Precedent Phenomena As Symbols Of Cultural Identity In Ya Fiction

Abstract

The term ‘precedent phenomena’ (PP) has been widely used to describe verbal representation of cultural and linguistic heritage as well as mindset formation. PP honeycomb all types of discourse – from biblical discourse to everyday one. Contemporary literary discourse is abundant in culture references. Writers of teen books exploit cultural references a lot. In their works names of music artists and musical groups, movies and TV shows, political leaders and military attacks are the code knowledge which is shared by the characters, readers and the author. Proper decoding of the information encoded in the precedent name is able to give insight into teenagers’ beliefs, feelings and values and eventually into the process of identity formation. The authors employed the semantic and conceptual analyses to reveal the role precedent names play in reflection of a teen’s identity. It has been found out that precedent names can be arranged as three-tiered structure which comprises three primary levels: a linguistic level (names, phrases and texts already embedded in other discourses), socio-cultural level (social, historical and cultural events) and pragmatic level (pre-existing knowledge, intents and attitudes). The research has showed that linguistic units regarded as precedent names encapsulate concepts that constitute social and moral imperatives. It has been concluded that ‘Friend or Stranger’ identification, which has a significant meaning in teen fiction, is predominantly represented with the help of precedent names.