development. The power exercised by the participating sectors of the society is always for the common good, as it is essential for demanding respect and cooperation from the citizens and the state (COLLINS; Merriam Webster).

C. The distributional analysis of “governance corporate governance, tribal governance, good governance, global, political, public governance structure, governance system, governance model, economic governance, European governance, multi-level governance, municipal governance, IP governance, etc. (COLLINS; Merriam Webster).

D. The discourse analysis of “governance:”

1. Sir John loved to spend time here, concentrating on his great treatise on the governance ofthe city.

2. We subsequently attempted- with some generosity- to incorporate representatives of minority tribes into the governance of the state.

3. This suggests that the governance of Ulster is more thanjust a matter ofsecurity.

4. Weaknesses in the corporate governance structure and slackness in the other markets.

5. To force the key questions ofliberalising and decentralising the governance of Britain on to the political map.

6. The Dixons annual report includes a whole page headed by Corporate Governance.

E. The semantic field of “'governance” includes the following lexemes: administration, authority, government, jurisdiction, regime, regimen, rule, reign, dominion, power, sovereignty, supremacy, sway command, leadership, direction, control, management, regulation, superintendence, supervision autocracy, dictatorship, hegemonymastery, oppression, subjugation, tyranny government, conduct, direction, handling, running, care, guidance, trust, administration, intendance, lap, oversight, presidency, regulation, stewardship, management, operation, custody, tutelage, charge, superintendence, supervision, superintendency, generalship, leadership, protection keeping, ward, logistics, guardianship, safekeeping, engineering, machination, manipulation, codirection, coadministration, comanagement (Collins; Merriam Webster).

F. Corpus analysis of “governance” reveals its frequency - 175 including the phrase corporate governance - 75. The given quantity proves the shift of the lexeme into the archaic status. Cf. the following definitions of governance vary due to the discourse register:

1. Governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation's affairs. It is the complex of mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights and obligations and mediate their differences.

2. Governance is the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's social and economic resources for development.

3. Governance means the way “those with power use that power”.

4. Governance is the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised for the common good. This includes the process by which those in authority are selected, monitored and replaced; the capacity of the government to effectively manage its resources and implement sound policies; and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social interactions among them.

Chart #1. The structure of the conceptual system of governance in the English language worldview

These definitions of the concept of governance also indicate the process of its formation as a subsystem of the Vocabulary.

The dominant lexeme governance verbalizes the concept of governance. In its turn the lexical-semantic field (LSF), a group of lexemes sharing the similar meaning governance, represents the conceptual system governance and it is used as a cluster of lexical constituents, related through the common feature, for instance a subsystem governing body can unite the following lexemes: government, administration, governance, governing body, establishment, organization, brass section, arrangement, constitution, system, office, governing, formation, institution, authorities, government activity, regime (Collins; Merriam Webster). The conceptual system may vary in National Varieties of English, for instance, in American English: the mega-LSF “governance” includes: macrofield government ^ fields: executive, legislative, judicial (branches) ^ micro-fields: departments (15). The concept of governance is much broader than that of government.

GOVERNMENT is the organization, machinery, or agency through which a political unit exercises authority and performs functions [7, 386].

A. The etymological analysis of “government”. The noun government comes in late 14^th c., “act of governing or ruling;” 1550s, “system by which a thing is governed” (especially a state), from Old French governement “control, direction, administration” (Modem French gouvernement), from governer “to govern” (see govern). The term government comes from the Greek word kubernan, which means steering a ship. The analogy with navigation and technical expertise has since been maintained in Medieval Latin gubernare and in modem languages. Meaning “governing power” in a given place is from 1702 (Etymol. Dictionary).

B. The definitional analysis of “government” (1) administration, executive, ministry; (2) rule, state, law our system of government; (3) guidance, control, authority; (4) rule, administration, authority, governance, sovereignty, satecraft; (5) executive, administration, ministry, powers-that-be, regime (Collins; Merriam Webster).

C. The distributional analysis of “government:” civilian government, Panamanian government, central government, Labour Government, relevant government, ministers, elected government, separate government, the Bush government, transitional government, government strategy, principal Government, Minister, Dublin government, the UK government, etc. (Collins; Merriam Webster).

D. The discourse analysis of“government”:

1. The Phol Pot dominated so-called coalition government.

2. Last night, the new civilian government declared a curfew at the end ofa day.

3. Property value has formed an apparently solid base for the credit spiral which so bedevils government economicpolicy.

4. Amnesty International was publicly recognized by a senior governmentofftcial in the People's Republic of China.

5. The Labour Government had avoided giving any commitment on the future ofthe deathpenalty.

6. The Wilson government was able to turn American self-interest to its own advantage.

7. The second initiative that should be taken by central government is to shape itspurchasingpolicy.

8. It demanded development, investment, planning and greater government intervention.

9. It profoundly mistrusted local government and hadprogressively weakened its influence.

E. The semantic field of “government” includes the following lexemes: administration, executive, ministry, regime governing body, powers-that-be, rule, state, law, guidance, control, authority, regime, regimen, jurisdiction, authority, governance (Collins; Merriam Webster).

F. The corpus analysis “government” reveals its frequency -59988.

The administration, in its broadest meaning, comprehends all the operations of the body politic, whether legislative, executive, orjudiciary; but in its most usual, and perhaps in its most precise, signification, it is limited to executive details, and falls peculiarly within the province of the executive department [Federalist No. 72 (Hamilton)]. The concept of administration represented by an executive body of persons who administer. It is a constituent of the Mega-Field Governance

A. The etymological analysis of “administration”: mid-14^th c., “act of giving or dispensing” late 14^th c., “management (of a business, property, etc.), act of administering”, from Latin administrationem (nominative administrate) “aid, help, cooperation; direction, management”, noun of action from past participle stem of administrare “to help, assist; manage, control, guide, superintend; rule, direct”, from ad “to” (see ad-)+ ministrare “to serve, attend, wait upon”, from minister “inferior, servant, priest's assistant” (see minister (n.)). Early 15^th c. as “management of a deceased person's estate under a commission from authority”. Meaning “management of public affairs” is from 1680s; hence, “executive power in a government” (1731), though later in Britain government was used in this sense. Meaning “a U.S. president's period in office” is first recorded (1796) in writings of George Washington (Etymol. Dictionary).

B. The definitional analysis of “administration”: (1) The range of activities connected with organizing and supervising the way that an organization or institution functions. (2) The administration of something is the process of organizing and supervising it.

(3) The administration of a company or institution is the group of people who organize and supervise it

(4) You can refer to a country's government as the administration; used especially in the United States: performance of executive duties: management; the act or process of administering something, the administration ofjustice, the administration of medication; the execution of public affairs as distinguished from policy-making; a body of persons who administer; often capitalized: a group constituting the political executive in a presidential government; a member of the Bush administration; a governmental agency or board; the term of office of an administrative officer or body [Collins; Merriam Webster],

C. The distributional analysis of “administration”: public administration, local administration, central administration, the Carter administration, new administration.

Sales Administration Manager, general administration, etc. (Collins; Merriam Webster).

D. The discourse analysis of “administration”'.

1.1 remember putting a motion to the last administration about a creche.

2. A lame-duck president in the closing months of his administration, may no longer have the power within his ownparty to sustain his offensive.

3. The memberfor Berwickshire went immediately to the head of the Administration and desired the Duke of Newcastle to refresh his Lordship's memory.

4. In Jalalabad administration, once a retreat for Afghanistan's kings,Mr. Hikmatyar has set up his own.

5. The officials of the Institute have been heavily criticised by the administration of Sarajevo for not having stored the contents.

6. Thus undermining the principle that public administration should bepublicly accountable.

7. Where bureau heads are mobile within the structure of state administration they have less of an egoistic interest in maximizing budgets.

8. A change of government in 1948 found the new administration equally committed to health reform.

9. One such area was the treatment of slaves and administration of justice in the West Indies.

E. The semantic field of “administration”: management, government, running, control, performance, handling, direction, conduct, application, command, provision, distribution, governing, administering, execution, overseeing, supervision, manipulation, governance, dispensation, superintendence, directors, board, authority, governance, government, regime, jurisdiction, rule, sway, command, leadership, direction, management, regulation, superintendence, supervision, autocracy, dictatorship, hegemony, mastery, oppression, care, charge, subjugation, tyranny, conduct, control, direction, governance, government, guidance, handling, intendance, management, operation, oversight, presidency, regulation, running, stewardship, superintendence, superintendency, supervision (Collins; Merriam Webster).

F. The corpus analysis of “administration” reveals its frequency - 37862, cf. the frequency of “government” - 59988. Evidently, the use of “administration” is limited by the American English Variety while “government” is widely used elsewhere.

Conclusions and perspectives of further research in this field. The popularity of the term “governance” is substantiated by restructuring political, social and economic changes in the East-European countries as well as in countries which have chosen the democratic way of development. According to Rhodes, “governance signifies a change in the meaning of government referring to a new process of governing; or a changed condition of ordered rule; or the new method by which society is governed” [19, 53fl.].

The dynamics of the meaning of the given units reflect certain changes in the language societies. The differences and common features in their meaning have been illustrated in diachrony and synchrony The corpus analysis quantitatively proves the term governance turning into archaism in Modem English. Traditionally, government refers not only to a set of institutions (for example, as the “governing community”, “governors”, etc.) but also to the manner or outcome of governing (“good government”) and therefore overlaps with the dominant component of governance `activity or process of governing'. They cannot be considered `true synonyms, but the frequency of government witnesses its rather wider use.

As for the perspectives of the present investigation there may be three main tendencies: (1) contrastive semantics of the conceptual field of governance in English and Ukrainian with the outcome into translation. (2) The parallel glossary of Governance making for the majors in Translation and Political Science. (3) Teaching Professional English in the framework of ELSP [16, 73].

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