Terminology vs phraseology: meaning transfer in business terms

The research is aimed at the study of Business English terminology of phraseological character, i.e. at the study of Business English terms based on a kind of meaning transfer thus acquiring a kind of phraseological meaning. As a result of the PU-terms semantics examination, coupled with private-paradigmatic methods for analysing their dictionary definitions and contextual usages recorded in the BNC and COCA, I found out the quantitative correlation of Business English PU-terms with a full meaning transfer and those with a partial meaning transfer. Among the latter, I identified two subtypes of the incomplete semantic transfer of the PU-term component composition and assign the following terms to them: an evident partial shift of meaning and a non-evident partial shift of meaning in the components. Another result of the study, presented in the text of the paper in the form of a bar graph, is the clarification of the nomenclature of the most active business English domains that operate with business PU-terms. Extensive linguistic material of the study, the proven method of phraseological identification introduced by A. V. Kunin, and reliable methods of phraseological analysis and phraseological description have made it possible to obtain essential results. Conclusion: the work proves the progress of the recent English terminology according to the phraseological scenario and provides language material for the typological study of the PU-terminology.