Synonymy in developing term systems (using the example of the term mobbing in modern English)

The paper elucidates the reasons for terminology synonymy. The example of the term mobbing is shown, that this phenomenon is especially characteristic of new developing term systems. It is revealed that the term mobbing belongs to several related term systems and has a number of synonyms. The following reasons for terminology synonymy are observed in the work: terms polysemy, introduction of a term by different scholars and publicists in different periods and countries, the ability of a term to have a broader meaning, enlargement of the form of a term. The three main components of the meaning of the term mobbing given in the scientific and reference literature are distinguished as a result of the definition analysis. In case the semantic structure of other terms nominating this social psychological phenomenon comprises these components, one can state that they are synonymous. It is proved in the paper that some terms which are considered to be synonyms of the term mobbing in specialist literature are actually not its synonyms. The semantic analysis of the synonymic row with the head term mobbing and the analysis of their semantic structure prove that it is necessary to regulate the micro term system Mobbing.