Author’s name:
Andrey V. Ivanov – Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Abstract:
This study explores the concept of Diskurs within the German-speaking linguistic and cultural space, focusing on the lexical and terminological means through which this concept has been articulated. The primary aim is to trace the semantic development of the word “Diskurs” from its general-language meanings to its specialized terminological sense. This evolution reflects changing conceptions of discourse as a speech product or as a set of such products realized by native speakers on the basis of their linguistic competence in written or oral form. Particular attention is also paid to the ways in which these conceptual shifts are represented in lexicographic sources. Methodologically, the study employs historical-linguistic, comparative, definitional, and semantic analysis. The object of analysis is the semantic structure of the word “Diskurs,” which has developed from its earliest recorded usage – found in Lorenz Fries’ medical treatise Spiegel der Arztny (1518) — to the present day. Over more than five centuries, the word has accumulated a range of general-language meanings, including “Darlegung,” “Erörterung” (16th century); ‘Abhandlung’, ‘Unterredung’, ‘Worte’, ‘Rede’, ‘menschliche Rede’, ‘Geschichte’, ‘Erzählung’, ‘Vortrag’, and ‘Streit’ (17th–18th centuries); and ‘Gedankenaustausch’, ‘Unterhaltung’, ‘Erörterung’, and ‘Wortwechsel’ (19th–20th centuries). The terminological meaning of “Diskurs” emerged in the second half of the twentieth century. Initially, it was associated primarily with the socio-philosophical dimensions of human intellectual activity; later, it became firmly established within the field of linguistics. The close integration of discourse into the conceptual frameworks of philosophy, sociology, linguistics, and literary studies led to the formation of a cluster of related terminological units, eventually constituting the terminological microfield “Diskurs.” Interest in “Diskurs” as both a lexical item and a technical term has fluctuated over time. It reached a peak in the 17th and 18th centuries, followed by a period of decline that extended from the early 19th century to the first half of the twentieth century, before experiencing renewed scholarly attention in the latter half of the 20th century.
| Section | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE |
| DOI: | 10.47388/2072-3490/lunn2025-72-4-9-31 |
| Downloads | 673 |
| Key words | discourse; typology of discourse; historical and linguistic analysis; semantic structure of a word; semantic analysis; lexicography; dictionary |