КОНЦЕПТУАЛИЗАЦИЯ ПРОЦЕССОВ ПАМЯТИ В ЕСТЕСТВЕННОМ ЯЗЫКЕ: ЗАБЫВАТЬ И ПОМНИТЬ

Abstract

The paper focuses on representation of memory in Russian, exploring, specifically, its spatial interpretation and semantic types of predicates objectifying mnemonic processes in relation to the time axis: actions, processes and states are distinguished. Special emphasis is on the semantics of the verb помнить (pomnit’) which is interpreted as fundamentally different from its derivatives and its antonymous verb забывать (zabyvat’) . The study is based on the hypothesis-deduction research procedure, an integral part of which is a semantic experiment conducted either in the form of surveys of native speaking respondents or in its online version, namely, in the form of Yandex and Google search requests for word combinations. In the latter case the search engines function as a “collective respondent”. As part of the research methodology, the authors used the explanatory potential of imperative forms to indicate the presence or absence of control feature in the semantics of the action verb, and established restrictions on its realization associated with aspectual opposition in the predicate system. The research allowed for constructing a matrix based on the interaction of semantic features manifested on different levels (taxonomy characteristics as action and state predicates), as well as specifying the status of the verb помнить (pomnit’) as existential-resultative in contrast to its previous linguistic interpretation as a state predicate. The results also include identifying lexical features that refer to the interaction between subjects and the memory space, and tracing the systemic metaphor-based shifts to denoting speech act in a number of memory verbs.