ТЕКСТООБРАЗУЮЩИЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ КАТЕГОРИИ ОБОБЩЕНИЯ В НАУЧНОМ ПРОИЗВЕДЕНИИ

Abstract

The paper looks into the functional potential of generalization as highlighted in different scientific fields. It has been revealed that generalization plays a very significant role in the theory of cognition, linguistics and science in general. Thus, generalization proves to be an indispensable factor in understanding the world, naming new phenomena and ensuing information interchange. The highly abstract character of generalization has let scholars refer to it as a high-level category, which, as the analysis shows, can be attributed with a metacategorical status. In linguistics the category of generalization, though having a distinct semantic background, can find versatile ways of its formal manifestation, which have been traditionally viewed as a functional-semantic field. The paper suggests that among the conventionally recognized language levels of the field there should be identified the level of text, which is best represented with generalizing utterances – sentences, whose major aim is to recap preceding information and convey it in a condensed form. It has been shown that such utterances can perform a wide range of functions in the text, with text formation being the leading one.