Vol 13, No 1 (2022)

DISCURSIVE STUDIES

The Image of Chelyabinsk in the 20th century British Media Discourse (1901-1950)

Solopova O.A., Koshkarova N.N., Sibiriakov I.V.

Abstract

The paper studies the evolution of the image of Chelyabinsk in the 20th century British media discourse. The research proves relevant as it involves both linguistic and historical analyses; it aims at retrospective study of the evolution of the image of the foreign city in British media discourse over a large time span. A wide range of methods is employed in the study: comparative, diachronic, cognitive-matrix, cognitive-discursive methods, source study, and content analysis. The source of the data is a digitized archive of British historical media texts. The authors fixed nine variations of the city name. The frequency of modeling the image of Chelyabinsk is dissimilar: it is rather high at the beginning of the century, declines in the second decade, reaches its minimum in 1921-1930, and rises again in the subsequent decades, which is explained by the interest of the British media to industrialization and the events of World War II. Most of the newspapers and magazines that modelled the image of Chelyabinsk were published in the capitals and large industrial centres, which is explained by the peculiarities of British print media, a higher level of education of large cities residents, and Britain’s economic interests in Russia / the Soviet Union. The significant difference in the images of Chelyabinsk across the time is in their emotive load: negative images of the beginning of the century are contrasted to positive images generated in the latest time span.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):9-26
pages 9-26 views

Terms of Endearment in American English and Syrian Arabic Family Discourse

Khalil A.A., Larina T.V.

Abstract

Each culture has its own system of address forms, which vary not only across languages but across the varieties of the same language. This fact confirms the impact that sociocultural factors assert on the set of address forms and their functioning. The present study is focused on a sub-category of address forms, namely, terms of endearment, which are explored in American English and Syrian Arabic family discourse. The study aims to specify the set of the terms of endearment in two contexts and reveal similarities and differences in their usage related to their pragmatic meaning, im/politeness, and communicative values. It also investigates how frequently and in what contexts terms of endearment are used in the American and Syrian family circle. The dataset, which includes 312 interactions with 199 terms of endearment (87 English and 112 Arabic) were obtained from 20 hours of American drama television series, “This is us” and 25 hours of a Syrian drama television series, “Rouzana”. The data were categorized and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively implementing discourse analysis theory, politeness theory, and cultural studies. The results of our analysis have shown that the American English and Syrian Arabic terms of endearment are used as indicators of personal attitude and emotion, as well as markers of informality, closeness, and emotive politeness. They indicate that in Syrian Arabic, terms of endearment can also express respect and deference, they are more variable, expressive, and conventional which may suggest that they are a salient feature of the Arabic family discourse. The findings of the present paper add to the existing writings on forms of address and can be useful for further research in sociolinguistics, cross-cultural pragmatics, and intercultural communication.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):27-44
pages 27-44 views

The “Precedent World” of F.M. Dostoevsky in the Socio-Cultural and “Playing Ground” of Modern Media

Remchukova E.N., Kuzmina L.A.

Abstract

Precedent cultural signs from the citation source “Russian classical literature” are in wide demand in the modern media space, including both professional and social media. This article studies the problem of identifying the reasons for this demand and the functioning features of these specific cultural signs in canonical and transformed forms in the context of the reception of works by F.M. Dostoevsky in modern media texts. The article also raises the question of the nature of transformations of textbook precedent signs functioning as the author’s evaluation of current social events. The aim of this research is to identify two trends that are characteristic of both professional and social media. On the one hand, it is the trend to transform various precedent phenomena (precedent onyms, utterances, situations) in order to create a comic effect and a language game. On the other hand, it is the trend to comprehend the content of a cultural sign for the argumentation of the author’s position. The material of the research is constituted by media texts of different genres and with varying socio-political connotation which contain precedent phenomena from the “F.М. Dostoevsky” source sphere and which are published in Russian print media, as well as posted on social media. These media texts were obtained using the manual sampling method and with the help of the Russian National Corpus. The research made it possible to present the “precedent world” of F.M. Dostoevsky reflected in media sources in proper linguistic terms (from the point of view of the nature of linguistic transformations and their interaction with the context) and in linguoethical terms (from the point of view of the ethical correctness of free use of textbook signs of high culture). The analysis resulted in the identification of various ways of foregrounding precedent cultural signs in different media genres. It also helped establish that the replication of “precedent cliches” in the digital media environment leads to devaluation of the content of a cultural sign, while the socio-political analytical press, on the contrary, shows demand for its message, its social and philosophical content, which is relevant for understanding the events taking place in the country and in the world, and the “eternal” questions of life.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):45-67
pages 45-67 views

Evaluative Language in Arabic Academic Discourse

Alhaded H.H., Glushchenko T.N., Alhadid H.

Abstract

Тhe article is devoted to the study of evaluative language in Arabic academic discourse. The analysis was carried out based on the evaluative posts published in the Arabic language in social networks related to the defense of Ph.D. dissertations and the obtaining by Arabic-speaking students of Ph.D. degrees. The focus of the research in the language of appraisal in Arabic academic settings is related to socially and traditionally determining aspects in the perception of the Ph.D. degree in Arab society. In order to identify specific features of the written language of evaluation in Arabic academic discourse, our study is built on the Appraisal theory proposed by James Martin and Peter White (2005) and focused on its sub-categories of the Appraisal theory: Affect , Appreciation , Judgment . The comparative analysis made it possible to identify both universal and specific components in the regarded ways of evaluation within the framework of academic discourse. The authors determine the lexico-grammatical methods of assessment in Arabic academic discourse, which characterize the perception and functioning of the evaluative language in the system of value coordinates of the Arab society. The novelty of the proposed research lies in the fact that at present the appeal to the Arabic academic discourse has not been sufficiently studied. In the end of the study, the authors concluded that the Appraisal theory proposed by Martin and White (2005) can be applied to the research of Arabic language of evaluation. The authors also argue that the written language of assessment in the Arabic academic discourse is directly proportional to cultural, traditional, religious factors that are reflected in the lexico-grammatical components of the assessment. Misunderstanding of these specific features of the evaluative language of the Arabic academic discourse leads to communicative failures. The authors noted the prospects for studying the evaluative language within the framework of the Arabic academic discourse could be conducted in a comparative analysis of the oral and written Arabic language of assessment, each of which has its own specific culturally determined features.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):68-79
pages 68-79 views

Structural Models of English Terms of Automated Processing of Scientific and Technical Texts Corpora

Butenko I.I., Nikolaeva N.S., Kartseva E.Y.

Abstract

The article is devoted to the structural models of English multi-component terms from the subject area “Welding types” as a basis for marking the corpora of scientific and technical texts. The place of corpora of scientific and technical texts in corpus linguistics and prospects of further scientific research based on them are marked. Relevance of the research is conditioned by the necessity to create the corpus of scientific and technical texts, in general, and means of automatic marking of terms, in particular. It has been substantiated that the main problem in creating the corpus of scientific and technical texts is automatic marking of terminological word combinations. The analysis of the current state of the terminology system of the subject area “Welding types” has been carried out. The formal structure of elements of the “Welding types” terminology system is considered. The results of the analysis of two, three, four-component English terminological word combinations of the “Welding types” subject area and their structural models are presented. All structural models of English terminology combinations are illustrated with examples. The most productive models of English terms word combinations are highlighted. It is shown that the most productive model - the combination of a nucleus element with a noun or an adjective in the function of the prepositional definition - can be traced in two-component word combinations, but the analysis of more complex formations shows that the model of “left definition attached to the term kernel” is also present in them, demonstrating generic features. The necessity of enumerating all possible structural models of terminological combinations in the subject area “Welding types” has been substantiated. The novelty of the study is seen in the formation of a database of structural models of terminological combinations as the basis of a superstructure database on the structure of terms to improve the quality of automatic marking of the bodies of scientific and technical texts and processing of terms-candidates in the conduct of body studies.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):80-95
pages 80-95 views

Realization of the Patriotism Idea in Film Discourse Based on Russian Patriotic Cinema

Anisimov V.E., Gafiyatova E.V., Kalinnikova E.D.

Abstract

In recent years due to a significant increase in the interest of the Russian film audience to the patriotism topic and the emergence of a social demand for Patriotic cinema, there has been a significant growth in the film distribution share that affects the historical and social aspects of patriotism. The reflection of the idea of patriotism in the modern Russian film discourse has a number of specific structural and semantic features, which present an extensive representative material for linguistic and cultural studies of modern discursive practices. The purpose of this article is to identify the structural and semantic features of functional and pragmatic units of the small texts of the modern Russian film discourse (movie titles, synopses and slogans) in terms of representation of the idea of patriotism and statistical processing of the data obtained as a result of the study. The research material includes 21 Russian films released in the period 2014-2019, which are directly related to the idea of patriotism in their genre and stylistic orientation. In the course of the analysis, the authors define the concept of “patriotism” as a complex sociopsychological phenomenon characterized by a high emotional saturation of semantic and pragmatic categories of representation associated with it. This article analyses the main ways of representing the idea of patriotism in the modern Russian film discourse. The paper uses methods of semantic, pragmatic, contextual, linguoculturological and statistical analysis. The object of the analysis are the functional and pragmatic elements of the film text: movie titles, slogans and synopses. The subject is syntactic-grammatical and semantic (structural-content) features of the movie titles, slogans and synopses creation. Structural analysis of parts of speech and syntactic components of functional and pragmatic units of the film text of Russian Patriotic films allowed us to identify the relationship between the structures of movie titles, synopses and slogans of the films under consideration. A distinctive feature of the structural and content characteristics of the analyzed functional and pragmatic elements of the film text is their relationship with each other within this class of elements. The idea of patriotism in the functional and pragmatic elements of the film text of the films under consideration is conveyed by means of emotionally colored vocabulary, which encourages potential viewers to be proud of their country, the feat of its outstanding citizens, and also to feel part of a great country and syntactic features, such as the chopped narrative style and the presence of exclamation and question sentences in synopsis texts and movie slogans. The special significance in transmitting the idea of patriotism in Russian Patriotic films to the audience are played by precedent names, situations and statements aimed at activating the associative ties of a potential viewer and awakening in him a sense of pride in his Homeland.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):96-124
pages 96-124 views

SOCIOCOGNITIVE STUDIES

The Relationship Between Cognitive Flexibility, Bilingualism and Language Production: Evidence from Narrative Abilities in Senior Preschoolers from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)

Oshchepkova E.S., Shatskaya A.N., Dedyukina M.I., Yakupova V.A., Kovyazina M.S.

Abstract

Bilingualism remains one of the key agents of influence on cognitive and language development of a child. Recently, this phenomenon became the focus of research attention. On the one hand, it can be explained by the active migration processes occurring on a global level. On the other hand, the influence of bilingualism over children’s cognitive and language development is still quite a divisive issue. This study is aimed to explore, which phenomenon is more associ-ated with the language development, - the fact of a child’s bilingualism or his/her level of execu-tive functions development. 380 children from a bilingual Russian region participated in this re-search. The final sample consisted of 279 6-7-year-old subjects without deviations in their cogni-tive and language development. There were 181 monolingual children and 98 bilinguals. Age, gender and non-verbal intelligence were controlled. Average age equaled to 6.65 years (SD = 0.37). The study demonstrated that the differences revealed in the language development of mono- and bilingual children were related mostly to lexical and grammatical aspects and didn’t intervene with the macrostructure of the narrative. In regard to the influence of executive functions, the role of cognitive flexibility turned out to be an essential element from the perspective of the difference in mono- and bilingual children’s language development. As a whole, the study results allow drawing a conclusion that the development of cognitive flexibility contributes to a more efficient simultaneous mastering of two languages.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):125-143
pages 125-143 views

Language Contacts in the Field of Bilingualism in Kyrgyzstan

Derbisheva Z.K.

Abstract

In Kyrgyzstan, as a multinational country, the problem of language contacts has always been topical. It was related to the functional possibilities of the Russian and Kyrgyz languages and the language policy of the country. In this regard, bilingualism is an integral feature of the Kyrgyz society. The bilingualism of the ethnic Kyrgyz is associated with different levels of knowledge of the Russian language, and it also demonstrates the different nature of self-control of speakers over the languages, in which there are both conscious control of language use and spontaneous one. It has been established that the above factors have a significant influence on the nature of code-switching in the speech of bilinguals.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):144-155
pages 144-155 views

The Role of the Diad PEACE-WAR Value in the Linguistic Worldview of the French Society Representatives

Gasymova G.M., Nelyubova N.Y., Finskaya T.E.

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of a number of values of native French speakers living in France. The relevance of this work is explained by the fact that at the present stage the composition of the population of France is changing as a result of the migration process, which entails the transformation of the value system and their hierarchy in society compared to traditional perception. It is interesting to trace the representation of this fact on the proverbial material and on the material obtained as a result of the questionnaire. The purpose of this article is to analyze the representation and role of the peace - war value dyad in the linguistic picture of the world of representatives of modern French society from the point of view of traditions and modernity. As a material for the study of traditional values in the framework of the axiological dyad’s analysis under study, 49 French-language proverbs about weapons were used, taught by a continuous sample from the heading “La guerre et les armes” of the dictionary of French proverbs and sayings. The study of images associated with weapons allowed us to characterize the metaphorical basis for describing various life value-generating situations, and the semantic analysis of proverbs made it possible to identify adjacent values: life, health, courage and thereby trace the features of the representation of the peace - war dyad in the French value system from the point of view of accumulated experience. In order to verify the results obtained from the analysis of paremiographic material and extract an idea of the functioning of this value dyad in the language picture of the world of representatives of modern French society, a questionnaire was conducted with the participation of 97 informants - native French and Turkish migrants. The analysis of the entire array of material allowed us to identify the common contiguous value of life. This fact, as well as the second place of the concept of peace, according to the informants, is located after the family on the value-conceptual scale, allows us to consider peace as one of the main vital values of representatives of modern French society.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):156-173
pages 156-173 views

Metaphorical Representation of Coronavirus in Medical Myths

Stepanova E.S.

Abstract

This paper focuses on metaphorical representation of coronavirus in medical myths on the example of the British media. To attain this goal, the descriptive metaphor theory is used for the analysis of metaphorical models for the conceptualization of coronavirus. The information about the virus transmitted by the media correlates with background knowledge of the recipient, acquires new conceptual characteristics. Our hypothesis is that metaphorical actualization of coronavirus in medical myths is represented by the descriptive metaphor, the content of which changes depending on the specifics of the spread of the virus over the country as well as the political situation in the country. The research is based on the assumption that metaphorical implications in medical myths influence the representation of the disease, which reflects not only general beliefs about this disease, but also molds the public opinion on political situation in the linguocultural society. The objective of this research is to analyze the titles and leads of the British press about coronavirus and interpret the metaphorical models for the conceptualization of coronavirus, used in medical myths. The objective of the research determined the choice of research methods: content analysis of titles and leads that contain metaphorical models for the conceptualization of coronavirus in medical myths; sampling analysis aimed at identifying and describing the functions of metaphorical models in the representation of the disease in medical myths. The notions of metalanguage such as the signification descriptor and the denotation descriptor are used to describe the functioning of metaphors. The research findings reveal that for the conceptualization of coronavirus in medical myths the following metaphorical models are used: ‘Coronavirus-military rival’, ‘Coronavirus-natural disaster’ and ‘Coronavirus-silver lining’.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):174-183
pages 174-183 views

LINGUISTICS OF THE TEXT

“Language Keys”: Foreign Cultural Lexicon in the Translingual (Russophonic) Literary Text

Bakhtikireeva U.M., Valikova O.A.

Abstract

The authors of the article consider the translingual (more broadly, transcultural) literary text as a “meeting place for languages and cultures”, which results in the formation of a new horizon for understanding aesthetic reality. Translingualism as the practice of artistic creation in a language that is not ethnically primary for the author implies the retranslation of ethnospecific images that are basic for the original linguistic culture through an intermediary language (in our case, Russian). Words with a national-cultural component of semantics that are not equivalent for the Russian language system cannot be attributed to borrowings, since a bilingual author produces, in the strict sense, the transfer (transfer) of a communicative-cognitive phenomenon from one language system to another. In this case, the incorporated elements perform a number of ontically significant functions, since they participate in the plot construction of a work of art, appeal to the archetypal substrate of an ethnos, carry a symbolic load and participate in the formation of a new - more complex - aesthetics. The authors comprehend the phenomenon of translinguism in the post-Soviet space and illustrate the mechanisms of functioning of foreign cultural elements of a Russophonic literary text based on the poem by A. Kodar “On this day that fell into paganism.”

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):184-200
pages 184-200 views

Colour Meaning in English Literary Pieces

Kartashkova F.I., Belyaeva L.E.

Abstract

The article deals with the colour maening and colour symbolics of a literary piece. Analysis of colour world in English fiction is aimed at determining the linguistic means of representing the individual writer’s idea of colour via the system of colour values. Along with it, analysis of the expression of colour sensations and their influence both on characters and on the plot development was carried out. It was shown that colour vocabulary is represented by words in their direct and figurative meanings. It was proved that language units may be represented in the form of a complex individual-authorial interpretation. Adjectives which convey or specify various colours and their shades make the main group of colour vocabulary discussed in the article. The same function may be performed by attributive phrases the semantic centre of which form names of animate/inanimate nature. Frequency of adjectives denoting colour was stated. Of special importance is the way colour names carry a special psychoemotional load. On the basis of analysis of literary pieces, it is shown that together with other psychological details colour meaning and colour symbolism perform esthetic function. Colour value can enhance a positive or negative assesment of the work of art described in a literary piece. The article presents classification of colour names based on different types of meaning: direct, metaphoric and symbolic. An attempt (based on an analysis of the color names) was made to determine the author’s idea of further development of the plot. Study of the role of light in works of art verbalised in fiction proved that light and transparent colour scheme render high spirits of the characters of literary pieces and evokes the recipient’s positive emotions.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):201-212
pages 201-212 views

BOOK REVIEW. EVENTS

Book review: I.A. Sternin, N.V. Ufimtseva & E.Y. Myagkova (eds.). Russian Psycholinguistics: Results and Prospects (1966-1921). Moscow: Institute of Linguistics-MMA, 2021. 626 р.

Chulkina N.L.

Abstract

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RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):213-223
pages 213-223 views

International Scientific Conference “SLAVOPHRAS-2021” Gomel: Francisk Skorina Gomel State University, 29-30 November, 2021

Nichiporchik E.V.

Abstract

The chronicle of the International Scientific Conference “SLAVOPHRAS-2021” is presented. The choice of the venue for the next forum of phraseologists and paremiologists-Slavists invited to discuss the topic “The World of Slavs in Phraseological and Paremiological Interpretation” is substantiated. A range of key issues to be discussed is determined. These issues include: values and assessments in the phraseological and paremiological interpretation of the world by the Slavs; history and modernity in Slavic phraseology and paremiology; general and specific in national pictures of the world, reconstructed on the basis of the phraseological and paremiological heritage of the Slavs; Slavic phraseology and paremiology in the dictionary and discourse. A brief review of the reports made at the plenary and breakout sessions of the forum is given. Attention is focused on the debatable solutions of scientific problems. The importance of holding annual Slavic conferences of phraseologists and paremiologists is emphasized.

RUDN Journal of Language Studies, Semiotics and Semantics. 2022;13(1):224-238
pages 224-238 views

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