THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CYBERSECURITY TERMINOLOGICAL UNITS

Abstract: The rapid development of digital technologies has transformed cybersecurity into one of the most dynamic terminological domains of contemporary professional communication. The present article examines the theoretical and methodological foundations for a comparative study of cybersecurity terminological units in English and Uzbek. It integrates terminological, comparative, structural-semantic, cognitive, corpus-based, and translation-oriented approaches. Particular attention is paid to the principles of concept delimitation, equivalence, standardization, term formation, semantic transparency, abbreviation, metaphorization, borrowing, calquing, and descriptive translation. The study argues that English functions as the principal donor language in the global cybersecurity discourse, while Uzbek terminology is developing through a combination of direct borrowing, phonographic adaptation, loan translation, semantic specification, and officially regulated naming. A comparative matrix of representative terms demonstrates that full equivalence is frequent in basic technical concepts, whereas partial equivalence and terminological variation occur in newly emerging, metaphorical, and highly specialized units. The article proposes a multi-level methodology that links conceptual analysis with linguistic form, professional usage, normative documents, and communicative function. The results may support the compilation of bilingual glossaries, improvement of cybersecurity translation, development of teaching materials, and harmonization of Uzbek professional terminology with international standards.