Functionality of the synonyms of nuclear lexemes “Pravda (truth) / Verite}” in the Russian and French Literary texts
The goal of this article consists in carrying out a semantic analysis of the synonyms of nuclear lexemes “Pravda (truth)/ Verite” in the Russian and French literary texts. The subject of this research is the semantics of lexemes representing the concept of “Truth” in the Russian and French languages. Very few works in the modern linguistics are dedicated to comparative study of the concept of “Truth” in the Russian and French literary texts, which defines the relevance of this article. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the author is first to examine functionality of the synonyms of nuclear lexemes “Pravda (truth) / Verite” in the Russian and French literary texts, as well as to determine the composition of meanings and dynamics of their development in these lexemes. The article employs the comparative and quantitative methods, semantic analysis, and modeling. In both languages the concept of “Pravda (truth) / Verite” implies such notions as: “Honesty”, ”Fairness”, “Sincerity”, ”Reality”, “Veracity”. The conclusion is made that in the Russian and French literary texts, the linguocultural concept of “Truth” is reflected in its primary meaning – "Honesty”. The distinctive feature is the in the Russian texts it is used as “Veracity”, while in the French – as “Fairness”, which emphasizes the specificity of mentality reflected in the linguistic worldview.