Ways of Referential Ranking of Subjects in Russian Proverbs with Forms of the Second Person Singular

Referential ranking of subjects in proverbs with second-person singular forms has not yet been identified and described in special literature. This study aims to describe the ways of expressing referential statuses of subjects in these types of proverbs. The study uses proverbs from V. I. Dal’s collection as source data. The analysis is based on A. V. Bondarko’s theory of categorical situations. The methodological framework includes works by N. D. Arutyunova, E. V. Paducheva, T. V. Bulygina, and A. D. Shmeleva that focus on the theory of reference, as well as studies by N. A. Dyachkova, O. E. Frolova, and L. B. Katsyuba that describe proverbs as a unique type of text. The study has revealed that the referential statuses of subjects in proverbs can be actualised/modified based on various factors, such as construction features (one semantic subject vs. two semantic subjects), ways of expressing subjects (discrete vs. non-discrete), interactions with different distributors, and connections with temporal non-localizability. The study has also revealed that subjects have different referential statuses: universal and generic. The highest status (universal) is assigned to a person in proverbs based on a one-member generalised personal sentence with one semantic subject. In this case, the referential status of a non-discrete subject is determined with reference to the semantics of the predicate, where the action relates to an open group of people. The rank of subjects within this type can decrease when the predicate specifies a circle of actors and conditions for the action. Subjects in constructions with two semantic subjects have the generic status: the subject of characterisation (grammatically subordinate but semantically dominant) and the subject of action (grammatically dominant but semantically subordinate), serving to identify the features of the subject of characterisation. The referential (generic) status of the subject of action is the same as that of the subject of characterisation due to its subordination to the latter. The study also identifies semantic types of subjects that influence their reference. Ways of raising the rank of subjects (conditionally referential use) and lowering it (relation to noun groups, certain semantic classes) have been determined. By considering the interaction of different factors in proverbs, a complex ranking system for subjects can be represented.

reference, Russian proverbs, referential types of subjects, referential ranking of subjects, second-person forms