Charles Bally’s works laid the basis for the linguistic interpretation of the conceptions of association and associativity and understanding of associative mechanisms with regard to the fundamentals of psychology and systemacy of semantic links in thinking and language. The foundation of the modern theory of associativity is the classification of associations (mnemonic and necessary, close and distant, internal and external) developed by Charles Bally in his works.
In linguo-stylistics the conception of association and associativity are associated with understanding of the psycholinguistic mechanisms of figurative use of language units and the realization of the aesthetic function of a literary language (S.Ya. Yermolenko, A.A. Moisiienko, L.V. Tailor, O. Malenkov, H.M. Siuta).
Among the mechanisms for the formation of linguistic associations are the following factors: objective, social and intellectual experience, dependence on cultural and historical traditions, the gender identity of the speaker, etc. One of them dominates in each specific communicative situation.
Currently known classifications of types of associative links take into account the basic positions of psycholinguistics, and the needs of lexicology and stylistics, etc. General differentiation is carried out: 1) for contiguity, similarity and contrast, 2) according to the scheme “word-stimulus, word-reaction”, 3) according to the type of relationship between the stimulus and the associate).
Deep differentiation of associations according to the type of relationship between stimulus and associate) determines the allocation of several associative types: paradigmatic (food – bread) / syntagmatic (food – consume); thematic (friend – childhood > childhood friend); empirical (associated with the subjective experience of the speaker); social (associated with the social experience of the speaker), etc.
The use of other criteria motivates the allocation of these types of associations: a) audio, visual, adorational, tangential; b) the usual and unexpected; c) direct and indirect, mediated; d) positive and negative; e) cultural, ethnic and author’’s individual.
Understanding the connection between associativity and imagery is a primary issue in the modern literary language theory. Being a basis of concrete and sensual perception of the literary text, associations serve as a basis of creation of character in literature (S.Ya. Yermolenko, L.O. Pustovit, L.O. Stavitska, V.A. Chabanenko).
It is necessary to consider the ideas of Franko’s treatise according to the history of the formation of the associativity theory. In particular, the proposed division of poetic associations by content (“ordinary”, that is, simple, and “linked by force”, that is, complex), remains undeniable.
During the twentieth century the understanding of the mechanisms of implementation of associativity significantly deepened. One of the main subjects of intensive processing was the paradigmatic ordering of words in language and in human memory, the presence of clear mental connections between certain objects, realities on the basis of commonality or adjacency of their individual traits, features, etc. (compare.: spring – green, light, sun, warmth, flowers, feelings). This motivates the associative grouping of words into semantic fields.
From linguo-stylistics point of view the associative-semantic field is a text structure, the model of the functional and stylistic implication of lexical-semantic units. The core of such a field, as a rule, are the keywords – the semantic and estimated coordinates of the entire work.
Another type of lexicon combination, taking into account the associative links between the components, is an associative and imaginative field. It arises on the basis of associative and semantic or lexical and semantic association due to the identity of the denotative properties of linguistic signs, the general tradition of common language and poetic usage. Its center is the most active unit (dominant) – the core component of the series, which organizes the relationship of all other components. Associative-figurative series (lexical-thematic lines) go from this dominant, which work together semantically with the center for associative and creative field.
Associativity is one of the key concepts of modern linguistic style. Terminological functionality of the conception of association and associativity is associated with the activity of cognition of the problems of “language association”, “artistic association”, “associativity and creative work”.
Vulgar Sociologism: The History of the Concept
