The concepts of «reality» and «statement» in the analysis of modal alternation in Spanish relative subordinate clauses

The article analyzes theoretical works that raise the problem of analyzing the use of the subjunctive mood in subordinate relatives in Spanish based on the concept of «reality». This topic is relevant and widely discussed among Spanish researchers. Earlier, the author has already attempted to study a different concept – the concept of «statement». This concept, based on the hidden semantics of the whole sentence, is applicable to the analysis of subordinate object sentences. The aim of the study is to determine the features of the subjunctive mood use in subordinate relative sentences in the Spanish language, based on the semantic features of the concepts of «statement» and «reality». This article attempts to implement the concept of «statement» in the analysis of subordinate relative clauses. The author concludes that this concept is not always applicable to the analysis of this type of subordinate clauses. However, we cannot completely exclude it from the analysis. The concept of «reality», which is in its own way a consequence of the concept of «statement», helps to explain the modal alternation in subordinate relative clauses. The subjunctive mood indicates the abstractness of the antecedent or the speaker's doubts about the existence of the antecedent in reality. The indicative mood, on the contrary, indicates the reality of the object or the speaker's belief in its existence. The materials of this study raise questions related to the application of concepts within other types of subordinate clauses and in other closely related languages (French).

Comparative and contrastive analysis of French conjunctive expressions «autant que», «d'autant que and d'autant plus que» and their Spanish equivalents

The article is an attempt of a semantic and syntactic analysis of French complex conjunctions autant que, d'autant que and d'autant plus que. The author undertakes to find out which means of conjunction can be regarded as their equivalents in Spanish. The research is based on the data provided by dictionaries and translations of French fiction and press into Spanish. The article defines the grammatical status and lexical meaning of the conjunctions autant que, d'autant que and d'autant plus que and their Spanish equivalents, analyzes the conditions of their functioning in speech, reveals common features and differences in the fields of syntagmatics and paradigmatics. The conjunction autant que can denote a variety of meanings and their shades: comparison, limitation, equivalence, condition, concession. In Spanish it corresponds to tanto como, como, cuanto, hasta donde, según lo que, en lo que, todo lo que and the combination a más po + infinitive, cuando, por mucho que. French verbless constructions containing autant que can be translated by Spanish constructions containing lo que, lo mismo que, el mismo + noun + que, al mismo tiempo. French conjunctions d'autant plus que and d'autant que correspond in Spanish to tanto más cuanto que, tanto más cuanto, tanto más que. These conjunctions serve to indicate additional motivation for the action described in the mainsentence. They introduce subordinate clauses expressing additional reason and operate within constructions consisting of three components: the motivated message, the main reason, and the additional reason.

Parentheses in A. Belyi's poetry and prose

The article examines peculiarities of the use of parentheses in A. Belyi's lyrics and prose. The author describes the main aspects of analysing parentheses in modern linguistics: description of their functional features, their link with the main body of the statement, parentheses as text forming means, time and space organization of the text, realization of the author's irony, means of conveying evaluative information, ways of comparing, metatextual comment, informative actualization, means of creating a dialogue in a fiction text, usage parentheses in particular genres. This study identifies the most characteristic functions of parentheses in A. Belyi's texts, the connection of parentheses with different textual levels and their role in the overall structure of the literary text. Both the most typical and unique functions of parentheses in A. Belyi's works are described in detail. The main functional features of parentheses are defined in terms of space and time organization of the text and the interaction of various informative and subjective speech plans of the text. The article outlines the main aspects of language game within the framework of parentheses, as well as the means of interaction between the parentheses and the main context, presented in the poetry and prose of A. Belyi. The analysis suggests that the most typical functions of the parentheses in A. Belyi's works are detailed portrayal of the character, switching space and time registers, making comparisons, clarification, and conveying emotional and evaluative information.

Classification of interpersonal interaction verbs with semantics of mental influence

The purpose of this article is to describe the verbs of interpersonal interaction with the semantics of mental influence in the English language and to consider the criteria for semantic classification, on the basis of which the selected verbs can be grouped. There is a large number of works devoted to the study of lexico-semantic, pragmatic, morphological and other features of individual subgroups of interpersonal interaction verbs (in particular, compulsion verbs, verbs of speech influence, etc.), however, no attempt has yet been made to identify, study and classify a group of interpersonal interaction verbs with the semantics of mental influence. The material of the study is dictionary definitions from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English and Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, as well as examples from the National British Corpus. The study describes in detail the procedure for selecting verbs of interpersonal interaction with the semantics of mental influence, identifies the features that are integral for this group of verbs, as well as the criteria for semantic classification, on the basis of which the selected verbs were divided into subgroups. Verbs of mental influence have a complex semantic structure. The signs «interpersonal interaction» and «impact on the object» are integral for the studied group of verbs. The sign of intentionality is not integral, but it is included in the semantic structure of most verbs of this group. In addition, the semantic structure of verbs of mental effects shows thatthe classification of verbs in this group may be an indication of the impact on a particular area of the psyche which indicates the correlation of the meanings of mental influence verbs with the findings of modern psychological theory

Traditions of franciscanism and pilgrimage in the life and work of A. Dobrolyubov

The fate and personality of Alexander Dobrolyubov gave rise to a kind of Dobrolyubov myth about the eternal wanderer in the culture of the Russian Silver Age and in many ways unfairly obscured his literary work. The article traces the influence of Francis of Assisi on Dobrolyubov's own life-creating strategy and his contemporaries' perception of him as a «Russian Francis. The author considers the peculiarities of artistic interpretation of the whole complex of motifs associated with the fate and personality of the Italian saint in the last collection of Dobrolyubov's works, From the Book Invisible (1905). The author analyzes the image of the pilgrim, glorification (preaching) of the poor, hermit’s life and the unity of man and wildlife, plants and the elements of nature in the context of teachings of St. Francis and the Russian franciscanism of the modernist era; the features of their modernist reception are traced in Dobrolyubov’s works written after his «departure». On the other hand, the author reveals evidence that the poet implements the individual author's interpretation of the characteristic Russian cultural and historical phenomenon of pilgrimage (real, metaphysical and spiritual), which was reflected, for example, in N. S. Leskov’s works, and philosophically interpreted in science and criticism of the early 20th century (V. Rozanov, N. Berdyaev, etc.). The author suggests that the poet was influenced by an anonymous work of Russian religious literature «A Pilgrim's Confessional Stories to his Spiritual Father». As a result, the author concludes that the poet creates a modern variation of the Franciscan image of the «simple man» and the divine man, possessing the gift of communication with nature, who combines the features of an Italian ascetic preacher with the type of a Russian pilgrim-god-seeker.

Unique information offers as a means of modern communication strategy

The article is devoted to the issue of communication strategy in the mass media and PR-departments in organizations of various orientations. The authors draw attention to the existing practice of similar, repetitive messages that fill the information space. This complicates the perception of information by the public and makes this process boring and uninteresting. As one way of solving the problem, it is proposed to focus on unique information offers in communications. The authors believe that a wide potential audience is not aware of truly unique information offers of the mass media or PR departments of companies and organizations. A unique information offer is lost in the conditions of the growing tradition to consume news information from the social media feed, subscribing to a large number of public pages, unless these offers are made by popular and well-known companies. For instance, the authors of the article study unique information offers made by the media service of a football club in March-June 2020 in the context of the coronavirus crisis and the absence of matches. This is one of the most popular Russian clubs, well-known even to those Russians who are not football fans. Moreover, the authors also examine the unique information offers of a beauty company, with some of them not directly related to their products. As a result, theauthors suggest that it is worth advertising not only products on external resources, but also unique information offers directly.

From subjective perspective to subjective text navigation

This article considers description as a functional and semantic type of speech from the point of view of the receptive-pragmatic paradigm of research. The authors turn to pragmatic syntax in order to reconstruct the receptive space of the speech subject, their cognitive sphere based on pragmatically (connotatively) «charged» signs and to actualize the implicitly expressed meaning of the statement with their help. The methodological basis of the study is the referential analysis, which helps to reconstruct a set of initial situations (referential space), and contextual analysis, through which the pragmatic information and personal meanings belonging to the cognitive sphere of the speech subject (receptive space) are explicated. Special attention is paid to the triadic opposition «figure – micro-context – referential space» – «background – macro-context – receptive space». The conceptual triad «figure – micro-context – referential space» is related to the material world and its representations in the text, and in this respect belongs to the conceptual field of semantic syntax. On the contrary, the conceptual triad «background – macro-context – receptive space» enables to reconstruct the cognitive sphere of the speech subject and its representation in speech, in particular, the attitude of the speech subject to what they see, feel and think, how their ideas about the original (referent) situation develop, and refer to the material sphere and conceptual field of pragmatic syntax. This triadic opposition helps to consider the subjective navigation of the text as a modification of its subjective perspective. Subjective text navigation represents implicit (not clearly expressed) ways of orientation in the cognitive sphere of the speech subject and is designed to direct the reader's attention, their perception of different levels of explicitly and implicitly expressed meanings through pragmatic localizers of the speech subject's discourse intention.

Linguocultural markers of text

The aim of the research is to provide a comprehensive linguocultural characteristic of a folk tale. The research is based on the material of the Irish Fairy and Folk Tales tale anthology, compiled and edited by W. B. Yeats. The research results allow for a suggestion that linguocultural markers are to be found on both ideologic-compositional and speech levels of a text. Thus, the motives of Christian morality form the basis for reciprocal altruism which is the conceptual entity of Irish folk tales. The tale structure is often linear and consists of a short introduction, the main part and the climax turning into a short sharp denouement. Irish folk tales are often a metaphor for the rite of passage. The didactic function of tales consists in demonstrating the possibilities of sin purge through their recognition and repentance. Tales also set social rules and norms. Culture-specific language units encountered in the texts of Irish folk tales belong to different levels of the English language system. The phonetic level reveals such features as metathesis, final consonant reduction, imitation of aspiration, alliteration, wordplay based on homophony, etc. They imitate a peculiar Irish accent and exert some vernacular effect. The lexical level is represented by culture-bound vocabulary including ethnographical terms, anthroponyms and geographical names, both real and invented, various kinds of borrowings from Irish Gaeilge,quotations etc. Some cultural features are exhibited in grammar and text rhythm, chiefly through the use of specific verb forms of Irish English as well as certain correlations of repetition-based rhythmic devices – polysyndeton, diacope, anaphora, epizeuxis, symploce etc. The study of linguocultural text markers gives a comprehensive idea of intra- and extralinguistic characteristics of the tale.

The Russian language functioning outside Russia: specifics of using the «national» type of language

The article examines functioning of the Russian language outside the Russian Federation: the peculiarities of the «national» Russian language in the Republic of Armenia, the concept of this term itself, the significance of using Russian in the media, overlapping national features. The main characteristics of the «national» Russian language outside Russia are considered to be as follows: the language is seen as an «advocate» of necessary national ideas and a real opportunity to transmit national ideas, thoughts, messages and information in a language of international communication. The development of the social institution of the «national language» in the future will largely determine the preservation of national cultural, educational as well as political and economic unity with Russia. We should not forget that professional journalistic activity is, first and foremost, a verbal activity. And the professional culture of journalists depends on how well they master the language. The linguistic features of the Russian-language media in Armenia present a rather broad spectrum of issues possible and relevant for consideration. The national variant is a certain form of adapting the classical literary language to the traditions and cultural values, to the urgent needs of a particular nation, thus becoming a special form of functioning of the language common for the nation.

Sentences with the meaning of irreal condition in K. G. Paustovsky's The Tale of Life

The purpose of the article is to identify and describe structural, semantic and functional features of irreal-conditional complex sentences with the conjunction «если» (if) in the autobiographical Tale of Life by K. G. Paustovsky. In the introduction, the author notes the important role of syntactic units in expressing the author's intention in autobiographical text, and points out the constant scientific interest in studying the functioning of complex subordinate sentences with conditional meaning in texts of different styles in both synchronic and diachronic aspects. The main part of the article defines the irreal condition and notes that a formal indicator of its semantics in a complex sentence is the presence of the form with the particle «бы» (would) in the main and subordinate clauses. Attention is drawn to the complication of the irreal condition meaning with various connotations: desirability, supposition, possibility, concession, comparison, as well as a phatic aspect. Each structural-semantic type of sentences is analyzed in terms of specific semantics, structure, ways of expressing the main sentence parts, and lexical content. The author names the means of strengthening the semantics of the irreal condition, including particles, interjections, exclamatory intonation, etc. The conclusion is made that the use of sentences of this type in an autobiographical text, on the one hand, allows the author to convey the message of the work as accurately as possible, to express his perception of events and the characters' thoughts and intentions. On the other hand, the use of sentences with the conjunction «если» (if) with the meaning of irreal condition, with different semantic connotations, shows the capacity of the modern Russian grammar system, which allows the speaker or writer to convey the finest shades of meaning in portraying objective reality.