Vol 16, No 3 (2024)

The article examines lexical units being general designations of weeds in Russian dialects of the Perm region. Data from dialect dictionaries of the region were used as research material. The aim was to study the motivational semantics of these lexemes. In the course of research, the motivational characteristics underlying the general names of weeds were identified, motivational models according to which these lexemes are formed were constructed, the general principles of designating weeds in Perm dialects were determined. It has been proven that phytonyms in Perm dialects can have multiple motivations. The study explores the ideas of Russian residents of the region about weeds reflected in dialect phytonyms. The main one is the idea of the uselessness of weeds on the farm (pustaya trava, sornyak, sornaya trava, sor, khlam, dudora, shelobon', batarma, chashcha, durnina, durnotrav'e, durnyak, durman; in this case the semantics often develops according to the model ‘waste, garbage, trash, rubbish’ → ‘weeds’; this is the most frequent semantic-motivational model in the considered group of vocabulary); designations reflecting objective characteristics of plants (features of the structure of the stem and leaves (dubinnik, batozh'e, dudka), properties of weeds (deryuga, deryaga, deryazhka, lipuchaya trava, suvolotka, suvoloka)) are less frequent in the study area and are of a concrete nature (trail along the ground, stick to other objects, etc.); in a single case, the name of a weed reflected ideas about the quality of a person leading to its appearance (bab'ya len', which can be roughly translated as a woman’s laziness; with this method of naming, not only the plants themselves but also this personal quality, through association with the plants, receive a negative cultural assessment). The obtained conclusions testify in favor of the anthropocentric, evaluative, concrete-sensual nature of the dialect speakers’ worldview.

The paper describes lexical units related to the hydrological subjects in Mandelstam’s lyrics. The image of water and its perception by the language speakers and culture bearers occupies an important place in the worldviews, and its study in works of art helps to reveal and broaden the author’s outlook. The paper analyzes the main sources of metaphors; the focus is on the analysis of nouns as the main sources of metaphors with images of water. The material for the study included 120 poems written by Mandelstam in different periods of his creative life. From these, by continuous sampling, were selected 318 contexts containing vocabulary that names water, its properties and forms, etc., as well as objects associated with water, such as ships, vessels, marine animals. In the course of the study, thematic subgroups of such vocabulary in Mandelstam’s poetic works were identified and the qualitative functions of the lexical units of these subgroups were analyzed. The functions of lexical units are understood in the paper as indirect meanings that are expressed associatively in the text and help to reveal the multilayering and the deep meaning behind the author’s image. In the course of the work, lexical subgroups of two levels of hierarchy were determined; it is shown that the functions of lexical units are manifested and specified at the second, lower, level. The most active in Mandelstam’s lyrics are lexemes of the thematic subgroups ‘oceans/seas’, ‘ships’, ‘form’, ‘physiological fluids’. The most frequently realized functions of the vocabulary of the thematic group ‘water’ are the expression of the lyrical hero’s feelings, reference to the instability of the world, and the understanding of water as an element, as primordial chaos. These functions are implemented using the vocabulary of different thematic subgroups, but they are united by the subgroup ‘form’, which is important for Mandelstam and shows the opposition between order and chaos. The vocabulary of each thematic subgroup usually performs several functions at once, while at the same time each function can be expressed by vocabulary of several subgroups. Thus, there is formed a network of interrelations of the thematic subgroups and the functions of their lexical units, which characterizes a single system of images related to the vocabulary of the thematic group ‘water’.

Among various values, the concept ‘courtesy’ has been studied by Chinese scholars since ancient times and is considered one of the important traditional values of China. The purpose of the study is to reveal the value characteristics in the meaning of the lexeme COURTESY based on the interpretation by Chinese informants, as well as to determine the influence of social strata on the understanding of this moral and ethical lexeme in the minds of students. The research material includes 43 semantic components obtained as a result of a linguistic experiment with 32 Chinese informants. The sample of informants is balanced according to the strata ‘education level’, ‘specialty’, and ‘gender’. The article uses the method of component analysis and the method of constructing the semantic structure of a lexeme. Based on the analysis, the authors come to a conclusion that in the linguistic consciousness of Chinese students, courtesy is a respectful attitude toward people, which is considered an expression of the culture of behavior and etiquette. At the same time, an analysis of the material from the perspective of social strata reveals differences in the understanding of the lexeme COURTESY in the group consciousness of informants: both Bachelor’s and Master’s students note courtesy traits such as sensitivity and politeness, which also characterize traditional culture, Bachelor’s students do not note the value semantic components self-improvement and good deeds, which are noted in the answers of Master’s students; the group of non-humanities majors is characterized by a more frequent use of semantic components respectful attitude to people, culture of behavior, etiquette, while those studying the humanities are characterized by a high percentage of semantic components deeds favorable to others, sensitivity, self-improvement; women believe that courtesy is an individual trait reflected in good deeds, while men evaluate courtesy through sensitivity and good manners and do not associate it with traditional culture.

The results obtained can be used in the field of semantics, lexicology, and stylistics of the Chinese language, as well as in methodological recommendations for students carrying out research on lexical semantics. In addition, the analysis of the value aspect of the meaning of a lexical unit gives us the opportunity to better understand the national culture of China.

After the conquests of Alexander the Great, many Greeks migrated to the southern regions of Asia Minor, including Lycia, Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia. They brought along their cultural traditions, which gradually merged over several centuries with the most enduring aspects of the indigenous culture. The ancient Greek language completely supplanted the Lycian, Pisidian, and other Anatolian languages. Education followed the established Greek canons, with Homer’s poems serving as primary texts. But, while the ruins of cities that have survived to this day provide an opportunity to gain an idea of the Hellenization of architecture, it is much more difficult to assess the extent to which the Anatolian population was able to familiarize itself with the Greek education system. The author of the article aims to establish the level of familiarity of the inhabitants of southern Asia Minor with the poems of Homer, to determine their personal attitude toward this poet, and argues that only inscriptions found in this region can be the material for such research, namely inscriptions written not in prose, but in hexameter or elegiac distich. Epigraphic material usually stands outside the scope of literary studies. Therefore, the relevance of this work lies not only in the formulation of the research problem but also in the choice of material for research. The article examines in detail four epitaphs. Their text indicates a very close familiarity of their creators with Homer’s poems. But even more sticking is the fact that there were quotations from the Iliad or the Odyssey in these epitaphs, and these quotations served to identify or even self-identify the one to whom these short poems were dedicated. One such quotation even appears in a prose inscription from the Adada city territory. These examples signify that during the Roman Empire, Homer evolved into an undisputed authority for the descendants of the original inhabitants of Anatolia, the same as he had always been for the ancient Greeks themselves.

The article is devoted to a comprehensive study of toponyms presented in the titles of modern German-language novels created at the turn of the 20th-21st centuries. The purpose of the study is to explore the linguo-pragmatic potential of toponyms in the naming of novels. The material of the study included 67 titles containing toponyms. As research methods, we employed structural-semantic, descriptive, taxonomic, and quantitative analysis. A study of the identified units showed that toponyms in the titles of literary texts are used as part of substantive prepositional phrases with a dependent word in the dative case. When giving names to their texts, modern German-speaking novelists mainly use geographical names reflecting the space of Germany. Regional toponyms (astionyms, cononyms) are more often used both with the aim of a detailed and reliable description of urban space at the stage of the reader’s initial acquaintance with the text and as serving the purpose of plot development. A special group is made up of toponyms marking Berlin and its urban space as most significant for the semantic organization of novels of the period in question. The use of the geographical spaces of other countries helps novelists not only to activate the reader's knowledge of the selected foreign-culture locations but also to adjust readers’ expectations, through associations with toponyms, toward particular subjects and perceptions of other cultures. Toponyms in the titles of novels help to convey the general cultural context of works. The results of the analysis allow us to expand the idea of the axiological potential, pragmatics, and functional-and-stylistic features of the use of toponyms in the titles of literary texts written by modern novelists.

The article explores M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin’s fairy tale Dried Vobla, which is traditionally considered as a manifesto against liberalism and philosophy of ‘moderation and accuracy’. According to Vladimir Lenin’s estimation, the main character of the fairy tale represents the cultural and historical context of the ‘small deeds’ theory used by the right Narodniks as well as ‘liberalism betrayals’ of the 1880s.

The author of the paper regards existing estimations as speculative in their nature due to the complexity of the text of the fairy tale: it uses allegories and Aesopian language, has a complicated composition structure. The paper considers the fairy tale as an allegory of the history of the political and literary newspaper Golos (Saint Petersburg, 1863–1884) as well as of the biography of its publisher and editor Andrey Krayevsky. This theory is proved by the closeness of the main character’s views to the policy of the newspaper as well as by the plot of the tale (where the vobla, though firstly being successful, is eventually eaten by ‘slanderers’) that replicates the history of the newspaper (which was a semi-official organ of press of the Loris-Melnikov’s government, closed after the assassination of Alexander II due to the conservative media persecution headed by Mikhail Katkov’s Moskovskie Vedomosti). The historico-philosophical concept of the tale is mainly explained in digressions (which are contextually similar to the writer’s journalist series, mainly Poshehonsky Stories, Unfinished Talks, and Motley Letters, where is discussed the danger of public indifference, the ‘motley man’ (‘weathervane man’), and the features of national sobering, inevitably resulting in a bloodbath. The study of the tale in the cultural and historical context of the time and through the lens of the writer’s journalist series of the 1880s makes it possible to regard the tale not only as ‘condemning’ some certain ideological trends (movements) but also as a complex story covering social, historical, and existentialism problems.

The article analyzes the philosophical aspect of Walker Percy’s novel The Moviegoer, created under the influence of European existentialist ideas. The formal aspects of the text organization were borrowed by the writer from Sartre and Camus, while the idea of the novel was shaped under the influence of Kierkegaard’s and Marcel’s philosophy. The central theme of the novel is the overcoming of despair and discovery of faith as a source of both personal happiness and social well-being. Kierkegaard’s concept of freedom as the necessary basis for spiritual self-realization is contrasted in the novel with Sartre’s atheistic perception of freedom, demonstrating the impossibility of discovering one’s own identity in a godless world. The image of the central character in the novel is consciously based by the writer on Kierkegaard’s philosophical ideas, his interpretation of the main stages of human life, the opposition between faith and despair. But while Kierkegaard’s attention is focused on the act of gaining faith through the irrational leap, Percy is more attracted to the idea of a path that helps the character to move from one spiritual level of existence to another as a result of reflection and deliberate moral choice. This fact demonstrates the affinity between Percy’s and Marcel’s philosophical views. Percy also shares Marcel’s belief that the discovery of God cannot take place prior to the acknowledgement of a human person’s significance. Unlike Kierkegaard, the knight of faith in Percy’s and Marcel’s writings gains both the inner peace of mind and the ability to interact with the outside world quite successfully. The research demonstrates that while Kierkegaard’s ideas largely determine the initial situation in the novel, Marcel’s views eventually turn out to be dominant in Percy’s literary creation.

The article deals with the features of the tragic conflict and the nature of the construction of the discursive-rhetorical structure of Crisante, Rotrou’s first play on a historical plot, while determining the place of this play in the genesis of the French classic tragedy. The main problem is identifying the paradigm of dramatic thinking of classicism, which is understood as the principle of building a conflict picture of the historical world in the tragedy. The structural-semiotic approach is used in the study as the major one: it helps trace the functioning of the sign-semantic structure, the organizing role in which belongs to the absolute meaning – Power (associated with the figure of the ruler, the image of the state, political interest, laws, behavior being determined by official roles, etc.). Despite the archaic features, primarily related to the understanding of the tragic as terrible, bloody (violence, a series of suicides), Rotrou, through turning to the historical theme and highlighting the contradiction between the rational system of the general and individual arbitrariness, raises political issues, thereby opening the way to Corneille’s theater. Among the authors writing for the theater of the first half of the 17th century, Rotrou was one of the first to discover the productivity of dramatizing the problem of power due to the semantically activated image of Rome as an example of ideal statehood and a person included in this order and comprehending himself in relation to it, as well as to make the problem of the ‘Roman’ the driver of a dramatic statement. The crime caused by passion and the retribution for it discursively and rhetorically unfold as the undermining and as subsequent restoration of a reasonably justified order. However, Rotrou could not extend this new principle of tragic conflict to the entire action of the play: the figure of Antiochus, the king of Corinth (acts IV and V), falls out of the historical and political context, explicitly contradicts the heroic semantics of the first three acts, so the finale affirms the triumph of violence, cruelty, and arbitrariness. Rotrou returns to the individual tragedy of passions, determined by the influence of the aesthetics of the 16th-century theater, which assigns everyone the role of victim or executioner. All this indicates the impossibility for Rotrou to create a political tragedy without the influence of Corneille.

The article deals with the problem of identifying the author’s self-manifestation in Old English poetry. The problem of author and authorship is relevant for medieval literature and for Old English epic as well. The author of the article compares the main cases of the use of first-person narration in Old English poems attributed to Caedmon or the so-called ‘school of Caedmon’ (Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan) and Cynewulf or the so-called ‘school of Cynewulf’ (Elene, The Fates of the Apostles, Juliana, etc.). As the borders between these ‘schools’ have not yet been distinctly determined, the article attempts at comparing the poems of both groups. The author of the article sheds fresh light on the widely used comparison of the contents of these poems with a detailed analysis of the episodes with first-person narration. The study of these passages shows the use of traditional oral epic reference to the authority of an oral singer (the ‘I heard’ formula) and that of the written sources (‘as the books say’ formula) in the poems attributed to Caedmon. It is concluded that the so-called Caedmonian poems (poems of the ‘school of Caedmon’) do not possess the fully articulated figure of the narrator. Their implied author does not exactly express his own point of view or present his personality, but mainly gives the narrative thread to the characters. The use of the collective ‘we’ in the epilogue of the poem Exodus is viewed as a rhetorical device of a direct appeal to the audience that is highly characteristic of the Caedmonian poems. The epilogues of the poems attributed to Cynewulf (or the ‘school of Cynewulf’) mainly contain first-person reflections and contemplations. The article proposes that the pronounced presence of the author (i.e., an implied author) in them should be viewed as a marker of the ‘school of Cynewulf’.