Языковые средства создания образа страны в англоязычном научно-популярном дискурсе (на материале издания “Gerald & Lee Durrell in Russia”)

Abstract

The paper studies the means of linguistic representation of Russia in the book “Gerald & Lee Durrell in Russia” by the famed naturalist G. Durrell. The paper aims at analyzing the position of the author towards Russia and the realia described on the level of content and linguistic means employed in the text. Scientific originality of the study involves identification of the linguistic mechanisms of positive image construction and its dominant features in popular scientific discourse. The analysis has demonstrated that the material under consideration presents a highly positive appraisal of what Gerald & Lee Durrell explored in the vast Russian nature reserves. Evaluative vocabulary is concentrated in such conceptual blocks as “characteristics of the country, flora and fauna”, “profiles of the staff of natural reserves”, “environmental protection”. The material contains the frequently used lexical units that verbalize the semantics of love for the nature and animals, commitment to the cause, the importance of environmental protection, which contributes to the humanization and positivization of the perception of Russia and its people.