Admirative Category with an Assessment of Possibility and Motivation in Russian and Persian Interrogative Sentences

In Russian and Persian, the category of indirect evidentiality points out to some unreliable source of information. The category of admirativity expresses unexpected and new information gained by the speaker. Such interrogative sentences convey combine admirativity with diff erent modal meanings. Foreign students of Russian often fi nd it hard to distinguish these meanings in Russian interrogative sentences. The authors compared Russian and Persian interrogative sentences and the linguistics tools that refl ect the admirative category with an assessment of modal meanings of possibility and motivation. This is the fi rst research of the category of admirativity in the Persian language and the fi rst publication on the comparison of Russian and Persian interrogative sentences, as well as on the relationship between admirativity and modal meanings in Russian and Persian interrogative sentences. The research objective was to perform a comparative analysis of admirativity in Russian and Persian interrogative sentences and to study the situations in which this meaning conveys the surprise of the speaker from the availability or lack of possibility to perform a certain action. In both languages, admirativity can accompany the feeling of motivation in the subject of the speech act. The findings can be useful in teaching Russian as a foreign language.

To the Question of Neuter Gender Toponyms’ Declention Ending on -ovo/-evo, -ino/-yno

The present paper deals with the issue concerning neuter gender toponyms’ declension ending on -ovo/-evo, -ino/-yno in Russian language. Until the 20th century, these place names had been changed in cases steadily; in the middle of the century, a tendency outlined not to decline these toponyms despite the valid rule. The researchers highlight three reasons for distribution of this phenomenon: the professional speech of military men and topographers, the influence of non-Slavic indeclinable neuter gender toponyms, the attempt to eliminate the possible confusion of neuter and masculine nouns that have the same basis. The author estimates the reliability of the reasons that toponyms on -ovo/-evo, -ino/-yno appeared in indeclinable form, determines the possibility of these reasons to influence on deviation from the normative practice and makes an independent research based on available material. The main factor that strongly fastened in practice the non-declension of toponyms on -ovo/-evo, -ino/-yno is the society in which Russian language functioned for the most of 20th century. That was the totalitarian period with its cult of a simple man and orientation on the least educated; this circumstance could not but play in favour for distribution of multiple deviations from the literary norm. In addition, the appearance of numerous toponyms on -ovo/-evo, -ino/-yno formed from the surnames of the communist chiefs (Stalino, Lenino, Kalinino, Ulyanovo, Kuybyshevo, etc.), in indirect cases, created a dangerous analogy with the Soviet leaders, which could contribute in expansion of non-declension.

Electronic Corpus of Linguaculture of the Northern Angara Region: Foundations, Structure, and Application

Linguaculture is a heterogeneous linguacognitive phenomenon that depends on the local area, values, and community, as well as on national and ethno-specifics cultural codes and subcodes of mythology, theology, anthropomorphism, biomorphism, household, commerce, etc. The article introduces the linguacultural corpus of the Northern Angara Region that unites oral and multimedia (polycode) texts of traditional regional linguaculture. The corpus is being developed at the Siberian Federal University and includes empirical material of complex folklore, dialectological, and ethnographic expeditions to Kezhemskiy, Boguchany and Motygino areas. The article describes the basic principles of the corpus, i.e. representativeness, synchronism, and regionality, as well as the thematic, genre, functional, and semantic diversity of oral and polycode texts. Culturally marked oral texts are included in the corpus based on their linguistic and cultural informativeness. The corpus is divided into dialect, folklore, and multimedia subcorpuses of valuable information, which can solve various issues of Russian studies, as well as practical issues of linguacultural ecology. The information search process depends on several parameters: speech and folklore genre, topic, basic concept, and word. The article also contains a comparative analysis with other specialized corpora of oral speech, which revealed prospects for further development and application. The linguacultural corpus of the Northern Angara Region contributes to regional lexicography and other branches of Russian studies, e.g. Siberian linguaculture, language and culture, language and mentality, etc.

Discrediting Strategy in Internet Comments to Publications made by the Mayors of New York and London

This research featured the lingua-personolological aspect of linguistic means and speech techniques connected with the use of discrediting strategy in online comments aimed at discrediting the authorities. The study was based on the methods of continuous sampling and linguistic analysis of official Facebook and Twitter pages of the mayors of New York and London. Lowering proved to be the leading strategy used in comments aimed at discrediting the government. The research revealed the prevailing tactics and techniques of the speech strategy for lowering, e.g. "analysis minus", insult, accusation, etc. Internet users appeared to have an individual style and vocabulary choice that depended on various subjective factors. The comments showed little trust for the government, which makes discrediting the authorities an important contemporary issue.

Basic Signs of the Concepts of Bogatstvo and Wealth in Russian and English Language Pictures of the World

The article compares the motivating signs of the concepts of bogatstvo and wealth based on eleven Russian etymological dictionaries and seven English etymological and four explanatory dictionaries. The author analyzed the words bogatstvo and wealth as the main representatives of the concepts in question and identified their motivating signs. The interpretation relied on the theory of mentality. The Russian concept of bogatstvo appeared to have 15 motivating sings that could be grouped into five blocks: 1) material wealth, 2) allocation of resources, 3) a share of property, 4) spiritual wealth, 5) values. The English concept of wealth demonstrated fourteen motivating signs represented as three blocks: 1) material wealth, 2) values, 3) spiritual wealth.

Denotation Variation Degree of Linguistic Sign: an Experimental Study of Interpretative Activity

This article features the concept of denotation variation degree of the linguistic sign, which remains largely understudied. The research introduced the term "denotation variation degree" and revealed its practical and theoretic significance, both for general linguistics and for particular aspects related to the world denotation variation degree as part of individual interpretation. The objective was to describe the denotation variation degree as high or low based on specific vocabulary. The linguistic experiment included two steps; speakers were given a model situation and asked to interpret a definition. Test results demonstrated a low variation degree at the level of the word and denotation correlation because the denotate component had a low potential for notional plurality. High variation degree appeared in connotative and associational word components with a higher potential for the different notional variants.

Codes of Modern Written Communication: Acoustic-Auditory vs. Manual-Visual

The article introduces the semiotic, cognitive, and technical aspects of the most important trends in the modern written communication, which arise as a result of the competition between acoustic-auditory and manual-visual codes. The author believes that Russian education has to adapt to the contemporary trends in virtual communication, which requires a preliminary research. The problem is that the integral-systemic presentation of communicative content is developing as a result of the growing share of visual data in various types of communication. The school course of Russian is based on elementary strategies and cannot keep up with these changes. Video-clip unites give the visual-written perception much better holistic possibilities than those of the phono-auditory-written channel. The competition of these two forms of writing is unlikely to displace the weaker opposition member. Chances are that it will redistribute their functions based on the advantages of each form.

Translation Pragmatics of Phonic Expressive Means in English Poetic Texts

Phono-stylistics is a promising research area. Expressive power of a text depends on its phonetic imagery. The research objective was to identify the pragmatic features of phonic expressive means in translations of contemporary English poetry. The methods included a comparative analysis, phono-semantic and phono-stylistic interpretation of the original poems and their translations, and O. N. Tynyanov's law of versification. The method of sound counting developed by E. V. Elkina and L. S. Yudina was used to calculate the frequency of sounds in the context of phono-semantic analysis in the Russian translations. The method of sound counting designed by Tsoi Vi Chuen Thomas was used to calculate the frequency of sounds in the original English texts. The theoretical foundation of the research was formed by the works by M. A. Balash, G. V. Vekshin, Z. S. Dotmurzieva, V. N. Elkina, A. P. Zhuravlev, L. V. Laenko, F. Miko, L. P. Prokofyeva, E. A. Titov, etc. The study featured the phonics and pragmatics of S. Dugdale’s poem Zaitz and its three translations made by E. Tretyakova, A. Shchetinina, and M. Vinogradova, and C. E. Duffy’s Anne Hathaway translated by Yu. Fokina. The author compared the pragmatics of sound imagery in the English originals and their Russian translations. The research made it possible to define the role of sound imagery in the poetic discourse, as well as the relationship between the sound organization of poetic speech and the pragmatic value at the phonographic level. The results can be used in courses of translation, stylistics, and phonetics.

Linguistic Image of a TV Hostess in Chat and Portrait Interviews

The present study featured the image of a TV hostess in such genres as chat interview and portrait interview. The speech genre is a factor that affects the linguistic image of a media personality. The linguistic image explicates various linguistic means used by TV hostesses to achieve the main goal of the speech genre. The research objective was to demonstrate the interrelation between the TV hostess image and the chat / portrait interview speech genres. The study involved the descriptive method, the qualitative and quantitative content analysis, and the discourse analysis. The linguistic image was analyzed at four levels. Each level revealed units that served as markers of the linguistic image of a TV hostess during chat and portrait interviews. The research results can be applied in theoretical and practical courses of media discourse theory, as well as in special courses of media linguistics, linguistic imagology, and communicative genreology. Further research is required to identify the nonverbal means of the image of a TV hostess in these speech genres.

The Anti-Value Concept of Cowardice in Humorous Discourse of Anglo-Saxon Linguistic Culture

The article introduced the anti-value concept of cowardice in the humorous discourse of Anglo-Saxon linguistic culture. This concept is one of the main anti-values of modern Anglo-Saxon linguistic culture; however, it received very little scientific attention. Based on cognitive and axiological analyses, the author identified and analyzed the main characteristics of cowardice in humorous discourse. The analysis involved 50 episodes of stand-up specials and 500 episodes of various sitcoms. The key features of the anti-value concept of cowardice included fear, the level of danger, and the importance of overcoming danger. Other important characteristics of cowardice included immoral actions, avoiding danger, inaction, loss of control over one’s bodily functions, and unreasonable behavior. The fear of death / injury / social disapproval proved to be the main reasons for cowardice. The author also analyzed the gender aspect of the concept. Cowardice appeared to be a typical male feature because humor is often derived from breaking the gender stereotype "a man is stronger / braver than a woman".