Comparative constructions with the multifunctional lexeme ush ‘as; the same as’ as a means of forming figurativeness in Chalkan folklore

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the comparative constructions formed by the lexeme ush in the Chalkan language. The lexeme ush is a multifunctional means that is used in different types of syntactic constructions to express similarities both between the characteristics of objects and events. The conceptual and terminological apparatus for the analysis of comparative constructions is discussed with the aim of systematizing their plane of content, as well as the principles of modeling different types of comparative constructions, taking into account all the components necessary to express the comparative relation, regardless of their explicit expression. The relevance of the study is due to the appeal to comparison as one of the nuclear means of forming figurativeness. Comparative relations are the basis of epithets, metaphors and other expressive means that are actively used in folklore and literary texts to describe characters and events. The material for this paper consists of examples collected by continuous sampling from Chalkan folklore texts. In addition, several surveys were conducted among native speakers of the Chalkan language in cases when it was necessary to clarify the specifics of the language material. The main method of analysis used is the method of modeling a sentence as a unit of language, through which the plane of content of a linguistic sign is reconstructed by restoring the components missing in the utterance as the result of reduction, but necessary for the formation of a comparative relation. The following types of comparative constructions with the word ush are identified: polypredicative constructions with verbal and nominal predicates, in which ush marks the second compare (comparative standard), as well as simple and complex sentences with predicative ush, in which it plays the role of a nominal predicate with the semantics of equivalency. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that it is the first to identify the analytical-synthetic type of polypredicative constructions with the postposition ush, in which the main predicative unit represents the first comparee, the dependent predicative unit represents the second comparee, and the lexeme ush functions as a means of expressing equivalent relations between two events. The comparative use of ush is contrasted with that of another Chalkan comparative marker shylap // shchylap // shchynap, as well as cognates of the lexeme ush in other Turkic languages of Southern Siberia, primarily the functionally similar oskhas in the Khakas language, with a number of similarities and differences having been identified.