Ways of Structuring Abstract Objects in German Engineering Discourse

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the ways of structuring abstract objects in German engineering discourse. We argue the idea, that some non-material substances, described by means of language, are realized by a person as abstract objects which are described by a person using the experience of structuring geometric space. On the material of scientific texts, placed on specialized information portals, are traced the verbal regularities of abstract knowledge in the field of engineering communication through the use of direct and metaphorical spatial nominations. Using the method of conceptual modeling, it is concluded that the main ways of dividing abstract objects of science are segmentation and scaling. Segmentation implies the division of virtual space into parts (steps, phases, stages, segments), which are the stages of production or communication processes; scaling is the result of creating a system of divisions intended for determination of the manifestation level of any feature. The criteria for choosing language means of segmentation and scaling are: horizontal-vertical, static-dynamic, length-localization, part-whole, limited-unlimited.