Term formation from the point of view of Russian realism and Russian-Persian comparisons in the sphere of trade and finance

Statement of the problem. This paper analyzes the concept of the term from the perspectives of linguistics, logic, and philosophy. Special attention is paid to definitions of the term in the works of Russian scholars (B.N. Golovin, V.P. Danilenko, V.M. Leichik, A.V. Superanskaya, V.V. Vinogradov, et al.) and to their methodological bases. A term is formed by intellectual effort within the framework of philosophical nominalism, but it is rooted in an everyday word that developed under conditions of realism and underwent categorization; therefore, a term functions not only as a linguistic unit but also as an element of scientific cognition reflecting the relation of nominative, significative, and definitive functions. The tradition of Russian philosophical realism constitutes the article’s methodological foundation. The properties of terms are especially prominent in interlingual communication; therefore, the practical part of the study is devoted to comparing Russian and Persian financial-commercial terms to identify differences in their morphemic structure, semantic motivation, and conceptual organization. The study applies a technique for detecting ‘bad’ synonymy through back-translation, which demonstrates the limits of nominalism. Research results. The research findings indicate that successful translation of terms is possible only when both the ontological bases of a term and its pragmatic function in intercultural interaction are taken into account. In complex cases, translation requires additional commentary to prevent communicative conflict. Conclusions. The nature of term formation becomes clear from the standpoint of Russian philosophical realism. Comparison with the Persian tradition of term formation in the financial-commercial sphere reveals relevant definitive features of Russian terms and helps avoid dangerous synonymy in Russian intra- and intercultural business communication.