Meaningful Research Articles

Text, Discourse, Dicteme, Language Personality as Basic Concepts of Text Linguistics

The study is devoted to the consideration of the terms, which are the most frequently used and significant for the formation of meaning in linguistics. The relevance of the study is, on the one hand, determined by the variety of approaches to their definition and interpretation, and, on the other hand, by the necessity to specify them to facilitate academic communication and linguistic analysis. The purpose of this work is to consider a number of such concepts and substantiate our approach to them and their interpretation. The study uses both general theoretical and linguistic research methods. Particular attention is paid to phenomenological analysis while considering the terms themselves, as well as semantic, categorical-constitutive, positional and pragmatic analysis while studying empirical material. There are considered the concepts of text, discourse, dicteme as a text unit, language personality of an author, or a narrator and a reader/listener. The article analyzes differences between the text and discourse concepts. The work substantiates heuristic potential of a dicteme as a minimum text unit. The dicteme is studied both - from elementary and holistic approaches, as a fractal that forms the space of the whole text according to synergistic laws. The study emphasizes the ideological role of a linguistic personality both at the stages of creation and consumption of a text. There is carried out a linguistic analysis of an English literary text in order to identify denotative and conceptual information in its ideological and aesthetic manifestation in it. The study highlights the role of strong positions of text in the transfer of conceptual information and considers the function of influence in an artistic and media works, which, in the first case, is mainly emotive in nature, and, in the second, manipulative. It underlines the interdependence of the conceptual priorities of the creator and consumer of a media text.

Regelfolgen und Normativität: Ansätze einer transzendentalen Semantik

Wittgenstein's discussion of rule-following can be considered as a part of his criticism of metaphysics: Naturalistic as well as non-naturalistic ontologies fail to present us an adequate explanation of the normative dimension of linguistic behavior. In this paper, we will reconstruct this criticism of metaphysics and show that thereby we gain an important philosophical insight: Wittgenstein's criticism implies that the normativity of language is not a phenomenon that stands in need for an explanation but rather – to the contrary – has to be considered as a primitive, non-reducible condition that we have to presuppose in order to show how linguistic meaning is possible at all. In this sense, the notion of rule-following gives rise to a transcendental semantics.

»Vi ser att [eleven] har behov av särskilt stöd» Om kunskapsbildning och informationshantering i skolans elevutredningar

This study engages with the discursive construction of knowledge in school documents concerning pupils in need of special pedagogical support. In these texts, information from various voices is represented and recontextualized, meaning that images of pupils are negotiated and outlined, and ultimately knowledge about pupils and their learning is constructed discursively. The aim of the study is to investigate practices of knowledge construction in these texts. The data consist of 27 documents written by teachers who teach in lower secondary school (7th–9th grades). Drawing on linguistic discourse analysis, lexico-grammatical features are analyzed from both a qualitative and a quantitative perspective. The study shows how information originating from various voices is managed and framed by linguistic means in qualitatively different ways, and how the framing of information contributes to construction of several kinds of knowledge. In the analysis, five forms of framing are identified, along with six different types of voices. By quantifying the forms of framing as related to various voices, the study maps out the legitimization and delegitimization of various voices via the construction of different kinds of knowledge. Even though information from several voices is represented in the texts, it is primarily information from either the writer him/herself or written sources, such as previous documentation about pupils, that is legitimized by the writer.

A semantic-based methodology for the management of document workflows in e-government: a case study for judicial processes

Trial excessive duration is a common problem in Juridical systems worldwide, even if some countries seem to be more affected by it than others. The European Council has provided metrics and statistics to identify this problem and has pointed out solutions, such as the simplification of norms and the digitization of Juridical procedures. The Italian Telematic Civil Process (TCP) is an example of this digitization effort that has surely positively influenced the duration of Trials, their traceability and general complexity. However, there are still many possible actions that can be taken to simplify the work of Judges and Chancellors, and to support their daily operations in dealing with several Trials at once, and with the consistent number of documents that are involved in them. This paper presents a toolchain and a related methodology for the management of documentation attached to Trials, based on semantic technologies and Natural Language Processing techniques, which will help Judges in faster assessing the situation of each Trial they follow, and will also provide the means to identify potential correlations among different Juridical procedures. The methodology is tested against a case study, i.e. the compensation requests related to road accidents, which has been provided and described by Domain Experts from the Italian Ministry of Justice.

Патриотическая риторика как макростратегия в китайском масс-медийном дискурсе на английском языке

The aim of the study is to identify the regularities of verbal realization of patriotic rhetoric as a macro-strategy in Chinese media in the English language. The paper examines ways of expressing patriotic rhetoric taking into account the multi-variant and multilingual nature of the audience of English-language media information. The scientific novelty of the study is related to posing a problem potentially significant for comparative rhetoric when contrasting the PRC’s patriotic rhetoric in Chinese and in English. The results show that patriotic rhetoric in Chinese media in the English language differs in axiological, conceptual, and cultural specificity. The axiology of argumentative rhetoric is based on historically conditioned civilizational axioms and contemporary ideological concepts of China. The specificity of rhetorical strategies reflects deep civilizational values of collectivism, cyclical time perception, justice as a result of historical changes. The verbal realization of the macro-strategy in English-language Chinese media is influenced by historical and cultural traditions of speech behavior and features of Chinese communicative style. Explicit and implicit rhetorical formulas are realized through linguistic and discursive-pragmatic means.

Analysis of hyperbolised phraseology and its cognitive aspect in media literacy

Relevance. The relevance of this study is motivated by a broad public interest in modern media communications, including the use of linguistic means to implement speech strategies and communicative tactics, maximising the impact on the selected audience, and the limited understanding of the functionality of hyperbole-based phraseological expressions in media discourse. Purpose. The purpose of the presented investigation is to comprehend the leading mechanisms of constructing a language paradigm in cognitive terms, linguistic analysis of stable units of speech as means of emotive-evaluation in text, the definition of the main lexical and semantic means, author's intentions and narrativity in media texts. Methodology. The main method employed is a theoretical approach to the study of media literacy in contemporary society, constructing linguistic templates for the perception of reality and its representation in a cognitive manner. Results. This investigation reveals the basic mechanisms of realization of communicative strategies in the media sphere by means of attracting a wide arsenal of linguistic resources, focusing on the functioning of phraseological units built on hyperbole by the example of the national language code (English and Kazakh). Conclusions. The materials presented in this study will contribute to further in-depth study of the frequency of use of such idioms, the functionality of texts using them and the ethical implementation of communication between author and recipient, to analyse the linguistic resources that can and cannot be used in media contexts, to structure the media field depending on the style and targeting, to establish basic rules and criteria to determine the media literacy of speakers of the national speech code. Keywords: phraseological unit; media communication; critical thinking; information space; phraseme; media field

Способы передачи субъективной модальности при переводе частицы «же» на английский язык

The study aims to identify possible ways of conveying subjective modality when translating the particle ‘же’ into English. This particle is one of the most frequent lexemes in the Russian language. At the same time, it is capable of conveying a number of connotations, which presents a special problem when translating statements containing the particle. The study is original in that it is the first to identify the lexico-grammatical means of the English language that are used to convey the emotive component of the meaning of the particle in translation. As a result of the study, it was found that a wide range of lexico-grammatical means can be used to convey the connotative part of the meaning when translating the particle into English. The choice of the language means used depends on the interpretation of the connotation of the particle in a certain context. The study shows that there is a correlation between the syntactic and grammatical construction of the sentence, its classification according to the purpose of the utterance and the interpretation of the connotation of the particle. Consequently, the translation of the same particle used in narrative, interrogative and imperative sentences requires the application of different English linguistic means. Thus, the result of the study was the identification of ways to convey subjective modality when translating the particle ‘же’ in different types of sentences.

Negative Phrases can Cause a Negative Emotional Assessment: an Empirical Study

Introduction. There are theoretical propositions declaring that negations carry a negative emotional charge. Indirectly, this is confirmed by a number of modern studies. However, it remains unknown whether negations in their most abstract lexical form are capable of causing a negative emotional effect. In the presented study, the negative effect of denial was revealed for the first time. Purpose. Theoretically substantiate the emotional negative effect of negations and empirically identify it by comparing evaluations of negative and affirmative phrases.Materials and methods. In studies related to the topic, it is difficult to differentiate the influence on the emotional assessment of the meaning of the negated concept from the influence of the negative form itself. To identify the negative emotional effect of lexical negations, we asked subjects to evaluate affirmative and negative phrases not only with a pronounced emotional meaning, but also with a neutral one, which allowed us to minimize the influence of the meaning of the phrase. The study involved 87 subjects who rated phrases using two methods: R. Likert’s direct scale assessment and color-mediated assessment (A. M. Etkind’s RCT method).Results. The results showed a high significance of the differences between the negation of the neutral and the assertion of the neutral, negative phrases were indeed evaluated more negatively. An additional comparison of phrases with emotional meaning showed that denial softens the emotional expression of the concept, shifting its assessment closer to the neutral part of the scale.Discussion. Previous studies have shown a connection between a negative response and negative emotional reactions. In our study, it was shown for the first time that even an abstract version of a negative phrase can significantly shift an assessment into the negative spectrum of the emotional scale. These data are consistent with the embodied approach to language analysis, where sensorimotor and emotional reactions underlie the formation of abstract language forms. For the first time, the revealed connection between lexical negation and negative emotional reactions deepens the understanding of one of the most frequent linguistic means.

NEW APPROACHES TO TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE (FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF CREATING AN EXERCISE BOOK “FOUNDATIONS OF WRITTEN TRANSLATION PRACTICE FROM GERMAN INTO RUSSIAN LANGUAGE”)

The paper discusses the conceptual foundations of a modern exercise book designed to train translators working with the most popular German-language genres, which include journalistic discourse, which is represented by extensive corpora of texts. The authors describe the key linguistic problems and factors influencing the quality of written translation from a foreign language into Russian. The most important factors seem to be logical, institutional, economic and social ones. Their totality largely determines the genre structure and belonging of the text to a certain type of discourse. In the course of the analysis of linguistic means and external factors, the authors come to the conclusion that it is necessary to develop a series of exercise books on the theory and practice of translation aimed at solving specific translation problems and developing specific knowledge, skills and abilities to work with foreign cultural content containing ideological and value components, conflictogenic factors, and subject to the influence of ambisemia. To comprehensively solve the problems associated with the preparation of translators, it is proposed to apply a systematic approach that integrates logical, institutional, economic and social factors.

Using British and American аdvertising texts in teaching English to students of a technical University

The article analyzes one of the modern trends in the methodology of teaching foreign languages – the use of combined and text advertising as a means of teaching English at a technical university. Advertising texts contain a wealth of material about cultural realities, reflect the value system of a foreign-speaking society, thus providing access to information about traditions, customs, historical facts and much more. Due to this, they can be used as one of the most effective resources in teaching foreign languages. Such texts can be used in a variety of educational situations for various purposes. Advertising texts are suitable for solving a wide range of methodological problems. The subject of this article is to study the use of advertising texts in foreign language lessons. The following methods were used in the work: descriptive, the method of contextual analysis, elements of component and logical-semantic analysis, the method of field structuring, as well as pedagogical methods. The scientific novelty of the research results is determined by an integrated approach to the study of vocabulary of an advertising text, taking into account its phonetic, grammatical and morphological characteristics. This study defines the role of advertising texts for society at the present time, lists and describes the main components of an effective advertising text, as well as the linguistic means used by advertisers to increase the effectiveness of advertising texts. The article presents examples of lexical, stylistic and grammatical techniques based on the material of American and English advertising texts of popular brands. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using the results obtained in lexical practice, as an educational material in English classes. These materials will help the teacher to diversify and modernize the content of practical English classes at a technical university.

Analysis of temporal and spatial systems in chinese linguoculture (on russian language background).

The present article is dedicated to the concepts of time and space as a fragment of the Russian and Chinese linguistic worldviews. Notions of time are fundamental to any culture and people's worldview, hence in this study, we attempt to "unify" the aspects of Chinese and Russian time and space that we have identified through research. Our research object, as a fragment of the Russian linguistic worldview, is connected with notions of time and space. The subject of our investigation is the linguistic means in which Russian speakers' notions of time are expressed, considered against the backdrop of the Chinese language in lexical, semantic, and grammatical aspects.The aim of the study is to identify and describe the main features of the representation of time in Chinese and Russian languages, as well as to highlight the main differences in the representation of time and space in the Chinese and Russian linguistic worldviews. Structural-semantic, linguacultural, and comparative analysis methods are employed to analyze the conceptual models of time in these two languages. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the attempt to use a spatial model to describe the concept of time in order to identify possible temporal dimensions in language, as well as in attempting to interpret and generalize the notions of time from the perspective of the cognitive perception of Chinese language speakers. The theoretical significance of this article lies in the endeavor to specify the cognitive perception of language speakers through the analysis of historical and cultural origins of time models, as well as in generalizing some regularities of time expression in modern languages. Studying the fundamental concept of time and space models contributes to the further development of cognitive models, translation, teaching Russian and Chinese as foreign languages etc.

Феномен коммуникативной демонстративности в современном дискурсе

This article is devoted to the problem of communicative demonstrativeness in the speech of a modern person. The purpose of the work is to identify and describe the leading features of the communicative category of demonstrativeness as a new phenomenon of modern discourse that has emerged as a result of socio-cultural evolution. As a result of the study, it is established that communicative demonstrativeness is an actual universal norm of interaction, which is the communicative tonality that structures the process of verbal communication and performs the function of self-manifestation and means of emotional influence on the addressee. Demonstrativeness is considered as a universal component of the sign, objectifying and conveying a certain meaning. Communicative demonstrativeness is actualized at all language levels and is implemented in speech products through the use of various linguistic and non-linguistic means. It is found that the leading means of expression of this communicative category are explicit semantic means, peripheral — lexico-grammatical means and paralinguistic signs. Its main types are positive and negative varieties. Communicative demonstrativeness is manifested in all circumstances of communication within the framework of socially communicative spheres. Being a form of mental reflection of reality, demonstrativeness determines the national communicative behavior of an individual people and the standards of the global communicative space.

LINGUOCULTUROLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MEMORABLE ANTROPONYMS IN KARAKALPAK FOLKLORE

In this article the discussed question is the present day status of the language, as well as the role of deep onomastic research into its folk art on the way of development, specitically, there is discussion about human names used in karakalpak folklore, which made a huge impact on centuries old traditions of name giving among karakalpak people. The article is devoted to the study of the linguistic and culturological meanings of common names in Karakalpak folklore. The author argues that they are carriers of information about the history, culture, life, psychology of the people.

Structural, grammatical and linguocultural aspects of the meteorolexeme "halun" in the Mongolian languages

The article analyzes the meteorological vocabulary in the Mongolian languages, which characterizes hot weather. The linguistic means of expressing hot weather in the worldview of the Mongolian peoples can be represented as integral and consistent natural phenomena that are systematically used by traditional speakers in direct, figurative, comparative, evaluative and metaphorical meanings. The object of the study is nominative units (words, phrases, phraseological units) in Mongolian languages that characterize hot weather. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the compatibility of the "halun" meteorological system. The bearers of a nomadic civilization are directly dependent on the natural and climatic features that determined the state of nomadic management, orientation and location of a person in nature and society. The relations of nature, man and the animal world, reflected in the ethnic consciousness of native speakers, had their own systemically categorical forms of expression in linguistic pictures of the world. For the Mongolian peoples, in addition to universal verbal forms of expression of these relations, the whole variety of linguistic and cultural approaches was used to express figuratively comparative and evaluative aesthetic means of language. This article uses a descriptive method, a comparative method, a method of linguistic and cultural analysis of lexical units. In the linguistic picture of the world of a traditional native speaker, the halun lexeme "heat, depending on the temperature regime, can denote different degrees of heat manifestation: from ordinary heat to incredible, exhausting heat, affecting the physical condition of a person. As examples, the author uses Mongolian lexicographic sources, texts of artistic and folklore works, in which lexemes denoting hot weather were analyzed from meteorological vocabulary. Meteorological vocabulary characterizing hot weather is considered in the article from the point of view of their composition, semantics, morphological-syntactic and lexico-semantic method of education. The peculiarity of artistic and folklore texts makes it possible to consider a specific lexeme in its various combinations, which makes it possible to fully reveal the features of the semantic structure of the word. In this aspect, meteorological names characterizing hot weather in the Kalmyk language are considered and systematized for the first time.

The genre diversity of A.P. Chekhov's work and his vision of reality

The author examines the genre diversity of A.P. Chekhov's literary work. It is noted that Chekhov's works have an acute social orientation, pronounced psychologism, and a subtle artistic description of the literary characters. It is said that an interested reader can observe a deep insight into everyday reality, while experiencing a sense of inevitability of fundamental changes in society. Attention is paid to the speech features of Chekhov's characters, which allow us to accurately characterize their natural essence in a sufficiently capacious form. At the same time, the importance of using the innovative subtext in the works of Anton Chekhov, the linguistic means of character behavior, is fixed, taking into account the fact that the text and the subtext are separated and often contradict each other. It is stated that the bright artistic talent of A.P. Chekhov demonstrated the power of typicality, which allowed the images of his many literary creations to become household names. In addition, the features of Anton Chekhov's dramaturgy, his depiction of real life on the stage, and a detailed description of everyday life are outlined. It is said about the reception of Chekhov's dramatic works by modern domestic and foreign masters of culture. It is concluded that the demand for individual author's receptions of Chekhov's intertext in modern drama certainly confirms the relevance of his works to date. It is emphasized that this is due to the socio-philosophical nature of theatrical productions that touch on moral issues of human existence, since Chekhov's desire for the truth of life and the truth of everyday life creates prerequisites for increased interest in them at all times. A common thread is the idea that the prose and drama of the creator formed the conditions for the further development of realistic traditions in world literature.

Failures of Mind and Meaning

ABSTRACT: The essay, by a philosophical scrutiny of certain failures of mind and language, explores the sense in which human intentionality is fundamentally normative and why the very sense in which that is so does not hold of linguistic meaning, which is not susceptible to such failures, despite its close links to human intentions.

Iconic Intuitions about Linguistic Meanings

I identify the nature and the epistemic status of a sub-type of linguistic intuitions that I call iconic intuitions (IIs). The naive speakers are able to detect, through these intuitions, consistent iconic correspondences between linguistic forms and meanings. Firstly, I identify the main features of the linguistic phenomenon detected by IIs: sound symbolism. The correspondences in which it consists are iconic because they are made up of different types of perceived similarities or associations based on similarities between stimuli - one of which is linguistic. Then, I analyze the main alternative philosophical and psychological characterizations of intuitions, and their evidential role, focusing on linguistic intuitions. On these bases, I conclude that intuitions should be conceived as a heterogeneous construct. Secondly, I argue that the IIs are neither beliefs, dispositions to belief, judgments, or intellectual seemings with propositional contents, but rather perceptual seemings. They consist of the ability or sensitivity to detect iconic correspondences or associations. In other words, sound inputs directly “track” the meanings conveyed by them. They are characterized by their peculiar presentational phenomenology and evaluative component. Now, according to the type of content and cognitive processing involved, it would seem convenient to distinguish between the most purely perceptual ones, based on associative processes, and those that also involve accumulated experience, analytical processes, and conceptual manipulation. After reviewing the psycholinguistic experimental literature based on intuitions about sound symbolism, I argue that IIs are first-level intuitions, and as such a reliable source of direct and prima facie evidence about the iconic features in language. Finally, I argue that these IIs offer a privileged “window” to explore the relationships between language and perception (and affection/emotion). I conclude by arguing that this kind of intuition is a non-dispensable input for philosophical reflection and scientific research on language. So, although I vindicate the relevance of intuitions for understanding linguistic meaning, IIs are not of the same kind, nor do they require the same methods for studying them as those that have mainly interested philosophers.

Аргументативное развертывание текста парламентских выступлений на микроуровне (на материале французского языка)

The research aims to identify functional types of semantic dependence within a fragment of the text of parliamentary speeches – the argumentative component. The paper examines the notion of an argumentative component and identifies its main elements. To establish an intentionally determined semantic dependence within this text segment, the notion of an argumentative move (AM) is introduced, which is understood as a functional unit of the addresser’s general communicative strategy and which is aimed at realizing a specific communicative intention. The relations of the functional-semantic connection, updating its argumentative moves, as well as the linguistic means that represent them are described. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that based on the material of the French language, it typologizes the relations of semantic dependence at the micro level of the argumentative construction of the text of parliamentary speeches, taking into account the functional-communicative aspect. As a result of the research, the intentionally determined semantic relations typical for the corpus of texts under study were determined: proper causation (AM ‘causal basis’), nonproper causation (AM ‘argument’), consequence (AM ‘conclusion’), concession (AM ‘insufficient basis’), disjunctiveness (AM ‘expanded alternative’ and AM ‘alternative motivation’), their linguistic markers were identified and systematized.

Формирование принципов научной этики у студентов при изучении иностранного языка

The paper is aimed at analyzing the scientific information security problems when learning a foreign language. It clarifies the definition of personal security, in general, and information security, in particular, in scientific ethics context. The paper considers the communicatively conditioned approaches to mastering the scientific ethics principles by the researchers from the viewpoint of using linguistic means for different citation types and special learning process organization with moral, cognitive and linguistic aspects having been taken to the account. The research emphasizes the information component importance in the process of mastering linguistic disciplines. It describes the scientific ethics development levels with the foreign language means being used in researchers. The paper compares the outcomes of developing the skills in the field of scientific ethics compliance for experimental and controlling students` groups in foreign language classes.

Лингвопрагматическая характеристика аннотаций массовых открытых онлайн-курсов (на материале немецкого языка)

The aim of the research is to provide a linguistic-pragmatic characterization of annotations of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as a type of text. The article analyzes the semantic and linguistic content of the elements comprising MOOC annotations. The scientific novelty of the study lies in offering a comprehensive linguistic characterization of MOOC annotations in the German language for the first time. The research findings establish that MOOC annotations are secondary reproductive texts that provide a recipient with brief information about the content and structure of the primary MOOC text. They are hybrid formations, combining features of academic and popular scientific discourses, as well as techniques typical of advertising and hospitality discourse practices. The substantive structure of MOOC annotations is more diverse than their compositional structure. Not all content components are strictly tied to specific compositional elements; they may be repeated in different variations within the same text. The choice of linguistic means in MOOC annotations largely depends on the communication style preferred by the course creators and the intended target audience.