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German Professional Language of Pedagogy: Semantic and Functional Aspects

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the German Specialised Language of Pedagogy (GSLP), as well as it examines its structural and semantic features through thesaurus modeling. The research comprises 6.452 terms, including 4.852 single terms and 1.600 term combinations, which were selected from pedagogical dictionaries and text corpora. The findings reveal that nouns dominate the GSLP (95%), with verbs (2,3%), adjectives (1,9%), and adverbs (0,4%) representing smaller portions. The thesaurus model divides pedagogy into two main term fields: General Pedagogy (comprising systematic, historical, and comparative pedagogy) and Special Pedagogy (including school, vocational, social, inclusive pedagogy, and adult education). The research established 9.372 semantic relationships among the terms, with paradigmatic relations (genus-species, synonymy, part-whole) being most significant. The interpretation of pedagogical terms is influenced by context, spatial-temporal factors, social stereotypes, and authorship. Terms undergo cyclical functioning: inception, fixation in language, possible redefinition, extinction, and potential replacement. The example of Narkomanie (‘drug dependence’) illustrates how terms evolve over time, eventually being replaced by more ethically appropriate alternatives like Abhängigkeit (‘addiction’). The study concludes that thesaurus modeling effectively formalizes the semantics of pedagogical terminology, providing a valuable tool for systematization and unification. This approach ensures clearer comparison of terms and understanding of their specific meanings, enhancing their practical application in educational processes, and serving as a linguodidactic tool for developing teachers’ professional competence.
DOI: 10.23817/lingtreff.28-5
Language: Polish
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7133520522
FWCI: 3.154
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Cited by: 2
Related to: 10