Evolution of the Spanish Relative Construction: Acquisition of National Features

Complex attributive sentences in the Spanish language of the medieval period are characterized by a vague expression of the degree of syntactic subordination. During the XII-XVI centuries there is a process of constant enrichment of meanings and forms of complex attributive sentences. The final formation of the structural organization of a complex attributive sentence ended in the XVII century, in the period of unification and formation of the national Spanish language. Starting from the Old Spanish period, the externally formal homogeneity of models of a complex attributive sentence is disturbed by deep internal complications of semantic connections between the main and subordinate parts. Thus, in the Middle Spanish period, a complex attributive sentence gradually reformatted its structural organization by strengthening the contact position of the nominal center of subordination with the conjunctions and strengthening bilateral links between predicative components, which further contributed to the normalization of the position of the subordinate part. On the other hand, there is an intensive mutual replacement of some conjunctions with others. In the Old Spanish period, the conjunctions bigan to lose their uncoordinated lexical correlation between the correlative word and the supporting noun in the main part. This trend contributed to the consolidation of the structural organization of a complex attributive sentence, which was realized in the early Spanish period.

The Epic Mania: Pound’s Response to E. A. Poe and T. Hulme

The article is devoted to the analysis of a specific component in the post-epic artistic picture of the world contextualized in the genre experiments with epic forms that symbolize the search for new ways to express the substantial unity of the individual with a society. It is important that in «The Poetic Principle» (1850) Poe appeals to the epic tradition and expresses an essential thesis about the paradigm of the epic and the lyrical in precedent texts and mentions a significant lyrical inderpinning in Homer's Iliad. In «A Lecture on Modern Poetry» (1908), Hume posits that the very assumption that in modern poetry there will appear an artist capable of synthesizing all the experience of modern peroson in the form of a great epic is an utter misunderstanding of the tendencies in modern poetry. Both Pound and Yuri Klen consider the creation of a modern epic in the coordinates of the continuum of the national poetic canon. The concept of «return» constitutes an omnipresent aesthetic program of the Pound’s epic. The poetics of repetitions in the Cantos is based on the versification models of the European fixed poetic forms that are extensively represented against the background of new emphases and reformatting of the ancient epic forms, making new their conventions and motives. Creative and receptive aspects of the innovative application of specific features in the epic composition (recurrent historical plots, the νόστος topos) deeply correlate with the artistic form of the modern epic.

Peculiarities of Perception of the Concept Identity in the Chilean Language Picture of World

The article is devoted to the study of the formation of the linguistic picture of the world of Chile, the features of lexical composition and culturally significant vocabulary of the modern Chilean national version of the Spanish language. The fragment of the Chilean national conceptosphere, represented by the concept IDENTITY, and its ethnospecifics is analyzed, the analysis of the main extralingual factors of formation of worldviews of Chileans and historical preconditions of formation of the specified concept in modern Chilean linguistic culture is carried out.

Politics and Morality in the Novel “The Capital” by Robert Menasse

The article illustrates the relationship between politics and morality in the novel «The Capital» written by the famous Austrian writer Robert Menasse, a recipient of the German Book Prize in 2017. The research focuses on the study of the preliminaries for the 50th anniversary of the European Commission, one of the principal bureaucratic institutions of the European Union. The article highlights the anniversary celebration settings in the Department of Culture and Education. It considers different views on the event format in terms of the fundamental provisions of the European Commission with reference to historical memory and internal conflicts within the bureaucracy. The message of the primary slogan of the project “Concentration camps – never again!” is explained, integrating the past (remembrance of Auschwitz, the Holocaust) and the present (the real state of affairs in the European Union) along with a vision of the prospective political establishment of the shared European community. In this respect, some bullet points of the report made by the professor Alois Erhart from Vienna, a think tank member and the author’s alter ego, represent a common view of substantialization of the united Europe based on overcoming contradictions between the European Union policy and the national interests of the member countries. The research examines the peculiarities of the literary space in the «The Capital». It is determined that the complexity and diversity of the work produce a hybrid novel form, incorporating the features of the intellectual prose, essay, political pamphlet, and the thriller. An important aspect, highlighted in the article, involves the issue of fiction, fabrication, factuality in terms of the author-reader game accompanying the process of sense generation and text perception. The connotation of a grotesque image of a pig running through the center of Brussels is examined from different perspectives, both as an artistic device implicated in distinct plot lines, and as a metaphor attributed to the overall state of affairs in the capital of the united Europe.

Ways of Conceptualization German-Language Discourse

The article is devoted to the study of the conceptual picture of German-speaking virtual intercultural reality and the processes of categorization that occur during the confrontation of local inhabitants and foreigners, as well as the definition of concepts objectified in German-language conflict discourse in virtual communication and their verbalization. A theoretical review of modern studies on the actualization of the conceptual system of individuals in linguistic reality in an intercultural context. The processes of categorization and conceptualization of discourse space on the basis of categorical, structural or metaphorical actualization of concepts of intercultural reality are analyzed. It is proposed to divide the concepts verbalized in the analyzed fragments of intercultural conflict discourse into three types: categorical concepts organize the knowledge of subjects about themselves and their environment by dividing and combining the concepts of intercultural discursive space in opposition pairs; structural concepts organize knowledge about the subject according to the structural features of the object through which they are denoted; metaphorical concepts concretize abstract and general ideas with the help of vivid concrete images based on an analogy between two phenomena.

Stereotype of a Profession in the Semantics of an English Conversed Verb

The present article takes a closer look at the semantics of verbs derived by conversion from nouns that denote a professional worker. The aim of the study is to reveal correlation of a conversed verb meaning with a stereotype of a profession. The analysis of lexicographic models of noun and verb meanings and agent-action constructions with a conversed verb in text fragments showed some relevant evidence of such correlation. Firstly, the actions assumed as typical for a profession are profiled by a conversed verb, while the verb is not restricted to a certain professional sphere in its usage. Secondly, the conversion pattern “agent → action” involves a metaphoric transference, as a professional worker named by a base noun is compared to a doer of the action denoted by a conversed verb. As a result, certain stereotypical characteristics related to the behavior of a doer are embedded in the implicational meaning of a conversed verb.

Sense Structure of Modal Units “Probabilmente” (“Probabile”, “Probabilità”) (in the Italian Language)

The article focuses on appropriateness’s of quantifying of information in microtext of functioning of modal units “probabilmente” (“probabile”, “probabilità”) in the Italian language. Modal units probabilmente” (“probabile”, “probabilità”) determine quantifying of information in microtext beeing nucleus and forming modal structures together with joined components. The modal structure is formed by joined components in according to the regularity rules in the pre-nuclear zone (components combined with modal units probabilmente” (“probabile”, “probabilità”) and the near-peripheral zone (components used in the modal sentence with these modal units or in adjacent sentences). The modal units “probabilmente” (“probabile”, “probabilità”) beeing prototypes of the modal meaning of epistemic probability serves as marker of modal evaluation of probability by epistemic vector based on precedent or background knowledge. The sense structure of “probabilmente” (“probabile”, “probabilità”) spread in microtext reflects measuring approach to reality made by subject of modal evaluation. In their pre-nuclear zone are used quantors, approximators, existential predicate, verbs of action semantics “avvenire”, “accadere”, “succedere”, causative connectors. The near periphery zone is characterized by sense relations of associativeness and causality between parts of modal annunciation. In their near periphery zone are used causative connectors of consequence “perché”, “poiché” and mental predicates of point of view “credere”, “supporre”. Verbs of action semantics “avvenire”, “accadere”, “succedere”, “provare”, “argumentare” are combined with verbs of processual mental activity “spiegare”, “capire”. Such parameters of microtext as spread of perceptive, emotive, volitive, evaluative vectors are not determined because there is no explicit contradiction between situational information and precedent or background knowledge of the subject of modal evaluation. The modal units “poco probabile” (“poco probabilmente”, “poca probabilità”) are markers of diminishing of grade of probability by epistemic, volitive and evaluative vector; microtext usually verbalizes partial contradiction between subjective idea and real situation. The using of quantor “poco” in their pre-nuclear zone that determines low grade of epistemic probability make these modal units to be modal structures and causes parameters of microtext to be more determined in comparison with prototypical modal units. In such case volitive and evaluative vectors of microtext are often verbalized and contain binary causal antonymic structures. In the near periphery zone are used lexical units meaning incapacity, fallacy of proofs, unsuccess, uncontrollability, negative evaluation. The modal units “molto probabile” (“molto probabilmente”, “moltа probabilità”) are markers of increasing of grade of probability by epistemic, volitive and evaluative vector; microtext usually verbalizes concordance between subjective idea and real situation. The using of quantor “molto” in their pre-nuclear zone that determines high grade of epistemic probability make these modal units to be modal structures. In such case volitive and evaluative vectors of microtext are often verbalized and contain binary causal complemental structures including information about proofs of modal evaluation of the point of view of probability. In their near periphery zone are used verbs of choose (“scegliere”, “optare”, “preferire”) often in Conditional Mood, lexical units meaning effectiveness and positive evaluation. The volitive vector of microtext beeing verbalized contains information about capability, effectiveness, advisability. The evaluative vector of microtext beeing verbalized contains lexical units of positive evaluation and Conditional Mood. The annunciations with modal units containing high degree of probability express epistemic state of the subject of modal evaluation that approaches to knowledge. The hypothesis introduced in such annunciation has tendency to be proved and is based not on a precedent or background knowledge but on a system of values.

Scientific contribution of professor V. B. Burbelo to the development of Romance philology and Francophonie in Ukraine (To the 70th birthday of V. B. Burbelo)

The article is dedicated to the 70th birthday of V. B. Burbelo, professor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. As a renowned philologist, she has gone a long way from teacher to professor at her alma mater having raised several generations of romance philologists. V. B. Burbelo is remarkable as a professional for serving the ideals of democratic society, culture, education, development of independent Ukraine as a worthy partner of France, Europe and international organisations. Nowadays, she is one of the leading specialists in Romance languages in Ukraine who succeeded in making a valuable contribution to Ukrainian humanitaristics. Her work has received numerous rewards including "Order of Academic Palms" (Knight grade). The article deals with the milestones of her professional journey.