The specifics of actualizing nomination mechanisms used in descriptions of operational search activities of police (as exemplified in Russian and English)

This study aims to identify and describe the specifics of nomination in Russian and English when representing operational-search activities of the police, as well as to analyze the factors determining the choice of specific nomination mechanisms and nominative strategies in professional police discourse. The aim of the scientific study is to systematically describe and compare the nominative strategies of the Russian and English languages within the framework of the reference zone «Operational-search activity» through a thematic thesaurus structured according to the functional-role principle. The object of the study is the nominative units of the semantic fields «Operativno-rozysknaya deyatel’nost’» and «Operational Search Activities» in Russian and English. The subject of the study is the nomination mechanisms typically expressed within the lexical-semantic fields under study. The research methodology consisted of a descriptive method used to systematize and describe the nominative units of the semantic fields, an analysis of the immediate components to identify the structure of composite nouns, and a field analysis method which facilitated the structuring of the semantic fields. Furthermore, the study illustrates the application of functional-role analysis. The analysis revealed that the universal nominative strategy is descriptive explication through complex nominative units. Across all identified lexical-semantic groups (Actants, Actions, Objects (including microclusters), Methods, and Outcomes), a consistent tendency toward the formation of complex nominative units is observed in both Russian and English. The main mechanisms of nomination are the clarification of the nominative unit’s significant meaning through the introduction of additional lexemes, as well as descriptive nomination, which concretizes the semantic feature added by the additional lexeme. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the categorization of nominative mechanisms based on nominative units of the professional sublanguage of law enforcement officers involved in investigative activities and the identification of dominant nomination strategies in Russian and English. The study’s results can be applied in training law enforcement specialists, press officers, and in teaching the translation of official institutional discourse. The findings can serve as a basis for developing professional glossaries and contribute to a broader understanding of the mechanisms of professional nomination and its relationship to the institutional function of language.