Vol 14, No 4 (2023): INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH OF LANGUAGE AND SPEECH

Articles

Aspects of Interdisciplinary Research of Language and Speech

Gorobets E.A.

Abstract

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RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):985-993
pages 985-993 views

PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

Recursiveness as the Dominant Feature of Communicative Behavior in Day-to-Day Interaction

Pishchalnikova V.A., Kardanova-Biryukova K.S.

Abstract

Day-to-day interaction is overtly standardized and being associated with the expectations and norms imposed by a society as well as stereotypical societal being. When communicating, an individual is perfectly aware of the roles that could be attributed to him and aims to stand up to them. At the same time he intends to promptly comprehend and process the data he obtains from the outside and fit them into his niche, or the hierarchical environment determined by his unique set of properties. To put it differently, the subject of communication reflects upon those elements which are relevant for his being, and he can comprehend given his organization. With this it makes sense to relate to repetitive nature of some actions that have proven instrumental in maintaining the hierarchy of this environment and ensure self-preservation of the subject. Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela have coined the term recursiveness to relate to the repetitive character of the activities of a living entity in different cases of this living entity’s interaction with is medium. The authors of the theory of autopoiesis mainly focused on biological species, and humans being one of those. In the publications while they cover the foundations of their theory, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela refer to social systems as complex third order systems being regulated by the same self-preservation laws as a living entity. This serves as a prerequisite to attribute recursiveness to communicative behavior of a human aiming to step into social interaction and design a model of recursive communicative behavior. To verify this model we planned and ran a psycholinguistic experiment to measure the degree of the steoretypization in communicative behavior of mainstream representatives of the society. The participants were subdivided into two contrasting subclusters: “those under 24” and “those over 45”. They were offered a number of experimental cases with a task to model the communicative behavioral patterns typical for them in various day-to-day communication settings. Overall the experiment involved 219 subjects. The analysis of the data obtained outlines those settings implying a higher degree of the standardization in communicative behavior as well as the gender and age-related specifics of the participants with more stereotypical speech patterns.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):994-1012
pages 994-1012 views

Multimodal Communicative Moves in Expositive Dialogue: Common and Novel Topic Elaboration

Kiose M.I., Leonteva A.V., Agafonova O.V., Petrov A.A.

Abstract

The study explores the distribution and structure of multimodal clusters presenting a series of communicative moves in expositive dialogues: Request, Elaboration, and Response. We hypothesize that multimodal clustering of moves will be predetermined by the use of either common (for both participants) or novel topic elaboration as a nucleus move within the cluster. To proceed, we conduct a multimodal experiment which recorded the participants’ gesture with motion capture system (Perception Neuron Motion Capture) and gaze with eye-tracking glasses (Tobii Pro Glasses 2), as well as their speech and overall multimodal behavior with a stationary camera. The study reveals significant differences in the use of both face-oriented gaze and contactestablishing gesture as modulated by Request and Response moves within common or novel topic elaboration clusters; however, face-oriented gaze use manifests both higher frequency and diversity. Mutual face-oriented gaze prevails at the Request move preceding common topic elaboration, whereas elaborating a novel topic is found to produce a more involved gaze reaction of the listener during the Response moves. Additionally, simultaneous (by both participants) verbal move is more typical of common topic elaboration. The results evidence that social interaction and communication in expositive dialogue is processed multimodally and predetermines the role of gaze, gesture and verbal moves in communicative moves clusters.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1013-1035
pages 1013-1035 views

INTERDISCIPLINARY ASPECTS OF CHILDREN’S SPEECH STUDIES

Differentiation as One of the Basic Mechanisms of Language Acquisition

Dobrova G.R.

Abstract

In the process of speech ontogenesis, various mechanisms of language acquisition play different roles. Both basic and auxiliary mechanisms can be distinguished. The basic mechanisms are proposed to include generalization, differentiation and imitation. The role of differentiation in speech ontogenesis is very significant, and this mechanism plays a special role in language acquisition by boys, primarily expressive ones. The study is based on records of spontaneous speech of young children, as well as on the experimental data. The main part of the study is based on the data of the experiment with 16 children - 8 referential (4 girls and 4 boys) and 8 expressive (4 girls and 4 boys). As a result, in contrast to previous studies, it is concluded that there is no clear evidence that the role of differentiation in the speech ontogenesis of expressive children is significantly more important than its role in the speech ontogenesis of referential children. At the same time, the assumption made earlier that differentiation is more significant for boys than for girls is confirmed. The obtained results are proposed to be interpreted as follows: the referential children, and girls in the first place, are more capable of generalization as the most basic mechanism of language acquisition. At the same time, all children, both referential and expressive, tend to rely on differentiation, but the lower ability to rely on generalization in expressive children than in referential children leads to the fact that they (especially the expressive boys) are forced to rely on one of the other two basic mechanisms of language acquisition - differentiation or imitation. Since differentiation is a more basic mechanism of language acquisition than imitation, the reliance on differentiation in expressive children is especially significant. Therefore, reliance on differentiation, with an insufficient ability to rely on generalization, plays a particularly significant role in the process of speech ontogenesis of expressive children, and, first of all, boys.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1036-1049
pages 1036-1049 views

Two-word Utterances in the Speech of Young Children: Gender Aspect according to MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories

Eliseeva M.B., Vershinina E.A.

Abstract

The appearance of two-component utterances in children’s speech is one of the key stages of speech ontogenesis. The transition from separate lexemes to sentences is a cardinal event associated not only with the development of speech skills, but also with cognitive development. Previous studies based on longitudinal data have shown that two-word utterances appear from the age of one and a half to two years. Gender differences in the acquisition of this skill have never been considered. What is new in this study is that the results are based on an analysis of a representative database of children of both sexes, as well as separately boys and girls. For the first time, the norms of syntactic development were statistically substantiated and risk groups were identified. The material of the study was a database based on 1037 MacArthur questionnaires completed by parents (487 boys and 550 girls aged 18 to 36 months). The main results confirmed the age of appearance of utterances from one and a half to two years, but important nuances were revealed. Number of girls of 19 months, whose speech contains phrases, is twice the number of boys, and the differences are statistically significant). However, at the age of 20 months the boys are chasing the girls. Then the girls are slightly ahead, but we only observe significance at 23-month age. Girls, whose results refer to the median, say utterances at 20 months, and «median» boys - about 22-month age. The risk groups are different: we see a significant delay (children in the 5th percentile) in boys at the age of 25 months and in girls at 23-month age: they do not combine words into sentences. Comparison of the results of Russian-speaking children with the results of children speaking several other languages (according to scientific literature) confirmed the opinion about the typical age of the appearance of double-syntaxemic sentences. The results obtained are valid and reliable, therefore they are valuable in diagnosing the speech development of young children, as well as in conducting scientific research at this stage.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1050-1066
pages 1050-1066 views

Acquisition Specifics of Genre Repertoire of Personal Discourse in 4-6-Year-Old Children with Developmental Language Disorder and Typically Developing Peers

Kornev A.N., Balčiūnienė I., Vishonkina A.A.

Abstract

The first holophrases of a child’s speech mark the beginning of the development of oral discourse. Various typologies of genres fall mainly into two groups: those that are based on the external criteria (functional-pragmatic, social-pragmatic) towards the text, and those that are based on certain textual traits of the text. Mastering oral discourse also means mastering its genre forms. Children with primary developmental language disorder usually face difficulties in generating discourse text. Their oral discourse acquisition processes are not well studied yet; information regarding Russian-speaking children is particularly lacking. The aim of this paper is to discuss the dynamics of mastering various genres (narrative, description, expository discourse, and instruction) of oral discourse of preschool children with primary developmental language disorder compared with their typically developing peers. To design a situation of natural communication for the subjects and to elicit their personal discourse, an experimental methodology of Simulating a Conversation with a Peer was developed. The study involved 20 children aged 4-5 years with primary developmental language disorder and 12 typically developing peers. All children were assessed three times with an interval of 3-4 months; each wave of assessment included three meetings. The developed corpus of oral personal discourse was transcribed, annotated morphologically, and submitted to linguo-statistical distributive analysis of discourse passages. In addition, narrative texts were evaluated in terms of the elaboration level of the narrative structure. Statistical analysis evidenced significant between-group differences in the distribution of narrative and expository passages and in the elaboration level of the narrative structure. Dynamic characteristics distinguishing children with primary developmental language disorder from typically developing children were revealed.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1067-1090
pages 1067-1090 views

Influence of Anxiety on Texts Retelling in Adolescents

Privalova I.V., Petrova A.A.

Abstract

The signs of anxiety in ontogeny have not yet been sufficiently studied, as well as the indicators of anxiety in a certain age group in speech ontogeny. The hypothesis about the influence of schoolchildren’s anxiety on the text retelling process is set forth. Examining transcripts of oral retelling evidence that psychological conditions of adolescents affect their speech production. The material for this study was collected according to mass experiments, which were conducted in several secondary schools of the Republic of Tatarstan in 2020-2021. All in all, there were interviewed 458 students of the 5th grade aged from 11 to 12 years. Boys and girls were interviewed in almost equal proportions what allows speaking about gender representativeness. In order to design socio-psychological portraits of the respondents, there have been conducted a number of supplementary tests preceding the main interviews: the general awareness test, the anxiety test, the test on concentration and attention span, the Russian language test. Our research of anxiety of adolescents is based on the Integrative Anxiety Test which followed the Encyclopedia of Psychodiagnostics (ed. D. Raigorodsky). The main target of the experiment is to explore the alterations in the propositional structures integrity in text retelling that may happen as a result of anxiety influence. Having analyzed more than 300 text retellings, we have concluded that psychological factors may affect the mechanisms of information processing and verbalization. There are two types of anxiety manifestations in text retellings in adolescents. First, manifestations of anxiety on the superficial level which is revealed in alterations in the sound and lexical matter. Second, typical are the manifestations of anxiety on the deep level of propositions with complete change of semantic roles, appearance of additional propositional elements or fragmentation of existing propositions.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1091-1106
pages 1091-1106 views

How do Eye Movements and Visual Attention in Letter-Finding Tasks Differ in Children with Different Levels of Reading Skills?

Shajhutdinova R.I.

Abstract

Children with different levels of reading proficiency demonstrate different information processing speed, reading accuracy and cognitive strategies. The study presents the results of analyses of eye movement features when performing letter search tasks in lexical and sub-lexical environments. The task of searching for a particular grapheme by the respondents is approximated to real-life conditions, since in the course of language learning students regularly face the tasks of searching for certain orthograms in educational texts or self-checking tasks (i.e., errors in their own texts), which is especially important for children with dysorphographia, regulatory dysgraphia, and other learning difficulties. Forty-nine children aged 9 to 10 years participated in the study. Reading skills were assessed using the Standardized Assessment of Reading Skills (SARS). Nonverbal intelligence was assessed by using Raven’s coloured progressive matrices. Participants performed a letter search task in text and letter list, eye movements were recorded using the EyeLink 1000 Plus eye tracker. Rank correlation analyses showed that the level of reading skill development was related to the efficiency of finding specific items in a given context. In addition, the duration and number of gaze fixations on the searched units in the letter list were not always related to the number of correct answers, indicating a complex process of visual attention during the search task. In addition, it was observed that foveal vision was not always necessary for performing search tasks in children with normally developed reading skill levels. The study also investigated the concept of functional visual field and how the surroundings of the items being searched affect the attentional mechanisms involved in visual search. Overall, this study provides evidence on the relationship between reading skills, attention and visual information processing, which contributes to understanding reading strategies in children with dyslexia and creating new methods for screening children with dyslexia in the future.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1107-1121
pages 1107-1121 views

SEMIOTICS. SEMANTICS. PAREMIOLOGY

Discourse Emblems as the Object of Semiotic Analysis

Karasik V.I.

Abstract

The study deals with discourse emblems treated as recognizable identifying signs of communication participants. They occupy a certain place in a general system of semiotic interpretation of reality - they are indices characterizing the pragmatic vector of a sign, according to Ch. Morris. The difference between emblems and allegories or symbols consists in their main quality - the former should be immediately recognized by the people who belong to a certain culture whereas the latter may be deciphered. Emblems as a system constitute an outer form of culture. Discourse emblems are inherent in any type of communication and may be regarded as discourse type indices. Their linguistic and cultural essence is to show communication partners as belonging to the joint community. Emblems in a personal habitual discourse demonstrate a restricted communicative distance, in an institutional discourse they indicate the group status of communicative partners, and in an artistic discourse they show a multiplex extensible variety of meanings contained in the text or any art object having an aesthetic value.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1122-1138
pages 1122-1138 views

Semantic Transformations of the Lexeme Икона in the Russian Language of the Newest Period

Shkapenko T.M., Vaulina S.S.

Abstract

The study focuses on the analysis of semantic changes of the lexeme икона , considered in a synchronous-diachronic perspective. The relevance of the study is determined by its implementation in an interdisciplinary, linguo-philosophical, as well as a contrastive, Russian-English paradigm. This ensures the objectivity of conclusions about the causes and consequences of neosemantization of the word икона in modern Russian. Proceeding from the study of lexicographic data, illustrative material of the National Corpus of the Russian Language and open Internet resources, it is proved that the emergence of new lexical-semantic variants of the noun икона is the result of semantic borrowings from the English language. The appearance in the English word icon of terminological meanings relating to the field of semiotics and computer technology is based on the concretization of the primary meaning “image, likeness”, in which it was borrowed from the Greek language. The emergence of a new lexical-semantic variant “idol, idol of the masses” in the semantic structure of the word icon is based on the actualization of the potential seme “symbol”. The use of this meaning in relation to various celebrities of pop culture leads to the positioning of icons of style, fashion and sex symbols at the highest levels of the value hierarchy of the consumer society. Anglo-American linguoconcepts penetrate into the modern Russian language as a result of calquing the lexical units from English-language publications. Despite the functioning of the lexical units икона стиля, моды, фэшн-икона and the word икона in the meaning of a religious artifact in different types of discourses, the presence of a common seme «object of worship» causes their semantic diffusion. The parallel use of the word икона in relation to diametrically opposed objects of sacralisation leads to a linguoaxiological clash of “own” and “strange” spheres. The result of this collision is the desacralisation of the concept икона in the national language consciousness.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1139-1153
pages 1139-1153 views

Categorization of Attitude to Reality in Paremiological Units

Ivanov E.E.

Abstract

The study deals with the proverbal semantics from the point of view of its attitude to the surrounding world as an object of cognition, evaluation, verification and verbalization. The aim of the study is to describe the main semantic types of paremiological units (proverbs) according to the criterion of “relation to reality” in empirical, axiological, ontological and logical aspects. The research was done on the material of proverbs in the Kalmyk language from the collection of V.L. Kotvich (1905). The author’s methodology of categorizing the semantics of the aphoristic units, and their differentiation into semantic types according to the criterion of “relation to reality” was used. It has been revealed, that in the proverbs all major aspects of aphoristic categorization of the reality are represented, according to which the proverbial semantics is differentiated into six categories: “nomological” and “centential” (In the empirical aspect), “truistic” and “gregarious” (In the axiological aspect), and also paradoxical (In the logical aspect) and absurd (In the ontological aspect). It has been established that the categorization of the attitude to reality in proverbs is characterized by different quantitative representation and content heterogeneity. The attitude to reality as an object of cognition and evaluation is represented to the greatest extent in proverbs, and to the least extent - as an object of verification. Proverbs of different semantic categories have a specific set of prototypes, concepts and images. The categorisation of the attitude to reality in proverbs is universal, but it is distinguished by selectivity in terms of its distribution in the semantic types and conceptual imagery, which represents the ethnolinguistic and cultural specificity of the categorisation and conceptualisation of the proverb picture of the world.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1154-1177
pages 1154-1177 views

Semiotics of Emoticons and Emoji in the Discoursive Space of Spanish Political Internet Communication

Larionova M.V., Demkina A.V.

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to establish significance of graphic symbols - semiotic, cognitive and functional characteristics of emoticons and emoji as paralinguistic means of written communication in Spanish political Internet communication. The materials of the study are the publications of Spanish government bodies, political parties and politicians in the official Twitter accounts. The relevance of the study stems from the need to analyze the functional and impact potential of emoticons and emoji as an integral part of modern Spanish political discourse in the Internet and determine their characteristics from the standpoint of theoretical linguistics, discourse theory, semiotics and pragmalinguistics. The paper concludes that the semiotic characteristics of emoji and emoticons as iconic signs and symbols allow them to perform a number of important functions in the discursive Internet communication, for instance, nominative - identifying referents, due to the fact that they are associated with them by physical similarity; syntactic - structuring the punctuation and intonation contour of the message; cognitive - conveying additional conventional meanings implied by the interpretation of the represented objects; communicative - creating an intonation contour and emotional background of the message; influencing - setting the vector of pragmatic interpretation of the message and its empathic component. At the same time, the verbal and non-verbal components of polycode Internet messages are not opposed to each other, but mutually determine the integral perception, representation and interpretation of reality.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1178-1200
pages 1178-1200 views

Semantic Structure of the Word in the Perspective of Interdisciplinary Research

Klimenko G.V.

Abstract

The study is devoted to actual issues of cognitive linguistic and cultural linguistic. Both sciences are sciences of the synthesizing type, and they make it possible to explore a linguistic sign in its deep functions related to the mentality and culture of a particular linguistic community. The object of the research is the commonly used Russian lexeme a head , which is the key sign of the corresponding concept. Its semantic structure, paradigmatic and national-cultural characteristics are established. The novelty of the study lies in the complex of applied methods: vocabulary definition analysis, contextual analysis, introspection method, cognitive interpretation of the results obtained. A culturological commentary is provided. Theoretical value of the study: the synthesizing approach allows us identify the structure and content of the concept, as well as cultural attitudes transmitted by language signs. Applied value: the results of the study can be used in lexicographic practice, as well as in the courses on cognitive linguistics, cultural linguistic, theory of intercultural communication.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1201-1216
pages 1201-1216 views

The Modelling of a Multidimensional Linguocultural Concept on the Example of the Concept СТАРОСТЬ ‘SENILITY’

Safaralieva L.A., Perfilieva N.V.

Abstract

The novelty of the study is due to the modelling of a linguocultural concept, while its structure properly represents a multilevel model determined by its essential, obligatory components, such as meaning, notion, value and imagery components, as well as by the set of their potential associates. The study synthesizes modern ideas and views already developed in the Russian linguistics concerning a concept as a mental formation. There are generalized theoretical and applied approaches to the definition of mental formations or concepts, in particular, both linguocultural and linguocognitive formation aspects of a concept are discussed in detail. The complexity of elaborating a simple, unambiguous definition and formulating value and imagery conceptual components represents the subject of the study. On the basis of the Russian language material, the model of the concept СТАРОСТЬ (‘SENILITY’) is put forward, the concept’s structure is particularly characterized, as well as the principles of selecting lexical, paremiologiсal and phraseological units which form the concept’s lexical frame. The elaborate algorithm to structure the concept consists of a number of stages: the defining of a semantically and stylistically neutral concept’s verbalization, the reconstructing of the notional component, the selecting of lexical units to express its value and imagery components. The issue of the differentiation and delimitation of value and imagery components is studied separately as both of them possess different and common reconstruction sources, e.g., phraseological and associative dictionaries. The model of the multidimensional linguocultural Russian concept СТАРОСТЬ ‘SENILITY’ as the pattern to construct similar models of other concepts, produces the main result of the given study. The reconstruction of multilevel models of concept is in prospect and would allow present the fragment of the worldview of the Russian linguoculture bearers.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1217-1234
pages 1217-1234 views

Structural and Semantic Features and National Specificity of English and Russian Proverbs with the Meaning ‘Old’, ‘Young’

Orlova T.G.

Abstract

The problem of perception of age in the folk consciousness, which is studied on the basis of proverbs in the English and Russian languages with the meaning “old”, “young”, touches on issues that are relevant for all people - awareness of the laws of human existence, therefore, turning to proverb material in the context of this issue seems relevant and productive. The main objective of this study is to compare proverbs of the Russian and English languages on this topic in the aspect of structural and semantic analysis and to reveal important features of the national and cultural thinking of both peoples. The first aim of the study is to identify and systematize the basic meanings of proverbs, which reveal a view on the accomplishments of old people and the inherent advantages of an old age; a look at the problem of the state of the body and spirit, which depends not only on age, but also on the inner determination; the disadvantages of the old age and the problem of its inevitability; the virtues and traits of the youth, as well as its weaknesses; a look at typical traits that are traditionally associated with age, but do not depend on it, and, finally, the opposition of the old age and the youth both in the context of confrontation and in the context of cooperation and complementarity. The second aim is to determine the similarities and differences in the choice of linguistic and figurative means in proverbs of the two languages. Proverbs use linguistic devices such as comparison, conformation, opposition, metaphor, metonymy, personification, gradation, hyperbole, irony, allegory, paradox. Similar means of expressive syntax are distinguished: asyndeton, impersonal sentences, syntactic parallelism, ellipsis, compression, rhythmic and phonetic arrangement of proverbs, imperative and conditional sentences, and for the Russian language - infinitive and generalized-personal sentences. Proverbs use expressive vocabulary: zoonyms, somatisms, and Russian proverbs also more often use archaisms, vernacular, words with reduced stylistic colouring and words with diminutive suffixes (diminutives). The novelty of the study lies in the choice of research methodology based on the systematization of proverbial material into groups within the chosen topic and the comparative structural and semantic analysis of proverbs in each thematic group along with revealing similarities and differences in the choice of methods of expressiveness, figurative motivation, figurative means, as well as lexical components and syntactic structure in the proverbs of two languages. The analysis made it possible to show the nationally specific features of the understanding of the main characteristics of the old and young age by both peoples, as well as to identify the role of linguistic means that reflect the specifics of their mentality.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1235-1252
pages 1235-1252 views

Characteristics of Somatic Phraseology in E. Vodolazkin’s Novel “Lavr”: Semantics, Functional Potential, Frequency of Use

Karpinskay N.V., Shkuran O.V., Shkuran S.A.

Abstract

The study selects and analyzes quantitative and qualitative indicators of somatic components retrieved from E.G. Vodolazkin’s novel «Lavr». The illustrative material reveals the universal and national value orientations of the regular and author’s somatic phraseological units. The most frequently used components-somatisms (eyes, head, soul, heart, hand, body) reflect the social and cultural experience of a Russian person and transform them into their own values, attitudes, positions, representing the sacred-mental essence of the nominations of the human body with vivid imagery, stylistic diversity. The analysis of the card file of the used somatic phraseological units demonstrates culturally marked Church Slavonisms that create expressive and emotional images of the Middle Ages and carry evaluative, aesthetic perception in the objective, existential aspects. One of the advantages of the novel is the somaticisms that perform various universal functions in the literary text, both for characterizing the appearance of the characters, the physical and physiological state, and for the conciseness of the narrative speech, for the emotive and emotional state of the main characters. The individual author’s somatic phraseological units detailing the ideological content of the literary text are presented. The analysis allows us present the author’s artistic picture of the world as a part of the linguistic picture of the world of a Russian person. The end-to-end anthropocentricity is a indicative characteristic of the somatic phraseology of the novel «Lavr». The article provides a semantic characteristic and determines the functional potential of more than two hundred and fifty somatic phraseological units used in the novel.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1253-1270
pages 1253-1270 views

Cognitive-pragmatic Potential of Riddles in Literary Discourse

Prokhorova L.P., Potapova N.V., Zavyalova G.A.

Abstract

The studies treat the peculiarities of riddles functioning in different genres of literary discourse in three literary texts by the English writers L. Carroll’s «Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, J. Tolkien’s «Hobbit, Back and Forth» and R. Austin Freeman’s «The Mysterious Visitor». The relevance of this work is determined by the interest of linguists to a riddle as a linguistic phenomenon, possessing a certain cognitive-pragmatic potential, and is still insufficiently researched. As a valuable source of knowledge about the culture and traditions of a particular ethnic group, the riddle has a great linguistic and cultural potential and reflects the variability of the world’s pictures. Coding an object of the existing reality in the riddle aims to create a problem situation for the guesser, who should demonstrate the flexibility and non-standard analytical or insight way of thinking. The purpose of the study is to describe the cognitive-pragmatic potential of riddles functioning in a literary tale and a detective story. It has been established that the riddle can be not only an independent communicative event, but also an integral part of complex literary genres. The use of riddles in literary discourse is motivated by the author’s intention and reflects the creative nature of thinking. In the fairy tale, the riddle is aimed at game communication with a reader, while in the detective discourse it represents the main genre-forming element around which the plot and the system of characters are built.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1271-1288
pages 1271-1288 views

APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Research Potential of the O.A. Krylova’s Technique of Text Analysis in the Aspect of Speech Stylistics

Zaitseva I.P.

Abstract

The study analyzes the proposed by professor O.A. Krylovaʼs technique of text analysis in the aspect of speech stylistics, focused on the interpretation of non-fiction texts of various functional-stylistic affiliations, from the standpoint of the possibility of its use as one of the stages of a comprehensive linguo-poetic examination of texts representing artistic speech. Such an opportunity is created by the obvious correlation of a number of features characteristic of both types of texts, a certain transformation of which in verbal and artistic text structures is due to the priority of manifestation of the aesthetic function of language in them. The possibility of using the technique of analysis developed by O.A. Krylova, as a component of linguo-poetic analysis, is demonstrated by examining one of the lyrical texts - the poem by V. Miroshnichenko “We are Donbass, we should not complain!”. However, according to the author, this practice can be quite successfully applied in the interpretation of verbal and literary works of other genus-literary affiliation, where the language is embodied in an aesthetically complicated form: prose and drama.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1289-1305
pages 1289-1305 views

Psychological Structure of Meaning and Problems of Text Perception

Krasnykh V.V.

Abstract

The author considers the role of the psychological structure of word meaning in the comprehension of texts. This problem seems to be as insufficiently studied today. The given structure is understood following A.A. Leontiev as a complex associative structure. The author pays special attention to the archaic layers of consciousness that are relevant for a modern native speaker / culture representative, and to the connotative and emotive aspects of meaning. All this is intended to help clarify and expand the classical understanding of the psychological structure of meaning by more clearly identifying and describing these components. In this article, attention is focused specifically on the archaic layers of consciousness, which are derived and based on the analysis of data, primarily from etymological dictionaries and also taking into account other sources. The author proposes the basic principles of analysis, carried out considering the activity approach and involving the implementation of seven research steps: 1) identification of linguoculture units; 2) identification of basic oppositions, basic metaphors; 3) definition of the text keywords; 4) compiling “core” and “peripheral” lists of language units for the given text; 5) identifying the psychological structure of the meaning of these units; 6) analysis of various contexts containing these units to clarify the results obtained; 7) analysis of the text taking into account and based on the results obtained. The capabilities of this approach are partially demonstrated by analyzing the text by V.V. Egorov “Patriarshiye Prudy” (“Patriarch’s Ponds”). The proposed methodology allows draw conclusions about the emotionalsensory “background” of text perception, which is determined, among other things, by the psychological structure of the meaning of the most important text elements.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1306-1320
pages 1306-1320 views

Linguistic Landscape of an International University Campus: Approaches, Features, Findings

Povalko P.Y., Smolii E.S., Kolysheva O.N.

Abstract

The relevance of this study is explained by the fact that despite the diversity of linguistic landscape studies of urban spaces, the methodology for studying the linguistic landscape of educational organizations is not systematically described and there is a lack of research on the communicative space of universities. Meanwhile, the linguistic landscape of a university is one of the important tools for its management and transmission of values and ideology, it is also a space for interaction between administration, teachers and students. In addition, the linguistic situation developed at Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, where the campus is a unique multinational multicultural space with a peculiar linguistic landscape, is of scientific interest. The purpose of the study is to describe the linguistic landscape of the international campus of RUDN University as a classical university with high level of internationalization with the use of the methodology developed by the authors. The material presents visual texts posted on RUDN University campus. The objectives of the study involved the following methods: sociolinguistic methods and techniques; descriptive method with characteristic techniques of generalization; classification and interpretation; quantitative, comparative and semiotic methods. The main results, which also contribute to the scientific novelty of this study, are as follows: 1) the authors proposed a methodology to describe the linguistic landscape of an educational organization; 2) clarified methodologically important issues related to the concept and functions of the linguistic landscape of a university; 3) identified the subjects shaping the linguistic landscape of the university, and determined the degree of their activity in its creation and contribution to the linguistic diversity of the landscape; 4) established that the ratio of languages, as well as the dominant language of written communication, depends on the subject of the texts; 5) pointed out that the linguistic landscape reflects the focus of RUDN University on internationalization; 6) formulated preliminary recommendations for organizing written communication on campus to increase its effectiveness and improve the ergonomics of the campus communicative space; 7) noted that the linguistic landscape is only a part of the complex communicative space of a university campus, for a comprehensive study of which the authors of the article introduce the term ‘communicative landscape’.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1321-1336
pages 1321-1336 views

Stylistic Syntax of the Middle French Poetical Literary Composition

Vyshenskaya Y.P.

Abstract

The study suggests some evidence of studying the “poetic style” of the initial stage. The stage corresponds to the mediaeval European period. The actual character of the work is determined by the stable interest to the category under study in the scientific society as well as by the unstable character of the contents of its meaningful volume. The analytical procedure being realized on the literary heritage of troubadours and trouvères, contributes to the research challenge of the paper. The analysis made is aimed at the study of the specific features of the style generating processes on the poetic texts in the universal context of the medieval culture. The purpose of the work makes necessary solving a number of particular tasks, namely, clarifying and description the poetic style connections with its original roots, the role of the literary-stylistic traditions and medieval aesthetic conceptions in the style generating processes, stylistic traditional and individual proportion. Thus, the study contributes to the number of complex investigations of textual categories within the scope of diachrony and synchrony to be expanded. To achieve the tasks traditional methods are used, i.e., descriptive-analytical, contextual, philological interpretation of the text. Ancient texts study, a case of particular practical applying of the triad “text - style - discourse”, causes the address to the idea of particular and universal discourses. Style, the materialized aesthetic emotion, is considered as the result of the materialization of courtois ideals by means of a certain set of stylistic devices, differentiated in the literary compositions of the courtois Provençal school. Syntactic segment gains in the course of time the etalon status. Due to the volatility of particular discourses of the universal courtois cultural discourse the courtois etalon of the mature stage of the courtois lyrics development, under some altering turned into the etalon of the Northern courtois modification, close to the Provençal one. The analysis also confirms the fact of some existence courtois universalia modified in the courtois discourse.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2023;14(4):1337-1356
pages 1337-1356 views

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