Stratification of economic terms by the criterion of abstractness in English-Ukrainian translation dictionaries

The article examines the stratification of economic terms by the criterion of abstractness in English-Ukrainian translation dictionaries. The relevance of studying this problem is substantiated stemming from the heterogeneity of economic terminology regarding the level of concreteness/abstractness, which reflects the complexity of economic phenomena. Particular attention is paid to identifying the consequences of ignoring the level of abstractness of terms for the effectiveness of scientific and business communication, modeling accuracy, and decision-making. This study notes the insufficient development of scientifically grounded criteria and methodologies for classifying economic terms on the “concrete-abstract” scale. An original methodology for the stratification of economic terms based on componential analysis is proposed and tested using Anna Shymkiv’s “English-Ukrainian Explanatory Dictionary of Economic Lexicon” as empirical material. The paper analyses philosophical and linguistic approaches to understanding the categories of abstract/concrete. This study summarizes the state of research on abstract vocabulary and highlights the difficulties involved in its definition and classification. It demonstrates the feasibility of applying the componential analysis methodology as a tool for decomposing lexical meaning. The analysis identifies five key semantic components (semes) of abstractness relevant to economic terminology: non-concrete reference, generality, conceptuality, distance from empiricism, and theoretical saturation. A three-level scale (1–3 points) is developed to quantify the degree of expression of the identified semes. Based on the cumulative scores (5–15), three levels of abstractness for economic terms are determined: concrete terms, mildly abstract terms, and abstract terms. The proposed methodology proves to be effective, and its testing confirms the presence of all three levels of abstractness in the economic terminological system.The study establishes the theoretical significance of the conducted research for terminology studies and economic linguistics, and emphasizes its practical value for improving communication and understanding of economic texts. It demonstrates that the systematic linguistic analysis of abstractness constitutes a fundamental stage in stratifying economic terminology in dictionaries, as it reflects deep cognitive features of economic concepts, which are critically important for their further classification into micro- and macro-spheres. At the same time, the research acknowledges the complex nature of stratification, which also includes criteria of scale, object of study, sectoral differentiation, and functionality, and identifies promising directions for further scientific research in this field.