Book review: Lesnikov, S.V. (2021) Metayazyk lingvistiki T. 1: Problemy sistematizatsii terminosistemy. T. 2: Leksikon terminosistemy [Metalanguage of linguistics. Vol. 1: Problems of systematization of the term system. Vol. 2: Lexicon of the term system]. St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya

The unique two-volume work Metalanguage of Linguistics by Sergei Lesnikov, a specialist in the field of computational and mathematical linguistics, is presented. In his publication, the author represented the linguistic block of the Terminological Sub-Fund of the Computer Fund of the Russian language, namely, combined and systematized information about linguistic terms of the 18th-21st centuries. In accordance with the formulation of the aim, the author ordered the terminological tools of linguists and constructed a hypertextual information retrieval thesaurus. The research was carried out at the intersection of computational linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and lexicography. The material for the study was all existing Russian dictionaries of linguistic terms, as well as word-usages in the most authoritative journal Voprosy Yazykoznaniya [Topics in the Study of Language] for the period 1952-2021. Approaches and methods provided the novelty of the reviewed two-volume book. The author solved the most urgent tasks: a colossal work was carried out, contributing to the unification, standardization, normalization of linguistic tools; at the same time, the materials also allow us to find answers to particular questions, for example, to determine the authorship of a term, to identify gaps, doublet or occasional terms, etc. In Volume 1, Problems of Systematization of the Term System, the mathematical component of research and the problems of developing search information systems are emphasized. The nature of the phenomenon of “metalanguage”, its properties and means of implementation, the principles of modeling and systematization of linguistic terms that ensure the relevance of a new genre of dictionaries - hypertextual thesaurus (hysaurus) of the metalanguage of science (in this case, linguistics), serving to automate research and improve the efficiency of information retrieval systems. The possibilities of applying the mathematical methods used by Lesnikov in philology are illustrated. Volume 2, Lexicon of the Term System, is the final product of the application of these approaches and methods - a consolidated dictionary of linguistic terms, including 27,772 entries; on the basis of approximately 20,000,000 word usages; terms that statistically have the greatest weight are selected for representation. The main features of the dictionary are as follows: highly specialized terms are included; not only lexemes in the initial form are presented, but also stable constructions, affixoids, radixoids, which is why the dictionary does not obey the purely alphabetical principle; the status of the interpreted unit and the zoning of the entry are reflected graphically, with the use of a multi-level offset in the line and various graphic symbols; definitions having the form of quotations with references to primary sources are compiled; lexical and semantic variants are not numbered; lexical, associative, and semantic-paradigmatic (synonymy, antonymy) connections, derivation relations, phonemic variability of terms are reflected; etc. The book has some nonessential shortcomings. The conclusion is made about the enormous theoretical and practical significance of Lesnikov’s work and the wide scale of further prospects in this direction. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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