Literary Associations in Rhyme Slang: Charles Dickens and His Characters in Rhyme Slang

Abstract

The article aims at describing the literary associations of rhyming slang associated with the name of Charles Dickens, a classic of world literature, whose works were included in the treasury of both English and world literature and who became the most popular English-language writer during his lifetime, to reveal how the work of the eminent writer and unforgettable colorful characters, many of whom have become recognized types in English fiction, are represented in rhyming slang. The topic is examined using rhyming slang samples of containing the names of characters and titles of Charles Dickens's works, selected by a continuous sampling method from authoritative dictionaries of general and rhyming slang. Expressions of rhyming slang that refer to some important work of a writer or are based on the names of some significant characters are cultural items that are reflected in the collective memory of the British and are thus included in the so-called “current background knowledge” and “background knowledge of cultural heritage”. The rhymes contain precedent onyms and reflect the tendency to create new onomastic rhymes built on the names of famous and popular personalities from the world of cinema, pop music, show business, sports, politics, etc. Literary associations have not yet been the subject of special analysis and undoubtedly deserve linguistic and sociocultural description. The author's attention was drawn to the little-studied area, the analysis of which sets a new vector for the study of rhyming slang, which deals with cultural and historical items that are of certain value from the point of view of culture-oriented linguistics, cross-cultural communication and the general study of culture. The results of the study may be of use and interest to specialists developing topics in intercultural communication, linguocultural studies, contrastive linguistics of the English and Russian languages, foreign (English) literature, speech culture and in the practice of teaching English.