Особенности деловой переписки на английском языке/§2. The Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Aspects of Business English Vocabulary

I. The paradigmatic relationships between business terms

Analyzing business vocabulary into the four strata, outlining their boundaries and explaining their relevance to business communication is the first step in the study of the underlying inherent diversity. The next step focusses on the associative, i.e. paradigmatic, relations between different words. General Business English terminology, for example, displays a lot of paradigmatic connections. Some of the terms are related to each other as derivatives: agent and agency; competition and competitive. Some other terms are associated as general vs particular: broker — stockbroker, insurance broker, ship-broker; assets —fixed assets, liquid assets, etc. In a number of cases, the opposition is based on antonymy: assets — liabilities, recruit — make redundant, go public — go private.