Vol 23, No 1 (2023)
Articles
The problems of ecology of modern scientifi c speech
Abstract
The study of the norms of modern scientifi c speech, as well as the factors aff ecting its eff ectiveness, is one of the urgent problems of linguoecology. Typical violations of the ecology of scientifi c speech are cases of violations of language norms and stylistic inaccuracies. They are most often found in the unprepared professional speech of young scientists (especially non-philologists). Violations of this kind can be caused, fi rstly, by an insuffi ciently high level of the addressee’s communicative competence, and secondly, by his information overload, “clip” thinking and “point” attention. The decline in the eff ectiveness of scientifi c communication is associated not only with speech errors and stylistic inaccuracies. It can be caused by the addressee using special vocabulary, which is not generally accepted in this fi eld of communication, an abundance of foreign words and expressions (especially new English loan-words), as well as the use of synonymous or variable terms. In addition, the riskiness of scientifi c speech is associated with the change of traditional and the introduction of new genres. Thus, the genre of anonymous (“blind”) review is confl ict-generating, since it involves identifying not only the positive aspects of the reviewed scientifi c work, but also its shortcomings. Mutual anonymity contributes to the fact that the reviewer, remaining unrecognized, can express critical remarks directly and sharply, without caring about the emotional state of the addressee unknown to him. In addition, the eff ectiveness of the perception of a modern scientifi c text is reduced due to some changes in its design. Finally, the attitude of the future specialists to their training is changing. Unfortunately, nowadays undergraduates and Master’s degree students are less likely to think about observing speech and language norms, they turn increasingly more often to popular scientifi c or pseudoscientifi c Internet sources for information, and less frequently display an interest in the perception and discussion of the material.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):4-10
4-10
Everyday business communication: A commercial chat, its specifi c features and role in organizing the life of citizens
Abstract
The article deals with the study of everyday virtual business communication. The digital age has a huge impact on individuals, signifi cantly changing their lives, and the life of society is increasingly immersed in the virtual space. The material of the study is Internet communication, specifi cally group communication of citizens, residents of Saratov, in one of the commercial chats: the speech of women’s clothing sellers and buyers. The purpose of the study is to show the development of the chat genre and its functioning in business communication. The methods applied are those of participant observation and of discursive analysis. The specifi c features of the chat were manifested in a steadily followed topic of communication (no changes of topic occur). This refl ects one of the important communication practices in people’s daily lives – the one related to the purchase / sale of goods. The business sphere leaves its mark on the choice of the type of communication: a mixed type of communication (semi-offi cial) is being implemented. The dominant communicative strategy is the strategy of cooperative speech interaction, including courtesy tactics (tactics representing initial and fi nal contact, gratitude expression tactics, compliment tactics, etc.). These developments represent the process whereby a culture of virtual business communication based on the principle of mutual respect is being formed. The article also studies linguistic features of the chat. In the speech of the communicants, the vocabulary of the thematic group “Clothes and hats” is mainly used: blouse,turtleneck, jeans, jumper, bonnet, etc. Another word group constitutes foreign vocabulary related to the world of fashion which has not yet been fixed in the Russian language (jeggings, snood, skinny, moms, etc.). Conversational signals used in the chat include diminutives (blouse, skirt, novelty), communicatives (for example, the conjunction A used in the initial position in interrogative constructions). The chat contains manifestations of the offi cial business style in the fi eld of trade – professional speech stereotypes: available, new arrival, etc. Attention is drawn to the use of emoticons: their set is limited and chat-specifi c. Chat communication can be defi ned as eff ective communication that improves the life of citizens.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):11-16
11-16
The interdisciplinary nature of customs activities terminology (On the English language material)
Abstract
This article deals with the issues of the terminological system formation as a set of professional knowledge terms on the example of English customs activities. The terminology of this fi eld of knowledge plays a key role in the formation of a professional language. It is possible to use diff erent approaches in the study of the problems of systematization and classifi cation of lexical units. Firstly, the composition of the customs dictionary should be considered as a unique, integral structure, including separate components – thematic groups of terms. Secondly, the close relationship of customs concepts with other professional fi elds should be analyzed. The study is conducted on the English legislative acts material, including customs, periodicals, dictionary entries, etc. The variant of the customs term system structure proposed by the author of the article includes six comprehensive semantic and thematic groups: customs management, customs procedures, customs nomenclature, customs duties and taxes, customs statistics, customs control. Each group contains a list of customs concepts, which, in turn, are related not only to each other, but also to other groups. This confi rms the fact that the term system of customs activities functions as an integral mechanism. On the other hand, the development and formation of the term system of customs activity is greatly infl uenced by the term systems of spheres related to that of customs. It seems possible to trace the relationship between the terminological systems of customs activity and the legislative branch, criminal law, international law, administrative law, IT-technology, transport logistics, offi ce management, economics, foreign trade, medicine and many other spheres, which once again confi rms the interdisciplinary nature of the fi eld of knowledge under consideration.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):17-22
17-22
On the specifi c features of legal translation (A comparative study of the German, French and Spanish languages)
Abstract
Legal terms are not uniform at the international level, but they are closely connected with a national legal system. This implies serious conceptual inconsistencies. The above-mentioned systemic connection leads to the fact that either boundaries of terms’ meanings belonging to diff erent jurisdictions or the degree of their explication may vary. Despite some similarities in legal systems, primarily of European countries, each state has its own legal order, conceptual and terminological systems, specifi c legal rules, forms and procedures of judicial proceedings. The purpose of the article is to analyze the main causes of diffi culties in translation of legal terminology from German, French and Spanish languages. To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been set in the research: to analyze the specifi cs of legal language and of legal documents translation as well as the issues of equivalency in legal translation; to select the samples from the above-mentioned languages that clearly demonstrate diffi culties in translation of texts from such branches as civil and criminal law, administrative and civil codes, etc. The problems a translator faces due to the socio-cultural content of legal terms can be solved by means of various resources. As research methods the authors have used the method of comparison, typical for a comparative law, the method of continuous sampling of legal terminological units in French, Spanish and German legal texts, comparative analysis of terms and their translated equivalents, and the method of written translation. The results of the conducted analysis will be useful both for further studies of legal discourse and in theoretical and practical classes on legal text translation.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):23-28
23-28
Speech preferences of modern children: The infl uence of the Internet, foreign languages and cultures
Abstract
The article analyzes the modern speech of children aged from 2-3 to 14 years and examines how other languages and cultures infl uence it. The research material comprises handwritten and transcribed audio and video recordings of children’s colloquial speech, correspondence of children in the Viber messenger. The material was collected during 2016–2022, its total volume amounts to about 22,000 instances of word usage. The methods used are those of included observation and discursive analysis. The vocabulary of children aged 2-3 to 14 years was shown to be actively supplied with lexical units sourced from the English language and Internet slang. The analysis of oral and written genres (post, stories, battle, live broadcast) created by children within the popular social networks TikTok, Likee, Instagram (2017) allowed us to establish that children typically copy speech patterns and behaviors of popular bloggers. A study of children’s voice and written messages in smartphone messengers Viber, Telegram (2022) revealed the formation of a specifi c vocabulary in children’s speech, including not only Anglicisms and school jargon, but also a telltale sign of Internet communication – the reduction of words to one syllable. Written messages are organized in a specifi c manner, consisting of statements, each of which is presented as a separate post. Various surveys and diff erent types of tasks based on the “reply and send to a friend” pattern are common. Using virtual reality, children strive for self-realization: they sing, act out dialogues with toys, conduct “scientifi c research”, but in the process they use less than perfect, most often foreign, role models. The authors conclude that not only the English language content of the Internet, but also the speech behavior, ideals and values advertised by popular, primarily Western, leaders of the blogosphere, have a signifi cant impact on modern children’s speech.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):29-35
29-35
An experience of creating and using linguistic and cultural materials in Russian as a foreign language (On the example of the “MULTI_Saratov” project)
Abstract
Based on the study conducted by the Department of the Russian Language, Speech Communication and Russian as a Foreign Language, Saratov State University, the possibilities of using linguistic and cultural video materials in the practical aspect of teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) are revealed. It is noted that the regional and local materials provide students’ immersion in the cultural and historical environment and facilitate the process of their adaptation. The authors describe the stages of the project implementation, which include: conducting a course of offl ine and online excursions with the themes of the historical and cultural past of Saratov; creating small video clips adapted for foreign students based on these tours; designing worksheets accompanying each video. When describing the process of creating videos, special attention is paid to ways of adapting the material for students whose Russian is at the B1 level. The choice of the level is due to the fact that B1 is required for admission to Russian universities for undergraduate programs. The article also discusses the principles of developing worksheets containing transcripts of videos, lexical and grammatical information, as well as tasks for its consolidation. The authors believe that such a training kit, fi rstly, introduces students to the history and culture of Saratov, and, secondly, it promotes the formation and development of communicative competence.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):36-41
36-41
The linguistic and cultural aspects of color meanings in the language picture of the world (Based on the material of English and Russian languages)
Abstract
The study of the color picture of the world is of interest in the linguistic and cultural aspect, since color is one of the most important means of emotional impact on the reader, color meanings express the author’s view of the world, and are also important for constructing a national picture of the world. There are some patterns that link color values in diff erent cultures of the world. It is worth noting that there are diff erences in color symbols in diff erent languages. It depends on the historical past of the people, its geographical location, etc. Despite this, we trace some similarities using examples of phraseological units with elements of color designations. An important factor is that color has a psychophysiological eff ect on a person. In Russian and English, “red” has a positive connotation to a greater extent. This is their common feature, although in both languages there are more or less negative characteristics of this color. The similarity can also be seen in phraseological units with the color component. There are quite a lot of equivalents in both Russian and English. Along with the common symbolic features that still prevail, there are also distinctive features that are associated with Russian and English history and culture.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):42-47
42-47
Russian literary criticism of the 20th century on Moliere’s comedy “The Misanthrope”
Abstract
The article addresses the reception of J.-B. Moliere’s comedy “The Misanthrope” (1666) by the Russian literary critics of the 20th century, refl ected in monographs, academic publications, textbook, articles and the scientifi c apparatus to the complete works of the great French playwright. The reason of this persistent interest to this play is determined by two essential factors: its ambiguity and its infl uence on A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit”. The author of the article traces the transformation of the researchers’ evaluations, ranging from the pre-revolutionary period and up to the latest reviews. It is stated that the reception of “The Misanthrope” can be generally traced back to the ideas of A. N. Veselovsky, the founder of the Russian studies of Moliere. Having been perceived controversially by the closest followers of the scientist, they became ideological in the works of the Soviet researchers of the 1930–1940s, then they were in the focus of attention of the literary critics of the middle of the century and were further developed in the studies of the turn of the 20th – 21st centuries. Addressing “The Misanthrope”, the Russian researchers of the French literature of the 17th century focus on the distinguishing features of the comic, on the biographical basis of the play, on the system of images, prototypes of the main character and the essence of his confl ict with the society. They invariably concentrate on the issue of the author’s viewpoint, and on the question of who Moliere sides with – Alceste or Philinte. The carried-out analysis shows that the research thought has changed from the biographical, social and political interpretation of the comedy “The Misanthrope” to refocusing on ethical issues. It appears that, despite the importance of all of these aspects, clearly signifi cant for the comprehension of the play, a cultural studies approach, characteristic for the French literary studies and based on the most recent studies of the gallant epoch, will facilitate a more sensible perception of the play.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):48-54
48-54
Genre focus in the works by professor T. M. Akimova
Abstract
The article provides the retrospect review of the works by professor T. M. Akimova (Saratov State University). It highlights the researcher’s interest in the poetic character of the folklore and literature genres both on a standalone basis and in their interaction. The existence of this interest is defi ned as the focus of T. N. Akimova’s research based on the review of the work carried out in the fi eld of three types of philology: drama, epos, and lyric poetry, as well as on the appreciation of her work by her colleagues, specialists from other universities, and students. The article considers her contribution to the study of poetic genres of drama, epos, and lyric poetry starting from her fi rst publications and including her last works in the year when she passed away – 1987. The review of her works began with the articles related to her PhD dissertation – folklore drama – which was presented in 1943. In the 1970−1980s, T. M. Akimova focused her research on the folklore character of A. N. Ostrovsky’s plays. Also, a review is presented, covering the author’s works, which demonstrate her contribution to the research of poetics of epic genres: prose (popular tales, the fairytales of Saratov Region, and Pushkins’s fairytales; non-fairytale prose – popular tales about Chapaev and P. P. Bazhov’s tales) and lyrical epics (Russian epic ballades (bylinas) and southern Slavic epic songs). Lyrical poetry is in the focus of Akimova’s study on genre poetics. T. M. Akimova is considered to have made a signifi cant contribution to the study of almost all layers and variations of the lyrical poetry in 1940–1980s. It is confi rmed that experts recognize T. M. Akimova’s particularly prominent contribution to the studying of male poetry. The list of references captures as fully as possible the works of T. M. Akimova on the folklore and literature genre poetics with the dates of their fi rst publications.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):55-61
55-61
A. A. Fet and D. A. Stolypin: A dialogue on the peasants’ land ownership (On the material of unpublished letters)
Abstract
The article presents an analytical review of D. A. Stolypin’s unpublished letters to A. A. Fet, dated back to 1889–1892. The article considers the relationship between the authors, defi nes the reasons for their bonding and further friendly communication. Discussing the issues of agricultural development in Russia is central in Stolypin’s letters to Fet, both correspondents having dedicated opinion articles to these questions. They were likeminded people: they saw the right way of the development of the post-reform Russia in destroying communal ownership of land and creating farmstead establishments, in switching the whole country to the entrepreneurship. Stolypin’s letters to Fet help restore the creative history of the brochure “Agricultural sketches” (1998) written in collaboration. The brochure consists of three articles: two written by Fet (“On the article ‘Family plots of land’” and “The answer to the piece of Vestnik Evropy (European Bulletin)”) and one written by Stolypin (“Some words on the household and economic organization of peasants about A. A. Fet’s article”). The brochure is consolidated by the theme unity – a conversation about the issues of agricultural development in Russia on account of the governmental decree of July 13, 1889, and discussions this decree caused in periodical press. Fet was certain that the laws of life are unalterable, therefore, the obsolete community ownership would be inevitably replaced by partial peasants’ land ownership; this process would be accompanied by the stratifi cation within peasantry into “rich peasants” and “day laborers”, by the increase in the number of rented homesteads and the share of private households. Fet and Stolypin considered this as the only way where the agriculture of Russia would have an opportunity for future economic prosperity.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):62-66
62-66
The symbolism of a spinning top: A sound detail in A. P. Chekhov’s play The Three Sisters
Abstract
The article deals with the study of the sound features of Chekhov’s creative legacy, and in particular, with the analysis and interpretation of the place and role of the sound detail of the spinning top in the play by A. P. Chekhov The Three Sisters, which has not been previously conducted by researchers. The analysis involves stage readings of the drama by major Russian and European directors of the 20–21st centuries – K. S. Stanislavsky, Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, A. V. Efros, P. Stein, E. Nyakroshus, P. N. Fomenko, L. A. Dodin, who show that for most of them the ‘amazing sound’ of the spinning top plays an important symbolic role in Chekhov’s play, and for its interpreters the character of this sound is important – instilling anxiety into the upcoming action, as well as foreshadowing the direction of its development and even the fi nale. The ‘amazing sound’ of the spinning top, according to the concept of parallelism of the fi rst and fourth acts proposed by G. I. Tamarli, is projected onto the sound of the shot that struck Tuzenbach at the end of the play. The conclusions drawn will help future drama directors in theater and cinema to pay more attention to Chekhov’s sound details and see the symbolism in seemingly everyday objects introduced into the plot.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):67-72
67-72
On the infl uence of the novel What is to be done? by N. G. Chernyshevsky on the story Yar by S. A. Yesenin
Abstract
There is evidence of Yesenin’s acquaintance with What is to be done? by Chernyshevsky, which happened during the adolescent years of the future poet, while he was studying at the Spas-Klepikovskaya second-class teacher’s school in 1909–1912. From the novel by a 19th century writer individual plot twists (the “living corpse” line), some stylistic fi ndings and the author’s judgments (about the mystery, the liar, Hamlet) seem to have migrated to the story of the 20th century poet, of course, in a veiled and transformed form. It can also be assumed that one of the moments of Chernyshevsky’s exile was refl ected in a minor character in Yesenin’s story (the city of Vilyuysk and the Vihlyuisky shooter – with the loss of one letter). Meanwhile, any estimations of the infl uence of Chernyshevsky’s poetics on the artistic fabric of Yesenin’s story remain hypothetical, for which reason other possible interpretations of the “dark places” of Yar are given. Yesenin could be attracted by the biographical data of a number of heroes (the city of Ryazan and the Oka river are mentioned) in connection with his own place of birth in the Ryazan region, as well as by an innovative approach to the novel genre (with the inclusion of dreams and the presence of other insertions); the poet himself also introduced many additional elements into Yar – ethnographic descriptions of the wedding and the ritual of plowing around the village against epizootic, folklore quotations from non-ritual songs and funeral lamentation, proverbs and sayings, etc. As a result, the complex compositional and plot structure of Yesenin’s story is quite comparable to the multifaceted nature of Chernyshevsky’s n ovel, with its adventurous line, with many philosophical digressions, with the trips of the heroes (the motive of wandering). Unlike What is to be done?, aimed at the future, Yar depicts everyday life of peasants and traditional festive culture, it is replete with sketches of regional rural life, which eventually has become a valuable ethnographic material.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):73-79
73-79
Alexey Slapovsky’s prose in the perception of Andrey Nemzer
Abstract
A literary critic Andrei Nemzer was one of the fi rst to draw attention to the work of Alexei Slapovsky, a writer inextricably linked with Saratov. Responses to his works have been published in newspapers and “thick” journals since the early 1990s. The list of the main characters of literature, which Nemzer compiled annually, is not complete without the name of the prose writer, and the mass of reviews is ostentatiously apologetic. Despite the fact that biased attention to the writer sparked the indignation of literary critics, Nemzer continued to popularize Slapovsky’s work. The analysis of literary-critical publications allows us to say that, as a rule, the characters of literary works fi gure as the subjects of critical refl ection. The articles feature journalistic conclusions and generalizations. Nemzer’s main message is that readers can fi nd their refl ection in Slapovsky’s characters, a prose writer vital to the new Russia. Nemzer strengthens the authority of the writer, drawing a connection between his works and the works of N. V. Gogol, L. N. Tolstoy, F. M. Dostoevsky, Z. K. Gareev, M. G. Uspensky. Nemzer intentionally deprives the review texts of evaluation. A positive opinion about the writer is not manifested in an open praise the reader is accustomed to. It is implicitly imbedded in the basis of the review and becomes visible at points of emotional tension. The critic often draws attention to the light style of Slapovsky, to his heartfelt attachment to the characters and to the city in which he grew up. For the critic the name of the writer becomes a symbol of hope in people and faith in the future.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):80-85
80-85
Chinese loanwords in the novel Blue Lard by Vladimir Sorokin
Abstract
The article discusses the Chinese loanwords that appear in the novel Blue Lard by Vladimir Sorokin. The novel contains an allegory of the Russian language of the future. Most of the neologisms created by Sorokin in Blue Lard come from foreign words, including an abundance of Chinese loanwords. The author of the article analyzes the Chinese loanwords from the point of view of phonetics and semantics, points out the mistakes in pronunciation in the novel, when Sorokin uses Chinese words or expressions. The analysis also focuses on the aesthetics of the word “Mei guo”, which by pronunciation in Chinese refers to the United States, and the word “Hei long jiang”– as one of the provinces in China, or the Amur River, fl owing through the territory of three countries. Sorokin purposely changes their interpretation at the end of the novel to “beautiful country” and “Black Dragon River” in order to create the normal atmosphere of a dystopian society devoid of geopolitical boundaries. Sorokin introduces the word “dan huang”, which in the novel refers to the pro-China Russians and resembles the Chinese slangs “banana-man” and “egg-man” from the position of transcultural distribution. Moreover, in the course of the research, the author provides a comparison of Chinese loanwords with other foreign-language words used in the novel. By using Chinese loanwords as swear words, Sorokin literally commits linguistic violence. The fi nal conclusion is that Chinese loanwords can be seen as a product of the overlap of cultures, which appear in the Russian-language fi ction text. In addition, the Chinese loanwords with other Chinese elements give the novel a mystical oriental fl avor and an absurd tone.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):86-90
86-90
“We are an association, we are a community, but we are not a school” – to the 100th anniversary of the “Serapion brothers” association
Abstract
This article reviews the materials of a multi-author monograph dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the literary association “Serapion brothers”. This project has united researchers from Saratov, Moscow, St Petersburg, considered to be renowned experts in the history of Russian literature of the 1920–1930s. The research is based on the unique documents from the Serapion brothers’ legacy being introduced into the scientifi c circulation (K. Fedin, Vs. Ivanov, N. Tikhonov, V. Kaverin, I. Gruzdev). The documents are kept in the funds of the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), Literary Museum of the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (The Pushkin House), National Library of Russia (Saint Petersburg), State Museum of K. A. Fedin (Saratov). Their interpretation allows to fi ll the factual gaps in the history of the association and in the biographies of its members, to defi ne the system of creative and interpersonal relationships between them more precisely. The monograph’s intention is unifi ed by the material itself, by the general methodological principles of working with archive materials, by the presence of several recurrent plots, appearing in diff erent articles. Among them there is a plot, rather appropriate for the anniversary edition, about diff erent anniversaries of Serapion brothers, discussions of Eurasianism, of the nature of genre, of the “red Pinkerton”. The issues of censorship and self-censorship, questions of text studies and principles of ego-documents’ publication hold a prominent place on the pages of the monograph. These questions are not only theoretical, they have a rather practical signifi cance in preparing the full texts of K. A. Fedin’s diaries for publication, on which the creative team is working. The monograph itself manifests the implementation of the proclaimed principles, as it is supplemented by wide-ranging reference materials, which off er great opportunities of further research of the literary phenomenon of Serapion brothers.
News of Saratov University. Ser. Philology. 2023;23(1):91-98
91-98