Photographers ’ Nomenclature Units : A Structural and Quantitative Analysis

Addressing the needs of cross and intercultural communication as well as the methodology of contrastive research, the paper presents the results of the complex analysis conducted to describe semantic and pragmatic parameters of nomenclature units denoting photography equipment in the modern Russian informal discourse of professional photographers. The research is exemplified by 34 original nomenclature units and their 34 Russian equivalents used in 6871 comments posted at “Клуб.Foto.ru” web-site in 2015. The structural and quantitative analyses of photographers’ nomenclature demonstrate the users’ morphological and graphic preferences and indirectly reflect their social and professional values. The corpus-based approach developed by Kast-Aigner (2009: 141) was applied in the study with the aim to identify the nomenclature units denoting photography equipment, validate and elaborate the data of the existing corpus. The research also throws light on the problems of professional language development and derivational processes. The perspective of the study lies in the research of the broader context of professional nomenclature.


Introduction
The discourse of a professional community always functions as a normalizer of professional and social values since it has a great impact on the community and the society as a whole.The active development of trade between Russia and English speaking countries led to a number of borrowings in the professional language of photographers for the last ten years.The professional culture, stylistics and language of Russian photographers have undergone significant changes and have been experiencing a very strong impact of the English language.Many researchers view English language inclusions in the Russian discourse as a proof and markers of this influence (Solnyshkina, 2015).
At present the "English language inclusions" in the Russian photography discourse are undergoing a process of assimilation as they function in two graphics: English (Latin) and Russian (Cyrillic).In this study we are interested in the English inclusions denoting photography equipment and their Russian equivalents as they reflect and indicate more general processes in modern discourse.The data collected also identify the main tendencies in the use of the English borrowings in the professional discourse.The aim of the study is to identify structural and quantitative parameters of the nomenclature signs in the professional language of Russian photographers.

Sources of the Material and Data Collection
The website "Клуб.Foto.ru"(KF) was created with the aim to unite qualified and amateur photographers as a professional community; it hosts the forum inviting individuals for free discussion on professional training, business, and advertising.The "Клуб.Foto.ru"site statistics certifies to over 605,318 registered members.On average the site is replenished with 110 photos and 399 posted comments each day; over 60 new participants typically sign up every day.More than 1.3 million photographs have been uploaded onto the site since it started over 17 years ago in 2000 (KF).The Клуб.Foto.ru'smembership consists predominantly of Russian, Belarus, Ukraine photography enthusiasts ranging from newcomers to experienced, successful professionals.
The forum discourse can be categorized as an informal type of discourse establishing the atmosphere of free discussion and creating a social contact, sharing social rapport.The informal discourse markers are registered on all language levels.Phonological spellings are numerous: [Otkel' takoe bogajs'tvo?Ih zhe eshhe dazh v Iponii ne reliznuli...] "Where from is such a treasure?They also did not release them even in Japan" (KF).Closing phrases are organized in such a way that they trigger a response: "-Panas has something with an electronic shutter.There will be no faults" < 'Haa there will be" (KF).Frequent syntactic ellipses also certify to the discourse being informal: "Never encountered such a thing.Of all the micro I had: Panas G1, G2.Olympus E-PL1.Now OMD M5II -also see no problems" (KF).
As the studies reveal, "the main functions of the forum communication are the following: advisory (recommending, helping with a foreshortening/ equipment/ place choice); evaluative (assessment to photos/actions, the self-presentation); informative (providing information on a number of topics)" (Smirnova, 2015: 752-753).
The forum itself is designed as a hierarchical structure and divided into 34 categories.E.g. [Cifrovye kompaktnye fotoapparaty] 'Digital Compact Cameras', [Cifrovye kompaktnye fotoapparaty] 'Digital Mirror Cameras', [Svadebnaja fotografija] 'Wedding Photography, [Voprosy novichkov] 'Newcomers Questions' etc (KF).The categories are further on divided into threads focusing on some particular photo-site audience questions.The threads are made up by participants' comments, opinions or reactions to a posted photograph or an album.Structurally the comments may vary from an interjection to complete organized texts of 930 words.E.g. [Znaju, chto s matrichnym stabom olika i panasa smazov men'she chem s nestabnutymi steklami i nestabilizirovannoj tushkoj ja ne znaju.Jeto zametno, tak kak byl em5, teper' gx7 i sravnivaju s imejushhimisja bestabnutym gm1 s 25 1.8 i son'koj a7 s manual'shhinoj] "I know that with a matrix olymp and panas, there are fewer faults than with 'unstubbed' glasses and unstabilized body.'This is noticeable, as it was with em5, now gx7 and compare it with the available gm1 with 25.1 and Sony a7 with a manual" (KF).

Methods
V. Leichic argues that nomenclature occupies a position between terms and proper names and manifests concepts of a particular type (1974: 13-24).A nomenclature sign as an element of the nomenclature system of some sociolect, i.e. a language of a particular specialist field, may coincide with or contain a proper name as its part, e.g.[Nu ne znaju -esli uzh menjat' to srazu na Sony Alpha a7R II, nu chtob tochno uzhe byla ogromnaja raznica, i v razreshenii, i v avtofokuse, i v DD, nu i cene konechno] (KF)."Well, I do not know -if you really want to change it right away, then, choose Sony Alpha a7R II, well, just make sure there is a huge difference in resolution, autofocus, DD, as well the price" (KF).

Results and Discussion
The research includes the following stages: 1. Compiling the Corpus of nomenclature of cameras and lenses names; 2. Structural analysis of the nomenclature; 3. Semantic analysis of the nomenclature components, 4. Statistical analysis of the nomenclature in "Клуб.Foto.ru".

Compiling the Corpus of nomenclature of cameras and lenses' names;
The material of the present study was downloaded in year 2015 and is made of 6871 comments from threads [Svadebnaja fotografija] 'Wedding Photography', [Pomogite vybrat'] 'Help To Choose', [Fotoputeshestvija] 'Travelling With Camera', "Клуб.Foto.ru"Russian web-site, 2015 year, e.g.[Kak variant bez vidoiskatelja Fujifilm x-A2 double kit, no jeto 2 ob'ektiva i nemnogo za bjudzhet] "As an option without a viewfinder, take Fujifilm x-A2 double kit, but it's 2 lenses and a little over an average price" (KF).

Structural analysis of the nomenclature
The structural pattern of the nomenclature signs studied are of the two-element model: the brand name (OLYMPUS, LEICA) and its modifier (OM-D E-M10, DC VARIO-SUMMILUX 24-75mm): OLYMPUS OM-D E-M10, LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMILUX 24-75mm, etc.The brand name is typically in the preposition to the modifier.
In the photo community discourse, both the brand name and the modifier are functioning in a number of graphic versions, e.g: [Jeto zametno, tak kak byl em5.-Pri nalichii ser'joznyh problem EM5 nikogda by ne stala sverh populjarnoj] "This is noticeable, since it was ea5.-If there were serious problems with it, EM5 would have never become over popular" (KF).
The nomenclature sign may be segmented in two sentences.E.g.The modifier of the brand is typically a sequence of Latin letters and numbers (see the examples above), but it can also be simplified to a Russian numeral.E.g.: [Za 2500 ue ja by vse eshhe podumal brat', za 3000... nu za 3000 ja v svoe vremja pokupal vtoroj pjatak kjenona, a tut matrica poluchshe i kompaktnyj razmer, pochemu net] "For 2500 foreign currency-linked units I would still think twice before buying, for 3000 ... well, for 3000, I once bought a second fiver of canon, and the matrix here is better and it is compact, so, why not" (KF).
In the professional discourse however the brand name is in the majority of cases omitted thus following G.Zipf's "principle of least effort" (Zipf 1949).E.g.: [Jeta kamera prihodit na smenu E-M10 i osnashhaetsja takoj zhe 5-osevoj sistemoj stabilizacii izobrazhenija, kak i E-M5 Mk] "This camera replaces the E-M10 and is equipped with the same 5-axis image stabilization system as the E-M5 Mk" (KF).In all the cases the context provides the information on the brand meant.

Semantic analysis of the nomenclature components
Photographers' nomenclature as it was stated above denote cameras, lenses, flashes and, as it is the case with many formally separate terminological signs, each element possesses its meaning.The brands of cameras or lenses make a limited group of names, such as Canon is an 'imaging product manufactured by corporation Canon', Nikon is an 'imaging product manufactured by corporation Nikon', Sigma is an 'imaging product manufactured by corporation Sigma' etc.
The analyzed corpus at "Клуб.Foto.ru"registered 28 nomenclature words in Latin and their equivalents in Technical qualities of cameras and/or those of lenses are coded in the modifier which may be placed either in the pre-or postposition of the brand name: Sigma 12-24 mm F4 'the ultra wide zoom with a 12-24 mm focal length diapason with constant 4 ratio focal length manufactured by Sigma Corporation' (SC).E.g. [Lichno menja interesuet nebol'shaja kamera, FF Soni mne neinteresny] "I'm personally interested in a small camera, I am not keen on FF Sony" (KF).
The semantic change patterns include predominantly metonymy which implies selecting the modifier to identify the whole referent.E.g.Nikon D3300 → D3300: [D3300 samaja maloshumnaja, bez fil'tra,i vysokoe razreshenie i otlichnyj RAW dazhe s kitom.. a uzh horoshim ob'ektivom] "The D3300 produces the least noise, has no filter, but high resolution and excellent RAW even with 'a whale' .. And really a good lens" (KF).Nikon D3300 is 'the camera's model D3300 manufactured by Nikon Corporation'.

Conclusion
The paper focuses on two pressing issues -the semantic and pragmatic parameters of photographer's nomenclature units in modern Russian written discourse of the professional community of photographers.The analysis of nomenclature Latin-Cyrillic pairs denoting photographers' equipment demonstrated the following: 1) The photographers' nomenclature units as proper names expressing concepts relating to particular type of photo-equipment are used by the photographers community in two graphics: Latin and Cyrillic.

2)
The discourse reveals different patterns of nomenclature functioning: the brand name followed by the modifier, the brand name preceded by the modifier, the modifier only, part of the modifier.The contexts serve to compensate for parts missed.

3)
In full concordance with the G. Zipf's "principle of least effort" the most frequently used discourse pattern of the signs studied are elliptical forms in which either the modifier or its part only are used.

4)
The statistics of "Клуб.Foto.ru"forum demonstrates higher frequency of the Latin lexemes used as brand names.
The methods, algorithms and tools developed and applied by the authors may be used to describe structural, semantic and functional parameters of any limited group of vocabulary.