Structural characteristics of French and Russian terms of the subject area "space artificial satellites" (based on glossaries)

Popova Larisa Georgievna ORCID: 0000-0001-5721-9378 Doctor of Philology Professor of the Department of Germanistics and Linguodidactics, Institute of Foreign Languages, Moscow City Pedagogical University 105064, Russia, Maly Kazenny 5B, Moscow, lane. Small State-owned, 5B larageorg5@gmail.com

Kovalenko Dariya ORCID: 0009-0002-7192-5222 Postgraduate, Institute of Foreign Languages, Moscow City Pedagogical University 105064, Russia, Moscow, lane. Small State-owned, 5B dariya.gogol@mail.ru

A special language is a means of recording scientific achievements of mankind, a carrier of information about the development of civilization, the forming blocks of which are terminological units. Performing the function of nominating high technologies and reflecting new production realities, the terms are crucial for effective professional communication within the framework of space exploration. The field of space artificial satellites involves the development of various instruments and systems, technically complex products used for space exploration, which, in turn, requires the creation of new terms. In this regard, there is a need to study the ways of term formation of the subject area under consideration.

In recent years, linguists have been actively devoting their works to the problems of term formation in the terminology of such areas as transport ^[6], law ^[2], information technology ^[5], aviation ^[9], grammar ^[3], construction business ^[8], sociology ^[1], etc., however, in the field of space instrumentation this issue is poorly studied ^[4], which determines the relevance of this work.

It is known that such states as Russia and France are recognized as leaders in the space industry, whose relations are the primary basis for the formation of a corpus of special terms and the starting point in the processes of generating a narrowly oriented terminological layer.

A common practice in the formation of French and Russian terms in the field of space instrumentation, including artificial satellites, is the use of prefixes and suffixes.

Prefixation and suffixation as ways of forming the terms of the field space artificial satellites

Within the framework of this article, we have considered the affixal method of term formation, which includes prefix and suffixation.

The first method of derivation is prefix. The prefix does not change the part of speech of the word, but it is he who makes the term multifaceted, gives it different meanings. As an observation, we note that when forming the terms of space artificial satellites, in most cases international prefixes are used that have identical form, sound composition and meaning in three or more unrelated languages ^{[7, p. 83]}.

So, in French, the prefix micro– is used to denote an object that has a small weight and size. For example, microsatellite (m) gives a designation to a very small satellite. In Russian, the prefix micro–: microsatellite is used for the same purpose.

The prefix g?o, which is often found in French technical glossaries, serves to nominate what is connected with the Earth. The term satellite (m) g ?ostationnaire refers to a satellite that is in a fixed position relative to the Earth; the prefix geo–: geostationary satellite is an analogue in Russian.

The prefixes t?l?– and tele– respectively have the following meaning – remote communication, communication at a distance: t?l?mesure (f)/ telemetry, t?l?communications (f)/telecommunications.

The next pair of prefixes is hyper–/hyper–, with which the emphasis is on exceeding the norm/critical situation/high performance: hypersonique is a term for describing devices capable of moving at a speed much higher than the speed of sound ^[10].

Meta–/meta– is a part of compound words denoting abstraction, change of state, intermediateness. Examples include m?taphysique (f)/metaphysics, m?tagalaxie (f)/metagalaxy, m?ta-mat?riel (m)/metamaterial.

It should be noted that a productive component of term creation in the field of space artificial satellites is the prefix thermo–/thermo–, which serves to describe devices or states associated with thermal control or control. For example, thermostat (m)/thermostat is a term used to describe a device that regulates the temperature in space satellites; choc(m) thermique/thermal shock, i.e. a one–time high-speed and inhomogeneous change in the temperature of a physical body ^[10].

Next, we point to the prefix ultra–/ ultra–, which plays a major role in the formation of terms with the connotation of "high performance", "the highest degree of any quality, condition". In particular, ultrasonique/ultrasound is a term used to describe a device capable of generating sound waves at frequencies beyond the range of human hearing.

The prefix auto–/auto– is used to describe automated devices; in Russian, the prefix "self–" is often the equivalent. As examples, we give the following terms: autopilote (m)/autopilot – a device for automatically controlling the trajectory of a space satellite; autocicatrisation (f)/self-repair; autod?pannage (m)/self-elimination of a malfunction.

The use of the prefix mono–, which makes a reference to the singular, coincides in the two languages studied, but it is translated into Russian by the prefix "one–": v ?hicule mono-?tage (m)/single-stage rocket, configuration monopuls?e (f)/single-pulse output scheme, monoergol (m)/single-component rocket fuel.

In order to conduct a quantitative comparison of prefixes, we analyzed a large corpus of French-speaking and Russian-speaking terms related to artificial space satellites. We extracted all the unique terms, and by calculating the representativeness of each prefix, we obtained the results clearly shown in Figure 1.

Fig. 1 – Quantitative representation of French and Russian prefixes in space glossaries

Fig. 1 – Quantitative representativeness of French and Russian prefixes in space glossaries

Thus, the diagram shows that it is t?l?–/tele– and auto–/auto– (self–) that are part of the majority of units (46% of the total number of prefixes). In our opinion, this is due to the progressive development of space high technologies, which are based on communication devices, remote control systems, as well as the use of technical means, economic and mathematical methods that partially or completely free a person from direct participation in the processes of obtaining, converting, transmitting and using energy, materials or information. 

The smaller percentage is accounted for by the prefix thermo–/thermo– and is 13%. The prefixes micro–/micro– (12%) and mono–/one– (10%) have approximately the same term-forming potential with it. The remaining prefixes are rarely used as part of the terms of the space artificial satellites area: g?o–/ geo– and m?ta–/meta– account for 7% each; in turn, cases of fixing prefixes with the designation of excess of the norm, hyper–/hyper– and ultra–/ultra–, are isolated (2-3%).

Despite the high potential of prefixes, suffixation is the most common way of morphological formation of terms in the field of artificial space satellites in French and Russian. Suffixes interact with words or their parts, and this interaction depends on the abstracting role of the suffix. In space terminology, there is a wide range of suffixes, including suffixes of general speech, but their frequency of use varies. One of the active models of the formation of derived names in French is based on a combination of the verb base and the suffix –eur (–euse), denoting devices for performing physical actions of a professional nature ^{[4, p. 316]}: synchroniseur (m) (synchronizer), propulseur (m) (rocket engine), senseur (m) fin (precise orientation sensor), porteuse (f) (carrier frequency). Terminological units created using this model are quite common and remain relevant for a long time.

The formant –age in French is used to denote an action or process, such as d?gazage (m) azote – nitrogen drainage, ?talonnage (m) – calibration, braquage(m) – guidance.

–tion is used for the purpose of mentioning a condition or condition, such as: d?tection (f) (detection) or exploitation (f) en vol (flight operation), m odulation (f) de fr?quence (frequency modulation).

In turn, the suffix –ement is a carrier of data about the action and properties: latement (m) (launch), alignement(m) du satellite (satellite orientation in space), avitaillement (m) (refueling), etc.

In Russian, the most common common suffixes used in the formation of terms for satellite instruments include:

–ir, –ova, –ni. These suffixes serve to denote an action or process, as can be seen from the terms maneuvering, conditioning, and leveling.

– awn. This suffix expresses the condition or quality: reliability, fault tolerance, strength, stability.

The suffix –yaci illustrates the result of an action or process. So, it forms accumulation, thermal insulation, ventilation.

–a chick contains the following meaning: the one who is associated with the activity, profession, tool or material of labor indicated in the basis – a sensor, a responder, a rocket man.

–tel identifies in the Russian language a tool; a machine that produces an action: a fairing, an engine, an amplifier, a pyro-pusher. All terms formed according to this model retain the active role of the verb.

To conduct a quantitative comparison, we analyzed 4135 terms related to the field of space artificial satellites for the presence of suffixes. The quantitative representation of suffixes as elements of term formation in French and Russian space glossaries is demonstrated in the diagrams Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, respectively:

Fig. 2 – Quantitative representation of French suffixes in space glossaries

Fig. 2 – Quantitative representativeness of French suffixes in space glossaries

Fig. 3 – Quantitative representation of Russian suffixes in space glossaries

Fig. 3 – Quantitative representativeness of Russian suffixes in space glossaries

The results showed that the most active suffixes in French are –t ion (77%) and –e ment (12%). The suffixes –age and –eur (–euse), which are in the percentage range of 5-6%, have minimal inclusiveness.

  In Russian, the most popular suffixes are –awn (42%) and –ir, –ova, –ni (28%). The use of the suffix –tel as an agent of term creation is also repeated: its representativeness reaches 13%. It follows from the diagram that the suffix –yaci occupies the fourth place, i.e. 10%, of the units analyzed by us. Finally, the suffix –chick is relatively less common, as can be seen from its percentage expression – 7%. Accordingly, based on the semantics of suffixes, we come to the conclusion that the main aspects that are subject to frequent description in technical texts and discussion during oral negotiations in the field of space artificial satellites are the condition, properties, quality of the manufactured and commissioned product.

Conclusions

Thus, having conducted a comparative analysis of the structure of the terms of the field of space artificial satellites on the material of French and Russian glossaries, we draw the following conclusions.

Comparing the quantitative representation of prefixes and suffixes in the formation of terms in the region, we found that suffixation is the main way of forming terms in both French and Russian. According to our calculations, suffixation as a method of derivation occurs 25 times more often than prefix.

Moreover, it is important to emphasize that both languages have different grammatical structures, which affects the way terms are formed. The French language has a more extensive use of prepositions, while the Russian language has more complex case forms, which allows you to define terms in an accurate and detailed way.

Russian Russian terms in the field of space artificial satellites, as a rule, are phrases from the point of view of structure, since more complex constructions and phrases are used in the Russian language to express the concept. For example, the following French terms-words are translated into Russian by terms-phrases that perform concretizing, characterizing functions in order to avoid ambiguous interpretation by specialists of a narrowly focused profile: vernier (m) – steering machine, s atellite (m) – spacecraft, c oiffe (f) – head fairing, etc.

As we can see, the Russian language tends to use more derived terms, combining simple terms to create new ones. Often, the terms-phrases of the field of space artificial satellites in the Russian language are formed on the basis of already existing terms or commonly used words, which can be explained by the transitive ability of the vocabulary, its intersectoral nature. At the same time, native French speakers often prefer to use simpler terms in discourse to describe similar concepts. In general, the structures of simple and derived terms in Russian and French reflect their respective linguistic traditions and historical events in space exploration.

Despite these differences, the specialized dictionary of space artificial satellites is constantly being developed and updated due to the process of term formation, which requires further cooperation of specialists from different countries to ensure mutual understanding in this area.