Cognitive dominants of the conceptual sphere in the novel “of human bondage” by W. S. Maugham

Author(s):  
Olga B. Ponomareva ◽  
Valeriya I. Orlova

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the basic concepts that make up the conceptual sphere of the novel “Of Human Bondage” by W. S. Maugham. These concepts act as cognitive dominants of the linguistic consciousness of the protagonist’s linguistic personality in the work under study. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that it is performed within the framework of a new paradigm of linguistics — the cognitive linguistics, which involves the study of mental and linguistic representations of thought processes that occur during the perception of information. Moreover, the novel “Of Human Bondage” by W. S. Maugham has not attracted the attention of linguists-cognitologists previously, which adds to the novelty of this article. In addition, the present study provides a comprehensive description of the basic concepts making up the conceptual sphere of the novel. The linguistic methods of representing various concepts in the analyzed work are determined by the national, personal, cultural, and psychological aspects of Maugham’s thinking. The authors employ a communicative-cognitive methodological analysis proposed by N. S. Bolotnova involving the modeling of textual and intertextual semantic fields of artistic concepts and the analysis of the conceptual sphere of a literary text. The universal concepts RELIGION, LOVE, PASSION, THE MEANING OF LIFE, which constitute the conceptual sphere of the novel by W. S. Maugham “Of Human Bondage”, are analyzed. The main result of the study is that THE MEANING OF LIFE concept is universal, not individual, and it includes other universal concepts, such as RELIGION, LOVE, PASSION, THE MEANING OF LIFE, conceptual metaphors and metonyms, symbols, and other words-associates, which constitute the broad figurative and evaluative periphery of the conceptual sphere of the novel.

Author(s):  
Iana E. ANDREEVA

This article examines the linguistic means of representing the category of everyday life in the novel by G. Sh. Yakhina “Zuleikha opens her eyes” and in its translation into Chinese. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in the anthropology of everyday life, a broad line of research into everyday life. Comparative study of linguistic units, which reveal the essence of everyday human existence, makes it possible to identify lacunar units that are difficult to translate fiction in the context of the Russian-Chinese language pair. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the involvement in the analysis of linguistic methods of conveying the category of everyday life in the aspect of translating a Russian literary text into Chinese. The work used the methods of comparative, component, contextual analysis, the method of linguoculturological commenting. As a result of the study, the lexical-semantic, lexical-stylistic and grammatical lacunar units were identified, which demonstrate linguocultural barriers in the process of translating a text into Chinese. A comparative analysis of the texts was carried out in order to comprehend the lexical and grammatical transformations performed in the process of translation. As a result, the main ways of compensating for the lacunae of everyday life in Russian-Chinese translation were identified: transcription, tracing, descriptive translation, lexical-semantic replacement. In addition, it was found that the study of various options for depicting everyday life in a literary text not only makes it possible to identify lacunar units of everyday life, but also reveals the artistic and philosophical intention of the work.


2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-242
Author(s):  
K. Galiyeva ◽  
◽  
S. Isakova ◽  

The article is devoted to the definition of concept in modern linguistics. Various points of view and definitions of the basic concepts are considered: "concept", "conceptual sphere", "content". The aim of the article is to describe and explain such a complex unit as a concept from the point of view of linguistics. The object of research is studied in its various manifestations, the combination of verbal and nonverbal means of information expression in the conceptual sphere is revealed. the relevance of this topic is due to the need for a detailed consideration of the concept of concept based on the works of prominent scientists and linguists. Researchers treat the concept as a cognitive, psycholinguistic, linguocultural, cultural and linguistic phenomenon. The concept is an umbrella term because it "covers" the subject areas of several scientific fields: primarily cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics.


Author(s):  
Michael Stubbs

Abstract In an influential book on literary linguistics, first published in 1981 and revised in 2007, Geoffrey Leech and his colleague Mick Short discuss linguistic methods of analysing long texts of prose fiction. This article develops their arguments in two ways: (1) by relating them to classic puzzles in the philosophy of science; and (2) by illustrating them with a computer-assisted study of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. This case study shows that software can identify a linguistic feature of the novel which is central to its major themes, but which is unlikely to be consciously noticed by human readers. Quantitative data on the novel show that it contains a large number of negatives. Their function is often to deny something which would normally be expected, and therefore to express the protagonists’ distrust of their own senses in the extraordinary world in which they find themselves.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Nolas ◽  
Matthew Beekman ◽  
Joshua Martin ◽  
Dongli Wang ◽  
Xiunu sophie Lin

AbstractThere are a variety of material systems employing different strategies in an effort to establish a new paradigm for thermoelectric materials performance. One approach is the PGEC, or “phonon-glass electron crystal”, approach were research towards optimization of the electrical properties of very low thermal conductivity materials is key. Other efforts focus on materials that exhibit high power factors via quantum-confinement or nano-scale affects. Still others focus on “engineering” metastable phases that possess properties that are distinct, if not unique, to solid state chemistry. All these approaches are valid and provide a fundamental knowledge base whereby present and future scientific materials discoveries will lead to new technological improvements. This paper focuses on bulk materials, in particular those material systems currently under investigation in the novel materials laboratory at the University of South Florida and the requirements and strategies for their optimization towards improved thermoelectric properties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 227-244
Author(s):  
María Sandra Peña-Cervel ◽  
Andreea Rosca

This paper provides evidence of the fruitfulness of combining analytical categories from Cognitive Linguistics and Critical Discourse Analysis for the analysis of complex literary characterizations. It does so through a detailed study of the “tributes”, i.e. the randomly selected children who have to fight to death in a nationally televised show, in The Hunger Games. The study proves the effectiveness of such categories to provide an analytically accurate picture of the dystopian world depicted in the novel, which is revealed to include a paradoxical element of hope. The type of dehumanization that characterizes the dystopian society of Panem is portrayed through an internally consistent set of ontological metaphors which project negative aspects of lower forms of existence onto people. This selection of metaphors promotes a biased perspective on the poor inhabitants of Panem, while legitimizing the social inequalities the wealthy Capitol works hard to immortalize. However, Katniss undergoes a metamorphosis through her discovery of her own identity, which hints at an emerging female empowerment. This transformation, together with her identification with the Mockingjay, a supernatural being that voices her beliefs and emotions, contributes to disrupting the status quo imposed by the almighty Gamemakers and to purveying a message of optimism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (45) ◽  
pp. 111-121
Author(s):  
Svetozar Poštič

This paper analyses the concept of thrownness and the related notions of immediacy and actuality in a 1961 short science fiction story “Wall of Crystal, Eye of Night” by Algis Budrys. It first defines the concept of thrownness (Geworfenheit), created and coined by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger in his classic book Being and Time, and it explains how this notion can be employed in literary analysis in general and applied to this work in particular. The article then analyses how certain stylistic devices in the short story, namely similes, change of pace and the presentation of an inner conflict in the main character, contribute to the feeling of authenticity. In other words, it attempts to exhibit the means used in a prose work to make it seem more realistic and immediate. Finally, the work also argues that science fiction is in many ways more real than other fictional works. Although it belongs to the genre that has traditionally been denied serious literary merit, the novel view and interpretation of this story aims to disclose new horizons of artistic expression that illuminate human mental and physical frailty and stimulate a valuable inquiry into the meaning of life.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Moniruzzaman ◽  
Safi Ullah

Shazia Omar, a Bangladeshi novelist, depicts the less-known imagery of modern Dhaka in her debut novel “Like a Diamond in the Sky” (2009) where she portrays Bangladesh infected with depression, drug addiction, power-play, corruption and fundamentalism. Deen, the protagonist, is lost in addiction, isolated from his mother and outer world but in love with Maria, aware of the future of Bangladesh and eager to search for the meaning of life. Deen, which literally implies the earthly life in Bangla, is an existentialist who is conscious of himself and the people around him. He is aware of his capacity, limitation, existence and essence. He comments on different orders and institutions that hinder at the path of freedom, and about politicization and islamisation in Bangladesh. Not only Deen but also his widowed mother, his friend AJ, drug peddler Falani, the sergeant of the Police, Deen’s girlfriend Maria- all are conscious of their existence and essence. This novel is about a journey from a dark and aimless world to redemption, to a meaningful life. Omar presents existentialism and existential crisis as noticed in Bangladesh in her novel where almost all characters try to find the meaning of life, though in different ways. Omar says in an interview that the novel “explores their feeling of alienation in the chaotic metropolis of Dhaka city” and her protagonist struggles “to find a spiritual connection”. Before writing this novel, Shazia Omar researched in a rehab in Mumbai, visited slums of    Bangladesh and thus shaded light on the darker and less-discussed imagery of Bangladesh. “Like a Diamond in the Sky” is thoroughly examined in the light of existentialism, developed by Descartes, Kierkegaard, Sartre and Heidegger. This paper analyses how “Like a Diamond in the Sky” represents Bangladeshi existentialism, and existentialists who are conscious of existence and essence. It also discusses the observation, of Omar’s characters projected in the novel, about established orders and institutions and finally, desire for freedom and searching for meaning of life.


2020 ◽  
pp. 56-67
Author(s):  
E.V. Somova ◽  
E.B. Schemeleva

The article focuses on the novel “Pompeii” by Robert Dennis Harris which has been little studied in Russia and presents a new material for further research. The purpose of the research is to identify the originality of spatial images in the novel of the British writer. Basing on the comparative historical and analytical methods, the authors of the article explore the main principles of creating historical narration and the specifics of R.D. Harris’s work with historiographical sources while creating a historical epoch; they identify the features of W. Scott and E.G. Bulver-Lytton. Within the context of the study of the originality of spatial topoi in “Pompeii” the authors use extensively the concept of “topoekphrasis”, introduced by O.A. Kling. It distinguishes the place setting as a protagonist who influences greatly the course of events. While analyzing, the authors make the following conclusions about the national condition of the scene given by using ekphrasis and the correlation of the myth with the actual realities in the modern cultural system which indicate the stereotypical thinking of a person in the postmodern society: the myth of Adam and Eve who found themselves in Paradise, associated in the mind of a European with Capri which represents “unearthly” life; the expansion of the semantic fields after reading the myth of Sodom and Gomorrah which describes the destruction of two biblical cities and is brought closer in the novel to the events associated with the real tragedy in Pompeii, undoubtedly show the similarity of its plot resolution with the modern eschatological myth of the Apocalypse, which tells us about the inevitable death of civilization. The analysis of the mythological paradigm of R.D. Harris’s novel "Pompeii", organized by combination of ekphrasis and topoi, discloses the transformation of the postmodernist writer’s worldview, creating a new metaphysical reality in the historical novel. In addition to the real spatial topoi of the ancient world (forum, aqueduct, temple), the postmodern novel reveals mythological images: a labyrinth associated with the ancient Greek story of Theseus; the underground world of the dead, linked to the myth of Charon. The artistic understanding of the historical process by R.D. Harris allows us to identify the originality of the writer’s historical concept in the context of postmodern literature.


Author(s):  
Bing Wang ◽  
David Paper

This case study documents an organizational change intervention concerning the implementation of a novel information technology at a university-owned research foundation (URF). It evidences the disparate expectations and reactions by key actors toward the change event, marking a mismatch between a new paradigm required by the new technology and existing information technology practices. Drawing upon change management and management information systems (MIS) literature, the authors discuss the perceived change management issues hindering the change process at URF. The discussion is tempered by a theoretical lens that attempts to integrate the literature bases drawn upon in this research. In particular, resistance from in-house IT specialists was observed as the strongest force obstructing the novel IT implementation. This study offers a forum to stimulate both researchers and practitioners to rethink the necessary elements required to enact change, especially with respect to novel IT implementations.


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