ON DETERMINOLOGIZATION OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TERMS IN MODERN CHINESE POLITICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article focuses on the peculiarities of functioning of determinologized lexical and phraseological units of the information technology sphere in the modern Chinese political discourse. Special attention is given to such expressions as 升级版 (“updated version”), 防火墙 (“firewall”), 暂停键 (“pause key button”), 重启 (“reset”), and 按下快进键 (“press the fast forward key / button”). The article considers the dependence of this phenomenon on sociocultural factors, especially on the so-called celebrity effect (the effect of attracting attention, expanding influence and strengthening influence, achieved due to the power of a well-known image; it is often combined with the manifestations of the psychological phenomenon of imitation of a famous person). The coming of the information age has become a prerequisite for the determinologization of special words and expressions in the field of information technology, which can be attributed to a certain extent to the factor of language fashion. This could not but affect the political discourse, since the speech of the new generation of Chinese leaders is democratic, modern and understandable to a broad audience. The use of “fashionable words” by a politician gives the audience the impression of freshness, sincerity, and unconventionality of speech. The use of a “fresh” language facilitates the introduction of new ideas and concepts, promotes the development of a system of socialist discourse with Chinese specificity that best corresponds to the realities of modern China. Special attention is paid to the comparison of widespread metaphors in Russian and Chinese political discourse. It is noted that the processes of determinologization in different languages is characterized not only by similarities but also by differences that arise due to both linguistic and extralinguistic (i.e. socio-cultural) reasons.