VECTORS OF THE DEVELOPMENT

OF PHILOLOGICAL SCIENCES AT THE

MODERN STAGE

Collective monograph

Lviv-Toruń
Liha-Pres
2019
 Reviewers:
dr Adam Wróbel, School of Polish Language and Culture of Cuiavian
University in Wloclawek (Republic of Poland);
mgr Joanna Skiba, Director of the Center for Foreign Languages,
Cuiavian University in Włocławek (Republic of Poland).

Vectors of the development of philological sciences at the modern

stage : collective monograph / N. I. Andreichuk, O. A. Babelyuk, V. D. Bialyk,
M. Yu. Ivanchenko, etc. – Lviv-Toruń : Liha-Pres, 2019. – 296 p.
ISBN 978-966-397-124-7

Liha-Pres is an international publishing house which belongs to

the category „C” according to the classification of Research School
for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment
(SENSE) [isn: 3943, 1705, 1704, 1703, 1702, 1701;
prefixMetCode: 978966397]. Official website – www.sense.nl.

ISBN 978-966-397-124-7 © Liha-Pres, 2019

ii
 CONTENTS

THE DOCTRINE OF SEMIOSIS: NEW TASKS AND

CHALLENGES
Andreichuk N. I. ............................................................................................... 1

STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES OF DETECTIVE STORIES

Babelyuk O. A. ................................................................................................ 21

LEXICAL QUANTOR GENESIS VS LANGUAGE NORM

DYNAMICS
Bialyk V. D. ..................................................................................................... 39

CONCEPT BREAK METAPHORIC ACTUALISATION IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONSCIOUSNESS
Ivanchenko M. Yu. ......................................................................................... 57

MEGATEXT IN ACADEMIC
AND ARTISTIC COMMUNICATION
Kolegaeva I. M. ............................................................................................... 76

DETECTIVE STORIES: FROM CLASSIC

TO POSTMODERN. DEFINITION AND HISTORY
Koliasa O. V. ................................................................................................... 95

GENDER IDENTITY IN A POSTMODERN TEXT:

SCHOLARLY CONCEPT, MEDIA STEREOTYPE,
LITERARY IMAGE
Marchyshyna A. A. ....................................................................................... 114

NARRATOR IN THE ARTISTIC WORLD:

THE COGNITIVE PROJECTIONS
Matsevko-Bekerska L. V. ............................................................................. 134

iii
NATURE OF COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES
AND TACTICS: LINGUISTIC APPROACH
Melko Kh. B. ................................................................................................. 157

COGNITIVE MAPPING IN THE STUDY

OF MENTAL RESOURCE OF THE DISCOURSE
Osovska I. M.................................................................................................. 176

ETHNIC STEREOTYPES IN VERNACULAR

ENGLISH, UKRAINIAN, POLISH AND FRENCH
OF THE XIXth CENTURY
Palchevska O. S. ............................................................................................ 196

INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE
OF THE EVALUATION CATEGORY
Prihodko G. I. ................................................................................................ 214

THE ROLE OF CULTURAL CODES

IN THE CREATING OF IMAGES OF LIFE AND DEATH
IN THE GOTHIC LINGUOCULTURE
Prykhodchenko O. O..................................................................................... 232

CONCEPT GENIUS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

AND SPEECH
Strochenko L. V............................................................................................. 252

LANGUAGE MEANS OF ‘ENVY’ AND ‘BETRAYAL’

CONCEPTUALIZATION: SPHERE OF SOCIALLY
EVALUATING AND EMOTIONAL CONCEPTS
AND THEIR INTERACTION
Tyshchenko O. V. .......................................................................................... 270

iv
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/1-20

THE DOCTRINE OF SEMIOSIS:

NEW TASKS AND CHALLENGES

Andreichuk N. I.

INTRODUCTION
There are three kinds of interest we may take in a thing.
First, we may have a primary interest in it for itself.
Second, we may have a secondary interest in it,
on account of its reactions with other things
Third, we may have a mediatory interest in it,
in so far as it conveys to a mind an idea about a thing
(Charles Pierce)

Semiotics today is quite a broad field with much variety in it. A lot
of existing definitions of semiotics only complement one another, and
in general, the shortest version − the science of signs − is considered to
be sufficient. This laconism, on the one hand, speaks of the
methodological clarity of semiotics, and on the other hand, the
complexity of the object has transformed semiotics into “the science of
sciences”. Already in St. Augustine’s doctrine one can find the
assertion that “All instruction is either about things or about signs; but
things are learnt by means of signs” 1. Today Umberto Eco writes that
the study of the limits and laws of semiotics must begin by determining
whether (a) one means by the term ‘semiotics’ a specific discipline
with its own method and precise object; or whether (b) semiotics is a
field of studies and thus a repertoire of interests that is not as yet
completely unified. In the first case, the researcher ought to propose a
semiotic model deductively which would serve as a parameter on
which to base the inclusion or exclusion of the various studies from the
field of semiotics. If semiotics is a field, then various semiotic studies
would be justified by their very existence: it should be possible to

1
Augustine St. On Christian Doctrine. URL: http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20
Books/Augustine% 20doctrine.pdf P. 9

1
define semiotics inductively by extrapolating from the field of studies a
series of constant tendencies and therefore a unified model 2.
According to Roman Jakobson semiotics “is called to study the
diverse systems of signs and to bring out the problems which result from
a methodical comparison of these varied systems, that is to say, the
general problem of the SIGN: sign as a generic notion with respect to the
particular classes of signs”3. In the opinion of Borys Uspenskyi the
situation in semiotics is very bad because there is no progress: basic
concepts have not been defined and there is no unity of methods 4. Thus,
semioticians need the patience and dedication necessary for working on
foundational aspects, starting with defining the specific domain of
knowledge and the appropriate methodology. And they need to delimit a
research agenda for semiotics above and beyond the speculative5.
In this paper semiotics is defined as the doctrine of semiosis, that is,
of all those processes in which something functions as a sign.
Interpretation of semiotics as a semiosic doctrine implies that the latter
provides theoretical foundations and conceptual instruments to integrate
different approaches to understanding ‘the action of sign’ regardless of
the nature of the latter. So, this doctrine puts together a wide range of
scientific researches in the natural sciences and the humanities and
provides insights into the solution of various problems.
The major part of semiotic research encompasses all means of
signification that are used for the communication of people, animals and
machines. Still there are other conceptualizations of its limits:
(a) semiotics concerns informational systems and informational structures
that represent knowledge, including relationships between language and
other data processing means; (b) semiotic studies are downsized to the
consideration of interpretational and communicational processes through
logical deductions; (c) semiotics should explore exclusively those objects
that make up systems of interpersonal signalling and communication;
(d) only arbitrary conventional system of signification, which are

2
Eco U. A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979. P. 7.
3
Jacobson R. The framework of language. Michigan Studies in the Humanities. № 1.
1980. P. 1.
4
Kull K., Velmezova E. What is the main challenge for contemporary semiotics. Sign
System Studies. 2014. Vol. 42(4). P. 532.
5
Nadin M. Reassessing the foundations of semiotics: Preliminaries. International
Journal of Signs and Semiotic Systems. 2012. Vol. 2(1). P. 28.

2
consciously and intentionally used by people for cognitive and
communicative purposes are recognized as semiotic objects of
examination, and others. Even this very short account demonstrates that
the variety of interests of semioticians can generate a long list of research
objects. The accepted definition of semiotics as the doctrine of semiosis
leads to the idea that the subject of semiotics is not the content of the
processes of communication, but ‘the action of signs’ in all the realms of
natural and social life, where informational processes take place. Within
the entire system of sciences, semiotics performs a meta-task of the
scientific description, which includes: 1) the reference to the objects of
sciences as signs; 2) the use of sign systems for the description of objects;
3) the application of semiotic analysis of objects. Thus, the list of primary
tasks includes the following: 1) to study the nature of codes governing
information transition; 1) to suggest a consolidated semiosic approach to
the description of informational processes, both in nature and society, and
to demonstrate the ontological unity of these processes induced by the use
of codes; 2) to make judgements concerning the laws of semiosis
governing the action of signs in each particular domain; 3) to develop
methodological foundations of research taking into consideration
dimensions of semiosis.

1. The Notion of Semiosis: Levels and Dimensions

The idea that semiotic study actually consists in analyzing the sign’s
action belongs to Charles Sanders Peirce who called this action ‘semiosis’
or ‘semeiosy.’ He uses both forms of the term in his article “Pragmatism”
written in 1907 where he provides the following explanation: “It is
important to understand what I mean by semiosis. All dynamical action,
or action of brute force, physical or psychical, either takes place between
two subjects [whether they react equally upon each other, or one is agent
and the other patient, entirely or partially] or at any rate is a resultant of
such actions between pairs. But by “semiosis” I mean, on the contrary, an
action, or influence, which is, or involves, a cooperation of three subjects,
such as a sign, its object, and its interpretant, this tri-relative influence not
being in any way resolvable into actions between pairs”6.

6
‘Semiosis’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirce's Terms in His Own Words /
Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition. URL: http://www.commens.org/dictionary/
term/semiosis

3
 In the same article Pierce introduces the term ‘semeiosy’ to speak
about the ‘action of sign’ having a ‘triadic character’. Defining
semiosis as the action of the three relata, Pierce emphasizes that signs
acquire more meaning through their own activity and that dynamicity
of semiosis is a crucial feature of this semiotic activity. The word
‘semiosis’ might have been borrowed by Pierce from the Epicurean
philosopher Philodemus of Gadara (ca. 110 – ca. 30 BC) who studied
in the Epicurean school at Athens led by Zeno of Sidon. Philodemus
was involved in the Hellenistic debates over the nature and existence of
the ‘criterion of truth’, which allows us to separate true from doubtful
or false beliefs. This debate, conducted by philosophers and medical
writers, also concerned methods of proof and sign-inference to extend
knowledge beyond our immediate perceptions7. More details on
Epicurean sign-inference in Philodemus can be found in James
Allen’s book8.
According to Pierce, semiosis is an experience everyone has at any
moment of life. To explain this experience we need a special theory
which he calls semiotics, adding that it is another name for logic: “Logic,
in its general sense, is, as I believe I have shown, only another name for
semiotic (σημειωτική), the quasi-necessary, or formal, doctrine of signs”9.
A few years later Pierce specified that: “…the one sole way to success in
logic is to regard it as a science of signs; and I defined it in 1867 as the
theory of the relation of symbols to their objects. Further experience has
convinced me that the best plan is to consider logic as embracing more
than that, and the general theory of signs of all kinds, not merely in their
relation to their objects but in every way. This way of looking upon logic
is the one salvation for the science”10.
No introduction to the Peircean science of signs, however brief, will
fail to mention that the sign is a triadic relation and that it can be defined
as something that stands for something else (its object) for something
third (its interpretant), or alternatively as something that mediates

7
Blank D. Philodemus. URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philodemus/
8
Allen J. Inference from Signs. Ancient Debates about the Nature of Evidence.
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001. P. 194–241.
9
‘Logic’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs Terms in His Own Words /
Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.), New Edition. URL: http://www.commens.org/dictionary/
term/Logic
10
Ibid.

4
between its object and its interpretant. Peirce adopted the term ‘object’
from the XIIIth century scholastic terminology, where ‘objectum’ meant
“a creation of the mind in its reaction with a more or less real something
[…] upon which cognition is directed”11. Pierce differentiates between
sign-action (semiosis) and sign-representamen which is the point of
departure of semiotic inference. This led him to use ‘sign’ when
speaking of the sign in action and ‘representamen’ when analyzing the
constituent elements of semiosis. These constituents are the
representamen, the interpretant and the object, which he calls the
‘Immediate Object’ within semiosis in order to discriminate the object
outside semiosis which he calls the ‘Dynamical Object’: “…every sign
has two objects. It has that object which it represents itself to have, its
Immediate Object, which has no other being than that of being
represented to be, a mere Representative Being, or as the Kantian
logicians used to say a merely Objective Being; and on the other hand
there is the Real Object which has really determined the sign [,] which
I usually call the Dynamical Object, and which alone strictly conforms
to the definition of the Object”12. In letters to Lady Welby (1908) he
uses another term explaining the difference between two objects: “As to
the Object of a Sign, it is to be observed that the Sign not only really is
determined by its Object, – that is, for example, the name Charlemagne
is in correspondence with the historic Emperor who lived in the
IXth century, or the name Othello is fitted to that Moorish general whom
Shakespeare imagined, or the name “the Ghost in Hamlet” is fitted to
that ghost of an ancient King of Denmark that Shakespeare imagined
that Prince Hamlet either imagined or really saw, – but in addition, the
Sign may be said to pose as a representative of its Object, that is,
suggests an Idea of the Object which is distinguishable from the Object
in its own Being. The former I term the Dynamoid Object (for I want the
word “genuine” to express something different); the latter the Immediate
Object (a well-established term of logic.) Each of these may have either
of the three Modalities of Being, the former in itself, the latter in

11
Cit. from: Nöth W. Representation and Reference According to Pierce.
International Journal of Signs and Semiotic Systems. 2011. Vol. 1(2) (July-December).
P. 29–30.
12 ‘Immediate object’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs Terms in His Own
Words / Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition. URL: http://www.commens.org/
dictionary/term/immediate-object

5
representation”13. Thus, Peircean logic assumes that all knowledge is
obtained from triadic sign action of pointing to an external world ‒
however, not to real objects but to semiotic objects as they are
represented by signs which point to our phenomenal world. The
followers of Pierce’s ideas believe that “semiotic logic leads us to a new
methodology, an integrated methodology for inquiry involving the
unification of science and phenomenology” 14.
Following Pierce’s ideas, Charles Morris foresaw the universal
possibility and potential of semiosis for the science of semiotics. He
defines semiosis as “the process in which something functions as a sign”
and explains that it involves three (or four) factors: that which acts as a
sign, that which the sign refers to, and that effect on some interpreter in
virtue of which the thing in question is a sign to that interpreter. These
three components in semiosis he calls, respectively, the ‘sign vehicle’, the
‘designatum’ and the ‘interpretant’; and mentions that the interpreter may
be included as a fourth factor15 .
To describe the process of semiosis, Morris uses a rather vague term
‘mediated-taking-account-of’16. An interpreter mediately takes account of
something and interpretant which is evoked by something functioning as
a sign is explained as ‘taking-account-of-something’. As the notion of
interpretant is the key one for this research, it should be mentioned that
Morris treats this notion differently in different parts of his work: а) “the
effect on some interpreter in virtue of which the thing in question is a sign
to that interpreter”17; b) “a-taking-account-of-something in so far as it is
evoked by something functioning as a sign”18; c) “the habit in virtue of
which sign vehicle can be said to designate certain kinds of objects or
situations; as the method of determining the set of objects the sign in
question designates, it is not itself a member of that set”19; d) “part of the
conduct of the individual”20. One cannot but agree that the interpretation

13
Ibid.
14
Pearson Ch. Theoretical Semiotics and Semiotic Theories. URL:
https://www.academia.edu/13674256/
15
Morris Ch. Foundations of the Theory of Signs. International Encyclopedia of
Unified Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938. Vol. 1. № 2. P. 3.
16
Ibid. P. 4.
17
Ibid. P. 3.
18
Ibid. P. 4.
19
Ibid. P. 34.
20
Ibid. P. 39.

6
of the phrase ‘taking account of’ is behavioristic and not sufficient for a
complete study of semiosis.
Suggesting the dimensions21 of semiosis, which made his theory so
famous, Morris describes dyadic relations between the three correlates:
1) the formal relation of signs to other signs (syntactic dimension);
2) relation of signs to objects that is to what they denote (semantic
dimension); 3) the relation of signs to interpreters (pragmatic
dimension)22. These dimensions may be viewed with certain
reservation23.
The pertinent goal of this research is to substantiate the conviction
that dimensions of semiosis (defined as the action of sign) should be
based primarily on the interpretant which is triadic and presents an
inseparable unity of primary, notional and cultural interpretants (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. The triadic nature of interpretant

Proceeding from the suggested triadic nature of the interpretant, I

will make an attempt to substantiate dimensions of semiosis. This

21
The term ‘dimension’ in this context is not used in its primary meaning of a
measurable extent of a particular kind, such as length, breadth, depth, or height, but is a
synonym of ‘coordinate’ or ‘parameter’. In this paper it is defined as a certain amount of
significant parameters, which are crucial for the existence of an object and can provide its
comprehensive description.
22
Ibid. P. 6.
23
For the detailed revision of Morris’ dimensions see: Андрейчук Н. Рівні та виміри
дії знака. Вісник Львівського університету. Серія філологічна. 2019. Вип. 70.
С. 309–322.

7
substantiation is based on the following convictions: (a) semiosis
generates the interpretant; (b) it is the agency of the sign itself rather than
the agency of an interpreter. The interpretation of the latter can be
regarded as the perception of the meaning exhibited by the sign itself
through the interpretants it generates. Joseph Ransdell argues that
meaning creation and change “is never due solely or primarily to what we
do: man proposes but the sign disposes”24. Thus, the process of semiosis
is self-governing: the sign has a power of generating interpretants.
The dimension of the relation of the interpretant and sign vehicle is
the code dimension of semiosis, since primarily the interpreter perceives
the sign vehicle as a unit of code. Semioticians state that all the
intelligibility depends upon codes, and code in this context is used to
designate a set of systemically organized signs and rules of their
combining. Code dimension does not correspond to syntactic dimension
as defined by Morris. He views syntactics as “the consideration of signs
and sign combinations in so far as they are subject to syntactical rules”25.
His syntactics does not treat qualities of sign vehicles but only their
syntactical relations. This statement was criticized by Curt Ducasse still
in1942, when he wrote that subordination to the rules of signs formation
and transformation were crucial for Morris’ syntactics and whether the
objects formed and transformed were signs beyond those rules was of no
importance26. Code dimension, as suggested in this paper, refers to the
study of the nature of sign vehicles and codes which they belong to.
The second dimension of semiosis is shaped through the relation of
sign vehicle and notional interpretant. The sign vehicle determines
notional interpretant and represents designatum. Terms ‘determination’
and ‘representation’ are used as advanced by Richard Parmentier who,
commenting on Pierce’s ideas on the nature of sign, writes that vector of
representation is directed from the sign and interpretant to the object and
vector of determination – from the object to sign and interpretant, and
these are “two opposed yet interlocking vectors involved in semiosis”27.

24
Ransdell J. Teleology and the Autonomy of the Semiosis Process. URL:
http://www.iupui.edu/~arisbe/menu/library/aboutcsp/ransdell/AUTONOMY.HTM
25
Morris Ch. Foundations of the Theory of Signs. International Encyclopedia of
Unified Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938. Vol. 1. № 2. P. 14.
26
Ducasse C.J. Some Comments on C.W. Morris’s “Foundations on the Theory of
Signs”. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 1942. Vol. 3. № 1. P. 50.
27
Parmentier R. J. Signs in Society. Studies in Semiotic Anthropology. Bloomington
and Indianopolis: Indiana University Press, 1994. P. 4.

8
Knowledge of objects through signs is possible only if these vectors are
brought into proper relations.
Notional interpretant provides the reference of the identified object
to the dynamical object. The suggested definition makes this interpretant
close to ‘concept’ as used in those modern lingual-and-cultural studies
which are directed at the elucidation of the lingual picture of the world.
The researchers in the field proceed from the idea that human
consciousness is unfolded in the meanings of lingual units constructed
through the interaction of mental and sensual components28. In the
semiotic framework, the concept is defined as a synthesizing lingual-and-
mental entity, as a “unit of thought, which is fixed by a language sign for
the purpose of communication”29.
It is claimed in this paper that concept is a component of sign and
correlates with the notional interpretant for the dynamical object. This
makes possible to single out two basic characteristics of the latter:
1) mental nature (is localized in the consciousness and is a mental
projection of an object); 2) affiliation to knowledge as a set of relatively
stable, objective and collective notional interpretants. Since knowledge
turns into information in the process of transference, it is suggested to call
the second dimension of the action of sign the informational dimension
of semiosis.
The third dimension of semiosis is associated with cultural
interpretant reflecting ‘the evaluative ideas’ of interpreters. This
dimension correlates with Morris’ pragmatic rules, but is interpreted in
the broader context: the connection of mentality and culture as a “special
way of organizing and developing life activities”30 and the relationship
with the system of evaluations and values in the mind of the interpreter.
Thus, the triadic nature of the interpretant forms the basis for singling out
three dimensions of semiosis (Fig. 2).

28
Зеленько А.С. Проблеми семасіології в різних лінгвістичних парадигмах.
Лінгвістика. Луганськ: Луганський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка.
2010. № 1 (19). С. 16–26.
29
Попова З.Д., Стернин И.А. Основные черты семантико-когнитивного подхода
к языку // Антология концептов / под. ред. В.И. Карасика, И.А. Стернина. М.: Гнозис,
2007. С. 7–9.
30
Философский энциклопедический словарь / гл. редакция: Л.Ф. Ильичев и др.
М.: Сов. энциклопедия, 1983. Cт. 292.

9
 Thus, semiotics is the study of semiosis, the latter being any process
involving a particular relation between a sign-vehicle, an object, and an
interpretant and possessing code, informational and cultural dimensions.

notional cultural
primary interpretant
interpretant interpretant

perceptive level referential level evaluative level р

informational cultural
code dimension dimension dimensionр

Fig. 2. The potential of interpretant for

defining dimensions of semiosis

2. Dimensions of Semiosis: Guidelines

for Research Tasks in Contemporary Semiotics
Studying the code dimension of semiosis has a great potential for
the development of the meta-theory so far as all sciences have to use sign
systems to represent research results. These systems most commonly are
structurally complex and contain subsystems representing different levels
of analysis.
Semiotics provides a complex web of methodologies suggesting
general principles of sign systems cognizance. Most commonly the point
of departure in a semiotic research is the singling out of a sign system
type and function, the next step being the analysis of the units of this
system. The code is predetermined, on the one hand, by the nature of
signs, and, on the other hand, − the function of the system.
Proceeding from the suggested dimensions of semiosis it seems
logical to suggest three methodological approaches to semiosic research
based on code, informational and cultural dimensions: 1) formal or
codosemiosic approach; 2) cognitive or infosemiosic approach;
3) communicative or sociosemiosic approach (Fig. 3).
The most challenging task of studying the code dimension of
semiosis is to suggest the general typology of signs and sign systems. The

10
latter remains a rather controversial issue of semiotics. Nina
Mechkovskaia rightly affirms that the world of signs and sign systems is
infinitely diverse, and its unity has the nature of the continuum. In order
to present the boundaries, properties and patterns of the existence of this
continuum, it is necessary to consider the different classes of sign systems
and signs in a single system of signs, classify them and establish the
relationship between classes31.

codosemiosic infosemiosic sociosemiosic

informational cultural
code dimension
dimension dimension

nature and
systemic information culture-bound
organization of processing interpretation
sign-vehicles

Fig. 3. Approaches to semiosic research

Proceeding from the nature of sign vehicles we suggest the following

subdivisions:
1) logical-mathematical semiotics which studies artificial
languages of science, especially mathematics and logic, and the
languages of human-machine communication. The latter include
programming languages, operating system languages and database
management. One of the sign systems of this type is the musical notation
with its long history32. Other examples are the language of differential
31
Мечковская Н.Б. Семиотика: Язык. Природа. Культура: курс лекций: учеб.
пособие для студ. филол., лингв. и переводовед. фак. вузов. 2-е изд., испр. М:
Издательский центр «Академия», 2007. C. 95−96.
32
Throughout the entire history of music (from the first attempts of its sign fixation in
ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and ancient Greece), the search for accurate representation of
musical sound in writing has been conducted. The modern five-line notation (the so-called
Kyiv) appeared in Ukraine at the end of the 16th century. It should be noted that the history
of musical notation is not a development from less important to more meaningful, but the
deployment of a number of innovations, the evolutionary process of creation and
modification.

11
and integral calculus created in mathematics (XVII − XVIII cen.), and the
language of mathematical logic (XIX − XX cen.). Languages for human –
machine communication emerged in the forties of the XXth century and
the first languages of this type were sign systems for the description of
computational processes. In 1957 FORTRAN was developed in the USA
and in 1960 ALGOL 60 appeared in Europe. By the end of the XXth
century there were over 500 programming languages;
2) biosemiotics that studies biological semiotic systems. The basic
one of this type is a genetic code − a system for recording hereditary
information in nucleic acid molecules33. In the field of biosemiotics
scholars usually distinguish: endosemiotics − the study of sign systems
inside the body, and zoosemiotics − the study of sign systems in the
animal world;
3) ethnosemiotics deals with sign systems related to the life and
culture of peoples, such as clothes, dances, ceremonies;
4) semiotics of art which studies sign systems that are characteristic
of different types of art: theater, ballet, cinema, painting, architecture, etc.
The peculiarity of diverse forms of the reflection of reality and the
aesthetic principles that are characteristic of different types of art
determine the codes of each art;
5) linguosemiotics, which studies language as a special universal
system of linguistic signs;
6) systems of non-lingual signs which complement or substitute
lingual signs are studied in kinesics (body language) – body motions
such as gestures (including those made by hands, feet, head movements),
shrugs, foot tapping; mimicry – facial expressions and eye movements
such as smiling, squinting, frowning, winking, etc. Eye movements and
eye contact may be treated separately from other facial expressions, in
this case, they are referred to as oculesics; proxemics – use of space to
signal privacy or attraction; haptics – touch; chronemics – use of time,
waiting, pausing; olfactics – smell; paralanguage: a) vocalics – tone of
voice, timbre, volume, speed; b) sound symbols – grunting, mumbling
(e.g. mmm, er, ah, uh-huh); c) silence – pausing, waiting, secrecy;

33
In 1968 Marshall Warren Nirenberg, along with his colleagues, Robert Golly
and Gobind Horan, received the Nobel Prize for deciphering the genetic code and
establishing the mechanism of protein synthesis. This discovery provided fundamentally
new opportunities in the field of the study of hereditary diseases and methods of their
treatment.

12
posture – position of the body, stance; adornment − clothing, jewellery,
hairstyle; locomotion − walking, running, staggering, limping34;
7) signalling, which studies road signs, sea flags, military signs,
coats of arms, flags, etc.;
8) medical semiotics that studies symptoms and syndromes
(characteristic combination of symptoms) that are considered as signs of a
disease in medical diagnosis.
This list differs in different textbooks in semiotics and can be
modified or expanded. For instance, we can add cartosemiotics which
deals with codes used to create maps35 and others.
Thus codosemiosic approach provides a well-grounded methodology
for studying the types of sign systems and the processes in which signs
are handled as well as the contexts in which signs and sign processes are
embedded. As the object of semiosic study is highly complex, different
facets of complexity should be considered and two aspects are relevant
for codosemiotic approach: (1) the expression material, i.e., the stock of
perceivable items from which expressions are selected; (2) sets of rules
which govern the selection of expressions and their assignment to
contents.
The infosemiosic approach (see Fig.3) deals with the second
dimension of semiosis shaped by the relation of sign vehicle and notional
interpretant. The approach is based on the fundamental idea of the unity
of sign components in the process of semiosis, consequently, the notion
of code is inseparable from the notion of information. Sign vehicles are
carriers of information which is determined by their assortement and
arrangement. Maureen McCreadie and Ronald Rice36 review concepts of
information proposed over the last fifty years and the summary of the
concepts they consider allows to indicate that information is defined as:
(1) a stored knowledge; (2) data in the environment; (3) information as
part of the communication process; (4) information as a resource or
commodity. Infosemiosic approach is based on the second definition

34
Detailed description of this system can be found in: Leathers D.G., Eaves M.H.
Successful Nonverbal Communication: Principles and Applications. New York: Routledge,
2017. 436 p.
35
Semiotic Encyclopedia Online. URL: https://semioticon.com/seo/C/
cartosemiotics.html
36
McCreadie M., Rice R.E. Trends in analyzing access to information. Part I: cross-
disciplinary conceptualizations of access. Information Processing and Management. 1999.
Vol. 35 (1). P. 45–76.

13
which states that information can be obtained from a range of
environmental stimuli and phenomena, not all of which are intended to
‘convey’ a message, but which can be informative when appropriately
interpreted. Actually, the action of sign ‘becoming informative’ is the
core of semiosis. According to Pierce “every cognition involves
something represented, or that of which we are conscious, and some
action or passion of the self whereby it becomes represented. The former
shall be termed the objective, the latter − the subjective element of
cognition. The cognition itself is an intuition of its objective element,
which may therefore be called, also, the immediate object”37. Francesco
Belucci claims that it is with notion of immediate object that Peirce
succeeds in establishing, besides the trichotomy of icon, index and
symbol obtained with the dynamic object, a new and different trichotomy
of signs, which would remain a relatively constant item in all his
subsequent taxonomic attempts (1904–1909). This new trichotomy is into
vague signs, singular signs, and general signs, that is, into particular,
singular, and universal propositions38. One of the challenges of
infosemiotic approach is to make an attempt to establish correspondences
between propositions and ‘objective elements of cognition’ and further
develop the classification of signs based on propositions.
Sociosemiotic approach opens up a new orientation of semiotic
studies related to cultural dimension of semiosis. In this paper it is viewed
as a more general notion than social semiotic as suggested by Michael
Halliday in his book “Language as Social Semiotic: The Social
Interpretation of Language and Meaning”39 in 1978. He works
exclusively with lingual codes and treats them as social semiotic resource
used to achieve goals expressing meaning in context. Halliday
differentiates ‘context of situation’ and ‘context of culture’. Cultural
interpretant as treated in this article provides the connection of sign-
vehicles with the systems of evaluations and values irrespective of their
nature and thus correlates with the impact of cultural context on signs.

37
‘Immediate object’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs Terms in His Own
Words / Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition. URL: http://www.commens.org/
dictionary/term/immediate-object
http://www.commens.org/dictionary/term/immediate-object
38
Bellucci F. Exploring Peirce’s speculative grammar: The immediate object of a
sign. Sign Systems Studies. 2015. Vol. 43(4). P. 399–400, 399–418.
39
Halliday M. A. K. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social Interpretation of
Language and Meaning. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1978. 256 p.

14
 The suggested ideas concerning the dimensions of semiosis can be
illustrated describing the Trundholm sun chariot (Danish: Solvognen) – a
Nordic Bronze Age artifact discovered in Denmark. It is a representation
of the sun chariot, a bronze statue of a horse and a large bronze disk,
which are placed on a device with spoked wheels. This artifact is now
kept in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. (Fig.4).
Semiotic description of the artefact was suggested by Tetiana Kozlova 40
but this article suggests an alternative analysis.

Fig. 4. Trundholm sun chariot

Firstly (at the perceptive level), the visitor of the museum establishes
the physical nature of the exhibit: a bronze artifact in the form of a cart
with a disc, gilded on the right side, and a mare that is pulling it.
Codosemiosic approach allows to identify this artifact as belonging to an
artistic code. The primary interpretant of the artistic sign is inseparable
from what may be called the aesthetic dimension of semiosis. Barend van
Heusden claims that an aesthetic experience springs from the pleasure of

40
Козлова Т.О. Іконічність у лексиці індоєвропейської прамови : монографія.
Запоріжжя: Кругозір, 2015. 640 с.

15
solving a problem posed by reality in perception. The aesthetic dimension
of semiosis is related to the overcoming of the contradictions posed in
perception and to the emergence of form through semiosis. Heusden
believes that the form is beautiful only in relation to the semiotic problem
solved by it or through it41. It seems that the aesthetic dimension is a
challenging issue to be discussed in the framework of codosemiosic
approach as the latter deals with our ideas concerning the possible
solution of the form problem including its adequacy and completeness. In
our example, we are interpreting an artistic object, therefore, the task of
fixing the myth of a sunny deity riding through the sky on a chariot can
be considered subordinated to the problem of the sign form.
Secondly (at the reference level), the chariot gets “magic power” by
establishing the connection with the mythical reality. Barend van
Heusden introduces the notion of mythical semiosis, noting that “in
magic semiosis a concrete situation IS recognized, not as the token of a
more general type, but as the reenactment of a concrete being or event.
Reality is not understood as referring to general knowledge, but to a
particular situation which IS happening again and again”. He believes
that recognition is ensured when the reality of perception is separated
from the reality of consciousness (remembered reality) and is as specific
as the reality that we perceive. Thus semiosis is born42. The informational
dimension of semiosis provides the interpretation of the separate
components of the artifact as icons and indexes establishing reference to
the dynamical objects.
Thirdly (at the evaluative level), the interpretation of the sign as an
artistic solar symbol in the space of culture is provided. Cultural
interpretant results in establishing: (a) cultural value of the figure as a
museum exhibit; (b) its value in the context of belonging to Danish
cultural canon; (c) its value from the point of view of symbolic
representation of reality in Bronze Age.

CONCLUSIONS
The doctrine of semiosis promises to be revolutionary because it
concentrates on a new way of thinking about inquiry and problem
41
A Dialogue between Barend van Heusden and Arjo Klamer // The Value of Culture.
On the Relationship between Economics and Arts / Arjo Klamer (ed.). Amsterdam:
Amsterdam University Press, 1996. P. 50.
42
Ibid. P. 48.

16
solving. It was Pierce who concentrated on developing the new
methodology that made him famous as the founder of the “Inquiry
School” of American philosophy. Semiotic study, following Peirce,
actually consists in analysing the sign’s action. Semiosis, Peirce said, is
the name for the action of signs that follows upon their distinctive being,
so “doctrine of semiosis” is the name for the knowledge that results from
the identification and study of that distinctive way of acting (semiosis),
wherever it is to be found.
The interpretation of semiotics as a semiosic doctrine implies that the
latter provides theoretical foundations for studying ‘the action of sign’.
Proceeding from the ideas that: (a) the nature of sign interpretant is
triadic: primary, notional and cultural; and (b) dimensions of semiosis are
to be singled out taking into consideration these three types of
interpretant – it seems possible to suggest three dimensions of semiosis:
code, informational and cultural. Though in the process of semiosis these
dimensions are inseparable, still for research purposes semioticians can
apply three different approaches to the analysis of each: codosemiosic,
infosemiosic and sociosemiosic. These approaches can provide the basis
for solving multiple tasks within the framework of contemporary
semiotics.
Codosemiosic approach serves to establish types of sign systems and
to discover their features, patterns and functions irrespective of the nature
of signs. Infosemiosic approach studies signs as carriers of information
and thus provides the inherently interdisciplinary perspective for creating
a more systemic image of semiotic instruments for conceptualizing
boundaries of research objects. Sociosemiosic approach can provide more
elaborate analysis in the context of a larger whole − culture research. The
three suggested approaches can shape the general doctrine of semiosis
and enhance methodological and practical value of semiotics.

SUMMARY
This paper attempts to explore the potential of some ideas on
semiosis for the development of semiotic theory. Proceeding from the
conviction that semiotic study, following Peirce, actually consists in
analyzing the sign’s action, i.e. semiosis, the author claims that the
starting point for determining dimensions of semiosis is the interpretant −
the integral element of sign and the outset of semiotic inference. The
triadic nature of interpretant is substantiated and three types of

17
interpretants ‒ primary, notional and cultural ‒ are singled out. It is
brought to light that each type of the interpretant “works” on a different
level of semiosis: perceptive, informational and evaluative,
correspondingly. The correlation of interpretants and levels of semiosis is
extended to establishing relations between interpretants and objects. The
analysis of these relations on different levels leads to the substantiation of
three dimensions of semiosis: code, informational, and cultural that can
be studied applying codosemiosic, infosemiosic and sociosemiosis
approaches.

REFERENCES
1. ‘Immediate object’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs
Terms in His Own Words / Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition.
URL: http://www.commens.org/dictionary/term/immediate-object
2. ‘Logic’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs Terms in
His Own Words / Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition. URL:
http://www.commens.org/dictionary/term/Logic
3. ‘Semiosis’. Term in The Commens Dictionary: Peirceʼs Terms in
His Own Words / Bergman M., Paavola S. (Eds.). New Edition. URL:
http://www.commens.org/dictionary/term/semiosis
4. A Dialogue between Barend van Heusden and Arjo Klamer // The
Value of Culture. On the Relationship between Economics and Arts / Arjo
Klamer (ed.). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 1996. 243 p.
5. Allen J. Inference from Signs. Ancient Debates about the Nature
of Evidence. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001. P.194–241.
6. Augustine St. On Christian Doctrine. URL:
http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/Augustine% 20doctrine.pdf P.9
7. Bellucci F. Exploring Peirce’s speculative grammar: The
immediate object of a sign. Sign Systems Studies. 2015. Vol. 43(4).
P. 399–418.
8. Blank D. Philodemus. URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
philodemus/
9. Ducasse C.J. Some Comments on C. W. Morris’s “Foundations
on the Theory of Signs”. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research.
Vol. 3, № 1 (Sep. 1942). P. 43–52.
10. Eco U. A Theory of Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1979. 354 p.

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 11. Halliday M.A.K. Language as Social Semiotic: The Social
Interpretation of Language and Meaning. Baltimore: University Park
Press, 1978. 256 p.
12. Jacobson R. The framework of language. Michigan Studies in the
Humanities. № 1. 1980. 132 p.
13. Kull K., Velmezova E. What is the main challenge for
contemporary semiotics. Sign System Studies 2014. Vol. 42(4).
P. 530–548.
14. Leathers D.G., Eaves M.H. Successful Nonverbal Commu-
nication: Principles and Applications. New York: Routledge, 2017. 436 p.
15. McCreadie M., Rice R.E. Trends in analyzing access to
information. Part I: cross-disciplinary conceptualizations of access.
Information Processing and Management. 1999. Vol. 35 (1). P. 45–76.
16. Morris Ch. Foundations of the Theory of Signs. International
Encyclopedia of Unified Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1938. Vol. 1. № 2. P. 1–59.
17. Nadin M. Reassessing the foundations of semiotics: Preli-
minaries. International Journal of Signs and Semiotic Systems. 2012.
Vol. 2(1). P. 1–31.
18. Nöth W. Representation and Reference According to Pierce.
International Journal of Signs and Semiotic Systems. 2011. Vol. 1(2)
(July-December). P. 29–30.
19. Parmentier R.J. Signs in Society. Studies in Semiotic
Anthropology. Bloomington and Indianopolis: Indiana University Press,
1994. 234 p.
20. Pearson Ch. Theoretical Semiotics and Semiotic Theories. URL:
https://www.academia.edu/13674256/Theoretical_Semiotics_and_Semiot
ic_Theories
21. Ransdell J. Teleology and the Autonomy of the Semiosis Process.
URL: http://www.iupui.edu/~arisbe/menu/library/aboutcsp/
ransdell/AUTONOMY.HTM
22. Semiotic Encyclopedia Online. URL: https://semioticon.com/seo/
C/cartosemiotics.html
23. Андрейчук Н. Рівні та виміри дії знака. Вісник Львівського
університету. Серія філологічна. 2019. Вип. 70. С. 309–322.
24. Зеленько А.С. Проблеми семасіології в різних лінгвістичних
парадигмах. Лінгвістика. Луганськ : Луганський національний
університет імені Тараса Шевченка, 2010. № 1 (19). С. 16–26.

19
 25. Мечковская Н.Б. Семиотика: Язык. Природа. Культура: курс
лекций: учеб. пособие для студ. филол., лингв. и переводовед. фак.
вузов. 2-е изд., испр. М.: Издательский центр «Академия», 2007.
432 с.
26. Попова З.Д., Стернин И.А. Основные черты семантико-
когнитивного подхода к языку // Антология концептов / под. ред.
В.И. Карасика, И.А. Стернина. М.: Гнозис, 2007. С. 7–9.
27. Философский энциклопедический словарь / гл. редакция:
Л.Ф. Ильичев и др.. М.: Сов. энциклопедия, 1983. C. 292.

Information about the author:

Andreichuk N. I.
Doctor of Philology,
Professor at the Hryhoriy Kochur Department
of Translation Studies and Contrastive Linguistics,
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
1, Universytetska str., Lviv, 79000, Ukraine

20
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/21-38

STRUCTURAL PECULIARITIES OF DETECTIVE STORIES

Babelyuk O. A.

INTRODUCTION
Although detective story has existed in the literature for a long time,
still enjoys great readership interest. This is one of those genres that
allows readers move to the mysterious world of crime and amazing
puzzles. A criminal story implies the existence of murder, kidnapping or
other types of crime. The plot is based around searching for the solution
to the problem. Typically, the story ends with finding a perpetrator of the
wrong act, while the investigation into the truth is the most exciting
element of the work. Nowadays, it is assumed that a detective story can
be divided into four types because of a structure as described below.
The greatest strength of a detective story lies undoubtedly in its own
kind of alienation effect produced by it. Idyllic naturalness (ideological)
everydayness loses its obviousness and in the traumatic light the fact of
the murder begins to appear as an illusory effect of hidden artificial
mechanisms. In the most known situations, notes are made casually,
trifles are accidentally found, etc., there might be seen potential movers
of horror, fear because “anything – could mean anything possible”. Such
alienation effects are connected with some assumption: with the existence
of a specific – although very misleading – normality and security.
The question about the so-called the social roots of murder is banned
in the classic detective story – at least as a rule – a killer cannot be
associated with any organization (e.g. mafia). The second, hidden side
revealed by the detective, is not less ideological than the surface of idyllic
everyday life: it is precisely ideological mirror image – the world of
absolute selfish individuals.

1. The Inner Structure of a Detective Story

In the classic detective story there is a strict prohibition of directly
presenting the inner course of detective thoughts. The thought process in
his brain must remain inaccessible, limited to a single mysterious remark
or questions to the final solution that will naturally underline the
inaccessibility what’s going on in the detective’s head.

21
 A real master of such stylistic figures, which, unfortunately,
sometimes approaches mannerism is Agatha Christie, e.g. Poirot in a
complicated investigation puts the inquiry in an eccentric tone like: “By
coincidence do not you know what color the maid’s stockings were?” and
after hearing the answer, he mysteriously murmurs: “So everything is
clear!”. It is worth recollecting a dialogue from the novel by N. Meyer
The Seven Per Cent Solution, which is a pastiche of S. Holmes’s
adventures. Sherlock Holmes says in it: “War is on in Europe, it’s
obvious. – But how can you draw such a conclusion based on what you
saw today? – From the relationship between Baroness Leinsdorf and her
adopted son.”. The situation is explained at the end when the detective
with a hint of victory in the voice indicates the perpetrator and then tells
the whole story in a linear shape. In other words, if the issue is considered
from the point of view of the reader, in the classic detective story there is
never the identification with the detective, but with a structural necessity,
that is, a narrator or a person for whom the detective is a subject who is
supposed to know – and if the solution is too obvious, if a reader does not
want to be deprived of satisfaction from reading, he must try to believe
cheating, even if it will be very naive.
The world in detective stories might be presented as closed
community – both in the sense of the number of clues, suspects and space
(e.g. Ten Little Niggers by Agatha Christie – a group of people
imprisoned on the island cut off from the world). The novelty is the world
presented as the area of full cognition, ordered as a result of the
investigation, which restores its order, demolished only temporarily.
Sometimes presented world in detective stories might be described as a
morally ambiguous world – the investigation reveals the truth, and the
crime itself is pure evil.
The protagonist in detective stories is mainly a detective amateur
(Miss Marple, Dr Gideon Fell) who stands as a guard over morality or a
private detective (H. Poirot, S. Holmes, Sir H. Merivalle). The novelty is
that the story’s structure could be divided into:
• the reversed structure order, going deeper and deeper (in the last
chapter, the reader learns what really happened),
• numerous flashbacks,
• the feature dominant: emphasis on the investigation, the crime
itself is hygienic, described at random,

22
 • the method of narration: deductive (The riddle is complicated,
because it was made so. But we'll think about it1).
The events described by the narrator have “a double bottom” – a
reader realizes that something is hidden from him. Such technique is also
called “an updating act”, makes a reader curious about the ending, and
during the reading tries to predict it. The goal is achieved by the author
by giving some hints about the solution, but does so in such a way that a
reader considers them misleading or irrelevant.2
R. Chandler, who was famous for his views on the creation of
detective stories openly criticized, in his writing, adhered to the system of
rules that he considered indispensable for the emergence of a good
detective story. According to Chandler there are 10 rules of a good
detective story:
• it must be credibly motivated, both in terms of the exhibition and
its solution. It must consist of reliable actions of credible people in
credible circumstances, and it must be remembered that credibility is
largely a matter of style;
• it must technically agree with the methods of homicide and its
detection. No fancy poison or the wrong effects of their action, like death
after taking a dose that is not fatal. We do not use revolvers with silencers
(they do not work) and snakes crawling on the rope from the bell. Such
things immediately destroy the foundation of history. If the detective is a
trained police officer, he must behave like one of them, and also have the
psychic and physical characteristics of people performing this profession.
If he is a private investigator or an amateur, he must at least be familiar
enough with the police to avoid making a fool of himself;
• it must be realistic when it comes to characters, the setting and
the atmosphere. It must be about real people in the real world. Few
writers have the ability to create live characters, but that does not mean
that this ability is unnecessary;
• in addition to the puzzle element it must have a valuable plot, for
example, the investigation itself must be an adventure worth reading;
• there must be a simple crime plot so that it can be easily
explained at the right time. The perfect ending is when you can

1
Christie A. Murder on The Orient Express. Wydawnictwo Hachette, 2000. ISBN
83-7023-174-8. P. 190.
2
Żabski T. (red.) Słownik literatury … 2006. op. cit., P. 301.

23
completely clear the puzzle in one flash of action. This is rare, because
good ideas are always rare. The explanation is not necessarily short
(except for the movie), and often it cannot even be short, but it must be
interesting in itself, so that the reader would like to get to know them;
• it must surprise a smart reader. Some of the best detective stories
ever written in the ending do not surprise the intelligent reader. But the
reader does not guess the complete solution and does not prove it with
logical reasoning. Because readers have different degrees of intelligence,
some will guess cleverly hidden murder, while others will deceive the
most transparent plot. It is not necessary or even impossible to cheat a
true crime passionate reader. There must, however, remain an important
element of history that escapes the most inquisitive reader;
• the solution to the mystery must seem unavoidable once it has
been revealed. The smallest weight is applied to this element, but it is one
of the most important features of the whole story. It is not enough just to
apply a scam, dodge or omit the reader. We should make him feel that he
has been cheated with honor;
• do not try to do everything at once. If it is a story with a puzzle,
taking place in a fairly quiet, reasonable atmosphere, it cannot be a
stormy adventure or a passionate romance at the same time;
• it is necessary to punish the criminal in one way or another, not
necessarily involving the law. Contrary to popular belief, this has nothing
to do with morality. It is part of the logic of discovering the mystery. The
lack of consequence of the crime makes history resemble an unresolved
chord and leaves a feeling of irritation;
• it must be honest with the reader. Important facts cannot be
hidden or distorted by misleading accents. Irrelevant facts should not be
given in such a way that they seem important. It is the task of the
detective to draw conclusions, but he should reveal some of his thoughts
so that the reader can think of him.3
Some of these elements Chandler imported from earlier detective
story’s writer S.S van Dine who in 1928 wrote an article devoted
to detective issues for American Magazine. The essay was to bring
the genre closer and be a signpost for inexperienced writers. The

3
10 niezbędnych elementów powieści detektywistycznej wg R. Chandlera. URL:
www.booklips.pl/zestawienia/10 niezbędnych elementów powieści detektywistycznej wg
R. Chandlera (retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).

24
20 commandments of the author of the detective story created by van
Dine are:
• the place hints in the story so that the reader can discover them
together with the detective;
• the tricks used by the criminal must confuse them both;
• a story cannot contain a love story involving a detective;
• the detective cannot be the culprit;
• the offender can be exposed only through deduction;
• only the detective can solve the mystery;
• the theme of the novel does not have to be murder;
• a detective solving a puzzle can only rely on naturalistic
methods;
• there can be only one detective;
• the offender must be a distinctive character who plays an
important role in the story;
• a criminal cannot be a servant or a person of low descent;
• regardless of the number of victims, the killer can only be one;
• the criminal can not belong to the mafia, secret society etc.;
• the murder must be committed in a realistic way, and the
methods of claiming the truth are to be rational and based on scientific
considerations;
• the solution to the mystery should be kept “in view” all the time,
but unspoken, so that the reader, after reading the book, was aware that he
was able to solve the mystery himself;
• avoid digression, psychological analysis of characters, etc.;
• the criminal must be an amateur;
• the murder must be planned;
• the motive of the crime should be a personal injury;
• disqualifying for the writer are e.g. a cigarette butt fits the
criminal’s cigar, finding the fingerprints of the murderer, etc.4
The fundamental element of every detective story is clearly outlined,
cohesive and dynamic action, developing in the order of searching. The
basic element of this dynamic action is recognition, which is
characterized by a sudden turn of the story, thus leading the reader (also
the protagonist) to a full understanding of events, individual sequences of
the story, while introducing certain elements of uncertainty and mystery.

4
Copper Gass. URL: www.gaslight.mtroyal.ca (retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).

25
 Enigma – a murder (most often), which in most cases in classic
detective stories, is committed at the beginning of the story, is the
element that reinvigorate the story. The investigation is surmounted with
the answer to the question: “Who and why killed?”. However, as it turns
out, the very solution to the puzzle is not yet a fundamental question of a
detective story. The essence of the work lies in the entire action preceding
the event.
The magic of mystery relies on maintaining, as long as possible, this
dreamy, elusive awareness of time before recognition. The reader, like
the detective, must cross a wide black river unknowingly kept alive. The
stifling, risky night before recognition, even in its most terrible moments,
preserves the charm, the seductive power of self-sustaining, unconscious
memory. Recognition is only a reference point, because without it a
longed-for return will not occur.5
In traditional detective story, there is a homicide first, followed by an
investigation and the solution to the riddle. However, before the finale
culminates with discovering the secret and catching the murderer, actions
are carried out in the course of the investigation that refer to the past. The
fact is that the finale of each such story must have a successful ending –
the puzzle is resolved, the murderer caught and punished. The order and
peace of citizens must be restored. Justice triumphs.
In the classic version of detective story, because this genre stands out
not only by formal conservatism, but also concerning outlook – the world
order destroyed at the beginning of the story by crimes, must finally be
restored.
Catching the murderer is a consequence of the pursuer’s actions
(most often it is a detective) who, like a reader, does not have the key to
solve the puzzle. The only possessor is a criminal. S. Lasić, a well-known
literature researcher, argues: the key is the strength of the murderer, but
also his weakness. His omniscience demands a suitable partner: a
persistent detective.6 So the pursuer walks in the footsteps of the
murderer bravely, but is usually far from the idealized superhero. In the
classic and contemporary detective stories, detectives are not deprived of

5
Stachura P. Noc przed rozpoznaniem - typologia rozpoznania w fabule kryminalnej
[w] „Podteksty” 2006. URL: www.katalog.czasopism.pl/index.php/Podteksty (retreived
Feb. 9, 2019).
6
Lasić S. Poetyka powieści kryminalnej. Warszawa. PWN, 1976. ISBN
978-83-941843-3-9. P. 34.

26
flaws (Holmes’ morphine addiction, Poirot’s egotism, Hole’s alcoholism,
Kurt Wallander’s self-deprecation and self-destruction).
However, characterological flaws are eliminated by the
stubbornness, intelligence and effectiveness of protagonists – each puzzle
is solved. So much in the classic version. In a modern detective story,
generally the structural core remains the same, i.e. a crime – an
investigation – a climax and finale. On the other hand, the function of the
detective story, the author’s workshop and the context change, in the
sociocultural way.
Mentioned before R. Chandler, who became famous as a
perfectionist and work titan, was able to maneuver perfectly between the
popular genre and the tradition of Shakespeare, Eliot, and Hemingway. It
is worth taking a look at the quote from The Long Goodbye: You are a
scribbler, Wade. Three adjectives, you damned creator. You cannot even
write using a stream of consciousness, scribbler, without putting three
adjectives.7 Chandler’s books are refined, literary gems, but also consist
of groundbreaking texts. The series of Philip Marlowe’s adventures are
the beginning of the “black detective story” so eagerly continued and
developed by Mankell or Nesbø.
The explanation of the puzzle does not bring the expected relief,
because there is no black and white world, so it is not easy to return the
order from before the event, because “normality”, so glorified, even by
Miss Marple, simply does not exist. The world of gentlemen like Hercule
Poirot laid in the ruins of World War II. Contemporary investigators are
savaged by life protagonists introducing the reader into the world of
mundane reality.
The contemporary detective story has partly seized the tasks that
belong to the belles lettres. It describes, explains and allows to understand
the existing reality. It has good conditions for this – a loyal and wide
public, efficient and intelligent creators. There is no doubt, this literature
still remains a form of entertainment, scrumptious and interesting.
It is also worth mentioning about definition of composition in
literature which is understood as an arrangement of elements of the
presented world: protagonist, time, space, system of events, sender,

7
Chandler R. The Long Goodbye. VintageCrime/Black Lizard, 1988. ISBN
0394757688. P. 256.

27
recipient. This is the way in which the material that makes up the literary
work is presented.
The novelty of the composition description includes: the
organization of the presented world, the plot’s content, the arrangement
of themes and motifs, the construction of the character, the narrator’s or
lyricist’s place in relation to the represented world. There are four types
of composition: open composition, frame composition, casket
composition, and closed composition.8
Literary critics circumscribe composition of detective stories in
different ways. For R. Caillois detective story is a kind of movie
displayed from the end to the beginning.9 For J. Siewierski it is a literary
art with main theme which is a crime.10 Detective stories’ composition is
presented as: crime – the course of events which led to it – solving the
mystery: who killed and why? This simple analysis already reflects the
sense of the composition of a detective story. However, most fully this
issue took care of the previously quoted S. Lasić, who in his Poetyka
powieści kryminalnej analyzes the structure of a typical story of this
genre. He considers a mystery as a basic element of detective story. In his
opinion, it is best to show it on the plot and composition ground. Lasić
distinguishes also three main areas of this ground which are: corpus –
so-called “the content of the story” constituting its skeleton, plot – a
sequence of logically complex events, as given by a story, composition –
a system of closely interrelated events.11
It is rather easily to extract the first two layers almost intuitively, but
to determine the composition it is necessary to use the already chosen one
method. Lasić helps in the case of a detective story, because, as he proves
in his book, a detective story has only one compositional line that comes
down to the problem: who is the murderer and why a crime was
committed?
More interesting instead, there is a plot layout. Lasić extracts
fictional units in the story and units that express a linear consequence of

8
The Free Dictionary. URL: www.thefreedictionary.com/literary+composition
(retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).
9
Caillois R. Powieść kryminalna [w] Odpowiedzialność i styl. Warszawa. PIW, 1967.
ISBN 9788306035704. P. 126.
10
Siewierski J. Powieść kryminalna. Warszawa. KAW, 1979. ISBN 978-83-941843-3-9.
P. 111.
11
Lasić S. Poetyka powieści kryminalnej. Warszawa. PWN, 1976. ISBN
978-83-936321-3-8. P. 121

28
events. Then he sets them together. This treatment allows to answer the
question, what really fascinates in the detective story. It turns out that by
passing the beginning, i.e. the preparation of the crime at the end, the
writer builds this extraordinary tension, which readers value so much.
From the puzzle readers heading to the climax and a sudden solution that
leads to a kind of dampen of the story and composition. Lasić has also
developed a method for studying the structures of detective stories. To do
that, he created a general scheme of composition that might be used to
study the web of story’s individual composition.
According to M. Maciejewski there are three possible compositional
methods in a detective story’s mystery:
a) the mystery is not solved by the author,
b) the mystery is solved by the author correspondingly with
expectations of the reader,
c) the mystery is described by the author in the way that leads the
reader to another deduction than the plot is presented.12
Of course, in a detective story it is generally used only the third
method. However, the question asked be the authors is very important as
a riddle of the crime.
It is worth mentioning that detective story is not simply a
composition of tales of criminal acts. Few examples treating theft,
smuggling, rogues are a marginal phenomenon. It is also impossible to
sustain the division of crime literature into criminal stories and detective
stories. Such a fracture is still actual in American and English literature
where criminal fiction is divided into crime stories and detective stories.
A detective story in its historical development and in today’s form,
playing a specific and an undisputed role, was and is a detective story. It
is based on an immutable scheme that contains three prime components:
the victim, the detective and the suspect. Murdered person, whose end of
life falls on time before the beginning of the story or the first its cards put
everything in motion. The victim is somehow the lever that initiates the
whole story.
Opposite there is the discoverer-muckrake who tries to solve the pre-
case of murder. All other characters presented are either detective helpers

12
Maciejewski M., 1970. Narodziny powieści poetyckiej w Polsce. Pamiętnik
Literacki : czasopismo kwartalne poświęcone historii i krytyce literatury polskiej. 64/2.
P. 310–317. (retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).

29
(they can also be malignant inhibitors and its effects) or suspects. None of
the people are presented for themselves. The entire “staff cast” is always
here associated with the scheme and fulfills certain functions in it.
The decisive role is played in the detective story in the way taken
when proof of guilt is being carried out. A classic scheme for example in
stories by Agatha Christie begins with a situation that obviously
excludes a solution (e.g. Murder in Mesopotamia). Murders are
accompanied by such circumstances, that none of the characters
presented in story could not make it in any way. Then emerge the facts
that make the possibility to get a solution. These facts, however, are in
relation to themselves in a bright, insoluble contradiction. And here
comes Hercule Poirot. To fill in insufficient material, he checks a few
unverified details so far, expands them with a small provocation, puts
hypothetical questions and answers to them as they reveal new mutual
relationships and dependencies between knowledge and facts. A specific
role in this the progressively adding complex of evidences always play
the motive of the act. It is not, however presented as something that can
be explored in a subjective or psychological way, but it appears as one
of many facts. The action of the detective in such a classic case (next to
Agatha Christie it could be listed here still a whole series of names, such
as John Dickson Carr, Anthony Berceley, father Ronald A. Knox,
Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, Michael Innes, Nicholas Blake,
Ngaio Marsh, Edmund Crispin, Thomas Muir, or Dashiell Hammett,
Raymond Chandler, Erie Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout and married couple
F.R. Lockridge) has a goal to be something completely material. The
detective tries reconstruct the trail on the basis of individual, accidental
fingerprints. He reminds someone who discovers the individual letter
first, then whole text. In this case, remaining mainly within the
metaphor, general concern is a letter. The point is to complete the clues,
i.e. what lies between individual tracks, practice combinatorial ability.
It is characteristic that in many classical detective stories the
narration of a crime at the end of story is superficial and token, many
times incomplete. Reported stories are complete or not, depending on
how these regularities are respected or avoided. It not present but
guarantees infinite many possible variation of one story. Reconstruction
of the unsaid clues allows the unidentified in story’s skeleton to be
rigorously calculated scheme which is still new areas of possible
contents.

30
 It might be said that the content of detective stories exists thanks to
getting a new form of assimilation of real-life actions and environments.
It happens not only because of psychological, sociological or ethnological
reasons but also because of topographic settings of the story. The last
element was widely described by W. Benjamin13 in One Way Street,
which could be described as a older type of detective story. He claims in
it that: The furniture style of the second half of the nineteenth century has
received its only adequate description, and analysis, in a certain type of
detective novel at the dynamic centre of which stands the horror of
apartments. The arrangement of the furniture is at the same time the site
plan of deadly traps, and the suite of rooms prescribes the fleeing
victim’s path. That kind of detective novel begins with Poe – at a time
when such accommodation hardly yet existed – is no counter-argument.
For without exception the great writers perform their combination in a
world that comes after them, just as the Paris streets of Baudelaire’s
poems, as well as Dostoevsky’s characters, only existed after 1900. The
bourgeois interior of the 1860s to the 1890s, with its gigantic sideboards
distended with carvings, the sunless corners where palms stand, the
balcony embattled behind it balustrade, and the long corridors with their
singing gas flames, fittingly houses only the corps. “On this sofa aunt
cannot be murdered”. The soulless luxuriance of the furnishings becomes
true comfort only in the presence of a dead body. Far more interesting
than the Oriental landscapes in detective novels is the rank Orient
inhabiting their interiors; the Persian carpet and the ottoman, the
hanging lamp and the genuine Caucasian dagger.14
That kind of compositional presentation might be easily observed in
such authors as A.C. Doyle or G.K. Chesterton but in A. Berkeley’s or
D. Sayers’s fertility such clear topographic order is not obvious and there
are unspecified descriptions of different places. Intermediate
transformation is particularly important in many stories by A. Christie –
interiors that, strictly speaking, are not them (the interior of the aircraft,
the sleeper car, the mid-deck steamer on the Nile), interiors that seemed
to stretch out tentacles, but without causing total transforming the
environment into a landscape, cutting out the landscape, which have the
character of interiors, because they are treated like rooms.

13
Benjamin W. (1892-1940) was a philosopher, literature critic and essayist.
14
Benjamin W. One Way Street and Other Writings. URL: www.archive.org/stream/
BenjaminWalterOneWayStreetAndOtherWritings (retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).

31
 Summarizing the composition of detective stories includes a
description of the interior and landscape of place of crime but they are not
a linguistic process for their own sake, they no appear in the form of
language as an end in itself. Every time when a reader learns about
described by Hammett San Francisco’s topography, about Chandler’s
depiction of topography of districts destined for demolition and luxury
streets of Los Angeles, something about Gardner’s manor houses
municipal and motels of California, about F.R. Lockridge’s and Margaret
Scherf’s specific sections of New York districts, at Margot Neville about
Sydney, at Arthur W. Upfield about Australian towns and farms, it
always fulfills the role of pre-impression of the action, the presentation of
crime scenes.

2. Plot Structure and Characters in Detective Stories

A detective story as distinct from classical story must have a plot.
A plot for a detective fiction’s writer is just figuring out a story. An author
writes whatever comes to his mind but when asked about discriminants,
they are not supposed to be so obvious. A good illustration of a difference
between a story and a plot might be a fragment of E.M. Forster’s Aspects
of the Novel: Let us define a novel. We have defined a story as a narrative
of events arranged in their time sequence. A plot is also a narrative of
events, the emphasis falling on causality. “The king died and then the
queen died if grief” is a plot. The time sequence is preserved, but the sense
of causality overshadows it. Or again: “The queen died, no one knew why,
until it was discovered that it was through grief at the death of the king.”
This is a plot with a mystery in it, a form capable of high development.
[…] a plot demands intelligence and memory also.15
That is a well-turned definition of a plot. The novelty here is that it
implements even a mysterious and almost a crime elements. It might be
better understood by imagine a short story: what would happen if a man
who discovered a death of a queen was lying? Maybe he was hiding the
fact of a queen’s murder until her son would be able to sit on the throne.
Maybe inquiring pageboy began to inhabit a detective’s character. Or
maybe it is a detective story concentrating on a thread, motives and pricks
of conscience of a murderer.

15
Fortser E.M. Aspects of the Novel. Rockefeller Foundation. New York, 1949. ISBN
1444765183. P. 130.

32
 A plot structure also involves a perspective of protagonists. Good
detective stories are not too complicated and plot is narrated in organized
way. If a story is presented from protagonist’s point of view usually it
requires to be a witness of important events. Although sometimes crucial
events are narrated by another character but that kind of message might
lost of its relevance.
Many detective story’s authors use a foreground narration and trough
it they could feel as an actor playing a role. There might be many
characters using that kind of narration but it involves from a writer to
have a good ear to make them understandable for a reader. American
writers mainly use so called vocal stories, when characters refer to
readers directly and private detectives imitate speech of Chandler’s
P. Marlowe. British authors more often use a third-person narration.
Some detective stories have linear structure where there is an
investigation at the beginning and then a detective is looking for any
evidence or traces helpful to reveal a perpetrator. A linear structure might
be depicted below:

a crime a clue a clue a climax a clue a clue a climax a solving

Nevertheless detective stories not always have a linear structure.

They might have subtle narration and use different types of literary
devices such as a flashback which could be applied in any moments and
might start from any scene. A flashback is an evocation from the past and
by implementing it an author might gain some time-zones which are
helpful to make characters and events more authentic. This literary device
should present crucial information, might explain some threads, develop
plot structure, lend credence to protagonist’s doings or complete their
characteristic.
Flashbacks often are released through emotional impulses which
mean that memories are coming up when they are connected with
something familiar. Flashbacks might occur throughout the plot
breakthroughs when truth is revealed in unexpected way. As example it is
worth presenting a fragment from J. Irving’s The World According to
Garp: Even Garp was unprepared for this much loathing. But he
misunderstood the situation. It would be years before he realized the
circumstances of his phone call. Poor Pooh Percy, batty Bainbridge,

33
would one day explain it to Jenny. When Garp called, Cushie had been
dead for so long that Stewart did not realize Garp was commiserating
with him on Cushie's loss. When Garp called, it was the midnight of the
dark day when the black beast, Bonkers, had finally expired. Stewart
Percy thought that Garp’s call was a cruel joke – false condolences
for the dog Garp had always hated. And now, when Garp’s phone
rang, Garp was conscious of Helen's grip emerging instinctively from
her sleep.16
The plot structure of detective stories is built around characters who
work their way, they are doing their part, they are experiencing some
adventures and they succeed. Those stories usually have calm beginning
but then gain speed and abound with turn-ups for the books. By contrast,
in psychological thriller plot structure is shrinking, tension is increasing
along with characters’ grief.
As distinct from a linear plot structure of detective stories thrillers
have a spiral structure: at the beginning there is a description of a small
community which with time is getting smaller till a climax. That method
is useful to make a reader more concentrate on details similarly to
protagonist. It seems that the best starting point here might be a smooth
beginning but in fact a writer could start in any scene if only tension is
increased. A spiral structure might be depicted below:

a climax
a crisis is
accele-
rating

a protagnist
in danger

16
Irving John. URL: www.grannyswag.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/irving-john-the-
world-according-to-garp.pdf. P. 136. (retrieved Feb. 10, 2019).

34
 In detective stories a protagonist is introduced usually at the
beginning of a story to become more familiar to a reader. But sometimes
crime fiction books start from a unexpected events such as in
R. Jonasson’s Snow Blind where a young woman was found lying half
naked in the snow. She was bleeding and was unconscious. There is also
another death in that story: a highly esteemed writer falls to his death in a
local theater. Investigations are conducting by a rookie policeman who is
dragged into the center of community where he can trust no one and lies
and secrets are a lifeway. The past plays tag with the present events until
the killer is captured.
Authors of crime stories seldom have to face with a kind of peculiar
problem because modern detective story is not an updated version of
classical detective story with a linear structure. Plot structure of modern
detective stories many times is concentrated not on a character of
detective who investigates from the beginning, but he occurs later in the
action. Often a detective is announced by an author and after some time is
presented when there comes a time. The illustration of that might be
Snowman by J. Nesbø, when a detective Harry Hole is presented in the
second chapter and in next three there is a description of his character.
In detective stories an important character is a detective. The authors
of these stories, trying to write such books, must find out about duties and
responsibilities of real detectives in the country they intend to write
about, in England, for example, they cannot waving weapons. Most of
their actions are free of tension: they look for thieves in stores, follow
unfaithful husbands or wives, look for the missing and get all the
information their clients cannot get. For the needs of this genre of
literature, the detective must be involved in murder. In old-fashioned
stories, it happens that the ruffled police inspector calls for help a private
detective to solve the case.
Many detective stories’ authors implemented to the literature
unforgettable detective characters, e.g. A.C. Doyle who figured out
Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was a brilliant detective who used a deduction
in solving the mystery. The novelty of Holmes’s investigations is in his
revealing the truth in the light of observations, psychology, chemistry,
ballistics or mathematics. Many times he was guided by intuition. Holmes
was also talented violinist and boxer. He was mostly self-possessed,
rarely reveal his feelings, and news of his friend Watson’s engagement
made him to say: Love is an emotional matter, and everything that is

35
emotional is the opposite of cool reason, which I value above all else.
I will never marry myself unless something changes my mind.17
A. Christie brought to life two detectives who, along with Sherlock
Holmes, permanently signed up on the pages of literature. They are of
course Hercules Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. A retired policeman from
Belgium became famous for having a fondness to symmetry. He
repeatedly proved that sometimes a cool analysis of facts can be more
effective than collecting fingerprints. He was often accompanied by
Captain Hastings as a reflection of a naive reader who catches all the
clues and gropes for a solution, ignoring the logical cause and effect
sequence. Poirot was presented for the first time in The Mysterious Affair
at Styles (1921) and figured in more than thirty A. Christie’s books.
Poirot worked as a police officer in Belgium, but after I world war he
moved to Britain and started to work as a private detective. Christie gave
him characteristic features such as low growth, eggy head, well-groomed
moustache, dandy cloths, obsessed with order and symmetry as well
disdain for classical methods of investigation: Poirot was an
extraordinary looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet, four
inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the
shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His
moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was
almost incredible. I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more
pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandyfied little man who, I was
sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most
celebrated members of the Belgian police. As a detective, his flair had
been extraordinary, and he had achieved triumphs by unravelling some of
the most baffling cases of the day.18
He always relied on grey cells to determine who commit the crime:
“These little grey cells. It is’up to them – as you say over here”.19 Similarly
to other Golden Age detectives he was not being married. H. Poirot was
created as a rich person who had connections with aristocracy, the royal
family, Prime Minister and other influential people.20

17
Stories about Sherlock Holm. URL: www.sherlock-holm.es/stories/pdf (retrieved
Feb. 11, 2019).
18
Mysterious Affair at Styles. URL: www.f.waseda.jp/glaw/CLASSES/
MysteriousAffairAtStyles.pdf (retrieved Feb, 12, 2019).
19
Ibidem.
20
Famous Detectives – Hercule Poirrot. URL: www.HerculePoirot–amateurdetective.
Famousdetectives (retrieved Feb. 12, 2019).

36
 CONCLUSIONS
What makes this sometimes slow moving and rather large detective is
so different? Above all, he is a sympathetic man. He has perfect insight into
human nature, he is often fallible, he has an excellent approach to the crime.
From the usual police inspector’s methods, he definitely prefers to interview
or question personally than to bring suspect to his office. He goes, looks,
smells, touches, senses, feels the situation and the people he is dealing with.
He inevitably is involved in action, tension, danger, laughter – and he sees it
all through the sight of an extraordinary humanity.
Summarizing the detective stories’ characters all provide
investigation in their own style. Some of them are elegant detectives with
impeccable manners while others seem to be rather abrupt, but they have
a corporate goal: to reveal the truth and punish the villain. They strongly
believe that world should be cleaned from such offensive individuals to
be a better place to exist.

SUMMARY
The structural peculiarities of detective stories are the exciting plot
and twists of action, but also by the wide socio-moral background that,
apart from crimes, becomes the main component of the story. All these
features allow to understand people’s behavior, their motives, and based
on that to build a structure of functions, sequences and blocks.
The structure of detective story, extended with a social and moral
background and great psychological portraits of criminals and positive
characters, is that it becomes a psychological story also.
There is evidently one of the basic principles of telling a story: cause
and effect. In detective stories a reader notices more than in any other
genre that each scene must be justified – each fiction event must be right
in the story, because a reader or an audience perceive each scene as a
potential cause of the effect that appears later.

REFERENCES
1. D. Brand. From the Flâneur to the Detective: Interpreting the
City of Poe. The Spectator and the City in Nineteenth-Century American
Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
2. E. Bloch. A Philosophical View of the Detective Novel.
Discourse. Vol. 2. Mass Culture Issue. Detroit, MI: Wayne State
University Press, 1980.

37
 3. G. Deleuze. The Philosophy of Crime Novels. Desert Islands and
Other Texts, 1953–1974. Trans. Mike Taormina, ed. David Lapoujade.
Los Angeles, CA: Semiotext(e), 2004.
4. J. Black. (De)feats of Detection: The Spurious Key Text from
Poe to Eco. Detecting Texts. Ed. P. Merivale and S. E. Sweeney.
Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
5. J. Delamater and Ruth Prigozy. The Detective in American
Fiction. Film, And Television. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998.
6. M. Evans. The Imagination of Evil: Detective Fiction and the
Modern World. London, UK: Continuum, 2009.
7. M. Holquist. Whodunit and Other Questions: Metaphysical
Detective Stories in PostWar Fiction. New Literary History. Vol. 3. № 1.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1971.
8. P. Merivale, and Susan Elizabeth Sweeney. The Game’s Afoot:
On the Trail of the Metaphysical Detective Story. Detecting Texts. Ed.
P. Merivale and S. E. Sweeney. Philadelphia, PA: University of
Pennsylvania Press, 1999.
9. T. McDonough. The Crimes of the Flâneur. October. Vol. 102.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2001.
10. W. Huntington, Willard aka. S.S. Van Dine. Twenty Rules for
Writing Detective Stories (1928). Gaslight. Alberta, CA: Mount Royal
College, 2015.

Information about the author:

Babelyuk O. A.
Doctor of Philology,
Professor at the Department of Foreign Languages and Translation,
Lviv State University of Life Safety
12, Kyivska str., Drohobych, 82100, Ukraine

38
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/39-56

LEXICAL QUANTOR GENESIS VS LANGUAGE

NORM DYNAMICS

Bialyk V. D.

INTRODUCTION
The development of the society inevitably causes the arising of new
terminology to designate new concepts and notions emerging as a result
of this process. Actually, the globalization and technological advance
nowadays might be considered as a powerful catalyst in the
terminological activization based on the existing lexical wordstock.
Traditionally, a term is considered to be a lexical unit denoting a certain
notion in a specific sphere of human activity meeting a number of
requirements, such as monosemanticity, nominativity, motivation,
stylistic neutrality, etc. (cf.: V. Vinogradov, B. Golovin, T. Kyjak,
V. Leychyk, V. Yartseva, O. Selivanova, E. Skorokhodko and others). As
A. Reformatskiy noted “any term may be a word but not every word is a
term”1. It should be fair to admit that seldom all the requirements are met
in term formation process much due to the lack of the unified normative
basis for these requirements. Evidently, a scholar should take into account
as many terminological criteria as possible to introduce a term into
linguistic environment. Among various term definitions there is one that
appeals to a language researcher who concerns about modern trends in
linguistic science, and that is the term definition which correlates a term
with a certain notion or concept. Such an approach is completely agreed
with the opinion of A. Lemov who argues that a term is “a linguistic unit
(a word or a word combination) predominantly of a substantive character
which is conventionally correlated with a notion or an object of a
professional sphere and serves for concentration, fixation, storage, and
transfer of professional information”2 . Thus, a term serves to designate
specific knowledge (information) within a certain terminological system.

1
Реформатский А. А. Термин как член лексической системы языка Проблемы
структурной лингвистики. М. : Наука, 1968. С. 103–126.
2
Лемов А.В. Система, структура и функционирование научного термина.
Саранск : Изд-во Мордов. ун-та, 2000. C. 77.

39
 A term formation process envisages the general word formation
means (affixation, blending, abbreviation, syntactical means, borrowing,
etc.) as most effective ways of term coining, the latter being considered as
a result of secondary nomination.
The terminological ordering process is performed with the exclusive
participation of the linguists who are experts in the field. The process
presupposes its unification, i.e. the formation of the system in accordance
with the linguistic requirements for an ideal term and the system of
scientific notions3. The unification of any terminology and a linguistic
one, in particular, is complicated by a number of factors including, first
and foremost, extralinguistic ones, such as a rapid development of
linguistic science in the 21st century, new approaches, trends, and schools
in linguistic studies. This obviously creates some obstacles for the
formation of linguistic terminology and gives grounds to state that the
linguistic terminology is not a rationally developed and semiotically
perfect system4. Moreover, strange it might seem, but a linguistic
terminology is rarely a subject-matter of general terminological research5.
It has become an undisputable fact that linguistic terminological issues
have much less coverage in the science of language than those of science
and technology6.
A term as a linguistic unit, undoubtedly, may be considered as a
linguistic sign with all the properties the latter possesses. Despite the fact
that a linguistic sign has been studied by many linguists and philosophers,
there are still some obscure issues that are awaiting their consideration
and specifying. It is of special importance for newly created terms to
which a lexical quantor belongs.
The very nature of a lexical quantor as a term and a linguistic sign
cannot be revealed in full without taking into consideration the
establishing of its ontology, the ways of its formation, and its functioning
in the system of language. The creating of any term, and a lexical quantor

3
Даниленко В.П. Лингвистические проблемы упорядочения научно-
технической терминологии Вопросы языкознания,1981. № 1. C. 9.
4
Ахманова О.С. Словарь лингвистических терминов. М. : Сов. Энциклопедия,
1998. C. 509.
5
Шелов С.Д. Об определении лингвистических терминов (опыт типологии и
интерпретации) Вопросы языкознания. 1990. № 3. C. 21.
6
Куликова И.С. Введение в металингвистику (системный, лексикогра-
фический и коммуникативно-прагматический аспекты лингвистической терми-
нологии). СПб. : САГА, 2002. C. 7.

40
in particular, is much stipulated by various language factors, a language
norm dynamics being among the most important.

1. A Lexical Quantor: a Term

In this paper we employ a newly coined linguistic term “a lexical
quantor” elaborated in our earlier research 7. Here we will briefly
outline the basic characteristics of the term under consideration. The
very term “a lexical quantor” implies its linguistic nature judging by
the first element of the terminological word combination. The second
component of the terminological word combination “a lexical quantor”
might present certain difficulty in understanding and interpreting. In
the English language we can come across some kin terms, like
“quantum” or “quantifier” which are traced in mathematical logic and
linguistics. These terms in linguistics (“quantifier”, “quantum”)
traditionally refer to the words of quantitative semantics, such as
everyone, some, every, few, both, minority, sometimes, etc., and also
cardinal numerals. All-general quantifiers are manifested in world
languages by quantified pronouns and pronominal adverbs, such as
everywhere, always, whole, every time, etc.8
Meanwhile “quantifier” or “a quantum” is also “a symbol of
mathematical logic, logical operation which characterizes quantitavely a
number of objects to which the expression belongs and which is a result
of its usage”9. However, in our research we offer a totally different
approach to its interpretation where “a quantor” implies a blended term
consisting of two components “a quantifier” or “a quantum” (the first
component) and “an operator” (the second component) – “a quantor” –
thus making quite relevant its usage in English. And then this
portmanteau term may be briefly defined as follows: a lexical quantor is
an operator of a language worldview which transfers a certain quantum
of relevant information (knowledge) about the surrounding reality
within a verbal mechanism10. Obviously, a lexical quantor represents a
7
Byalyk V. Linguistic Discourse and a Lexical Quantor Disputationes Scientificae.
Universitatis Catholicae in Ruzomberok. Ruzomberok : Verbum, 2012. ročnik 12. čislo 1.
P. 148–156.
8
Селіванова О.О. Сучасна лінгвістика. Термінологічна енциклопедія Полтава :
Довкілля К., 2006. C. 206.
9
Ibidem. C. 223.
10
Бялик В.Д. Епістемолгія лексичного квантора : монографія. Чернівці: Золоті
литаври, 2012. С. 86.

41
certain structure of knowledge (a priori or a posteriori) revealing its
epistemic nature.
A lexical quantor may share some properties with the terms already
available in scientific literature. Here we mean first of all the term
“informeme” in information studies and “sapienteme” / “logoepisteme” in
linguistic and philosophical or linguophilosophical studies.
The term “informeme” is used as a unit of information transferred in
the information space of a human being where “the thoughts are a result
of autogenerating process of simultaneous input and output of huge
torrents of informational and mental waves (quanta of thoughts)”11.
Evidently, the term “informeme” cannot be considered as a purely
linguistic one as its domain is information science in general.
Undoubtedly, we might consider a word as a material substrate
having a photon, light, i.e. electromagnetic nature and conveying some
information. This energy exists everywhere: inside us, around us, in the
Universe, and, as a matter of fact, is an ionizing substance. A human
being is a discrete form of plasma energy which is a part of intelligent
superorganism – the Universe. So the energetic resemblance but not a
formal exterior form makes us similar to God. From this point of view
the term “informeme” may be used in linguistic studies as a
methodological instrument of the research, i.e. it has a rather general
nature in scholastic activity.
Another term that appeals to a linguist’s attention is “logoepisteme”
or “sapienteme” introduced by Russian linguists Ye. Vereshchagin
and V. Kostomarov12. These terms focus on logical and philosophical
nature of the notions they represent alongside the philological
constituent which is limited only to a linguocultural sphere of a certain
ethnic community.
The sapienteme/logoepisteme theory is scientifically well-grounded
and verified by the proving basis but the terms under consideration can
hardly be considered as general philological terms as they are,
unfortunately, limited only to culture. Moreover, similar ideas can be
traced in the works of K. Popper13 and the idea of describing the world of

11
Юзвишин И.И. Информациология. М. : Радио и связь, 1996. C. 175.
12
Верещагин Е.М. Язык и культура. Три лингвострановедческие концепции :
лексического фона, рече-поведенческих тактик и сапиентемы. М. : Индрик, 2005.
C. 840.
13
Поппер К. Логика и рост научного знания М. : Прогресс, 1983.

42
knowledge goes back to the times of Plato. However, we must admit that
this fact doesn’t diminish the importance of this theory for linguocultural
studies on the whole.
The offered term “a lexical quantor” may be considered as
hyperonym for “sapienteme/logoepisteme” and hyponym for
“informeme” terms. It also deals with conveying some information
(knowledge) like “informeme” but only within a verbal mechanism, and
it is not limited to the cultural aspect solely as compared to the aforesaid
terms “sapienteme/logoepisteme”. Moreover, a lexical quantor can
express different types of information. Alongside the cultural information
it can refer to pragmatic, ideological, economical, and other types of
information, thus transforming itself into pragmeme, ideologeme,
economeme, etc.
A lexical quantor may have different word-formation structure and
may be expressed by a nominative unit (a non-derived, derived,
compound word, or even a word combination). It looks like reasonable to
state that the more complicated its structure is the more semantic and
informational load it will have, and, thus, the more information a lexical
quantor will yield about the concept it designates. Evidently, the number
of word-formation elements of a lexical quantor is in direct ratio with the
information amount it expresses. That is why the role of word-formation
patterns in linguistic representation of knowledge by a lexical quantor is
difficult to overestimate as each of its structural elements represents a
certain quantum of information.
A lexical quantor also realizes the representative function of a word in
the process of reconstructing of a language worldview with its semantico-
evaluative components. A lexical quantor is a lexical unit (a word or a word
combination) which correlates with temporal and spatial axis of a language
continuum. Actually, a lexical quantor is a lexical marker of a language
worldview, a minimal verbal unit of its conceptualization and
categorization. Similar to quanta in physics which are minimal units of light
energy, a lexical quantor serves to transfer cultural, social, and historical
experience. Likewise, accordingly to quantum theory in physics the light
energy is transferred sporadically, not constantly, the verbal elements of the
language worldview may be imagined not as an ongoing but discrete
process and the cognition of these elements takes place during the gradual
perception of the objective world.

43
 We consider a lexical quantor to be a component of a dynamic model
of the language which combines dialectically a stable sign system and its
constant rethinking.
A lexical quantor is a complex construct possessing a hierarchical
structure in lexical, semantic, pragmatic, informational (including
cognitive) aspects and may serve as an instrument for linguocognitive
analysis of language phenomena.
From the term formation standpoint the offered term is characterized
by nominativity, reproducibility in language and speech, availability of a
definition which correlates with a certain notion, being a neologism itself,
it serves to fix, store and transfer linguocognitive information. The lack
of stylistic expressivity, motivation, exactness, and a systemic character is
among the basic criteria for correctly formed terms to which, no doubt,
belongs a lexical quantor.

2. Lexical Quantor: A Linguistic Sign

A lexical quantor, as any language unit, is considered to be a
linguistic sign. The sign nature of a lexical quantor is much stipulated by
the basic characteristics of a linguistic sign which have been outlined in
linguosemiotics. Very often the semiological functions of a sign underlie
the basis of classification of sign types in language. Traditionally the
following linguistic sign types are distinguished:
a) linguistic signs with predominantly differentiating function (e.g.
phonemes);
b) linguistic signs in which the identifying function dominates over
the differentiating one (e.g. grammatical morphemes and the models of
syntactical and semantic links of language units);
c) linguistic units which are characterized by both identifying and
differentiating functions, the so-called full signs (signs proper, like words,
word combination, sentences)14.
Obviously, a lexical quantor belongs to the latter group as it is a
peculiar type of a sign. On the one hand, it is associated with the
generalization mechanism reflecting to a certain degree abstract
knowledge of phenomena and objects of the real world. On the other
hand, it is closely connected with thought formation and expression of

14
Уфимцева А.А. Знаковая природа языка Общее языкознание : Формы
существования, функции, история языка М. : Наука, 1970. С. 106.

44
various speaker’s and hearer’s intentions in the process of
communication. This is known in linguistics as the principle of
asymmetric dualism of a language sign15.
A lexical quantor as a peculiar type of a linguistic sign has its
semilogical value due to several functions. It generalizes (significative
function), nominates, signifies (nominative function), informs (performs a
communicative function), and expresses some feelings, experience of the
speaker (pragmatic function)16.
Another major function of a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign is its
ability to reflect basic mental processes peculiar for a human being due to
the dichotomy of language and thought. It generalizes (integrates) and
specifies (differentiates), presents indirectly and abstractly the mental
content which is historically fixed for a given sign. This may emphasize a
very important gnoseological, cognitive function of a lexical quantor. The
inseparable connection of the signified (sign content) and the signifier
(sign form) is an imperative condition of a sign unity. Linguistic signs
directly participate in the formation of thoughts, ideas, and notions. The
connection between the two sides of the sign from the psychological
point of view is determined as follows: “..the thought is not expressed in
a word but it takes place in it”17.
Any linguistic sign, and a lexical quantor is not an exception, is the
act of understanding of this or that objectivity. The idea of any object in
human consciousness is characterized by various modifications as the
very human consciousness is rather changeable and movable, sometimes
passive or, on the contrary, may have a creative character18.
A lexical quantor may be considered in language and speech as
identical to any other language sign and is determined by three
parameters: the correlation with the signifier (information), the system of
signs, and regulative parameters in the process of communication. Such a
model takes into consideration anthropocentric aspect of language
activity. In this case the ideal side of linguistic signs (words) is a result of
a triple refraction: a) objective reality in the consciousness of a human

15
Карцевский С.О. Об асимметричном дуализме лингвистического знака.
Введение в языковедение: [хрестоматия] М. : Аспект Пресс, 2000. C. 76–81.
16
Уфимцева А.А. Знаковая природа языка Общее языкознание : Формы
существования, функции, история языка М. : Наука, 1970. С. 107.
17
Выготский Л.С. Психология М. : Апрель–пресс : ЭКСМО–пресс, 2000. C. 268.
18
Лосев А.Ф. Знак. Символ. Миф М. : Изд-во Моск. ун-та, 1982. C. 126.

45
being (the notion of extra-linguistic level); b) the notion within a
language system/structure; c) language meaning through the (inter)-
individual experience of speakers19.
We believe that a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign is characterized
by the plane of expression, the plane of content, and the plane of usage.
The trilaterality of a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign preserves the
trichotomic scheme of the analysis suggested by Plato: thing – notion –
name, where the plane of expression is name, the content plane is notion,
and the human activity is represented by the constructed in a person’s
consciousness by thing20.
Another important aspect in a linguistic sign analysis as represented
by a lexical quantor is the elucidation of the problems of conceptual
analysis of a sign, its structural organization, and hierarchy. Taking as the
basis for a language model the language game and a family resemblance
theory as developed by L. Wittgenstein21, S. Shaumyan supports the idea
of the unity of a sign and thought illustrating it with a well-known
Saussurean example of the impossibility of cutting one sheet of paper
without cutting the other. Actually, the thinking process and the process
of sign operation is a complex two-sided process22.
Among the most vital categorical properties of a lexical quantor is
the lack of a fixed relation between sound and meaning (object-thing
content) of a language unit. Another important property is its arbitrary
nature, i.e. the sound-meaning relationship cannot be interpreted logically
or rationally.
Another distinctive feature of a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign is
its singularity which is manifested in its ability to designate exactly what
it should designate possessing simultaneously a firmly fixed sound form.
A lexical quantor is a typical linguistic sign because human
cognition in general, and cognitive image of an object in particular, are

19
Огуй О.Д. Лінгвістична теорія знака в епістемологічному ракурсі / Вісник
Житомирського держ. ун-ту ім. І. Франка : наук. журнал. Житомир : Житомир. ДУ,
2012. Вип. 62. С. 23.
20
Ibidem. С. 25.
21
Wittgenstein L. Philosophische Untersuchungen. – 3nd Ed. Philosophical
Investigations The German Text, With A Revised English Translation.London, Oxford :
Basil Blackwell.
22
Шаумян С.К. О понятии языкового знака. Язык и культура : Факты и
ценности. К 70–летию Юрия Сергеевича Степанова . М. : Языки славянской
культуры, 2001. С. 158.

46
determined by the practice and the results of thinking processes of
preceding generations and fixed in words. A lexical quantor as a
linguistic sign is an arbitrary subjective entity where the function of
objective nomination appears to be shortened.
It should be borne in mind that a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign
performs also the function of identification of structural units in language,
not the words only but also less than words (e.g. morpheme) or more than
words (e.g. word combination, phrase).

3. A Lexical Quantor and a Language Norm

A language is a systematically organized phenomenon which is why it
may be used in speech despite its complexity. The unification and
arrangement of all the elements of this most complicated phenomenon is
termed as “a norm”. The notion of “a norm” has been in the focus of
various research and scholars. To put it simply, we may state that there are
as many definitions of “a norm” as the scholars dealing with the problem.
The norm is treated predominantly as a set of the most stable
traditional language means23, socially and historically conditioned and
fixed in the process of social communication, usage recommended by
dictionaries or grammar24, etc.
Traditionally they distinguish two types of a language norm: the
norms stipulated by the language system and the norms determined by the
language structure25.
The first condition of language normativity is the relevance of a
given phenomenon to the productive word-formation, morphological,
syntactical patterns. The following criteria are considered to be important
in linguistics: relevance to the pattern, usage, and necessity. Of course,
these criteria may be viewed as relative because various controversies
underlie the language development, including the relevance to the pattern
and its deviation, stability and variability, necessity and creativity. Any
new normative linguistic formation should, however, meet all three
criteria at the same time.

23
Ахманова О.С. Словарь лингвистических терминов. (Около 7000 терминов)
[2-е изд. стереотип.]. – М. : Сов. Энциклопедия, 1998. C. 270.
24
Большой энциклопедический словарь. [Под ред. В. Н. Ярцевой]. – [2-е изд.]. –
М. : Наук, изд-во БРЭ, 1998. C. 337.
25
Ицкович В. А. Языковая норма. М. : Просвещение.

47
 In this respect let’s consider a lexical quantor genesis versus the
change or dynamics of a language norm.
In neutral literary speech the using of new norms is deterred by the
rules aimed at what is already fixed in language. But the new paves its
way despite the rules in effect. The controversy between the inherited
from the past and created now is the controversy peculiar for any
language. The literary language strives to fix the norms available as
compulsory ones but in speech practice there is a tendency for a
different usage conditioned by grammar rules. If this tendency meets
the regularities of language development, it, eventually, takes an
upper hand.
Here briefly we will illustrate our musings with some examples of
a lexical quantor genesis as a result of the dynamics of a language
norm. A good example of a language norm deviation (i.e. dynamics)
and at the same time the acceptance of such a deviation by a language
community may be a most spread word-combination not only in the
USA but in a multilingual world – ОK. In a well-known book
“Predicting New Words” by A. Metcalf the history of this lexical
quantor has its detailed account thanks to the thorough research of
American scholars A. W. Read and B. Popik26. A lexical quantor ОK,
notwithstanding various myths and legends of its genesis, was created
due to the pragmatic factors. This abbreviation appeared for the first
time in Boston paper Morning Post on March 23, 1839, mainly used
for humorous effect. The author used o.k. instead of all correct:
The "Chairman of the Committee on Charity Lecture Bells" is one of
the deputation, and perhaps if he should return to Boston, via
Providence, he of the [Providence] Journal, and his train-band, would
have the "contribution box", et ceteras, o.k.– all correct– and cause the
corks to fly, like sparks, upward27.
And three days later in the same paper:
Many of O.F.M. and several futcheons had the pleasure of these
“interesting strangers” by the hand’ and wishing them a speedy passage
to the Commercial Emporium. They were o.k.28.

26
Metcalf A. Predicting New Words. The Secrets of Their Success / A. Metcalf. –
Boston, New York : Houghton Mifftin Company, 2002.
27
Ibid. C. 140.
28
Ibid. C. 140-141.

48
 Without going into details about the author’s intentions, suffice it to say
that the usage of a lexical quantor represented by a letter abbreviation OK
for all correct is totally incorrect, it completely ignores the norms of a
literary standard norm. However, OK has become a fully-fledged element
of the system of the English (and not only English!) language in contrast to
O.W. (all right) which was used even earlier (1838). Why? Evidently,
extralinguistic factors were very important, such as the frequency of a
lexical quantor usage by the speakers, acceptance by a language community,
etc. When an innovative lexical quantor enters the language system it should
meet some regulation principles which would unobtrusively facilitate its
learning and usage by the speakers. In this respect the Apgar scale may be
helpful for analysis. Dr. Virginia Apgar as early as in 1952 suggested the
principles of frequency of use, unobtrusiveness, diversity of use and
situations, generation of other forms and meanings, and endurance of the
concept as the major factors of a new word genesis29.
A newly coined lexical quantor should not draw attention of the
fault-finding lexicographers and common speakers. Among such coinages
we can mention lexical quantors like plan B, heads-up, etc.
In the 20s of the last century a lexical quantor heads-up was used to
warn of danger, but later it acquired a broader semantics within a
language norm acquiring the general meaning of drawing the addressee’s
attention to some language event (heads-up about seminars, auditions, a
new album, new search technology, etc.). Some heads-up as lexical
quantors retained the seme “danger” in its semantic structure (heads-up
about handling a chemical accident, being aware of crabmeat fiber stuck
in your teeth, etc.), though not so much conspicuously as it used to be in
the middle of the last century.
What happens if something does not work out as planned? Then it is
expedient to use plan B. This lexical quantor is completely in compliance
with a language norm requirements and appeals to a speaker due to its
natural expression form. Obviously, it is characterized with the implicit
semantic load which implies an alternative strategy to meet this end, striving
to find creative alternative solutions of the problem. This is why this lexical
quantor is popular in everyday communication as in the example:
Bobby: What about Plan B?

29
Metcalf A. Predicting New Words. The Secrets of Their Success / A. Metcalf. –
Boston, New York : Houghton Mifftin Company, 2002. C. 152.

49
 Eugene: Do you think we should?
Bobby: Well, nothing else is working, is it? Can you think of an
alternative?
Eugene: It could backfire. You know the risks involved…30
We never mention Plan А, though strange it might seem. Actually
Plan A does not exist at all. We resort to Plan B only if something does
not take place as anticipated.
There are also instances of a lexical quantor genesis when the
process of its entering the system of language is not as smooth as
expected. Sometimes a language community does not accept it as a
normative lexical creation. It takes some time for a lexical quantor to take
its rightful place in the system of language. In the 60s-70s of the last
century a lexical quantor hopefully was not considered to be a normative
lexical formation in language. Its appearance as a substitution for the
syntactic construction I hope in the sentences like: “Hopefully, the rain
will stop”, “Hopefully, I’ll find the job soon” or “Hopefully, the crisis will
go down” caused a strong opposition of purists who considered
reasonably that a sentence cannot be modified by an adverb. Bu with time
the language users overcame this opposition and drew attention of
politicians, businessmen and people of all walks of life resulted in wide
usage of lexical quantor hopefully without which we cannot do nowadays.
It is quite clear that it is necessary to take into account the relevance
of an appropriate word-formation pattern and the lack of words in the
language system to express a new meaning in a lexical quantor..
The following criteria are essential to characterize a language
phenomenon as that of containing new information/ knowledge: the
relevance of a given fact to the language structure, regular reproductivity
of the phenomenon in the process of communication (language adaptation
of knowledge); social approval and acknowledgement of an appropriate
phenomenon and its naming (social adaptation of knowledge). In this
creative process the influence of usage is very important.
A lexical quantor genesis may be traced in respect to a language
norm dynamics taking into account a subjective factor. A language norm
dynamics is closely associated not only with the evolution of language
phenomena but the evolution of a language community in general, and its

30
Metcalf A. Predicting New Words. The Secrets of Their Success / A. Metcalf. –
Boston, New York : Houghton Mifftin Company, 2002. C. 145.

50
interaction with the elements of the community. Such an assumption is
helpful in an explicit presentation the main stages of a lexical quantor
genesis as it is shown in Fig.1. The scheme includes such constituents of
this process as individuality, creativity, social group, usage, society
(community), and norm. The simplified scheme clearly shows both the
creative starting point of forming a lexical quantor with a new meaning
and the ways of its entering the language system through usage by a
certain segment of a language community as well as its fixation in the
form of a norm which is used by the society.

SPEECH LANGUAGE

social language
person group community

word creation usage language norm

(nonce - word) (slang) (neologism)

Fig. 1. Lexical quantor and language norm

There are three basic causes for inner evolution (dynamics) of a

language norm: the systematicity law (a global law which is at the same
time a property and quality of a language); a law of tradition which
usually hinders the innovation processes; analogy law (stimulates
disrupting of traditionality); economy law 9or “minimum effort law”)31.
The systematicity law is manifested at various levels (morphological,
lexical, and syntactical). The semantic change of a lexical quantor may
result in syntactic collocation change and even a word form. And the
other way round, a new syntactic collocation may result in semantic
change of a word:

31
Горбачевич К.С. Нормы современного русского литературного языка. М. :
Просвещение, 1989. C. 47.

51
 Abroadness (n) (Abroad(adj.)+ness) – staying abroad with the aim
of studying, continuify(v) (continue(v)+ify) – to make the process
lasting32. These are one-time formations needed for a specific situation
(e.g. “I am thinking of some abroadness”).
The law of tradition is a complex totality of inner and outer stimuli
which hinder the innovative processes in language. The language norm
can impose some taboo on these processes. This law aims at preserving
some stability in language but language potentialities try to violate it
making a breakthrough in the system quite natural.
The law of analogy is manifested in inner overcoming of language
anomalies which takes place when one form of a language expression
resembles the other: “While some words are break-downable, the
others?”33
The adjective Break-downable (break-down(v)+able)(capable of
being broken down into smaller parts or pieces) is not registered in
dictionaries but formed in accordance with analogy (e.g. applicable,
doable, movable, etc.)
The law of economy strives to conciseness in verbal expression and
is manifested at all language levels (lexis, morphology, syntax):
“What is your edress?”
The author does not use “e-mail address” but creates a new lexical
quantor in terms of blending “edress”.
Various abbreviations are also the evidence of the application of this
law: B2B (business-to-business); CWS – celebrity worship syndrome34.
Among the outer or extralinguistic factors we can mention the
following: the changes in native speakers’ environment, spreading of
education, territorial migration of people, establishing a new statehood,
technology and science development, international contacts, mass
media, etc.

CONCLUSIONS
The ongoing changes in language are the evidence of permanent
innovative processes in it. These processes are most vivid in a lexical
system of a language, and terminology in particular. A newly coined term “a
32
Зацний Ю.А. Інновації у словниковому складі англійської мови початку
ХХІ століття : англо-український словник. Вінниця : Нова Книга, 2008. C. 26; 42.
33
Ibidem. C. 34.
34
Ibidem. C. 27.

52
lexical quantor’ is called for to transfer some amount of knowledge
(a quantum of information) about the outer world with a help of lexical
means. The linguistic means used to describe the outer world may be
regarded as a linguistic worldview; therefore a lexical quantor is viewed as
an operator of this worldview. Thus, a lexical quantor (quantum +operator)
is a term designating some knowledge about a segment of the language
worldview, conveying appropriate information about it. It is in compliance
with all the requirements for term formation requirements, nominativity,
reproductibility in language and speech, availability of a definition which
correlates with a certain notion, the lack of stylistic expressivity, motivation,
exactness, and a systemic character being among the most essential.
A lexical quantor as a nominative meaningful informational and content unit
is a verbalized result of thinking, a linguocognitive means of a language
personality’s orientation in the outer world in the process of its cognition
and communication.
A lexical quantor as any linguistic unit is a linguistic sign. It
generalizes (significative function), nominates, signifies (nominative
function), informs (performs a communicative function), and expresses
some feelings, experience of the speaker (pragmatic function). A lexical
quantor as a linguistic sign by its nature is a conventional way of
transferring the information in the process of its actualization under specific
conditions of language functioning in linguocultural community.
The genesis of a lexical quantor may be viewed in terms of its
relation to a language norm dynamics. A lexical quantor genesis is much
caused by a speaker’s intentions, his/her interest in changes due to the
needs of communication. This need is a stimulus for activation the
speaker’s consciousness, impetus for language generating process. The
very emergence of a new word (a lexical quantor) is much stipulated by
its creator; it is the creator who selects from the available inner lexicon
the most appropriate lexical means that expresses his/her feelings to the
best so that to transfer a certain quantum of information which correlates
with his/her intention. In case of lacking such a word in this lexicon, the
speaker modifies an old lexical unit or creates a new one.
The development of the society necessitates the need to transfer new
knowledge/information about the world resulting in emergence innovative
lexical quantors. Due to the openness and dynamics of a language system
new lexical or grammatical units may be used in language to designate new
knowledge. The normativity of a language phenomenon is a result of inner

53
and outer factors interaction in speech and language. The language is aimed
at reflection of reality in a person’s consciousness and the world of images
which are between this reality and a person. This is a totality of
information/knowledge that constitutes a language worldview. The
worldview is being constantly enriched and corrected regulating a person’s
behavior and ensuring his/her cognitive activity.

SUMMARY
The article dwells on the problem of word formation issues in
general and term formation in particular. It has been offered to use a
newly coined term “a lexical quantor” in philological studies. A lexical
quantor has been defined as a lexical unit represented by a word or word
combination conveying some amount (quantum) of information or
knowledge about the surrounding world or its segment acting as a
worldview operator.
It has been emphasized that a lexical quantor as a linguistic sign is
treated as a linguocognitive unit transferring a certain amount of the
verbalized knowledge about the worldview segment, i.e. transferring the
information in the process of cognition of the outer world within a verbal
mechanism. Another important property of a lexical quantor as a sign is
its arbitrary nature.
It has been determined that a lexical quantor genesis is closely
related with a language norm dynamics. A lexical quantor genesis is
much stipulated by inner dynamics of a language norm conditioned by
the systematicity law; a law of tradition; economy law as well as a
number of outer factors. The following outer or extralinguistic factors of
a language norm dynamics contribute to a lexical quantor genesis: the
changes in native speakers’ environment, spreading of education,
territorial migration of people, establishing a new statehood, technology
and science development, international contacts, mass media, etc.

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Information about the author:

Bialyk V. D.
Doctor of Philology, Professor,
Chair of the Department of Communicative Linguistics and Translation,
Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
2, Kotsiubynskyi str., Chernivtsi, 58012, Ukraine

56
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/57-75

CONCEPT BREAK METAPHORIC ACTUALISATION

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONSCIOUSNESS

Ivanchenko M. Yu.

INTRODUCTION
Within recent decades, the linguistic thought is clearly oriented on
the study of the thinking and language interaction processes problems.
One of the most important cognitive abilities of a person is the
ability to distinguish from the general flow the information that is
necessary to meet its own needs, and to correlate it with the surrounding
world and the state of things1. An important cognitive component of the
human mind is the ability to form concepts and categories formation,
which, in fact, is called conceptualization and categorization of the
world2. Mechanisms of categorization, interpretation and human world
representation in language increasingly attract researches’ attention,
analysis of concepts in the speech space. The object of many linguistic
studies in recent years is the peculiarities of objects and phenomena
conceptualization.
The given research is fulfilled within linguistic and cultural approach
to the concept study, because concept BREAK is considered as a
verbalized cultural-marked meaning, represented by language signs that
express certain cultural values of a particular linguistic culture
representatives, as collective consciousness units, which are marked by
ethno-cultural consciousness and have a linguistic expression.
The concept BREAK content is disclosed in the aspect of lexical
semantics and cognitive linguistics, where all questions related to the
conceptual system fragments explication in the language are studied
within the knowledge category perspective, which is defined as central in
this field. The paper considers the principles of speakers’ knowledge and
ideas about extra linguistic reality representing in the systemic language

1
Приходько А.М. Концепти та концептосистеми в когнітивно-дискурсивній
парадигмі лінгвістики. Запоріжжя: Прем’єр, 2008. Ст. 20.
2
Кубрякова Е.С. Категоризация мира: пространство и время. М.: МГУ, 1997. Ст. 3.

57
meaning of the lexeme break and its derivatives as key words of the
concept
BREAK designation, as well as actualized in the text fragments
where the given words are used.
The urgency of the study is due to the orientation of modern
linguistic findings on the study of the reality representation peculiarities,
the knowledge transfers and preservation by the linguistic units that
reveal the specificity of the particular ethnic group worldview. In
addition, the study of the concept BREAK as an extra-linguistic
phenomenon is relevant. The semantic structure of the words that
objectivize the researched onomasiological space in English was already
the object of linguistic research (Gursky S.O., Danilova Z.V.,
Shiryaeva A.V.), as a result, the scientists managed to outline and
describe the invariant meaning of these lexemes and consider their
potential ability to combine with other words. By analyzing the
metaphorical actualization of the concept BREAK, the first attempt is
made to create a universal transition from objects and phenomena of
reality to their language marking. Such analysis gives us the opportunity
to discover the national specificity of the conceptual space key units
coding, thus deepening intercultural understanding.
The purpose of the study is to determine the concept BREAK
metaphorical actualization specificity in contemporary English on the
modern English material in the aspect of cognitive linguistics and
linguacultural.
Achievement of the set goal involves the solution of the following
tasks: to define theoretical and methodological principles of the concept
BREAK linguistic and cognitive analysis; to formulate a cognitive
definition of the concept BREAK in modern English; to inventarise and
analyse metaphors, that is, ways of verbalizing it, which is the result of
this extra-linguistic phenomenon passing through the prism of the native
speakers’ national mentality. In the concept structure conceptual
metaphors form certain semantic blocks – results of the speakers’
language creating activity.

1. Theoretical Foundations of the Study of Concepts

in Modern Linguistic Science
Concept is the basic unit of Conceptual Science, Linguistic
Culturology, and is a “complex multidimensional socio-psychological

58
and cultural-significant entity that correlates with both collective and
individual consciousness and is related to the field of science and art, the
sphere of life and the social environment in which the speech subject is
located”3.
At the present stage of linguistics development, one of the leading
approaches to the concept study is linguistic-cognitive. Under such
approach, the concept is conceived as thought structure objectified in the
language sign, mental entities which suppose mental activity, reflect the
sequence of views, concepts and the subject representation of certain
reality fragment. These representations reflect the value-normative
system of the individual, and therefore have a subjective character.
The study of the concepts, the linguistic worldview understanding
and its influence on thinking is undoubtedly important4, since the concept
is “a cognitive entity that substitutes in the process of thinking the
indefinite plurality of objects of the same kind”5. It is formed in the
process of processing information, which involves the identification of
analogies, the formation of associative relationships, analysis, synthesis,
that is, the concept – this “embryo of thinking operations”6.
Consequently, with the help of concepts as descriptive units of the
subject intelligence, we can describe the dynamics of the structural and
functional intelligence organization in the form of creation and
development, that is, the process of conceptualization. Thus, the main
descriptive unit of the intelligence organization of the subject, which
knows the reality are the concepts as a combination of notions the person
operates.
Moreover, the concept is the result of the reality fixation in the
people minds, expressed by the verbal sign and determined by the culture
and national mentality of the native speakers.
To sum up, we define the concept as a mental entity, which has an
ordered internal structure that is the result of the cognitive activity of the

3
Ковалёва Т.Ю. О содержательных контекстах понятия концепт: от В. Гум-
больдта и А.А. Потебни к А. Вежбицкой и Ю.С. Степанову. Язык. Человек. Картина
мира : материалы всерос. науч. конф. Омск: Омск. гос. ун-т, 2000. Ч. 1. Ст. 16.
4
Kecskes I. Language, Culture, and Context. The Routledge Handbook of Language
and Culture. 2014.
5
Geeraerts D. Conceptual Structure and Conceptual Variation. Shanghai: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press, 2017.
6
Gyuro M. Humor and Metaphors in Medical Language. Discourse and Interaction.
2017. № 10. P. 49.

59
individual and society, contains information about the object or
phenomenon to be marked, its interpretation and its relation to the social
consciousness, that is, it is ethno-specific and has a linguistic expression.
According to the logic of scientific research the methods are
determined by the nature and properties of the researched object.
Therefore, as the main method of research, we chose a conceptual
analysis.
The basic principles of conceptual analysis, according to O. Seliva-
nova, are modularism and holism, cognitivism, and connectionism7. This
antonymies researcher outlines on the basis of human brain
neurophysiological properties: the divisibility of the human spirit to the
complexes of subsystems – modules (modularism (M. Barvish, E. Lang,
V. Demyankov), a description of the universal laws that underlie all
mental abilities (holism); the ability of the human brain to operate
symbols like a computer (cognitivism), a way of representing any concept
that involves the activation and excitement of interrelated elements
(connectionism). Therefore, among the main features of the conceptual
analysis the following may be outlined: a high degree of conceptual units’
abstraction that appear in the analysis, arranging the components selected
in the analysis as a part of a conceptual structure, operation with
generalized concepts.
In conceptual cognitivism several areas of conceptual analysis are
outlined, one of which is the so-called “logical analysis of language”
(N. Arutyunova, A. Yakovleva, T. Radziyevska, R. Rosina, N. Ryabt-
seva, G. Yavorskaya, etc.). Ethnocentric theory of A. Vezhbitskaya. One
type of conceptual analysis, developed by I. Melchuk, S. Nikitina,
L. Tsimbulsky, relies on the interpretation of concepts through the
semantic records of formalized language.
The most appropriate for our research is the method of conceptual
study proposed by M. Boldyrev as a process of revealing conceptual
characteristics through the values of the linguistic units representing a
certain concept, their vocabulary and language contexts8, since the object
of such analysis is the meaning of individual words, phrases, typical
sentences and their implementation in the form of specific expressions.

7
Селиванова Е.А. Когнитивная ономасиология. К.: Фитосоциоцентр, 2000.
Ст. 114–120.
8
Болдырев Н.Н. Когнитивная семантика. Тамбов: Изд-во Тамб. ун-та, 2000. Ст. 31.

60
The use of several approaches aimed at disclosing the concept content
and structure, causes a variety of linguistic means of its description, and
thus ensures the reliability of the results.
The priority task will be to establish the lexical representation of the
concept (the name of the concept), since such words are “particularly
important and indicative for a particular culture”9, and the discovery of
the seme composition by analysing the interpretation of the basic concept
lexical representation in various ideographical, synonymous dictionaries,
thesauruses. To clarify, correct these vocabulary materials, it is expedient
to add examples from a various texts, that is, the contextual realization of
the concept under study.
The unit of contextual analysis is the conceptual metaphor that is the
product of the cognitive activity of the human brain, the dynamic mental
process, which forms new concepts and without which it is impossible to
gain new knowledge.
According to numerous studies of I. Kant, H. Blumenberg,
I. Richards, H. Weinrich, M. Reddy, S. Pepper etc. metaphorization is the
natural ability of man. Modern cognitive linguistics considers metaphor
as a form of thinking, and a metaphorical model as the means of
cognition and explanation of reality.
The idea of the metaphor conceptuality was expressed by Aristotle,
who understood it broadly as a transfer in general, dividing the metaphors
into categorical and by analogy: “Metaphor is the transfer of an unusual
name from the genus to the species, or from the species to the genus,
either from a species to a species, or by analogy” 10, Even in 1936,
I. Richards emphasized that the figures of the language have a conceptual
status11. In linguistics, conceptual metaphors are sometimes referred to as
conceptual schemas or metaphorical strategies. They are universal and are
regularly reflected in concrete metaphorical statements. For the first time
before use, the term “conceptual metaphor” was introduced by J. Lacoff
and M. Johns12. In their interpretation, this means the process of

9
Вежбицкая А. Семантические универсалии и описание языков. М.: Языки
русской литературы, 1999. Ст. 282.
10
Aristotel’s Poetics. Scolar Select. Andesite Press, 2015. P. 39.
11
Свидерский В.И. О диалектике элементов и структуры. М.: Изд-во МГУ, 1962.
Ст. 142.
12
Lakoff G., Johnson, M. Metaphors We Live By. Chicago, IL: University of
Chicago Press, 2003. 193 p.

61
understanding one concept or conceptual sphere in terms of another
concept or conceptual sphere.
Conceptual metaphors are “an integral part of the cultural paradigm
of the native speakers”13, it is the prism through which the person sees the
world14. The metaphor can reflect the traditions according to which the
choice of abstract categories comprehension means is carried out, the
existence of which is due to climatic, territorial, social and other
extralinguistic factors, which are objective for a certain language group.
According to V. Maslova, all that is embodied in culture, tradition, folk
and personal experience15.
Trying to outline the margins of the reality fragment that defines its
language expression. In the role of an extra language correlation of the
investigated concept, we chose those realities that denote the damage. In
our opinion, this very phenomenon that most capaciously transmit the
generalized meaning of the concept BREAK speech verbalizers. In our
study, damage is understood as a turning point, a transition to a
qualitatively new level of existence, a change in the way of functioning.
The objects of BREAK can be concrete (any objects of objective reality),
and abstract units (feelings, emotions, behaviour) as well. We can talk
nominally about the change of functioning way, for example, emotions
and feelings, but they are the objects of damage as well, loss of harmony,
balance: disappointment, humiliation, annoyance, betrayal, etc.
Ideographic sources analysis showed that the concept BREAK
semantic structure consists of semes: separation, destruction, betrayal,
breakage, breaking, fracture, wear, damage, interruption, gap,
detachment from the whole, sharp sound, explosion, breakthrough,
bankruptcy, change of location, confinement, termination, splitting,
impact, etc. Each seme is identified by a number of semantically
connected lexical units, which are the linguistic expression of the
investigated concept. Namely:
analyze, bankrupt, beat, breach, bruise, burst, bust, cashier, change,
chip, comb, crack, crackle, crash, craze, crumble, cultivate, cut, dash,
degrade, demolish, depart, destroy, diminish, disband, discontinue,

13
Khabirova E. Metaphorical terms in the context of linguistic research articles.
XLinguae. European Scientific Language Journal. 2018. № 11. P. 504.
14
Маслова В. А. Введение в когнитивную лингвистику: Учебное пособие для
вузов. М.: ИТДГК «Гнозис», 2004. Ст. 91.
15
Ibidem. Ст. 55.

62
disintegrate, dislocate, dismiss, disperse, dissolve, disturb, divide, drill,
enter, erupt, exceed, expel, explode, fail, fall, finish, fissure, force,
fracture, fragment, gentle, graze, housebreak, infract, infringe, intercept,
intermit, interrupt, kick, kill, knack, knap, liquidate, open, part, reduce,
rend, replace, separate, sever, shatter, shiver, smash, snap, splinter, split,
spring, start, stave, stop, suspend, tame, tear, transgress, turn, vary,
violate, wreck.
The BREAK concept in English is represented by a number of
images, the analysis of which allows you to highlight the basic conceptual
metaphors that actualize the corresponding language phenomenon.
Consequently, we analysed the contexts in which the inventoried
lexemes are used and basing on the discovered conceptual metaphors,
united by the common meaning of structural change, characterized by
varying degrees of this sign expression, divided them into groups.

2. Concept BREAK Metaphorical Actualization as a Change

in Physical Condition and the Person’s Moral State
Concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as a change in physical
condition. The basic idea of this metaphor group is the idea of the object
quality as a unity of elements and structure. Thus, a holistic characteristic
of the quality of things and phenomena, their nature – is a characteristic
of the object as a system with a certain structure. Therefore, BREAK, in
our case, is a violation of the structure, that is, the integrity and unity of
the object.
Interruption. This conceptual metaphor is based on the idea of a
person as a speaker, whose linguistic continuum is interrupted by
inappropriate remarks of the listener, makes it temporarily or completely
silent.
With this insight into a bold, ambitious, and ardent, yet artful and
politic character, we resume the broken thread of our narrative (21, 98).
"Mr. Twist, it can't be done," broke in Mrs. Bilton a fresh and
mountainous wave of speech gathering above Mr. Twist's head. "It
absolutely–" (13, 150).
‘Do you know ‘, said Mrs. Oliver, chipping in again, ‘whether Celia
was there or not?’ (2, 49).
Separation. At the heart of this metaphor is the idea of an object as a
structural unit, which is damaged as a result of the loss of a part, its
detachment.

63
 Even as he saw this, one of the bodyguards peeled off to come ahead
and see what was wrong (2, 242).
Division. The concept BREAK can be metaphorically represented as
a division thought to be a separation into (component) parts. Verbs
denoting the partitioning process are used with the nouns part, unit,
group, and piece.
The crack-up of the Rolls-Royce company was surprised and
shocked by everyone in Britain (8, 81).
The verb to crack denotes a fleeting physical process that is
accompanied by a sharp sound. As a rule, objects of this process are
fragile, delicate material objects. Thus, in this context, the unexpected
collapse of the company due to the negligence of the management, as
well as the fact that this event caused a great resonance in society, is
indicated.
I didn’t want to break into a twenty-pound note (10, 23).
In this case, the verb to break is used in a figurative meaning not due
to its nominative ability to call processes aimed at destroying the
structure of objects, but because of the result of such processes – the
presence of individual parts of the integrity.
Break in relationships. This metaphor is based on the perception of
damage as a cessation of relations between people, states as a result of
irrelevant actions of one of the parties.
In 1929 he broke with the Liberal Party over Lloyd George’s
politicizes (2, 27).
Disease. The concept BREAK can be metaphorically represented as
a disease, a pathological process that manifests itself in disorders of the
anatomical structure, metabolism, and the functioning of the organism (its
parts) in humans or animals.
I’d crack up if there wasn’t someone I could talk to (4, 83)
When I last saw Smith he looked like a man who’s had the spirit
crushed out of him (13, 113).
Avoid – try not to communicate with anyone, to resist someone, to
step aside from any actions, to participate in any business, work.
If Mary keeps on cutting classes, she’ll fail the course (1, 68).
In this example, the learning process is conceived as a certain
material object, which consists of a plurality of homogeneous elements.
Ignoring classes is actualized with the help of the verb to cut, namely, due

64
to the seme “depriving connection”. The conceptual metaphor “Avoid –
Skip” appeared in the associative plane “eliminate, disconnect”.
Reduction. The essence of this metaphor consists in the notion of a
structural change as a loss in quantity or volume.
If you cut your article down to about 1000 words, we will publish it
in our next issue (7, 85).
Destruction. The basis of this metaphor is the notion of damage as a
total destruction of life and the activity manifestations in any form.
They turned room 37 over – it looked as if a tornado hit it (2, 423).
In some cases, in the role of the metaphor “damage-destruction”
objects are “plans for the future”:
All my plans fell to pieces (15, 79).
This metaphor finds realization in folk art. In the next proverb, plans
are compared with the object of extra-ordinary reality, which has a fragile
structure. Such a comparison points to the variability of plans and the
dependence of their implementation on many external factors. The nature
of the consequences of such changes is actualized through the indication
of the destruction place – pockets.
(1) Break the egg in anybody’s pocket (to spoil his plan) (5, 83).
Withdrawal. This is the process by which a certain object of the
surrounding reality leaves the place of its previous stay owing to external
influence, called “withdrawal”.
Uncle Bob left Sally nothing in his will. He cut her out years ago (to
remove someone or something) (6, 53).
The actualized figure of the language became possible due to the
presence of the seme “ultimately, irrevocably, clearly aware of the
boundaries” in the verb to cut.
Withdrawal in some cases is conceptualized using verbs that denote
the way of carrying out the appropriate manipulations due to the
structural features of the object:
The sugar cane is taken to the factory where the juice is crushed out
(removed) (7, 84).
Death. The termination of the physiological processes functioning is
called death. In modern English there is a large number of idiomatic
expressions that form this conceptual metaphor: to kick the bucket (die,
pass away), to turn one's toes etc. The objects of this metaphor are both
people and other living creatures (animals, birds, insects, etc.).

65
 The cause of death is the cessation of the vital activity of the
organism and its death, the termination of biological metabolism as a
result of the natural course of events, aging.
When I kick the bucket, I want a huge funeral with lots of flowers
and crying (6, 93).
Inappropriate, rough, with an unpleasant emotional color, the word
or expression in formal language is replaced by others, more delicate, in
order to adhere to aesthetics. The euphemism are usually applied. So, in
our case, instead of “kill, cause death” it is said “to finish”:
The spider finished off the fly (4, 36)
The associative connection was made possible by actualization the
nuclear seme of the verb to finish “to bring to an end or to complete”,
which to some extent explains the nature of the death sense.
Obstacle. The concept BREAK is metaphorically thought as a barrier
that impedes, restricts action. This metaphor is realized in the following
statements:
When the little boy fell out of the window, the bushes broke his fall
(1, 37);
The old lady slipped on the ice, but a snowbank broke her fall (14, 63).
Concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as a change of person’s
moral state
Disappointment. The essence of this conceptual metaphor is the
concept BREAK presentation as a feeling of dissatisfaction because of
the impossibility to realize person’s dreams and aspirations, failure;
disbelief in someone, for some reason. In a metaphorical representation
of embedded emotions, hopes are heart and chest. In many religions,
the heart is perceived as a place of the soul existence and the birth of
feelings. The notion of disappointment as a heart injury is the basis for
such sustained metaphorical expressions as to break one's spirit.
Example:
Instead of telling me the truth, you decided it’d be easier to break my
heart. (14, 122).
You’re a broken spirit, needing to be freed from this hellish life. (9, 79).
Humiliation. The conceptual metaphor “humiliation” is based on
the idea of a person as a carrier of pride and dignity, which are purely
anthropometric qualities. The humiliation is the neglect of the
individual dignity, the conscious negative, the unfair attitude, which it
doesn’t deserve. Human dignity is conceived as a certain quantity,

66
whereas humiliation is directed at its reduction or even complete
destruction.
Tom is always tearing Jane down. I guess he doesn’t like her (1, 326).
The following examples of conceptual metaphors have emerged due
to the actualization of the peripheral seme of the verb to start “to assault
at anyone, to argue”:
I warn you, don’t start on my father! (criticize, teas) (22, 43);
They started on Jim over the Welsh business (criticize, teas) (2, 362).
Betrayal. Any relationship of people exists within the framework of
certain binary social relations based on the categories of faith. Betrayal is
an irrelevant result that causes the fail of the trust process normal
functioning.
The corresponding conceptual metaphor is actualized with the help
of the verb to break, which is used here in its main meaning – “damage,
destroy”. The process of creating a metaphorical connection between the
spheres of material and abstract occurs by matching objects of betrayal
with objects that have a fragile structure:
Promises are like pie-crust, made to be broken (6, 196);
Eggs and oaths are easily broken (5, 201).
A man that breaks his word, bids others be false to him (6, 196).
Useless, ineffective. The metaphorical representation of the concept
BREAK, as uselessness and ineffectiveness, is relevant to the conceptual
metaphors of “disappointment”, since it also expresses the inability to
achieve a certain result, the meaninglessness of the actions being
performed.
The predicate to beat belong to the lexemes, which reflect
the semantic structure of the concept BREAK in its main meaning
“to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly; to dash against; to
break, forge”. A significant number of conceptual metaphors of the
subgroup “Uselessness and ineffectiveness” are created with the
help of this verb.
Stop beating your gums. I’m not listening to you (1, 28).
In this sentence, the nuclear sememe of the verb to beat is
actualized – “strike, clap” and slang – “stunning, puzzling, put in a dead
end”. The metaphorical assimilation of these two families occurred,
obviously, in the plane “desperately trying to achieve any result”.

67
 3. Concept BREAK Metaphorical Actualization as a Turning Point,
the Transition from One State of Existence to Another
Concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as a transient moment
in the space-time continuum.
Beginning. Damage can be metaphorically represented as the
beginning, a point of subjective sensation of birth, the development of
any process that is perceived by the observer. The feeling of beginning is
closely linked to any movement and direction of this movement. This
metaphor objects are actions that by their nature are finite in the time
space: party, formal event, picnic, boxing fight, game, play.
Simon is the only person who always break the ice at parties (10, 28)
The beginning of such negative social phenomena as the epidemic,
the war, is actualized as “to explode, to fire”:
The Plague broke out in London that Summer, and hundreds died
(7, 35);
War was, so to speak, floating in the air, and was each moment
expected to break upon the two leading nations of the Continent (16, 131).
Termination. This conceptual metaphor is based on the notion of
damage as the end, completion of action, process.
It’s hard to kick a habit, but it can be done. I stopped biting my nails
(1, 193).
The metaphor verbalized in the sentence appeared due to the
actualization of the nuclear semen of the verb to kick “strike out with the
foot or feet”. In this way, the disrespectful attitude to this phenomenon
and the desire to get rid of it forever are expressed.
The government has worked for years to break the back of organized
crime (44, 130).
The consequence of spinal injury is usually a loss of ability to move
independently. In this case, physical disabilities are projected onto a
negative social phenomenon, such as crime.
Concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as transition from
potential being to actual.
Change of the existence state. Concept BREAK can be
metaphorically represented as (sudden) change in emotional state. The
object of such changes is a person who is under the influence of external
stimuli laughs, cries, falls in love, admires, etc.
“To laugh – to burst”. In this conceptual metaphor, laughter is
compared with the explosion and the attention is focused on such

68
characteristics of laughter as unexpectedness and intensity, accompanied
by loud sound and often outwardly expressed by chaotic movements.
You will of course offer to fight every one of them, until all, the bride
included, will burst out into Olympian laughter (16, 101).
Laughter and cry are diametrically opposite to the content of
emotion, but their external appearance is similar. The same thing we
observe in the metaphorical actualization of these emotions – the
formation of associative relationships takes place on the same principle:
It began to sob piteously, losing its breath for four or five seconds,
and then bursting out crying anew (17, 54).
The whole family was completely crushed by the news (11, 101).
In the following example, the child's behavior is conceived as a
mechanical device that can be turned on and off as needed:
A kid who knew how to turn on the charm (8, 378).
The worsening of women’s behavior after marriage by analogy is
compared to physical injury:
She has broken her elbow at the church door (5, 87).
Reincarnation can also apply to the mental state of man:
The mayor cracked up after only a year in office (went crazy) (1, 66).
The loss of common sense in this case is actualized with the help of
the verb to crack, which is the physical process, aimed at damage of the
object structure, in which the overall integrity is maintained. Such
physical characteristics are projected to the mental state of a person, and
thus emphasize its features. A person who, for one reason or another, lost
the ability to adequately assess objective reality, apparently does not
change practically, but the manner of conversation and some non-relevant
movements show its illness.
Concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as overcoming
uncertainty.
Success. Concept BREAK is metaphorically conceived as a success,
the essence of which is to overcome the crisis situation, change the state
of affairs. This is a turning point in the transition from one state of
existence to another. Successful completion of the action involves
persistent work, finding rational ways to solve the problem, overcoming
difficulties. In modern English there is a large number of idiomatic
expressions that form this conceptual metaphor, and they are formed on
the basis of associative ties with animals, birds:

69
 He could hardly believe he had broken his duck at last, that he was
to have a start story published in a reputable magazine (9, 77).
The wish for success is sometimes expressed by the expression with
opposite meaning:
“Break a leg!” – she whispered as he went on stage (to wish an
actor luck) (4, 34).
Adaptation. The process of adapting to new circumstances, the
introduction of new under existing conditions, the beginning of the object
using is called adaptation, which is metaphorically conceived as:
“Adapt – to tame”, that is, to teach to go in a harness or under a
saddle (about a horse):
This is her first chance to break in a pony (9, 23).
Test drive, check in working the suitability, readiness for something
to use:
The man decided to break in the car (9, 23).
“Adapt – to wear”, make it more spacious, free, more comfortable
(clothes, shoes):
It took me weeks to break in these new boots (2, 25);
“Adapt – to introduce a new person into a collective”
Chief Brody liked to break in his young men slowly (1, 36);
All of the above-mentioned examples of conceptual metaphors were
formed as the result of the verb to break nuclear seme actualization. The
created associative connections are based on the idea of the beast
behavior, a team workers or objects of clothing, shoes, cars as objects,
first of all, with a certain structure, somewhat deformed under the
influence of external factors or in the process of use. Deformation as a
physical phenomenon has a generally negative meaning, but in our case
gets positive connotations.
Appearing. The essence of this metaphor consists in the perception
of “damage” as being perceived sensually, to a certain extent in the eye.
According to the knowledge theory, the appearing is evidence of the
existence / existence of something new, which was not before. The
metaphor Appearing is conceptualized as following:
The cavalry escort went by; then the royal coach with its outriders
burst into view (7, 46).
The metaphorical transfer from the sphere of a concrete to the sphere
of the abstract occurred due to the seme “suddenly” and “sharp” in the
verb to burst semantic structure, which indicates the manner of

70
appearance. In this way, the author tries to simulate the rumble of wheels
and hooves along the pavement, and also emphasizes the unexpected
appearance.
Escape. Damage can be metaphorically represented as escape; the
going absents without leave a place of imprisonment or captivity. Any
living creature (man, animal) seeks freedom as the necessary condition for
its existence. Forced isolation, restriction or imprisonment is contrary to
natural instincts, so the person / animal always looks for ways to release.
Two terrorists have broken out of Blackwall Prison (10, 24).
But how would she ever break free from her maniac husband? (20, 56);
He broke out one spring night in 1946 and hitched south (2, 26);
Message. The essence of this metaphor is to perceive “damage” as a
way to overcome uncertainty. A message is an element of a language that
has an idea and content, a form of information giving, which is suitable
for communication. In a message, a person encodes an idea and passes it
to the addressee in the process of communication. The nature of the
message is compared by analogy with physical processes:
O, I shall expire! Break the news to her gently, Aubrey! I shall die!
(18, 7).
The newspaper story cracked the trouble at city hall wide open (1, 66);
“to say spontaneously – to crack”
She was horrified by her first bite at an apple, which her father had
cracked up to be the finest fruit in the world (7, 81);
In the last two examples, conceptual metaphors are formed with the
verb to crack, which expresses a partial damage of the object structure,
and its overall integrity persists, but leads to loss of meaning – leakage,
rash, etc., which extremely accurately characterizes the aforementioned
extra-linguistic phenomena.
Probably, according to the same principle, the following examples of
conceptual metaphors are formed: “to joke – to crack”
She’s never serious. She’s always cracking jokes (19, 51);
Wonder how he looks at life. Cracking his jokes too: warms the
cockles of his heart (18, 102).

CONCLUSIONS
The metaphorical means of the concept BREAK verbalization are
the generalized and indirect expression of a certain phenomenon with the
help of language, which in its turn is the result of passing this

71
phenomenon through the prism of thinking, during which the
phenomenon itself is not materialized with the help of language, but its
indirect and a generalized reflection. Moreover, it is one of the main
means of knowing reality objects that performs cognitive, nominative,
artistic and sensory-forming functions. The mechanism of a metaphor
formation consists in the formation of comparisons and assimilations of
various material and spiritual culture phenomena. Therefore, through the
metaphors analysis, we are able to reveal the nature of such assimilations
in the nation language consciousness.
The results of the calculations show that most of the metaphors that
objectify the concept BREAK form conceptual metaphors, which denote
“a turning point in the transition from one state to another” (46,4%). This
fact confirms the status of the explored concept as an expression, capable
of denoting change, the transition from one state of existence to another,
which in the language consciousness of the native speakers is perceived
not as a beginning, the creation of a new, but above all, the damage,
destruction of the preexisting.
As a result of the analysis of the concept BREAK conceptual and
semantic components, the following features of this concept are
established: unexpectedness (most conceptual metaphors are formed on the
basis of associations with physical processes that occur suddenly),
unpredictability (the result can be both positive and negative); multiplicity
(time limitation: beginning, termination), short-term (change of position in
space, death), certainty (adaptation, message, appearance, contact), activity
(breakthrough, interruptions) loss of perfection, harmony (humiliation,
disappointment, irritation, betrayal, destruction, illness).
The methodology used is promising for the further study of speech
phenomena in terms of cognitive linguistics and conceptology.

SUMMARY
The article deals with concept BREAK metaphors in English; the
researched concept is viewed with the concern to its national and cultural
actualization peculiarities. The research data includes 915 examples
naming damage inventoried through the complete selection from
dictionaries, thesaurus of English metaphors, fiction texts etc. The
method applied in this research are chosen considering the objectives and
data. The semantic and contextual analysis provided in lexicographical
sources and fiction texts are used to analyse the data collected. All

72
inventoried examples are divided into groups according to the actualized
phenomenon: “concept BREAK metaphorical actualization as a change in
physical condition and the person’s moral state”; “concept BREAK
metaphorical actualization as a turning point, the transition from one state
of existence to another”. The analysis showed that concept BREAK in the
English language consciousness is actualized with the help of verbs
which contain in their semantic structure semes semes: separation,
destruction, betrayal, breakage, breaking, fracture, wear, damage,
interruption, gap, detachment from the whole, sharp sound, explosion,
breakthrough, bankruptcy, change of location, confinement, termination,
splitting, impact, etc.
As a result of the analysis of the concept BREAK conceptual and
semantic components, the following features of this concept are
established: unexpectedness, unpredictability; multiplicity, short-term,
certainty, activity, loss of perfection, harmony.

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Information about the author:

Ivanchenko M. Yu.
Candidate of Philological Science,
Assosiate Professor at the Department
of Foreign Languages and Translation,
Lviv State University of Life Safety
35, Kleparivsjka str., Lviv, 79000, Ukraine

75
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/76-94

MEGATEXT IN ACADEMIC
AND ARTISTIC COMMUNICATION

Kolegaeva I. M.

INTRODUCTION
Prehistoric times are times of which no written manuscripts left.
Thus, the emergence, formation and diversification of written
communication marks civilization shifts in the history of mankind.
Written communication since ancient times has been one of the most
common and effective means of fixing, storing and transmitting
information through time and space.
A written message, from a diary note up to a scientific treatise, unites
people in a joint act of communication, transforming them, according to
A. Papina, into "two active sources of heuristic activity. One participant
implements a communicative plan (the message of certain information),
the other decrypts it"1. At the same time, "responsibility" for the effective
functioning of written communication falls on both participants. "The text
is not autonomous, it does not exist by itself: responsibility is shared
between writer and reader, " wrote Keith Oatley, suggesting a new
designation for this collaborative activity – writingandreading2.
Y. Sidorov stressed: "the essence of the text can only be established in
interconnection of the text and the communicative activities of
participants in the act of speech communication (namely, the author and
recipient)"3.
This scientific research is devoted to the problem of optimizing
the communicative functioning of the text, the process that received the
newly coined, and rather extravagant, name writingandreading. The
optimization mentioned implies deepening the information potential of
the text (the activity of the addresser) and improving its interpretations

1
Папина А.Ф. Текст: его единицы и глобальные категории. Изд. 2-е. Москва:
Едиториал УРСС, 2010. С. 8.
2
Oatley K. Writingandreading. The future of cognitive poetics. Cognitive Poetics in
Practice. London, New York: Routledge, 2003. P. 161.
3
Сидоров Е.В. Порядок текста: монография. Москва: Изд-во РГСУ, 2011. С. 82.

76
(the activity of the addressee) by expanding the volume and complexity
of the structure within such a communicative phenomenon as
megatex. The term megatext was proposed by us as long back as in
19914. It was developed later in a series of publications5.
In the current academic discourse there circulate a dozen of terms
derived from the term text: makrotext, hypertext, paratext, metatext,
hipotext, intertext, texton6. Each of them highlights different peculiarities
of the multifaceted phenomenon of a verbal message structured as a
whole text. Special attention to the structure of text is illustrated by the
prominent name of one of the last publications, where the works of
scientists from different countries are collected Text and Language.
Structures. Functions. Interrelations7. Therefore, research in this area is
definitely relevant.
The aim of the present paper is:
1) to elucidate the phenomenon of megatext,
2) to qualify communicative validity of each component of a
megatext,
3) to expose peculiarities of each of them in appositive academic vs
artistic communication.

4
Колегаева И.М. Текст как единица научной и художественной коммуникации.
Одесса: Одесобллолиграфиздат, 1991. С 76 and beyond
5
Колегаєва І.М. Літературний твір й іншомовна читацька аудиторія.
(Комунікативні аспекти текстових трансформацій). Щорічні записки з українського
мовознавства. Одеса: Вид-во Одеського держ. унів. ім. І. Мечникова, 1996. Вип. 3.
С. 9–22;
Колегаєва І.М. Мегатекст як вияв комунікативної гетерогенності цілого
завершеного тексту. Мовознавство. 1996. № 1. С. 25–30;
Колегаева М.М., Голубенко Л.Н. Феномен коммуникативного посредничества.
Его роль в становлений филолога. Записки з романо-германської філології. Одеса:
Латстар, 2000. № 7. С. 141;
Колегаева И.М. Текстовая парадигма: микро-, макро-, мега-, гипер- и просто
текст. Записки з романо-германської філології. Одеса: Фенікс, 2008. № 22. С. 70–80.
6
Колегаева И.М. Текстовая парадигма: микро-, макро-, мега-, гипер- и просто
текст. Записки з романо-германської філології. Одеса: Фенікс, 2008. № 22. С. 70–80;
Пьеге-Гро И. Введение в теорию интертекстуальности. Москва. Изд-во ЛКИ,
2008. С. 226–229;
Фатеева Н.А. Интертекст в мире текстов: Контрапункт интертекстуальности.
Изд 3-е, стереотипное. Москва.: КомКнига, 2007. 280 с.;
Чернявская В.Е. Лингвистика текста: Поликодовосгь, интертекстуальность,
интердискурсивность. Москва: Книжный дом "ЛИБРОКОМ", 2009. С. 25.
7
Text and Language. Structures. Functions. Interrelations, Quantitative Perspectives /
Advisory editor Eric S. Wheeler. Wienn: Praesens Verlag, 2010. 251 p.

77
 To achieve this goal we solve several problems: we elucidate the
meaning of the term megatext, describe its dichotomous division into the
main text and the auxiliary text, and analyze the communicative
potencies of each subsidiary component.
Methods of our research are rooted in pragmalinguistics,
communicative linguistics, and hermeneutics; application of structural
and megatextual analyses proved to be fruitful as well.
The material of our research is literary communication, limited by a
written, complete, formally structured message, determined, among other
things, by the parameter of a functional style. Artistic communication
discussed further reveals itself in prosaic texts (novels, stories, fairy-tales,
and essays of different genre attributions). Academic communication that
is regarded in the paper is represented with different research publications
(articles, monographs, scientific treatise, textbooks).
In other words, the object of the present research is twofold: text as a
unit of communication in general, as well as in opposition of academic /
artistic communication.

1. Academic vs Artistic Communication and Text Structure

The distinction between the goals and tasks facing the sender and the
recipient of a message within the framework of academic and artistic
communication leads to a significant difference in the algorithms for its
encoding and decoding. The following two regularities attract specific
attention. The first regularity covers declared or non-declared discourse
activity of the addresser through his/her structuring the message
which radically differentiates, respectively, academic and artistic
communications.
In other words, the author of an academic publication is openly
constructing his/her message, appealing to the readers’ intellect, to their
specified thesauri, to logically grounded discussion of the subject matter.
The author invites the reader to share his/her theoretical standing
explicitly marking his/her own position among other academic
publications. Meanwhile the author of an artistic work appeals to the
readers’ imagination and emotionality and pretends exposing a fragment
of “real world inhabited with real personalities”. The conventionality of
artistic communication implies that the readers are immerged into
fictitious world of a novel, story or fairy-tale in some invisible “gestalt”

78
capsule of the text. The context of other artistic works in which the text
exists is not anyhow explicated in the text per se.
Alongside with integrity and "transparency" of the external textual
structure of an artistic message it is notable for complexity, fractionality,
and multilayeredness of its internal communicative form due to numerous
inclusions of quasi-communicative chains into it, for example, besides the
author and the reader as real communicants it eagerly includes personages
as fictitious communicants having all sorts of fictitious communication
(entrusted narration, dialogues, correspondence, diaries etc.). An
academic message, on the contrary, completely lacks any quasi-
communicative (imagined) inclusions, having instead diversified layer of
explicitly marked citations and references. A complicated, parceled and
hierarchized external structure of the message is observed here.
Summing up the difference between communicative goals and tasks
of artistic and academic communication we support the thesis that "the
poetic text is fluid and continuous, but the academic one is discrete"8. The
continuity, "fluidity" of the artistic text ensures optimal closure of the
addressee within the framework of the represented quasi-reality. Readers’
attention is not diverted to his/her awareness of the external formal
organization of the message. The inner communicative structure of an
artistic text (sometimes very complex) does not advertise itself through
metacommunicative discourse of the addresser in remarks like “this will
be discussed further on in chapter 5 of the book”. Neither does it in the
outer structure of the text through fractional parceling and logical
hierarchical ordering of the fragmentary structure of the text.
Leading the addressee out of the boundaries of this communicative
act and referring him/her to some outer, non-textual information is carried
out in an erased, veiled form of allusions, hidden or transformed citations
without an exact indication of their source and address, which results in
smoothing and veiling the inclusion of this particular artistic text in a
number of the like communicative formations. The academic text, on the
contrary, explicates its appeal to extra-textual information through direct
quotations, references, polemic commentaries etc., thus openly including
the text into the paradigm of corresponding academic publications.
From the point of view of its pragmatic orientation and structural
specificity, the whole complete text of more or less significant volume

8
Степанов Г.В. Язык. Литература. Поэтика. Москва.: Наука, 1988. 383 с.

79
almost never represents a monolithic formation. On the contrary, it is
often nothing more than an association of several components, carriers of
different communicative functions, characteristics and purposes. In other
words, the whole complete text is most often a communicatively
heterogeneous phenomenon. In particular, structurally targeted
heterogeneity is manifested in unequal pragmatic guidelines that different
parts of the text perform in a general communicative task.
Various parts of text can function with different pragmatic goals
(either information transfer or optimization of this process). One part is
always focused on sending a message per se. The other aims at providing
optimum conditions for the most effective transmission and perception of
this message. The unity of the two parts makes up a new communicative
formation which will be discussed further on.
Megatext, by our definition, is the unity of the main text and the
auxiliary text. These parts are distinguished by the pragmatic orientation,
communicative validity, and obligatory/optional nature of their presence
in the megatext. The main text is completely obligatory; it is valuably
dominant over the auxiliary one, pragmatically aimed at the transmission
of the message per se. This is the text of a story, an article, a novel, an
essay, a monograph, and so on. The auxiliary text is a number (from 1 to
8) of text messages, which optionally accompany the main text; which
are valuably secondary and pragmatically auxiliary, i.e. which aim at
optimizing the functioning of the main text. They are preface/afterword,
content, abstract, summary, footnote, commentary, glossary,
bibliographic list, dedication, epigraph, appendix. The set of the main
and the auxiliary (at least one) texts forms a communicatively
heterogeneous whole, which we call megatext.
The genetic affinity of text and megatext is quite obvious. Of
course, the starting point is always a text. Sometimes it is initially
accompanied by an auxiliary message(s), for example, a text and an
epigraph to it, a text and a dedication. In this case, the text from the
very beginning of its circulation enters the communicative space in the
"megatext package". But most often the appearance or expansion of the
megatextual structure chronologically follows the appearance of the
main text. In addition, the variability of the megatextual structure of one
and the same basic text is also a common occurrence. Our assumption is
that the longer a text circulates in the communicative space and the
greater its information potential and/or artistic value is, the greater is the

80
probability of appearing new and new auxiliary messages added to the
core message. Most often they are new comments, glossaries, and
prefaces that differ from their predecessors (if any). Consequently, each
time new configurations of the megatextual structure appear. For
example, 5 editions of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel Red Letter, the
famous and popular work of the English classics, which were published
over 40 years (1959-2000), never repeated their megatextual structure9.

2. Megatext: Components, Functions

There is no doubt that the communicative value of the main and the
auxiliary components of a single megatext is unequal, which affects
even the order of their location in the literary work. The main text is
always a complete graphical body, entirely or dominantly placed on the
page. On the contrary, graphic bodies of auxiliary messages are always
separated from the body of the main message and from each other. The
font that the auxiliary messages are printed (usually petite) differs from
the font of the main text and indicates the subordinate status of the
corresponding fragments. The same applies to lay-out: an auxiliary
fragment is placed either below the main text (footnote), or with an
enlarged left or right field (epigraph), or separately (dedication,
annotation). We hold that the auxiliary text is a group of discrete verbal
entities, each of which is (semantically and formally) much more closely
linked to the main text than to each other. Thus, within megatext as a
whole, we observe the prevalence of vertical links (between the main
and auxiliary components) over the horizontal (between the individual
components of the auxiliary text).
The auxiliary text formations may be placed in the preposition to
the main text (preface, abstract, dedication, epigraph, content), the
interposition (references), the postposition (afterword, commentary
notes, content, resumé, summary, bibliographic list, appendix) or in the
parallel position (page footnote). The separate and subordinate location
of auxiliary messages is a manifestation of their communicative
minority (but not redundancy). It sometimes gives the reader the
opportunity to read the main text and some of the auxiliary components
of the megatext separately. For example, it is obvious that with fast, or

9
Лукиянова Е.Ф. Мегатекст и образ читателя. Записки з романо-германської
філології. Одеса: Фенікс, 2003. № 13. С. 117–128

81
rather hurried, superficial perception of a megatext, the reader often
reads the main message and fully or partially neglects the auxiliary
messages.
The question of autonomous functioning of auxiliary messages has
several answers. Most of them are meaningless and are of no interest to
the reader outside their links with the main text. Dedication, footnote,
commentary, and content fulfill their communicative function exclusively
within a megatext.
For example, dedication is nothing but a reflection of the author’s
respect and affection for a particular person, who is usually quite unknown
to the reader. That is why it can be rather cryptic: only initials instead of the
person’s full name are frequently used in such auxiliary message.
Nominations like my parents, my wife do not add much to such
communicative units, leaving them almost completely void of informative
content for the reader. In the framework of the megatext dedications just
draw a certain “thread” into the outer world of literary publications.
To the components of a megatext, which do have the potential of
independent communicative functioning, we include preface/afterword,
bibliographic list and epigraph. Realizing the diversity of this chain, we
still insist on the functional similarity of its components.
Preface / afterword, being focused on the main text, nonetheless is a
self-completed text form, to which the reader refers with a specific
communicative task: to obtain in abridged form an overview-
digest information about the author and the basic themes of the main text,
the general background (aesthetic, literary, socio-economic or scientific),
on which the main message is constructed. No wonder preface and
afterword alongside with annotation and summary are constructed in
accordance with the rules of a semantically and formally complete
message. Sometimes they can communicate in a very independent way,
even separately from the main text.
Among all the auxiliary messages included into a megatext, the
focus of many researchers was often upon epigraph. We will give
Z. Turayeva's views on this "optional element of the text", which "has a
dual orientation to the source text and the new text", into which it is
integrated10. Reflecting on the independent status of epigraph, we

10
Тураева З.Я. Лингвистика текста. Текст: Структура и семантика. Москва:
Книжный дом «ЛИБРОКОМ», 2009. С. 54.

82
emphasize the peculiarities of this status. An epigraph, before being
included in the megatext, is a precedent textual phenomenon that
functions in the communicative space on its own: a Biblical quotation, a
stanza of some well-known poetry, a proverb, etc. Being attached to the
main message as an epigraph, such text complicates the semantic
structure of the target text by bringing to its semantic structure the
emotional and thematic echoes of the “parental” text. The communicative
activity of the addresser and the addressee of the megatext containing an
epigraph presupposes the presence of a wide range of literary, ideological
and cultural knowledge in the thesauri of both communicants.
Sometimes the reader may independently perceive the content and
the bibliographic list accompanying this or that text. In case the headings
are thematic (not simply numerical), the content is nothing else but the
concentration of the most important semantic nodes of the main message.
In addition, the content is an auxiliary message that facilitates the reader's
initial acquaintance with the main text and his/her further orientation in
its compositional-architectonic structure. The information obtained may
either invite the reader for further reading of the main text or prompt
him/her to stop reading at all.
In its turn, the bibliographic list, as an integral part of an academic
text (in contrast to the artistic one) gives the reader the opportunity to
grasp the cultural and professional basis on which the main message is
formed. Such lists reflect (partially but rather vividly) the author's
academic thesaurus. Besides, a list of bibliographic sources offers
valuable additional information that can be used effectively regardless of
the main text to which it is appended.
No doubt, full decoding of a megatext (as the author's intentions
usually are) takes place in successive (without any gaps) readers’
perception of all the components of the message that were included by the
author into the megatextually structured message.
Let us consider the specifics of such communicatively
heterogeneous formation on the example of a megatext, consisting of the
main text and its commentary. The commentary is inextricably linked to
the main text both with content and formal-language links. According to
Gerard Genette’s statement, expressed in his book "Palimpsesti:
Literature in the Second Degree” (1982), the comment comes with its

83
pretext (the text that is commented) in metatextual relation11 which is a
manifestation of meaningful connections.
The comment usually has the form of foot-notes or post-text notes.
A graphic signal that marks the functional link between the main and the
auxiliary messages is a special asterisk or numeric sign located at the end of
the segment of the main text that is subject to comment. A communicatively
competent reader (that is, the one who knows the norms of adequate
decoding of texts of a certain functional style) takes such a mark as a signal
for switching from the main message to the auxiliary one.
It should be noted that in general, comments themselves, even if they
are collected into a single post-text block, cannot function individually
like a separate communicative unit, as opposed to, say, afterword,
bibliography, and the like. The reason lies in very strong vertical ties
between a commentary note and the main text. This circumstance is most
clearly manifested through the specific text deicsis.
According to Michael Toolan, deictic words are "all those language
elements that have the orientation function here, there, now, then and
indicate, that discourse occurs in a particular place and at a specific
time"12. Peter Stockwell argues that the deictic markers create a "zero
point" of the deictic field. Change of these markers leads to a
deictic shift and transition to another deictic field13. However, no deictic
shift occurs on the boundary between the main text and the commentary,
despite the fact that these two messages – a comment and its "pretext" (in
G. Genette’s sense ) – are located in different visual fields. The lexical
units having a deictic character, namely, here, above, below, the
following in case they are used in the commentary note, indicate that the
note as a message does not form its own deictic field; instead, it uses the
system of deictic coordinates that exists in the main message.
Thus, for example, the phrase the following text, functioning in a
note, implies next (after the asterisk) part of the main message. The
deictic word following in this phrase does not imply the next note (in case
there is any). Besides, the fact that the note itself is in postposition to the

11
See: Фатеева Н.А. Интертекст в мире текстов: Контрапункт
интертекстуальности.. Изд 3-е, стереотипное. Москва: КомКнига, 2007. С. 121–142.
12
Toolan M. Narrative. A Critical Linguistic Introduction. London, New York:
Routledge, 2002. Р. 59.
13
Stockwell P. Cognitive Poetics. An Introduction. London, New York: Routledge,
2002. Р. 79.

84
main text (thus, nothing may follow it) is completely ignored.
Consequently, such a deictic phrase acquires its true meaning only in the
coordinate system of the main message and exclusively at the point of its
linear deployment, to which this commentary note is attached.
For example, in the comments to Oksana Zabuzhko's novel "Museum
of Abandoned Secrets" we read: "nous sommes les artistes (hereinafter in
the text "Nu somm les artist”) – we are artists ( fr )"14. Let us pay
attention to the deictic reference "hereinafter in the text" – it refers to the
text of the novel after page 241, where the commented French inclusion
is first used. Between the center of the deictic field (p.241), upon which
the deictic hereinafter in the text is oriented, and the commentary
containing this statement (p.829), there are as many as 588 pages. But the
real textual distance is irrelevant in the outlook of communicative
dimension. We herewith stress that no other auxiliary message
demonstrates such formal unity with the main text.
In our opinion, the commentary note and the corresponding part of
the main text constitute a common discourse (albeit with hierarchical
components), both of them are constituents of a common deictic field
with the single center of shifter coordinates.

3. Pragmatics of Auxiliary Components in a Megatext

Functional and pragmatic differences of the main and the auxiliary
messages are a constant parameter of any megatext. Their quantitative
ratio is variable. Typically, the main text dominates. The minimum limit
for the auxiliary text equals one verbal formation, say, an epigraph, a
footnote. Zero representation of auxiliary component automatically
eliminates the very concept of megatext. Such message, thus, has a purely
textual, not a megatextual structure.
As to the contents of commentary notes (especially those added by an
editor), the following should be highlighted. On the one hand, helping the
reader to elucidate some vague, difficult moments of the main message, the
commentator, no doubt, performs a certain educational mission. On the
other hand, the commentator's intrusion into the communicative chain
(“author–text–reader” transforms into “author–text–commentator–reader”)
leads to an imbalance of the communicative rights of the addresser (author)

14
Забужко О. Музей покинутих секретів: роман. Вид 2-е, доп. К.: Факт, 2009.
832 с.

85
and the addressee (reader). The figure of a commentator as well as his
activities, were not foreseen by the author and thus violate the author's
fundamental right to be explicit in his work to the extent that he considers
appropriate. As M. Bakhtin wrote, "the statement (the novel including –
I.K.) ends with silent dixi (“I have said all that I had to say”)"15. Yet, the
commentator undertakes an unauthorized educational mission to report
something that has not been reported by the author.
First of all, such intrusions affect artistic texts. Editor’s/
translator’s/commentator’s interpretation and elucidation of hints,
clarification of allusions, attribution of hidden citations, as well as
translation of foreign language inclusions in a belles-lettres text – all
these eventually lead to alteration, even twisting of the reader's image.
The expected (by the editor-commentator) image of the reader of a
megatext (with unauthorized added commentary) turns out to be not
identical (smaller) to that of the initial text (devoid of commentary).
Appealing to his initial model of the addressee (the so called reader's
image), the addresser (the writer) leaves certain parcels of information in
a nonverbalized, implied presentation. Having verbalized what used to be
only implied, the commentator trespasses the communicative "territory"
both of the author and of the reader. To the commentator’s mind the
scope of the reader's thesaurus looked insufficient and requiring some tips
and elucidations to cover certain expected lacunae in the reader's
communicative competence. Notwithstanding its educational impact such
activity deprives the reader of the opportunity to exercise his right to
"read between the lines", which, according to Catherine Emmott, gives
the reader a pleasure if he can cope with the additional challenges of a
literary work and realize his ability to guess what is not said directly (the
pleasure that readers can get from the additional demands that such texts
make is their inference-making abilities)16.
O. Vorobyova investigates the phenomenon of ambiguity in literary
text and insists that ambiguities are statements which are designed to be
left nondeciphered, remaining for good "a thing-in-itself", the statements
that are left for the readers to "infer, ascribe, or read into the text relevant

15
Бахтин М.А. Эстетика словесного творчества. Москва: Искусство, 1979. С. 250.
16
Emmott C. Reading for pleasure. A cognitive poetic analysis of "twists in the tale"
and other plot reversals in narrative texts. Cognitive Poetics in Practice. London, New
York: Routledge, 2003. P. 145–159.

86
explanations"17. She resumes that "ambiguity may serve as an initial
impulse of the author-reader dialogue as in-built in literary text or of its
readers' potential dialogic response".
In academic publications, commentaries also fulfill educational
mission, but with less destructive effect (if any at all) upon the
addresser’s communicative rights. For example, the work by Phillip
Wheelwright Metaphor and reality, which was included into academic
publication Metaphor theory (1990), is commented by the translator who
explains that the term T-language, used in the text, means tensive
language, or language which creates tension – the key notion of the
general theory of metaphor, which was developed by Ph. Wheelwright.
Then the commentator adds that characteristics of T-language are spoken
about in one of the chapters in Wheelwright’s Metaphor and Reality18.
Yet certain trespassing of communicative powers can be traced in
translated academic publications, where we sometimes encounter an
editorial comment that is nothing less than an academic dispute with the
author. A vivid example of such unauthorized expansion of the editor's
communicative powers is the Russian edition of the "Semiotics of a
Book" by the Polish researcher Zberskiy19, where on the 67 pages of the
author's text there are 16 footnotes of editorial comments, 5 of which are
of polemic character. In our opinion, such phenomena lead to the neglect
of the author's communicative rights and at the same time to the
expansion of the communicative rights of the reader, giving him, so to
speak, “the most favored regime”.

4. Inner vs Outer Textual Structure

in Academic / Artistic Communication
Megatextual structure of a message that unites the main text and the
auxiliary messages such as references, footnotes, annotation, summary,
etc. into a single communicative whole, is minimal in the belles-lettres
text. This once again confirms the thesis of the typical wholeness, non-

17
Vorobyova O.P. 'Haunted by ambiguities' revisited: In search of a metamethod for
literary text disambiguation. Lege artis. Language yesterday, today, tomorrow. The journal
of university of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. Warsaw: De Gruyter Open, 2017, II (1),
Р. 428–496. DOI: 10.1515/lart-2017-0011.
18
Теория метафоры: сборник. Москва: Прогресс, 1990. С. 82.
19
Зберский Т.Семиотика книги. Червинский М. Система книги. Москва: Книга,
1981. С. 6–127.

87
discretion of the formal structure of the artistic text. The above-described
form of an artistic message, like a whole capsule, envelopes the
addressee, drawing him/her into a closed universe of quasi-reality. One
more analogy seems to be permissible. N. Zhinkin holds the following:
"Potebnia compared speech with a transparent glass, behind which the
world around us is visible"20. In our opinion, artistic speech is not always
suitable for this comparison. Its imagery, individuality, aesthetically
justified deviations from general language standards can become the
object of the addressee's attention on a par with the subject of speech and,
therefore, deprive such speech of the properties of transparent glass.
However, the image of the transparent substance, invented by Potebnia,
seems to us fully applicable to the artistic message, if not to its language,
to its textual structure, which can be likened to a transparent glass
capsule through which the world of quasi-reality that surrounds the
addressee is visible.
Especially it should be noted that the general trend towards the
integrity and non-discretion of the external form of the artistic message is
opposed to the complication and fragmentation of its internal
communicative structure. This is due to the introduction of quasi-
communicative chains, for example, entrusted narration on behalf of
different characters (sometimes entering into each other narrations on the
principle of "Chinese box"), imitating the dialogues and thoughts of
characters, all sorts of written texts (diaries, letters, news-paper items
etc.). The sender and recipient of such messages in the artistic literary
work are not the addresser / addressee of the whole text (i.e. the author /
reader), but most diverse quasi-communicative figures (from
anthropomorphic, sometimes alien characters to otherworldly voices).
The paradox of artistic communication is that the absolute
conventionality (often unreality) of such quasi-communicative
interventions does not hinder, but, on the contrary, contributes to the
fuller involvement of the addressee, into the fictional world of quasi-
reality encapsulated in a single "transparent capsule" of textual form.
Unlike artistic, academic communication assumes an unhindered
exit of the addressee outside the scope of this particular communicative
unit in order to attract the widest possible information base, due to which

20
Жинкин Н.И. Речь как проводник информации. Москва: Наука, 1982. 160 с.

88
the recipient can judge the completeness, consistency and credibility of
the concept presented.
Megatextual structure of academic communication in every possible
way promotes such a communicative activity of the addressee. This is
evidenced by the apparatus of bibliographic references, obligatory for
such texts, and following the rigorous rule of correct citation of sources
with indication of their exact address. Such auxiliary messages of the
megatextual structure of an academic publication imply the possibility of
the reader's addressing the relevant publications outside the measures of
this very communicative product.
The traditional system of footnotes, cross references, annotations,
and summaries maximally explicates both the auxiliary communicative
activity of the addresser and the message per se as a product of the
addresser's communicative activity. This message consequently is
perceived not only in itself, but also as a phenomenon standing in a series
of ontologically homogeneous communicative phenomena. Various
paradigmatic connections between the former and the latter are openly
declared in any academic publication.
It is self-evident that quasi-communicative inclusions are completely
alien to modern academic texts, although in the past scientific reports
were often clothed in the form of dialogues, conversations with a friend,
etc., which was probably a residual reflection of the general trend of
communication from personal to transpersonal. As D. Price21 notes: "All
modern scientific literature begins with letters to very real people".
Nowadays, quasi-communicative figures are readily introduced into
popular science literature to increase its intelligibility and
persuasiveness.
Whereas the power of persuasiveness of academic texts lies in
another – in the logic and sequence of the presentation, the consistency of
the facts reported, the reasoning of the author's conclusions, the breadth
and correctness of the information base being drawn from outside. The
most optimal form of such messages is not a "transparent one-piece
capsule" that isolates the addressee within an art message, but a parceled,
hierarchically ordered and explicitly marked text form. This form
contributes to the unambiguous perception of the content structure of the

21
Прайс Д. Тенденции в развитии научной коммуникации – прошлое, настоящее,
будущее. Коммуникация в современной науке. Москва: Наука, 1976. С. 83–109.

89
message, to the unhindered exit of the addressee into the academic text
paradigm. It adequately reflects the heterogeneity of the discourse activity
of the addresser, namely his text and megatext activity, his creation of
main and auxiliary messages within the framework of a single
communicative whole (megatext).
Thus, we see that the information retrieved by the recipient from the
academic message is of a dual nature. This is, above all, information
about the reference space reflected through discourse, but it is also
information about the discourse itself: about the varieties in which it is
implemented and about the forms in which it is cast.
In artistic communication, the information retrieved by the recipient
is deprived of such duality, it equals the information about the reference
message space. Discourse as such remains outside the field of the
addressee’s view. The assertiveness of the addressee’s non-presence in
the discursive activity of the message fundamentally distinguishes artistic
communication from academic one.
The process of reading literary texts is perceived by many
researchers through the prism of metaphor. Joanna Gavins holds that
most often reading is described in terms of the metaphor of
immersion (“sensation of being immersed in. .. ")"22.
Peter Stockwell operates a conceptual metaphor READING IS
A JOURNEY23. Relying on the last metaphor, it is worth noting that
reading a megatetext is a tacitly imagined journey with a travel-guide in
hand. A traveler can use the services and tips of the guide-book, or he
may neglect them and set to travel-reading the main text, bypassing all
the tips of the auxiliary texts. Or in some cases he can choose to limit his
journey to a guide-book only, without even going on a journey. It is clear
that the choice remains for the reader. But it is also clear that the
maximum of information potential is realized through the very
megatextual whole.
In the end we conclude that either in artistic or in academic
communication text and megatext are members of a single
communicative family. Continuing the family metaphor, we shall

22
Gavins J. "Too much blague?" An exploration of the text worlds of Donald
Barthelme's 'Snow White'. Cognitive Poetics in Practice. London, New York: Routledge,
2003. P. 129.
23
Stockwell P. Cognitive Poetics. An Introduction. London, New York: Routledge,
2002. 193 p.

90
emphasize, that "parents" of each of them are practically always different:
the author of the main text may not be the author of the auxiliary texts:
comments, prefaces, afterwards, epigraphs are traditionally the
communicative products of others (editors, translators, other writers or
poets). The combination of the main and the auxiliary components into a
single megatextual structure is partly the implementation of the author’s
will (such are megatexts with epigraph, dedication, content, appendix,
bibliographic list, references), partly it is not sanctioned by him at all
(such are megatexts with editorial comments, preface or afterward,
abstract). Important in either case is the synergetic effect generated by
such communicative association.

CONCLUSIONS
Summing up all of the above mentioned, we state:
A whole complete text most often functions as a pragmatically
heterogeneous phenomenon. Structural heterogeneity is correlated with
unequal pragmatic guidelines that different parts of such text perform in a
general communicative task. One part of a megatext is always focused on
sending a message per se. The other aims at providing optimum
conditions for the most effective transmission and perception of this
message.
In the presence of such communicative heterogeneity, the
corresponding complete message is split into two unequal components:
the main text and the auxiliary text components such as preface,
afterword, content, abstract, footnotes, epigraph, dedication,
bibliographic references and bibliographic list, appendix.
Conglomeration of such latter text formations is considered as the
auxiliary text. The unity of the main and the auxiliary texts makes the
formation of a higher order, which we propose to call megatext.
Megatextual structure of academic and artistic text varies both in its
nomenclature and its functions.

SUMMARY
The article puts forward the theory of megatext as a formal structure
combining two communicatively heterogeneous components, different in
their information validity and pragmatic aims. The two components are
the main and the auxiliary texts. The main text is completely obligatory; it
is valuably dominant over the auxiliary one, pragmatically aimed at the

91
transmission of the message per se. This is the text of a story, an article,
a novel, an essay, a monograph, and so on. The auxiliary text is a number
of text messages, which optionally accompany the main text; which are
valuably secondary and pragmatically subordinate, i.e. aiming at
optimizing the reader’s perception of the main text. They are
preface/afterword, content, abstract, summary, footnote, commentary,
glossary, bibliographic list, dedication, epigraph, appendix. The set of
the main text and at least one of the possible varieties of auxiliary texts
forms a communicatively heterogeneous whole, which we call megatext.
Academic text openly manifests its inclusion into a textual paradigm of
other academic publications, suggesting clear references to works on the
connected themes and problems (bibliographic lists, commentaries,
glossaries explicate such connections). Artistic texts are evasive in this
respect; they suggest thematic, emotive links with other works of art
through epigraphs, hidden citations, tending to preserve certain
information in an ambiguous, non-deciphered form. Such auxiliary texts
as prefaces or afterwords as well as commentaries essentially expand the
informative potential of the main text, though their perception is always
up to the reader.

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венной коммуникации. Одесса: Одесобллолиграфиздат, 1991. 120 с.
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гипер- и просто текст. Записки з романо-германської філології.
Одеса: Фенікс, 2008. № 22. С. 70–80.
14. Колегаева М.М., Голубенко Л.Н. Феномен коммуни-
кативного посредничества. Его роль в становлении филолога.
Записки з романо-германської філології. Одеса: Латстар, 2000. № 7.
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15. Колегаєва І.М. Літературний твір й іншомовна читацька
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гетерогенності цілого завершеного тексту. Мовознавство. 1996. № 1.
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германської філології. Одеса: Фенікс, 2003. № 13. С. 117–128.
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Изд. 2-е. Москва: Едиториал УРСС, 2010. 368 с.
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1988. 383 с.
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семантика. Москва: Книжный дом «ЛИБРОКОМ», 2009. 144 с.
26. Фатеева Н.А. Интертекст в мире текстов: Контрапункт
интертекстуальности. Изд 3-е, стереотипное. Москва: КомКнига,
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27. Чернявская В.Е. Лингвистика текста: Поликодовосгь,
интертекстуальность, интердискурсивность. Москва: Книжный дом
"ЛИБРОКОМ", 2009. 248 с.

Information about the author:

Kolegaeva I. M.
Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor,
Head of the Chair of Lexicology and Stylistics
of the English Language, Romance-Germanic Philology Department,
Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University
2, Dvoryanska str., Odesa, 65082, Ukraine

94
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/95-113

DETECTIVE STORIES: FROM CLASSIC

TO POSTMODERN. DEFINITION AND HISTORY

Koliasa O. V.

INTRODUCTION
A detective story is genre of crime fiction, popular mainly by the
work of such writer as: E.A. Poe, Sir A.C. Doyle, A. Christie,
R. Chandler, D. Hammett, G. Simenon to name a few. The subject of a
detective story is the investigation aimed at detecting a perpetrator of the
crime described at the beginning of the work.
E.A. Poe is nowadays perceived by critics as a precursor of genre of
detective story. The French works, including those of Vidocq’s, inspired
him to write three short stories of a criminal content. Not only did Poe
introduce famous and ingenious detective to world literature; Sir
A.C. Doyle created a private detective who solved the most difficult cases
using the deductive method. The British author A. Christie and her
character Hercule Poirot also contributed to the development of the genre.
Other well-known authors were involved in detective stories’ creation,
including American writer R. Chandler, who implemented the character
of Philip Marlowe. D. Hammett, the author of crime stories, created the
character of Sam Spade. In addition to the Americans, a very important
author of detective stories is G. Simenon, who created detective series
about Commissar Maigret.
To make a clear cut picture of the development of the genre of a
detective story beginning with classical one to postmodern different
definitions of a detective story subgenre are also described focusing on
the novelty of basic features of the genre. Among them are: crime,
investigation, revealing the truth, and methods using by a detective
character to conduct an investigation.
Subsequently, several types of detective stories are characterized
such as: a classical detective story, hardboiled stories, a historical
mystery, cozy mysteries, a serial killer mystery, a legal thriller or a
locked-room mystery.

95
 1. Definition and Origin of the Detective Story Subgenre
To define a detective story subgenre it is necessary to reference to
The Encyclopedia Britannica where a detective story is termed as a type
of popular literature in which a crime is introduced and investigated and
eventually the culprit is revealed.1 According to this source the traditional
elements of a detective story are:
 the seemingly perfect crime;
 the wrongly accused suspect whom evidence points to;
 the bungling of dim-witted police;
 the greater powers of observation and superior mind of
the detective;
 the startling and unexpected denouement, in which a detective
reveals how the identity of the culprit was ascertained.2
Detective stories mostly keep to the rule that a superficially
convincing evidence is irrelevant. The Encyclopedia Britannica also
suggests that it is usually axiomatic that the clues from which a logical
solution to the problem can be reached and be fairly presented to the
reader at exactly the same time that the sleuth receives them and that the
sleuth deduces the solution to the puzzle from a logical interpretation of
these clues.3
In the study The Typology of Detective Fiction T. Todorov described
three main categories of a detective story subgenre. The first category is a
mystery called whodunit, the second is the genre of thrillers, and the last
one is suspense story, in which both elements from the previous two
types might be observed. These types coexist together but they follow
different rules. Their development is conditioned by similar signs with
one distinctive trace. This classification presents key features of the
subgenre.
According to Collins English Dictionary detective story is a mystery
involving a crime and the gradual discovery of who committed it,
especially a highly formalized one in which a detective, often a private
one, solves a crime, usually a murder by means of careful observation
and logical reasoning.4

1
Encyclopedia Britanica. URL: www.britannica.com (retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).
2
Ibidem.
3
Ibidem.
4
Collins Dictionary. URL: www.collinsdictionary.com (retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).

96
 Another source which is worth being quoted is portal Find Me an
Author where such definition of a detective story is presented: crime
fiction is the genre of fiction that deals with crimes, their detection,
criminals, and their motives. Most – though not all – crime novels share a
common structure. First there is the crime, usually a murder; then there
is the investigation; and finally the outcome or judgment, often in the
shape of the criminal’s arrest or death.5
The same source describes that crime is usually distinguished from
mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical
fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. According to Find
Me an Author the genre’s flexibility is perhaps one reason for its wide
and enduring appeal and means different things to different people at
different times. They also suggest that some examples of literary fiction
retain many of the time-honored techniques of fiction character, narrative,
theme and tension. It could be observed in such a huge variety of that
genre and also a few subgenres, including detective fiction and the classic
whodunit, courtroom drama, legal thriller, hard-boiled fiction, police
procedurals, private eye, thrillers, suspense additionally other subgenre in
which a committed crime is the main motivator of the plot. It is worth
adding that there are plenty of stories where the character is the criminal
not the detective. All of them can with any certainty demonstrate that the
label of crime fiction is a resilient convenience for those who use it, not
an exact term.6
Encyclopedia.com suggests that despite of the countless
manifestations of mysteries, criminals, and detectives that have appeared
since this genre came into being, the narratives remain predictably
comfortable and still intellectually exciting. Mystery narratives require
hidden secrets, which over the course of the text are revealed or
discovered. Detective fiction is related to the narration of the
investigation and solution of a crime, but with one important addition.7
According to J. Cawelti’s study of the detective story subgenre the
classical detective story requires four main roles: the victim; the

5
Find Me an Authour. URL: www.findmeanauthor.com/crime_fiction (retrieved Feb.
2, 2019).
6
Ibidem.
7
Encyclopedia. URL: www.encyclopedia.com (retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).

97
criminal; the detective; and those threatened by the crime but incapable
of solving it.8
Detective stories are also described as a form of narration in which
one or more elements remain unknown or unexplained until the end of the
story. The modern mystery story contains elements of the serious novel: a
convincing account of a character’s struggle with various physical and
psychological obstacles in an effort to achieve his goal, good
characterization and sound motivation.9
To sum up it might be said that the novelty of the detective story
subgenre must include the same elements to be called detective stories
such as: a crime, a victim and a culprit.
Although detective stories became popular in 19 th century, the
origins of crime fiction might be traced back to the ancient periods.
According to R.H. Pfeiffer some ancient and religious texts have some
similarities to what is called detective fiction. Even in Old Testament
there is a story about Susanna and the Elders where a woman is falsely
accused of adultery and only by prophet Daniel’s intervention the truth is
revealed. This story has classic detective story structure nevertheless a
British crime writer and poet Julian Symons commented that those who
are looking for detective stories in Bible are only looking for puzzles and
that is not a detective story.
In another text Oedipus Rex by Sophocles the main character
discovers the truth when questioning witnesses.10 It is worth adding that
in this story the novelty is a plenty of supernatural and pre-rational
methods used to uncover a mystery which are obvious in detective
stories. In Oedipus Rex the reader could find a murder, a closed circle of
suspected people, and progressive uncovering of a mysterious past.
Not only ancient Greek culture has many examples of detective
fiction but some might be found even in Arab literature. Good illustration
of that is a detective story The Tree Apples narrated by Scheherazade in
the Arabian Nights (One Thousand and One Nights). In that story a
young fisherman discovers a heavy chest along the Tigris River that he
sells to the merchant, Abbasid Caliph. It occurred later that in that chest

8
Cawelti J.G. The Formula of the Classical Detective Story. ISBN 978-0226098678
(retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).
9
Writer’s Digest University. URL: www.resources.writersonlineworkshops.com
(retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).
10
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. ISBN 9788377915974 (retrieved Feb. 3, 2019).

98
there is a body of a young woman cut into pieces. Caliph then ordered his
vizier to solve the mystery within three days under threat to be executed.
The novelty here is that a mystery is solved after the deadline but a vizier
is managed to save his life through reasoning and discovering a key item.
After many twists in the plot the story is developed and that is why it
might be considered as an archetype of detective fiction.11 To compare
The Three Apples to for example Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot’s
investigations it is clear that in that Arab story there is no desire to solve
the mystery and the case is many times revealed when murderer himself
pleads guilty.12
In early Chinese literature also might be found examples of detective
fiction stories. Gong’an fiction which literally means case records of a
public law court is the earliest known subgenre of Chinese detective
stories.13 In that literature there are mostly government magistrates who
are trying to solve the criminal cases. Gong’an fiction was first presented
in the stories of Song dynasty and became very popular in Ming and Qing
dynasties. Most well-known stories include The Chalk Circle which is
considered as a Yunnan masterpiece because of beauty of its lyrical
verse.14 Another example of Chinese detective fiction is the Ming
Dynasty literature collection Bao Gong An telling about the Song dynasty
minister Bao Zheng who is responsible for solving, judging and
sentencing criminal cases.15 It is worth mentioning that Di Gong An (Dee
Goong An also known as Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee) story collection
which is based on Di Renije, a county magistrate and statesperson of the
Tang court. Those stories are worth mentioning because of another
important reason, because of being an inspiration for Dutch sinologist
Robert Van Gulik who translated them into English and used them as a
basis to create famous Judge Dee. Van Gulik wrote: This translation is
chiefly a product of the Pacific War years, 1941-1945, when constant
travel on various war duties made other more complicated Sinological

11
Pinault D. Story-Telling Techniques in the Arabian Nights. Bill Publishers, 1992.
ISBN 9004095306. P. 91.
12
Ibidem. P. 92.
13
Kinkley J. Chinese Justice, the Fiction: Law and Literature in Modern China.
Stanford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0804734437. P. 144.
14
Chalk Circle. Oxford Dictionary of Plays. URL: www.enotes.com (retrieved Feb. 3,
2019).
15
West S.H. Monks, Bandits, Lovers, and Immortals: Eleven Early Chinese Plays.
Hackett Publ. Company, 2010. ISBN 1603842004. P. 240.

99
research impossible. This novel Dee Goong An is offered here in a
complete translation. Possibly it would have had a wider appeal if it had
been entirely re-written in a form more familiar to our readers.16
As distinct from the Western style of writing detective stories,
Chinese detective fiction is different in several aspects, which were
described by Robert Van Gulik in Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee and
might be shortly summarized as: the detective is the local magistrate who
is usually involved in several unrelated cases simultaneously; the
criminal is introduced at the very beginning of the story and his crime
and reasons are carefully explained, thus constituting an inverted
detective story rather than a "puzzle"; the stories have a supernatural
element with ghosts telling people about their death and even accusing
the criminal; the stories are filled with digressions into philosophy, the
complete texts of official documents, and much more, resulting in long
books; and the novels tend to have a huge cast of characters, typically in
the hundreds, all described with their relation to the various main actors
in the story.17
R. Van Gulik chose Dee Goong An to translate because he believed
that it was the closest Chinese detective story to the Western literary style
and appealed more to non-Chinese readers. Unfortunately, the number of
Gong’an literary works might have been lost during the Literary
Inquisitions and wars in China. In Chinese culture that subgenre had low
prestige and was considered as less worthy to protect so only few copies
could be found nowadays.
In Western literature a detective story subgenre is recognized as a
section of a crime fiction and the subject area is conducting an
investigation to reveal a perpetrator of a crime. A precursor of this genre
is recognized Edgar Alan Poe and in a novel The Murders in the Rue
Morgue he described a detective – protagonist who uttered significant
words: the investigation will be entertainment for us.18 That sentence
might be considered the shortest explanation of a detective story.
One early example of a detective story is Voltaire’s Zadig (1748) in
which the author presents the main character performing feats of analysis
and the meaning of evil. Another early example of detective stories is
16
Van Gulik R. Di Gong An. www.sothebys.com (retrieved Feb. 3, 2019).
17
Van Gulik R. Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. Dover Publications, 1976. ISBN
0486233375. P. 183.
18
Poe E.A. The Murders in the Rue Morgue, pdf (retrieved Feb. 4, 2019).

100
Things as They Are (The Adventures of Celeb Williams) written in
1794 by William Godwin where the law is presented as protecting the
murderer but the innocent is destroyed. Next is Richmond or stories in the
life if a Bow Street officer by Thomas Skinner Sturr’s (1827). Among
them it is worth mentioning the Danish crime mystery The Rector of
Veilby by Steen Steensen Blicher (1829) which was written upon an old
true murder mystery and called as the first of Danish literature's great
storytellers, he (S.S. Blicher) is one of the few tragic poets Danish
literature has ever had.19
The Murder of Engine Maker Rolfsen by Maurits Hansen is the next
crime story published in 1839 in Norway. Some critics underline that this
story is written two years earlier than E.A. Poe’s The Murders in the Rue
Morgue (1841) so should be recognized as the first example of detective
fiction. The Murder of Engine Maker Rolfsen tells a story of vanishing of
an engine maker in the Norwegian mining town and the police
investigation.20 Das Fräulein von Scuderi (Miss von Scuderi) by
E.T.A. Hoffman in another early detective stories written in 1819. It is a
short story about series of mystery murders in Paris and conducting an
investigation by titular Miss von Scuderi. For critics, this is the first
detective story and they insist that had a direct impact on mentioning
above Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue.21 The Secret Cell by
W.E. Burton is also cited as early influence on Poe’s story. Burton in that
story describes a mystery of kidnapped girl and London police officer’s
investigation to arrest her offenders.22
As it was said early Western detective stories were written in the end
of 18th and beginning of 19th century in a period called The Golden Age.
In that times they were considered as entertainment stories and called
penny literature, wagon literature or kiosk literature. Detective stories
were very popular in Europe especially in Great Britain, and in
America.23 As was written above E.A. Poe is generally recognized as a

19
Baggesen S. Den Blicherske Novelle. Odense Universitetsforlag, 1965. ISBN
87-7838-118-5. P. 121.
20
The Murder of Engine Maker. URL: www.archive.today (retrieved Feb. 4, 2019).
21
Booker Ch. The seven basic plots. Bloomsbury Academic, 2004. ISBN
9780826452092. P. 253.
22
Sims M. The Dead Witness: Connoisseur’s Collections of Victorian Detective
Stories. Walker Books, 2011. ISBN 9780802779182. P. 156.
23
Żabski T. (red.) Słownik literatury popularnej. Wrocław. Towarzystwo Przyjaciół
Polonistyki Wrocławskiej, 2006. ISBN 8370910394. P. 195.

101
progenitor of detective story’s subgenre but it is worth recollecting that
mentioned before the Dutch writer Robert Van Gulik is author of Chinese
18th century manuscript translation which was a seedbed of his detective
story Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee issued in 1949. In that story
Van Gulik created, for the first time in the history of literature, a new
character – both a detective and a Judge Dee who is conducting an
investigation to reveal a criminal. Van Gulik published new adventures of
Judge Dee for the next twenty years and the whole series had eventually
sixteen volumes. In that case Judge Dee became Asian counterpart of
Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot.
Even though the first detective stories were created in 19 th century, in
18th century Western literature were written books which had typical
elements of detective story e.g. The Newgate Calendar where many
villains and dangerous perpetrators were presented. Those stories about
convicts were mostly true, they were copied from London Tribunal and
were published mostly because of their educational objective. Along with
increasing interest to a detective story also biography of criminals were
published. Apart from Britain also in France detective stories were read
more often. Famous French detectives were L. Madrain, P. Coignard or
E.F. Vidocq. The last was a detective who described memories and
underworld of criminals which became very interesting for readers and
also gave an inspiration for such authors as Dickens, Balzac or Poe.
E.A. Poe was also inspired by detective Vidocq so much that he
wrote mentioned before famous The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841),
Mystery of Marie Roget (1842) or The Purloined Letter (1844). The
setting in these stories is in Paris. These three stories opened the door for
a detective story subgenre and it could be distinguished typical elements
such as mysterious crime, astute and rational investigation, the answer to
the riddle, presence of the detective who investigates very precisely to
reveal an offender. Poe’s trilogy became the essence of that subgenre, the
mystery might be solved only when the detective investigates in rational
and logical way.
Not only Poe introduced a brilliant and famous detective into
literature, Sir A.C. Doyle also implemented a renowned private detective
Sherlock Holmes. In 1887 Doyle published first story A Study in Scarlet
describing Holmes’s adventures.
It is worth mentioning that A. Christie is an author who contributed
to develop the detective story subgenre too. She is often called the Queen

102
of Detective Stories, because of her great talent to create unforgettable
stories. She wrote over 90 stories, starting with The Mysterious Affairs at
Styles from 1920, up to Sleeping Murder issued in the year of her death. –
Ideas appear in the least expected moments: I walk down the street,
I watch the exhibition of a shop with hats, until suddenly a thought
flashes: oh, in this way, one could perfectly mask the crime, no one will
guess – she often said.24 A. Christie was able to make fascinating
characters out of the most boring inhabitants of small towns, she
described murders in luxury apartments as well as on trains, planes,
libraries. Criminals often turned out to be the least expected: calm,
balanced, elderly, with a perfect alibi, she even broke the age-old
principle of criminal stories, making the murderer a narrator or a
detective. I usually have half a dozen [notebooks] on hand – she said. –
I write there what more interesting concepts, information about poisons
and medicines, read in the newspaper reports of particularly cunning
scams. Of course, if I kept the notes in perfect order, I would have
avoided many problems.25
In Christie’s stories there is a very clear division into good and evil.
Regardless of age and social status, as well as the motive – the guilty
must be punished. Even if a reader sympathizes the villain from the first
page, it must be accepted that the crime will not be without
consequences. – The murderer must not be saved, as if the man who
escapes the disease-stricken village in the Middle Ages is not saved and
enters between innocent healthy children in the neighboring village.
Innocents need to be protected; they need to be provided with peace and
security, let them live without fear in the human group – Christie said.26
But her stories are not just a game of good and evil. Interesting view
appears in the stories in which the main characters decide to make a
murder as an act of justice on those who managed to avoid the
consequences. Christie usually takes up existential issues and asks the
questions: can a man kill in the name of good? Can any murder might be
justified?
In postmodern poetics the time line of the development of the
detective story genre is presented from Poe to Pizzolatto. Starting from
24
Christie A. An Autobiography. William Morrow Paperback. London, 2012. ISBN
0062204572. P. 313.
25
Ibidem, P. 224.
26
Ibidem, P. 126.

103
Kafka’s The Trial as a key precursor to Borges’ “Death and the
Compass” (1942), Nabokov’s The Eye (1930), and Beckett’s Molloy
(1951), in terms of the exploration of the metaphysics of identity. In
addition, The Trial is used as a meta-text to examine the disruption of
ordered reality in Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), Robbe-
Grillet’s The Erasers (1953), and DeLillo’s Players (1977). Auster’s
exemplary novel City of Glass (1985) is then read in the context of Poe’s
“William Wilson” (1839) and “Man of the Crowd” (1840), and
interpreted alongside a close reading of Beckett’s Molloy. Finally, Nic
Pizzolatto’s True Detective (2014) is identified as the most recent
example of metaphysical detective fiction, marking a translocation from
page to screen, into contemporary popular culture.

2. Types of Detective Fiction

In the 1970s literary critics decided that stories would be better if
they were deprived of the plot. By saying that they scared off many
potential writers who were hoping to become a part of the main stream of
literature. They turned back to popular literature and many took to writing
crime stories.
There are several types of detective stories, among them it might be
distinguished: a classical detective story, hardboiled stories, a historical
mystery, cozy mysteries, a serial killer mystery, a legal thriller or a
locked-room mystery.27
The first type a classical detective story is often called whodunit
because it is a brief, suspenseful report on the murder investigation. The
investigation is carried out by a police inspector or private investigator or,
at least by an amateur. The author should observe specific conventions
and, above all, give the reader all the clues and reasons for the collusion
used by a detective to solve the mystery. Traditionally, this type of a story
begins with a murder that disturbs the peaceful life of people belonging to
the middle or upper class. Then there is an investigation which reveals the
weaknesses and limitations of all characters. However, from the moment
when the detective gives the name of the actual perpetrator, this act seems
to be remarkably significant and morally important to fix everything.
Only the truth counts. The punishment is not of great importance. It is

27
Symons J. The Bloody Murder: From The Detective Story to Crime Novel. New
York. Mysterious Press, 1993. ISBN 9780892964963. P. 75.

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obvious that when the name is revealed, everyone and of course the
reader is satisfied. British literary critic B. Brophy wrote: The detective
works like Ego: he finds meaning in what is irrational and frees us from
guilt for someone’s death.28 Another British writer W.H. Auden
explained: The role of the detective is not so much to prove the guilt of
the murderer as the innocence of all other characters. The murderer is a
scapegoat, the paradise community is saved by plunging him, and the
reader makes sure that the guilt is beyond the world and beyond him.29
Stories of this type have a wonderful lineage in the form of the
achievements of such great writers as Sir A.C. Doyle, who created the
character of S. Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson; A. Christie who
implemented Miss Marple and inspector H. Poirot and his assistant
Hastings; D.L. Sayers who created Lord P. Wimsey.
Whodunit stories created in the first period of Golden Age could be
reduced to mysteries. Writers invented the most complicated murders and
gave detectives such flashes of genius that made it possible to discover
the truth.
The whodunit stories return to contemporary crime literature and is
rightly called a detective story. Its rules are somewhat loosened but the
basic rule still applied – a murder and successful investigation. It is a
capacious and quite deep genre that allows to focus on the characters’
personalities and the perplexing situation in which they found themselves.
A detective story that is the closest to the classic origin carries the
challenge for the reader: Do you guess who did it (whodunit) before I tell
you? It provides the reader both false and real guidelines. The detective
usually has a friend or someone trusted who can help him (a foil).
Another type of detective stories are hardboiled stories describing
the darkest demi-world. The characters are mostly gangsters, drug dealers
and other residents of the low-life. The characters are definitely negative
and the language is brutal. There is often violence, but this type of
detective stories is also quite conventional. Authors believe that only their
writing faithfully shows society, while others say that they deliberately
create a contemporary fantasy set in a city. Hardboiled story became cult
literature in the early 1990s when the leading British creator of the genre,
28
Brophy B. Detective Fiction: A Modern Myth of Violence? The Hudson Review.
1965. Vol. 18. № 1. pp. 11–30 (retrieved Feb. 5, 2019).
29
Auden W.H. Notes on the detective story, by an addict. Harper’s Magazine. 1948.
(retrieved Feb. 5, 2019).

105
Derek Raymond, died. Other hardboiled story’s writer Walter Mosley
gained recognition thanks to the fact that in his series of novels about
Easy Rawlins he used the dialect of Afro-Americans: Most days, no
matter what I was working on, I would have stopped and talked a while.
That’s what made me different from the cops and from other people,
black and white, trying to find out something down in black L.A. The
people down there were country folks and they liked it when you stopped
for a few minutes or so.30
In Godfather by M. Puzo there are many violent dialogues that
reflect hardboiled types of detective stories: You talk about vengeance. Is
vengeance going to bring your son back to you or my boy to me? I forgot
the vengeance of my son. But my youngest son had to leave this country
because of this Sollozzo business. So now I have to make arraignments to
bring him back safely cleared of all these false charges. But I’m a
superstitious man. And if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he
should be shot in the head by a police officer, or if should hang himself in
his jail cell, or if he's struck by a bolt of lightning… then I'm going to
blame some of the people in this room… and that, I do not forgive. But,
that aside, let say that I swear, on the souls of my grandchildren, that
I will not be the one to break the peace we have made here today.31
Interest in the type of historical crime stories comes from the desire
to recreate and revive the realities of the era in which the action of the
book is placed. Writers return to their own childhood, to the days they
remember best or analyze the beginnings of the police and the judiciary
institution to get information for their detective stories, e.g. E. Peters for
his character, Cadfael, recalled to the 20th century. The success of these
books is based on the quality of the realities it is built of. Unlike other
stories, where the part of information might be collected while writing,
the creators of historical crime stories first explore the period and only
then devise a plot that will allow them to use what they learned.
A good example of historical detective story might be The Name of
The Rose by U. Eco. In that story two monks are coming to the abbey to
take part in a debate about the poverty of Jesus Christ. Abbot asks one of
them for help in solving the mystery of the death of Adelmu’s porthole
from the Otran, who was found dead at the foot of the abbey. The novelty

30
Mosley W. Black Betty. Pocket Books. New York, 1994. ISBN 1852423803. P. 91.
31
Puzo M. Godfather. Arrow Books. London, 1998. ISBN 9780099528128. P. 281.

106
is that traces seem to exclude suicide or an accident. The situation
becomes more complicated when more monks die. The next events seem
to indicate more and more that everyone wants to acquire an ancient
book, and the key to solving the mystery lies in the mysterious library of
the abbey: “I am trying to put myself in the murderer’s place. If
Venantius had died, been killed, in the refectory, in the kitchen, or in the
scriptorium, why not leave him there? But if he died in the library, then
he had to be carried elsewhere, both because in the library the body
would never have been discovered (and perhaps the murderer was
particularly interested in its being discovered) and because the murderer
probably does not want attention to be concentrated on the library.”32
In addition to the story that takes place in the past, there are also
stories which an example is The Daughter of Time by J. Tey, where the
contemporary character explains the mystery: “Know what I find the
convincing thing in the case for Henry’s guilt?.” “What?”. “The
mystery.” “Mystery?”. “The mysteriousness. The hush-hush. The hole-
and-corner stuff.’ ‘Because it is in character, you mean?’ ‘No, no;
nothing as subtle as that. Don’t you see: Richard had no need of any
mystery; but Henry’s whole case depended on the boys’ end being
mysterious. No one has ever been able to think up a reason for such a
hole-and-corner method as Richard was supposed to have used. It was a
quite mad way to do it. He couldn’t hope to get away with it. Sooner or
later he was going to have to account for the boys not being there. As far
as he knew he had a long reign in front of him. No one has ever been able
to think why he should have chosen so difficult and dangerous a way
when he had so many simpler methods at hand. He had only to have the
boys suffocated, and let them lie in state while the whole of London
walked by and wept over two young things dead before their time of fever.
That is the way he would have done it, too. Goodness, the whole point of
Richard’s killing the boys was to prevent any rising in their favor, and to
get any benefit from the murder the fact of their deaths would have to be
made public, and as soon as possible. It would defeat the whole plan if
people didn’t know that they were dead. But Henry, now. Henry had to
find a way to push them out of sight. Henry had to be mysterious. Henry

32
The Name of the Rose. URL: www.goodwin.ee/u.eco.thenameoftherose (retrieved
Feb. 5, 2019).

107
had to hide the facts of when and how they died. Henry’s whole case
depended on no one’s knowing what exactly happened to the boys.”33
Psychological thriller is another type of detective stories. This type
is best summarized by the principle: “let them laugh, let them cry and let
them wait”, although laughter is usually limited to smiles contemptuous
with irony or wit. The popular topic of these stories is someone’s decline,
usually there is a crime or its consequences also appear. Its key elements
are the study of the protagonist and a story that absorbs the reader,
containing a certain amount of insinuations and puzzles, told in a way
that holds in suspense. In a typical psychological thriller, the reader
observes how the unconscious characters are heading towards their own
destruction. Awareness of the overcoming catastrophe and the inability to
detach from this attention is a basic human trait and source of success for
many literary genres. In The Collector J. Fowles describes a young man
named Ferdinand Clegg, who works as a clerk in the town hall. His
hobby is collecting butterflies. Ferdinand unfortunately fell in love with
Miranda Gray, unfortunately, because due to his shyness he cannot even
make contact, confess in the love to his beloved. Ferdinand decides to
kidnap and imprison his beloved in the belief that in spin of time she will
love him. He uses chloroform for kidnapping and then ties Miranda in the
basement of his house. Miranda decides to kill her executioner, but is
seriously ill; Ferdinand, convinced that this is the next attempt to escape,
hesitates initially with giving her help, and then with the call of a doctor.
Miranda dies of pneumonia: I can’t sleep. I’m going mad. Have to have
the light on. Wild dreams. I think people are here. D. Minny. It’s
pneumonia. He must get a doctor. It is murder. I can’t write it down.
Words are useless. (He’s come.) He won’t listen. I’ve begged him. I’ve
said it’s murder. So weak. Temperature 102. I’ve been sick. Nothing
about last night, him or me. Did it happen? Fever. I get delirious. If only
I knew what I have done. Useless useless. I won’t die I won’t die.34
In a typical thriller less psychology and more fights than feelings are
described. Thrillers are adventure stories, have a fast pace, lots of action
and confusion in them, and a terrible climax appears at the end. In the
world of thrillers, high or the highest stakes are always played and their

33
Daughter of Time. URL: www.ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/tey/josephine/daughter_
of_time/ (retrieved Feb. 6, 2019).
34
The Collector. URL: www.kkoworld.com/thecollector (retrieved Feb. 5, 2019).

108
protagonist must be able to withstand both mentally and physically
because they are forced to face incredible adversities. R. Chandler
summarized this genre: Thriller is a development of a fairy tale. It is a
melodrama so thoroughly made to make the illusion that a told story,
though incredible, could happen.35
There are three types of thrillers: international, espionage and political
thrillers. The international thriller is a large-scale project. Its action takes
place in several countries and focuses mostly on crimes. War events often
come to play. Usually there is an investigation and a desire for justice or
revenge. An espionage thriller usually deals with betrayal and its motives
rather than a crime. The reader enters the world of half-truths and intricate
intrigues, he is not required to demystify anything, but only to put his faith
in the character. In these stories there are slightly less actions and more
introspection, which is considered to be intellectually more demanding.
Human Factor by G. Greene is among the best. Political thrillers mostly
concern the Machiavellian behavior of politicians. TV adaptation of the
story by M. Dobbs’s A House of Cards – about a man who does not allow
anything even the consent of murder to hinder his ambitions – achieved
spectacular success. Political thrillers dense with intrigue and betrayal can
completely ignore the motive of a crime.
The detective story gives the reader the pleasure of finding answers
to the questions about who committed a crime and who is a perpetrator, it
shows intellectually mastering cause-and-effect relations and ordering
facts. The pleasure of reading such work is multi-level – intellectual,
psychological and moral. The novelty here is that there is the opportunity
to solve the riddle and sort out what initially seemed to be totally
unintelligible, unclear. Reading this type of story also gives psychological
satisfaction that there is some order in the world – even if it was in some
way disturbed, because someone murdered someone or robbed, but in the
end the culprit is caught and punished. So there are many reasons why
this genre is valued. It is no coincidence that it is so popular.
In classic detective stories the main clue was not always a murder. In
most cases it was, for example, theft or even a mysterious disappearance.
It was mainly about a mystery, a mystery – often connected with the
criminal world, but that was not the case at all. Murder in stories gained

35
Crime Reads. URL: www.crimereads.com/the-time-raymond-chandler-and-ian-
fleming-got-together-to-talk-about-thrillers (retrieved Feb. 5, 2019).

109
popularity only from Agatha Christie, that is from the 20 th century. The
twentieth century is getting more and more bloody – these are mostly
murders and they are more and more brutal. Nineteenth-century stories
are much more elegant – even when someone kills someone, it does it in
a more sophisticated way, like by pouring poison into a glass.
Sometimes the crimes committed in reality are not as deliberate and
organized as in the literary fiction. It might be a question: what is more
lacking in people – imagination or calculation? It could be probably
something else. The real criminals lose their spontaneity. They most often
commit crimes under the influence of the moment with the help of
accidental tools. Later they have a problem with hiding the body,
obliterating traces etc. There may also be various psychological reactions
such a person may admit to tell someone. Many murderers feel the need to
tell about a crime. However, it is different in books. Being the author of the
detective story, there is the advantage that the crime might be planned and
commited very precisely. In opposition to literary fiction life is chaotic –
and in this case, people lose their lack of planning, excessive spontaneity.
Looking at the detective stories that are currently being written the
characters are very different from those written at the beginning of the
formation of the subgenre. An interesting phenomenon is the capture of
the genre by high-level literature, but also such trends as the development
of a feminist detective stories, because there are as well woman writers
who try to adapt this subgenre.
It is worth adding that Umberto Eco joked in his essay that in fact all
scenarios in detective stories have already been rehearsed. All except one:
when the reader turns out to be the killer. The novelty here is that there
were so many other possibilities that it is really hard to be surprised that
this genre like all other genres of the formative story is repetitive. This is
a very serious downside, because at this point the book loses what the
reader is looking for in literature, that is, originality and showing such
points of view, which the reader did not think about.
It might be said that the detective story has a fascinating present and
a great future. This genre still functions very well in its popular variant,
perhaps not very artistic, but it is also well-selling and satisfying for
undemanding readers, that is, duplicating schemes, but in an intelligent
way, for example by enriching them with some additional elements.
Another reason why would not be declined this subgenre in the near
future is the fact that it is one of those genres that it crossed the border

110
between popular literature and high literature in a very successful way. It
was believed that such books as detective, gothic or romance novels,
especially in the Harlequin edition, should not be read by no self-
respecting reader or literary critic. However, in the 1960s, and even a
little earlier, these genres regained their popularity. The interest of the
authors of the high novel, i.e. artistic, prestigious was gained.
In the American literature, such an example is Thomas Pynchon –
one of the intellectually challenging novelists. It is impossible not to
mention about Umberto Eco and his first work, The Name of the Rose.
Another example is the English author Graham Greene. He is a moralist,
catholic and religious writer. Brighton Rock is his first book kept in the
convention of a detective story. Of course, the author breaks some
patterns here; he does not use the classic formula of the genre, but only
uses it to express certain moral truths – stories about the choice between
good and evil, metaphysics, problems of faith in God, etc. That is why
popular, best-selling, and the artistic editions of detective stories might be
considered as great literary subgenre and it would have been far from
predicting their imminent death.
Summarizing the writers describing themselves as thriller authors
declare that they are not interested only in conducting an investigation or
observing subtle changes in relations between people. These books only
seem to be a typical struggle between good and evil – they are based on
meticulously collected facts. Creating thrillers sometimes requires such a
deep study of human behaviors as writing a scientific research. Types of
detective stories such as: a classical detective story, hardboiled stories, a
historical mystery, cozy mysteries, a serial killer mystery, a legal thriller
or a locked-room mystery involve the author to carry out extensive and
thorough research related to the described events.

CONCLUSIONS
Thus, there are different types of detective stories, but all of them
should have the same elements to be called a detective story: a crime, a
victim and a culprit.
The characteristic features of the structure of these stories are
determined by their type. Analyzing the definitions, the form of detective
stories is appropriate for individual authors. Writers believe that the effect
they would like to achieve, mostly retain the flexibility in developing
history in any possible direction.

111
 It is proved that fast-flowing, thriving action provides a lot of
reader’s involvement into detective story’s action. The story, full of
unexpected turns of action and great intrigue, gives the opportunity to
practice logical thinking, to develop deduction, which is guided by
stories’ detectives.

SUMMARY
This article deals with the genre peculiarities of detective stories.
The aim of the research was to provide the comparison, analysis,
discussing detective stories’ passages, and also presenting the theoretical
and practical aspects of detective story subgenre. To understand the
framework of detective stories definitions of genre, stylistic and structural
peculiarities were presented. Detective story subgenre is defined at many
different levels, but it might be summed up that it is a type of popular
literature with the main elements: a crime, victim, and perpetrator. The
process of investigation is planned to interest readers and encourage them
to be an active part of it.
Although there are many different types of detective stories all must
have the same essential points focusing on revealing the truth. The
characteristic features are determined by the detective story’s type.
Authors believe that the effect they planned to achieve, generally retain
the flexibility in developing story in any possible direction.

REFERENCES
1. Auden W.H. Notes on the detective story, by an addict. Harper’s
Magazine. April 8. 2019.
2. Benjamin Walter. One Way Street and Other Writings. URL:
www.archive.org/stream/BenjaminWalterOneWayStreetAndOtherWritings
3. Brooker Ch. The seven basic plots. Blooomsbury Academic,
2004.
4. Cawelti J.G. The Formula of the Classical Detective Story. ISBN
978-0226098678 (retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).
5. Collins Dictionary. URL: www.collinsdictionary.com (retrieved
Feb. 2, 2019).
6. Encyclopedia Britanica. URL: www.britannica.com (retrieved
Feb. 2, 2019).
7. Encyclopedia. URL: www.encyclopedia.com (retrieved Feb. 2,
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 Find Me an Authour. URL: www.findmeanauthor.com/crime_fiction
(retrieved Feb. 2, 2019).
8. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. ISBN 9788377915974 (retrieved
Feb. 3, 2019).
9. Van Dine S. S. Twenty rules for writing detective stories. 1939.
URL: http://gutenberg.net.au
10. Van Gulik R. Di Gong An. URL: www.sothebys.com (retrieved
Feb. 3, 2019).
11. Writer’s Digest University. URL:
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Information about the author:

Koliasa O. V.
Candidate of Philology,
Associate Professor at the Department
of Germanic Languages and Translation,
Drohobych State Pedagogical University named after Ivan Franko
14/24, S. Nalyvaika str., Drohobych, 82111, Ukraine

113
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/114-133

GENDER IDENTITY IN A POSTMODERN TEXT:

SCHOLARLY CONCEPT, MEDIA STEREOTYPE,
LITERARY IMAGE

Marchyshyna A. A.

INTRODUCTION
Transformation of scholarly paradigms in the epoch of
postmodernism as well as reaction to the challenges of the globalized
world result in revision of the principles of social interaction and
relocation of the crucial figures on the chessboard of moral and value.
Here belong such concepts as “sex”, “gender”, “sexuality”, the
correlation and representation of which generally constitute the present-
day widely acknowledged understanding of gender identity. The
traditional sex dichotomy man/woman used to be actualized as
“male/female”, the inherent properties of those latter being
synchronically formed and approved by society. As long as this
established alliance provoked no doubts, the terms “sex” and “gender”
alongside with the corresponding phenomena were considered
synonymic. Hardly the scholars (S. de Beauvoir, S. Freud, E. Fromm,
R. Lakoff, M. Mead, A. Oakley, G. Rubin, R. Stoller etc.) entered upon
the first studies of distinctions between these and the inborn nature of sex
and constructivist character of gender, a well-defined line of
differentiation was drawn.
Like in philosophy and social sciences, the concept of gender has not
got a homogeneous linguistic representation, either. The spectrum of
gender lingual nominations counts dozens. These come both from self-
defined gender identities and the socially apprehended nominated
respectively phenomenon in question, what may be considered as a right
of any society being a speaking community at the same time.

1. Gender Identity in a Scholarly Text

The contemporary world development is notable for progressive
technology and scientific investigations widely introduced in each sphere

114
of human existence. It results in the autonomy of personal problems and
human rights1. Science penetrates both human consciousness and human
activity as the most objective and unbiased way of treating and using real
facts. Science boasts of strict rules and norms in accordance with which
certain theoretical regulations are approved and accepted. Representation
of scholarly research achievements in a verbal form reflects both
scientific principles (factography, evidence, truthfulness, objectivity,
clarity) and cultural norms of making these achievements public. The
lingual format of scholarly texts rests on the following two positions:
1) information of the verified facts with 2) their accurate scientific
explanation.
There is no unified definition of a scholarly discourse. It is
understood as a phenomenon of lingual and social nature which due to its
structural and semantic characteristics forms a milieu for a specific
variety of communication, i.e. it constitutes a type of discursive activity
according to the sphere of communication undertaken by a definite
social/professional group in order to let the members of this group realize
their status and role potentials within the institutional limits. Thus,
scholarly discourse is an element of a more general institutional
discourse – a constituent of professional discourse. Like a particular
type of institutional discourse, it represents a specific worldview.
Moreover, this worldview is considered to be the most objective.
Being a multifaceted phenomenon, a scholarly discourse is realized
in various ways. The knowledge obtained in the course of scientific
investigation is represented, preserved and transferred by numerous
means among which a text is most widely employed. Here, linguistic
characteristics of this medium come to the fore. So, a scholarly text is
considered to be a component of institutional discourse which provides
interaction in scientific sphere by means of verbal units. It is a
communicative phenomenon in which a lingual aspect is combined with
extralingual and cognitive2. Postmodern scholarly text is derived from
the general concept of a scholarly text and embodies the paradigm of

1
Козловски П. Культура постмодерна: общественно-культурные последствия
технического развития. Москва: Республика, 1997. С. 207.
2
Лук’янова Т. Об’єктивація гендерних стереотипів англомовними
атрибутивними сполученнями, що позначають природні характеристики людини.
Вісник Житомирського держ. ун-ту. 2008. Вип. 39. Філологічні науки. С. 209.

115
postmodern philosophy while interpreting ontological basis, empirical
data and their verbalization.
The idea of a society, people, their abilities, possibilities and
strivings to realize themselves in a given society is revealed in new
aspects in the postmodern period. Gender identity represented in a
scholarly text is a culturally, socially and lingually constructed entity, a
result of combination of stereotypically fixed images with synchronically
variable principles of style, genre etc. The interest towards social gender
stratification penetrates into scholarly spheres and acquires its adequate
reflection by verbal means in a text.
Until the 20th century, the differences between men and women used
to be explained by their biological specifics, and this approach was
approved by religious postulates. But progressive trends like technical
and industrial development caused transformation of labour distribution
and shifts in social and gender stratification. Scientists were no longer
limited by biological determinism and religion and felt free to investigate
various socio-cultural manifestations of human inborn sex attributes.
So, a postmodern scholarly text appeals to both traditional
(biological) semantics of gender (as an absolute synonym to sex) and a
new one, which is treated as the socio-cultural manifestation of the latter.
The following fragment may serve an example where “gender” in used in
the meaning “sex, male or female”3:
One half of the sample drew even tangentially on biological
explanations to explain gender differences in life expectancy: there were
no discernible differences by generation. These accounts ranged from
general descriptions of women being ‘tougher’, ‘stronger’, having a
different ‘makeup’ or having increased ‘stamina’ compared to men4.
Here, in the course of life expectancy research, the authors observed
groups of men and women. The biological stratification according to
physiological (predominantly) and psychological characteristics into
women and men is presented as gender differences. The title of the
analyzed article, taken from the journal “Social Science & Medicine”,
proves that the authors consider the lexemes “sex” and “gender” absolute

3
American Dictionary of the English Language. URL:
http://websterdictionary1828.com
4
Emslie C., Hunt K. The weaker sex? Exploring lay understandings of gender
differences in life expectancy: A qualitative study. Social Science and Medicine. Glasgow,
2008. Vol. 67. P. 811.

116
synonyms: “The weaker sex? Exploring lay understandings of gender
differences in life expectancy: A qualitative study”.
The late 20th century is marked by a ‘gender’ expansion in the
natural, humanitarian and social sciences. It results in the appearance of
numerous texts where a clear line of differentiation between gender and
sex is drawn. Here, sexuality (not just a body) is taken into consideration
as a leading criterion of gender identification. H. Cixous proclaims the
relevance of gender, unlike the stability of body parameters (mind the
year of publication):
… sexual opposition, which has always worked for man’s profit
<…> is only a historico-cultural limit5.
Scholars of various fields undermine “a fixed identity, be it genetic,
biological, or existential” and suggest ideas which “challenge the gender
binary system that produces and maintains binary constructions such as
male/female and hetero/homo”6. Gender identity is treated as no longer
being based on physiological and anthropomorphic attributes; it results
from a broad discursive practice and, unlike the inborn qualities of
biological sex, is consciously chosen, self-defined7. The academia come
to understanding that sex is what people are born with, gender is what
people perform. Hence, quite naturally a theory of performative genders
(J. Butler) takes its leading positions in the 20 th century humanities.
According to J. Butler8, gender is constructed in the process of human
intercourse by means of speech acts and non-verbal communication.
These ‘performances’ are portrayed in different kinds of texts where
certain peculiarities may be picked up.
The most notable feature among these is vocabulary. The selection
of gender relevant lexicon is determined by the stylistic peculiarities of
scholarly texts. Though the analyzed articles used as the material for
investigation were picked from journals of different humanitarian areas,
there are some common features characterizing the gender vocabulary.
Firstly, this is terminology. It is not homogeneous in etymology and

5
Cixous H. The Laugh of the Medusa. Signs. 1976. Vol. 1. № 4. P. 883.
6
Tilsen J., Nylund D. Resisting normativity: Queer musings on politics, identity, and
the performance of therapy. The International Journal of Narrative Therapy and
Community Work. 2010. № 3. P. 66.
7
Escudero-Alias M. Long Live the King: A Genealogy of Performative Genders.
Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. P. 4.
8
Butler J. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York:
Routledge, 1990. 172 p.

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semantics. This is the typical situation with the new branches of science
which are in the process of development. Their terminological systems
are developing, too. Gender linguistics of postmodern period may be
regarded as one of such paradigms.
The scholarly authors who follow the biological determinism of
sex/gender correlation use lexemes man and woman as both indicators of
inborn physiological attributes and their gender realization in social and
cultural milieu. Alongside with these key nominations, the adjectives
male/female, masculine/feminine serve to signal a person’s sex and/or
gender identity. The spread of interest towards gender problems and the
“coming out” of queer identity caused the need of adequate lexical units
to stand for non-normative identities. There emerged the whole clusters
of words which can be classified according to different criteria.
The first group may be called semantic neologisms. These are words
which alongside with their neutral meaning have acquired gender relevant
semes. Here belong the adjectives queer and gay which in scholarly texts
are most frequently found in terminological collocations like queer
person, queer people, queer identity, gay men, gay partner, gay spouse.
The lexemes underwent “positive resignification in the early 1990s,
carried out by activist groups of queer people who wanted it to become a
weapon of self-representation and self-expression”9. Moreover, there is a
tendency to substantivize queer and gay so that a noun categories of
number and case might be attributed.
The second group comprises compound words with the initial
components hetero-, homo-, trans-. Though these formants possess
different etymology (homo from ancient Greek meaning “same” through
a Latin noun meaning “man”; hetero – from Greek adjective meaning
“different”; trans is a former Latin pronoun meaning “through”, but in its
present usage it is just a clipped form of a noun “transition” which signals
a change of identity, a shift in gender representation) they are quite
productive in formation of different parts of speech in gender relevant
lexico-semantic group: homosexual, homophobia, homonegative/positive,
homogenized, heterosexual, heteronormative, heterosexism, heterosexist,
transgender, transsexual, transformative.

9
Escudero-Alias M. Long Live the King: A Genealogy of Performative Genders.
Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. P. 3.

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 The third group of terminological units is characteristic of scholarly
fields which are developing while being investigated. The terminology is
still being coined, so the terms to accurately nominate the new concepts
have not been approved yet by the academia working in this sphere. That is
why phrasal nominations of gender identity constitute quite a significant
part in gender vocabulary. Such units both nominate and describe, e.g.
heterosexual/homosexual men/women, genetic mother, surrogate mother,
birth mother, non-White men/women, gender binary etc.

2. Gender Identity in a Media Text

English postmodern mass media texts reflect the contemporary
public opinion and serve the communicative background for formation,
functioning and transformation of gender stereotypes. Thus, gender
identity is rendered as a stereotype reconstructed by language means.
Mass media meet the social mainstream demands for freedom of self-
presentation where public disclosure of gender identity is among the ways
of liberation from the deep-rooted dual sex-gender correlation the
violation of which marks both the marginal status of an individual and the
dominance of patriarchal values among moral principles.
The publicist discourse “mirrors” gender as both resting on social
stereotypes and formed by a journalist’s personal view of the
phenomenon. The contemporary nomination of the style – journalistic –
more adequately designates the social and lingual specificity of the texts
it comprises. A present-day journalist is much more responsible for
influence on public opinion than public speeches which are no longer a
powerful instrument of persuasion but rather a PR necessity: “journalists
compose their discourse from the discourses of their sources, taking
decisions concerning how and why show or hide them”10. The publicist
discourse researchers single out two key functions it fulfills: informative
and suggestive, which should be realized simultaneously11. The
suggestive influence is stronger if the information is presented in an
expressive way.

10
Cunha G.X. The multiplicity of voices in the journalistic discourse: study of
polyphony in Journalism in light of a modular perspective of discourse organization.
Intercom: Revista Brasileira de Ciências da Comunicação. 2015. Vol. 38. № 2.
São Paulo July/Dec. P. 159.
11
Пономарів О.Д. Стилістика сучасної української мови: підручник. Тернопіль:
Навчальна книга − Богдан, 2000. С. 12.

119
 Verbal representation of publicist/journalistic discourse is
predominantly realized through the texts published in mass media. The
latter can boast of a longer “life” compared to the oral discourse. Hence,
they become means of fixing and preserving information in the way of
describing facts, data, opinions etc. That is why the term “media text”
has been chosen for the present study to stand for a text component of
publicist discourse published in a paper or an electronic mass medium.
It may seem reasonable to apply the lexeme ‘present-day’ in the
meaning of “postmodern” considering these two words synonyms as far
as the present research focuses on the period of early 21st century which is
undoubtedly marked by postmodern transformations, at least, in the way
of text semantics and structuring.
The gender concepts reflected in the analyzed texts are transformed
in order to meet the requirements of the texts recipients. The editorial
policies of the majority of media are aimed at receiving profit by
enlarging the number of readers which in this sphere is reached by
offering them the information they are eager to obtain. It explains the
depiction of familiar stereotypes in media texts in which the readers
recognize themselves or the people they know.
As the research proves, the gender stereotypes represented in
postmodern mass media are usually based on discrepancy between sex
and gender as different though interdependent entities. Thus, traditional
understanding of sex/gender correlation is depicted as a routine feature of
social life:
Until extremely recently it was accepted that your gender is what
you are born with, not the subject of personal choice, and that is what
most people still believe12.
Here, the author states that in patriarchal tradition the concept of sex
(=gender) is treated as an innate constituent but not the result of a
personal choice.
The present-day mass media texts split the former biologically
determined sex/gender dyad and undermine the traditional concept of a
man as a breadwinner and a woman as a born housewife as well as strict
division of society members into males and females. Queer identity gets

12
Brocklehurst S. Philippa York ‘I’m fine with who I am’. BBC News. URL:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-40946654?intlink_from_url=http://www.bbc.com/
news/topics

120
its interpretation in media discourse and signals a new dimension of
personality identification.
The research shows that a media text tends both to represent
different stereotypes and construct them. Media transmit the already
formed stereotypes of mass consciousness and those where the
mediapolitics is directed to. The former fix and spread the familiar
concepts and images, the latter signal the genesis and organization,
grouping of some amount of new information the community members
possess. This information scope gets its verbal signification and appears
as a consolidated new entity “legitimized” by a mass medium.
So, several clusters of gender stereotypes as depicted in mass media
texts may be singled out. They are as follows:
1) stereotypes of femininity/masculinity. This group is grounded
on social ideas of psychological traits of men and women which generally
oppose each other.
The media texts analysis proves that postmodern masculine gender
stereotypes are marked by logical thinking, prosperity, financial success,
activity, violence, domination, ethnicity, appearance and are rather
performed than inborn. Postmodern transformation of a masculine
stereotype consists in certain courage to violate the social pattern of
masculinity introducing some new features into it.
Postmodern feminine stereotypes reveal the revision of patriarchal
view of women’s subjectivity, emotionality, lack of logic, specific
professionalism, appearance and beauty, social roles, reproductive and
matrimonial functions.
What’s more, gender stereotypes are construed via body, social
intercourse, labour distribution, cultural norms, hierarchy of values,
sexuality. Gender identity in present-day mass media texts implements
both traditional and novel ideas about gender, destroys the principles of
masculine-feminine subordination and advocates sexual and social
egalitarianism. This is adequately reflected by journalists:
A new study shows gender stereotypes are just as strong today as
they were 30 years ago <…>
The study, published in the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly,
compared data from 195 college students in 1983 to data from 191 adults
in 2014. The participants from each period rated the likelihood that a
typical man or woman has a set of gendered characteristics. The
researchers found that despite greater diversity in the 2014 sample,

121
people continue to strongly stereotype men and women on personality
traits.
People exaggerate the extent to which men and women are different
from one another13.
Here, gender stereotypes mean typical man or woman has a set of
gendered characteristics. The form “gendered” instead of just “gender”
as an attribute signals their construction, not an innate feature.
Queer stereotypes verbalized by queer identity nominations appear
in media texts to indicate changes in the social consciousness concerning
traditional inviolability of sex-gender dyad.
Among the complexity of decisions any journalist must take in every
disputable situation, the concept of queer remains one of the most
controversial. The confusion between the lexical meaning of “sex”,
“gender” and their correlation result in the public conflicts where the top
politicians are involved:
The Trump administration has also aggressively shifted positions in
cases involving gay rights, said Human Rights Campaign legal director
Sarah Warbelow. In a New York case involving a skydiving instructor
who alleged he was fired after telling a customer he was gay, the Trump
administration’s Justice Department weighed in to argue that a federal
law barring “sex” discrimination means discrimination based on gender
and doesn’t cover sexual orientation. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission under President Barack Obama took the
opposite view14.
In the quoted fragment,, the notions of “sex” discrimination and
discrimination based on gender are treated semantically similar and do
not imply sexual orientation what causes a legal collision as it violates
personal rights (he was fired after telling a customer he was gay). The
nomination gay stands for a queer identity meaning social and cultural
representation of sex, sexuality and a corresponding appearance and
behavioral model known as gender.

13
Beech S. Men really ARE from Mars: Gender stereotypes still strong today despite
rise of feminism. Sunday Express. URL: http://www.express.co.uk/life-
style/life/651175/Men-from-mars-gender-stereotypes-strong-today-despite-rise-feminism
14
Gresko J. At high court and others, Trump reverses legal course. The Times Record.
URL: http://www.timesrecord.com/news/2017-09-29/Nation%7CWorld/At_high_court_
and_others_Trump_reverses_legal_cour.html.

122
 The present-day newspaper text makes differences between queer
identities and euphemistically calls them transgender people, the
nomination often serving an umbrella term for each member of LGBT
abbreviation (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender). Moreover, contemporary
media texts do differentiate between them and apply appropriately regarding
the mentioned above identities as particular, as can be seen, for example, in
the title “Joining a public battle changed this private transgender woman's
life” (The Washington Post, April 30, 2016) where the contents reveal the
life of a person with male-to-female transition.
It is generally known that mass media direct the society in formation
and regulation of moral values, communication schemes, ethical norms. If
the present-day agenda includes gender identity representation and
apprehension, media fulfill the task. Thus, queer identity nominations are
characteristic of newspaper texts of late 20th – early 21st century. Let’s
consider the example:
After decades of fighting her family, her community and herself over
her gender identity, Kendall Balentine finally made peace with it. She
became content to live out her retirement quietly, for the first time in her
life as a woman, with her wife and dogs in the relative isolation of
Deadwood, S.D.
<…>"All my life, I put myself in harm's way because I couldn't be
who I was," said Balentine, 49, a retired Marine and deputy sheriff who
fully transitioned from living as a man to a woman last year. "I decided
now I was willing to die for who I am and fight for those who didn't have
a voice."
Balentine is part of a new wave of transgender people stepping out
of the shadows to fight a surge in state bills requiring people to use the
bathrooms, locker rooms and dressing rooms that differ from their
gender identity – measures they consider unnecessary, dangerous and
rooted in offensive stereotypes.
Many, like Balentine, have been recruited for the spotlight by
national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups,
scrambling to address a critical weak spot in their broader fight for
rights: the country's unfamiliarity with transgender people15.
15
Somashekhar S. Joining a public battle changed this private transgender woman's
life. The North Jefferson News. URL: http://www.njeffersonnews.com/cnhi_network/
joining-a-public-battle-changed-this-private-transgender-woman-s/article_a611211b-4817-
5cdc-9e81-c0c46fe6cc4d.html.

123
 This fragment depicts several stereotypes: 1) the society traditionally
recognizes gender identity by birth certificate; 2) state authorities carry
out the regulatory policy according to sex but not gender; 3) queer-
identity is formally designated by a limited number of types abbreviated
as LGBT; 4) there is no social understanding of queer diversity, i.e., gay
and transgender are synonyms in this fragment (though they are not);
moreover, the lexeme “transgender” is taken as a generic term for all
queers. Such verbal confusion is perceived by the readers and influences
the formation of queer as a concept;
2) professional activity characteristic of men and women. It is
based on social practices and often demonstrates the masculine gendered
dominance. Women are traditionally employed in executive spheres and
service, men – in creative, instrumental and representative16. But the
present-day politics witnesses the shift of gender distribution and more
and more ladies become leaders of nations and countries thus ruining the
ancient stereotypes. The British Prime Minister is one of the best
examples:
May is paying the price for mismanaging Johnson during her
period of political hegemony after she became leader. After he was
betrayed by Michael Gove and lacking any particular faction in the
parliamentary party, she brought him back from the brink of political
death by making him Foreign Secretary, but also used her strength and
his weakness to shrink his empire17.
The fragment depicts female dominance what is marked by the
lexeme hegemony. Teresa May saved Boris Johnson from political death
which showed her strength and his weakness – word combinations,
stating the postmodernist confusion among the social distribution of
stereotypical gender roles. The traditional nominations of conventional
male/female attributes – strength and weakness – are preserved, though;
3) norms and manners of social behavior, depicted in mass media,
are sufficiently dependent on sexuality and its adjustment to conventional
forms. Sexuality is one of the chief components of gender identity, its
most recognizable sign. Congruence between a biological sex and sexual

16
Магдюк Л. Гендерні стереотипи. Вплив гендерних стереотипів на предс-
тавлення чоловіків і жінок на ринку праці. Маркетинг в Україні. 2011. № 5–6. С. 8.
17
Bush S. Theresa May is paying the price for mismanaging Boris Johnson. New
Statesman. URL: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2017/09/theresa-may-
paying-price-mismanaging-boris-johnson

124
orientation forms a traditional heterosexual gender identity which is
supported by a widespread social moral and approved by social status.
Deviations of normative sex-gender combination is regulated by
mechanisms of social influence, among them – vistas, from which such
phenomena are given in mass media. Hence, the traditional sexual female
portrait abounds in subjectivity, weakness, dependence, victimization and
lack of self-confidence. Stereotypes stress differences in male and female
sexuality and treat them as naturally expected. Therefore, media publish
numerous materials of such kind:
The judge pointed out the victim had not attained the age of consent
at the time of the incident.
“She has categorically stated in her cross-examination that the
applicant had repeatedly sexually assaulted her,” he said.
The man, a resident of Nashik, was convicted and sentenced by a
POCSO court in 2016 to imprisonment for 10 years.
He, however, approached the HC for bail arguing he had not
committed the said offence and that he deserved to be let out on bail since
he was the sole breadwinner of his family18.
Here, the most striking issue doesn’t lie in the fact that a female
under age had been sexually assaulted, but the reason which the criminal
considers valid enough to release him from prosecution – he was the sole
breadwinner of his family. The man had been brought up in the
community where women were dependent on men in financial provision,
and the latter used this status to commit crimes.
But the postmodern outlook makes it possible for alternative
sexualities to appear on the printed page. Liberation of social
apprehension of those with queer identity increases politicians’ popularity
as can be seen in the following example:
But why is Merkel still seen as a strong, almost unchallengeable
chancellor? A Guardian writer says one of her key strengths is her
ability to disarm her opponents and demobilise their supporters by
integrating their more left-wing policies into her own party’s narrative.
There is some truth to this, as shown in her moves on the gay-marriage

18
Having a boyfriend doesn’t mean a woman can be sexually assaulted. The Tribune.
URL: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/having-a-boyfriend-doesn-t-mean-a-
woman-can-be-sexually-assaulted-hc/472751.html

125
bill, the renewable energy bill, the minimum wage and the refugee
question19.
One of the reasons why the German Chancellor won the election is
her intention to support the gay-marriage bill.
Mass media employ various means of verbal representation of gender
identity. Here belong stylistically neutral nominative lexemes, scholarly
terms, colloquialisms, word-building and semantic neologisms, idioms.
So, it may be stated that gender identity in contemporary mass media is
a mirror of social life and moods. But, on the other hand, the readers should
keep in mind the manipulative function of the press which is determined by
the editorial policies. In postmodern theory of text interpretation, a reader is
a co-author, so s/he has not only to perceive what is offered by a journalistic
text but be active in transformation and decoding the information in order to
make its cognitive influence most positive.

3. Gender Identity in a Literary Text

Verbalization of gender identity in a postmodern literary text is an
artistic process the result of which is an image with clearly defined
attributes allowing the reader to identify him/her as a representative of a
definite gender. No matter how realistic an author wants his/her
characters to look from the pages of a fiction text, they are always of dual
nature bearing some real features and those developed by the author’s
power of imagination. So, if the author’s aim is to represent an individual
with a definite gender identity, the depicted character with be endowed
with the identifying attributes to the greatest degree. Asking herself a
question why image is so central to a man’s consciousness, Carolyn
F. Gerald suggests it is because “all images, and especially created
images, represent a certain way of focusing on the world outside, and
therefore they represent a certain point of view”20. So, literary text
images, bearing characteristic features of a gender identity, reflect the
perception of the world by a gender identified individual.
Gender identity in a literary text is derived from the existing model
of sex-gender correlation. Besides, the idea of cultural relativity should be

19
Beppler-Spahl S. Why Merkel and Co want to keep politics ‘boring’. Spiked. URL:
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/why-merkel-and-co-want-to-keep-politics-
boring/20321#.Wclh1jVx3cs
20
Gerald C. F. The Black Writer and His Role. African American Literary theory: a
Reader. New York: New York University Press, 2000. P. 81.

126
taken into consideration21. So, postmodern understanding of gender arises
and develops from a pre-postmodern period of its interpretation which is
traditionally dual: a masculine/feminine dichotomy. This is where the
analysis should be started.
Postmodern masculine identity in a literary text splits into a group of
images. The key concept is marked by a lexeme “man”. In a text, it reveals
the semantics of dominant social position due to the biological sex:
“We waited a long time for you. In a family, the man is the king.
Without you, I die – no king”22,
and may be used metaphorically and ironically to expose the loss of
former dominance (or, rather, “hegemonic masculinity” as R. Connell
calls it) over women:
Men stand around her, a black-suited afforestation rooted with
brief-cases to the sleek, carpeted lounge. They talk and move from one
leg to another like ninepins in a bowling alley. In the midst of the wood
Charity glimpses one tree, the upstanding, blue-eyed, far from
honourable Mark Carleton23.
The other masculine images include such types as “husband”,
“father”, “son”, “professional man”, “boy”, “lover (boyfriend)”. There
are few instances when a literary character embodies a single type of
identity. As a rule, a personage performs several identifying functions,
depending on the social context.
Sufficient changes in society’s perception of a woman originate from
the publication of Simone de Beauvoir’s book “The Second Sex” (French:
“Le Deuxième Sexe”) in 1949. Since then, the academia, media, socio-
cultural communities began to focus their attention on a woman as a
subject of social progress, not just an object following a man. The
phenomenon of “woman” penetrates into the centre of empirical research
signaling a formation of a new paradigm – anthropology of women24. So,
the present-day understanding of feminine gender identity is determined
by social roles associated with biological female sex. It comprises the

21
Кісь О. Жінка в традиційній українській культурі (друга половина ХІХ –
початок ХХ ст.) : монографія. Львів, 2012. С. 56.
22
Fu K. For Today I Am a Boy. URL: https://www.goodreads.com/reader/49839-for-
today-i-am-a-boy?percent=1.385412
23
Oakley A. The Men’s Room. London: Flamingo, 1991. P. 301.
24
Кісь О. Жінка в традиційній українській культурі (друга половина ХІХ –
початок ХХ ст.) : монографія. Львів, 2012. С. 45.

127
acquired psychological, behavioral, social and cultural attributes which
are stereotypically associated with a woman’s function in a community.
“Woman” is a collective image which generalizes the attributes
traditionally referred to as feminine. Social attempts to transform the
stereotypical concept of a woman became obvious in a postmodernist
period, among them was the second wave of feminism. Traditional
moralists resisted the inevitable changes in the social status of women
what may be illustrated by a fragment of A. Oakley’s novel “The
Men’s Room”:
She wanted Rachel to be like her, like her mother, and not to have
cropped her hair and lack finesse and argue all the time. She wanted
women to give womanhood to women, and saw feminism as an attack on
this25.
The image of a woman can be identified without the key lexical unit
nominating it:
Her hourglass figure shimmied away with the distinct ticktock of
her shoes26.
Here, a feminine character is easily recognized by a stature
(hourglass figure) and the sound stereotypically produced by women’s
shoes (ticktock of her shoes).
Postmodern fiction exposes new feminine characters which could
hardly be found in the pre-postmodern period, among them – single
mothers, divorced or just single women:
I’m divorced, you see, and I’ve got four children, so I have to work
quite hard to fit everything in.’
She could see he was interested in this information. ‘An independent
woman?’ he asked.
“An independent woman,’ she confirmed27.
The character from the fragment has to work hard to raise her four
children but she consciously gave up her previous status of a wife to get a
new one – an independent woman.
Feminine characters in postmodern literary texts are grouped into
such types: “wife”, “mother”, “housewife”, “professional woman”, “girl”,
“daughter”, “bride”, “mistress/girlfriend”. Quite often, feminine
25
Oakley A. The Men’s Room. London: Flamingo, 1991. P. 53.
26
Fu K. For Today I Am a Boy. URL: https://www.goodreads.com/reader/49839-for-
today-i-am-a-boy?percent=1.385412
27
Oakley A. The Men’s Room. London: Flamingo, 1991. P. 117.

128
characters combine different identifying types fulfilling gender relevant
functions in corresponding surrounding. It proves the suggestion that a
postmodern gender identity is a multifaceted phenomenon, socially and
culturally constructed, where the biological sex is no longer a nucleus. On
the contrary, the latter is not fixed but seems to be diffusive and
fluctuating.
Postmodernism as a philosophy paradigm reveals the transformation
of biological sex dichotomy into plurality of genders. According to
J. Derrida, it is a natural way of things when “binary and hierarchized
oppositions”28 split into variety. Such variability of sex/gender correlation
caused the appearance of a generalized phenomenon of “otherness”
which advocates gender identities different from archaic masculinity and
femininity. Since the middle of the 20th century, it is known as queer
identity. The semantic background of the phenomenon combines “non-
normative sexualities intersected with other identity categories such as
race and class, calling for a positive resignification of homosexual
identities and practices”29. So, sexual practices with partners of the same
biological sex constitute the main feature of a queer identity:
Perhaps from the way I sat there staring at the floor, he added
quickly, “I am not queer. I’ve got a girl up in Innisfil”30.
The character from the quoted fragment proves his heterosexuality
by mentioning that he has a girlfriend (I’ve got a girl).
Synonymic to “queer” in fiction texts are identity nominations with a
component “trans” which may stand for transgenders, transsexuals,
transvestites etc. The enlisted lexemes are no longer considered marginal
and informal in the poloite vocabulary. They identify individuals brave
enough to expose their “otherness”:
“…and I found out all kinds of history on TG’s. For instance, did
you know in ancient Greece and Rome, Philo writes about men
transforming into women?”
TG’s. Transgenders31.

28
Derrida J. Of Grammatology. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998. P. 31.
29
Escudero-Alias M. Long Live the King: A Genealogy of Performative Genders.
Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009. P. 8.
30
Fu K. For Today I Am a Boy. URL: https://www.goodreads.com/reader/49839-for-
today-i-am-a-boy?percent=1.385412
31
Peters J. A. Luna. URL: http://www.bestfreenovels.net/Young-adult/Luna/

129
 Queer identity individuals have developed a wide system of lexical
nominations and their derivatives where abbreviations are quite often:
T-girl (Trans-girl), MtoF (male-to-female transsexual), FtoM (female-to-
male transsexual) etc.
Beside the already mentioned, such gender identities as
“homosexual”, “transsexual”, “butch”, “stone-butch”, “femme”, “drag-
queen”, “drag-king”, “gay”, “lesbian”, “crossdresser”, “intersex(ual)”
appear in postmodern literary texts.

CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of theoretical sources and scholarly, media and literary
texts enables to deduce the following positions: 1) the nature of gender as
a socio-cultural representation of sex is characterized by ontological
duality: it is culturally constructed and culturally constructing, a process
and a result; 2) postmodern gender identity is a heterogeneous entity
comprising physiological, social, psychological, cultural, natural etc.
factors which come to the fore depending on the context of personal
intercourse; 3) signification of gender identity by lingual means reveals
the its contents as far as it employs the available lexical, morphological,
word-building and syntactic patterns with either a familiar or resignified
semantics and stylistic properties.
The most notable feature of postmodern gender linguistics is
vocabulary. The research proves that scholarly texts apply stylistically
marked formal lexemes constituting the terminology of the field. The
developing stage of gender terminological system is marked by numerous
compounds and phrasal terms used to nominate gender identity types.
Media texts represent both stereotypical view and novel tendencies in
nominating gender identity. Journalists practice formal, neutral and even
informal gender markers to make their texts comprehensible for the vast
strata of readers. Postmodern literary texts experiment in introducing
various lexemes and lexical clusters to stand for gender identity
nomination and signification.
Postmodern gender identity is not interpreted as a synonym to sex
identity, it has a broader semantics where the latter is one of the
components. Unlike biological attributes, gender is an option of personal
choice adopted by an individual after sufficient consideration, experience
of feelings and sensations. It may not be stable, but can fluctuate due to
the inner or/and outer conditions of an individual.

130
 SUMMARY
The paper considers the manifestation of gender identity in English
postmodern texts of three functional styles: scholarly, media and literary.
In scholarly texts, gender identity is interpreted as a scientific object
possessing a fixed set of attributes. Here belong a biological sex,
physiological and psychological peculiarities verified by the relevant
research. The academia’s interest towards queer identity reveals the
influence of postmodern ideology upon the scholarly world.
Media texts both broadcast mass stereotypes of gender identity and
form new ones. They bear nominations and descriptions of
masculinity/femininity, professional activity and sexuality stereotypes
introducing new dimensions and nominations of them.
In postmodern literary texts, gender identity is a fictional image
represented by various lingual means of morphological, lexical, word-
building and stylistic means. Instead of traditional duality of male/female,
a fiction text abounds in plurality of masculine, feminine and queer
characters.

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Information about the author:

Marchyshyna A. A.
Doctor of Philological Sciences,
Associate Professor at the Department of the English Language,
Kamianets-Podilskiy National Ivan Ohiienko University
50/53, Hrushevskoho prosp., Kamianets-Podilskiy,
Khmelnytskiy region, 32300, Ukraine

133
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/134-156

NARRATOR IN THE ARTISTIC WORLD:

THE COGNITIVE PROJECTIONS

Matsevko-Bekerska L. V.

INTRODUCTION
The metaphor of “dizziness”, once proposed by G. Genette to
represent the deployment and specification of narratological discourse,
currently, i.e., at the time after “narrative turn” (Martin Kreiswirth), is
perhaps the most distinctive characteristic feature for understanding the
essence of the newest studies in the field of exploring the specifics of
narrative structures, their transformations and modifications, as well as
the forms and methods of receptive and psychological adaptation in the
mind of the reader as one of the important participants in the literary and
artistic communication. Having been conceived in the bosom of
structuralism, narratology has shown exceptional methodological
flexibility, has appeared in numerous poetological and poetical studies,
and convincingly proved the possibility, even the productivity and
effectiveness, of the widest scientific and methodological synthesis. As
I. Papusha shrewdly remarked, “narratology (along with semiotics,
cognitivism, and communicative studies) became the first strict approach
designed to streamline narrative ubiquity and to construct a model that
would cover all narratives”1. One of the segments that somehow
supplement and detail the paradigm of “all narratives” is cognitive
narratology, especially relevant in the “post-classical” period of the
narratological discourse formation (“the post-classical narratology” of
D. Herman, 1997, with an emphasis on cognitive aspects of narrative
theory). Therefore, it is relevant to study the specificity of an important
component of narratological toolkit the essence and functionality of the
narrator in the prism of certain aspects of cognitive approach.
In modern literary criticism, the cognitive and narratological
panorama tends to active expansion and detalization. As I. Papusha
remarks, “in the last decades, human interest has gradually changed the

1
Папуша І. Modus ponens. Нариси з наратології. Тернопіль. Крок. 2013. С. 17.

134
object of interest ... scientists start thinking about the essence of the
narrative, the way of its existence or pragmatics” 2, which, in fact, led to
the emergence and spread of the concept “narrative turn”. However, an
equally important consequence of growth and detalization of the
narratological paradigm is the direction of research studies into the
depth of the artistic text, the attempt to identify and in some way
streamline the cognitive sphere of the dialogue or the polylogue of
consciousness: creation, perception, understanding, interpretation, etc. It
is quite right to consider the question, which O. Sobchuk suggests to
think over: “what is the subject of the study of cognitive narratology:
textual structures or structures of human thinking?” 3. Therefore, it is
worth to approach to understanding of the essence of narrative center as
a weighty factor rather than harmonization, rather than the
differentiation of the two aforenamed subjects.
Igor Papusha insists on the ubiquity of narrative and refers to the
position of Hayden White, who associates the dynamic diffusion of
narrative with an opportunity to resolve “the problem of how to translate
knowledge into the story, the problem of modeling the human
experience”4. Characterizing the tendencies of “post-classical
narratology”, David Herman emphasizes its cognitivist vector, and also
defines three leading directions of the theoretical discourse growth
methodological, thematic and contextual5. As a matter of fact, the search
for “new technologies and methodologies”6 occurs in the field of
narratological research in combination of two fundamentally important
approaches – first, the story is the center of development of the
ontological paradigm, and second, – it is possible to find answers to key
questions of cognitive narratology. Analytical discourse is represented by
the works of M. Fludernik, D. Herman, M. Jahn, A. Palmer, B. Vervaeck,
L. Zunshinе and other scientists whose attention is concentrated primarily
on the specificity of the connection between narrative and consciousness,
as well as on the transformation of understanding of the basic concepts in

2
Папуша І. Modus ponens. Нариси з наратології. Тернопіль. Крок. 2013. С. 16.
3
Собчук О.В. Переосмислення понять наративності, персонажа і фокалізації в
сучасній когнітивній наратології. МАҐІСТЕРІУМ. Випуск 48. Літературознавчі студії.
С. 12.
4
Папуша І. Modus ponens. Нариси з наратології. Тернопіль. Крок. 2013. С. 17.
5
Ibidem. С. 18.
6
Ibidem. С. 19.

135
narratology. For example, O. Sobchuk thoroughly analyzes the categories
of narrativity, character, focalization7, R. Savchuk foregrounds two
main problems: “finding out the cognitive status of narrative” and
“recognition” of the mode of development and understanding of the
narrative8, T. Grebeniuk thoroughly studies the cognitive aspects of
the consciousness manifestation in the artistic narrative. For this purpose,
the scholar refers to the theory of recognition of mental states and
the concept of L. Zunshinе9. At the same time, the problem of cognitive
aspects of presentation is also discussed in linguistic research (I. Bekhta,
O. Babeliuk). Thus, we can assume that cognitive discourse acquires a
thematic detail, and specifies the leading directions of narratological
research.

1. Literary and Artistic Work: the Space for Ontologization

Despite the active expansion of the field of narratives, the literary
and artistic work retains its leading position as a basis of ontological
communication, which grows into the space of communicating the
intentions of creation – perception – interpretation – reinterpretations.
Designing the parameters of communication to the plane of
understanding the meanings of an artistic work is, in our opinion, one of
the core aspects of cognitive narratology, making it possible to harmonize
the “textual structures” and “structures of human thinking” (O. Sobchuk).
The peculiarity of sense creation or the form of sense reproducibility in
the artistic narrative, as well as its functional purpose, is considered in its
canonical perception of the means of designing “the zone of
psychological comfort” for the reader, in order that an individual self-
recognition of personality could occur in an acceptable emotional and
sensory context through mediation of the text. According to R. Barthes,
“the text is directly related to pleasure, it is a pleasure without feeling

7
Див. Собчук О.В. Переосмислення понять наративності, персонажа і
фокалізації в сучасній когнітивній наратології. МАҐІСТЕРІУМ. Випуск 48.
Літературознавчі студії. С. 108–113.
8
Савчук Р.І. Історія становлення наратології: від античної поетики до нових
наративних практик студіювання художнього тексту. Науковий вісник кафедри
Юнеско КНЛУ. Серія Філологія. Педагогіка. Психологія. 2015. Випуск 31. С. 111–119.
9
Гребенюк Т.В. Когнітивні аспекти репрезентації свідомості в художній оповіді.
Наукові записки Бердянського державного педагогічного університету. 2016.
Випуск ІХ. С. 200–206.

136
alienated”10. Thus, the artistic narrative is the space where “everyone
becomes an insider”. Adopting such an understanding of the receptive
and interpretive discourse, the supporters of both purely narrative
approach (insisting on the exhaustive analysis of the text, which focuses
attention on the macro-communicative level of literary text and reveals
complex organizational hierarchies with available pairs of a sender and a
receiver of information) and discursive direction, whose subject of
study is “the described and cited world”11 have the opportunity to reach
mutual understanding. However, the dialogical and communicative
essence of the literary and artistic work itself has been removed beyond
the discussion.
Cognitive approaches to understanding the essence of the narrative
organization of artistic text make it possible to perceive the need to
identify, and then to classify the characteristic features of the narrative in
the structure of literary and aesthetic communication, which transforms
into conventional communication. As observed by John Deely, “the first
of narrative universals that we need to consider is actually a universal role
of the narrative as the basis for the transmission of culture – the basis of
[...] purely human semiosis by which biological heredity enters into the
cumulative transfer of learning, which is possible only through the
narrative”12. The semiotic nature of the analysis of the artistic text felt the
need to establish and grasp the contact between the world about which is
narrated and the result of this message in the form of a complete artistic
phenomenon with the participation of a certain mediator. It is the story
that becomes the necessary means, which makes it possible to synthesize
holistically all the previous cultural and aesthetic experience in the
ontological matrix of meaningful units. The text fragments, in turn,
intertwine in quirky combinations of meanings and thus create a new
world: it is not only fictitious in relation to the description, but also quite
real and recognizable at the sensual level – the world of associations,
symbols and impressions. As a reflection of the need to articulate some
knowledge about outer space, literature inevitably came up with the story

10
Барт Р. Від твору до тексту. Слово. Знак. Дискурс : антологія світової літе-
ратурно-критичної думки ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької. Львів. Літопис. 2001. С. 495.
11
Современное зарубежное литературоведение (страны Западной Европы и
США) : концепции, школы, термины : энциклопедический справочник / ред.-сост.
И.П. Ильин, Е.А. Цурганова. М. Intrada. 1996. С. 72.
12
Ділі Дж. Основи семіотики. Львів. Арсенал, 2000. С. 39.

137
itself, since in such a way it became possible to adequately reflect the
reality by giving the reader the right to search for himself in the content
of the work. In fact, “from a certain point of view, everything is a relation
of temporal and spatial neighborhood or similarity to everything else”13.
In the broadest sense, a literary and artistic work is a manifestation of
such a unique neighborhood. First of all, it establishes clear boundaries
between what was or is (that is, the actual subject world) and what will
appear in the mind of the reader (individually defined world of the
fictional objectivity) as a result of the deployment and detalization of the
cognitive chain. Textual material therefore has its own voice in order to
articulate the original intellectual or ontological meaning and invite the
reader to the aesthetic dia(poly)logue.
The synthesis of spatial planes of artistic material is important for
understanding the aesthetic phenomena realized in the consciousness, and
then the multiplicity of its simultaneous projections: on the concrete
historical continuum of the author, the receptive readiness of an abstract
recipient, determined by traditions and situational axiological priorities.
Therefore, their own textual space must be different in the sense of
creating flexibility and the ability to extrapolate the general nature of
individual, and therefore, unpredictable perception. Spatial coordinates of
the narrative manners also have signs of some autonomy of functioning in
the structure of an artistic work. The question of temporal neighborhood
is rather controversial, because attention is focused on the significant
prolongation of the artistic phenomenon as a certain ontological process.
It is associated with both the constant factors of literary development and
the facts of ideological, socio-ideological, personal and axiological
transformation, which is an integral attribute of any evolution. In this
context, the narrative manner becomes important in the productive
communication of previous experience, being the focus of preservation of
traditions, and it also acts as an “aesthetic dictator”, accumulating certain
values and rooting them into the mind of the reader. Thus, the story
becomes a sign of aesthetic neighborhood in the broadest semantic
interpretation of this concept.

13
Еко У. Надінтерпретація текстів. Слово. Знак. Дискурс : антологія світової
літературно-критичної думки ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької. Львів. Літопис. 2001.
С. 551.

138
 Due to the narrative, the text becomes an intermediary of
communication, the deployment of the same narrative enables the
movement of the work in the plane of specific coordinates: the depicted
world moves from the imaginary arbitrariness of the author in the
personal perception of the reader. Not always comfortable in the
psychological sense, the process of acquiring new experience through the
narration of something or about someone harmonizes the assimilation of
the reader with an observation system of the new objective reality,
initially alien to him, and, moreover, the formation of the character of
another person. Gradual entry into the reality of the Other removes all
obstacles to establishing a kind of silent dialogue, which acquires
voluminous features in the process of psychological agreement of the
reader with the text. Immersion in the artistic world synchronously with
the unfolding of the story largely compensates for the lost “one’s own”,
the place of which involuntarily enters the experience of another.
Therefore, from the very beginning of the reading of the narrative text,
there is a rather deep and invariably interesting dialogue between the two
others – a work addressed to someone, and a reader willing to accept
someone (the intention of the text). There is no doubt that “reading
reflects the structure of expanding our experience so much that we must
temporarily abandon the ideas and guidelines that shape our individuality
before we embark on the experience of the world not yet known by us
through the literary text. However, it is precisely in that process that
something happens to us. That “something” needs to be considered more
in detail, especially when the inclusion of the “unknown” in the sphere of
our experience obscures a rather simple idea in the literary discussion,
namely, the process of absorption of an unknown world is regarded as the
identification of the reader with what he reads”14.
The cognitive aspects of the study of the specificity of artistic
presentation suggest that the narrative specifics of literature are the basis
for outlining the optimal communicative space that extends its own
horizons, becoming the space of communication. Obviously, “the
speaker, der Erzähler, is the Kantian epistemological assumption that we
perceive the world not as it exists in itself, but as it passed through the

14
Ізер В. Процес читання, феноменологічне наближення. Слово. Знак. Дискурс :
антологія світової літературно-критичної думки ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької.
Львів. Літопис. 2001. С. 363.

139
mind of a contemplative”15. W. Iser, referring to the arguments of
G. Poulet about the uniqueness of appropriation of the experience of
“someone else”, makes an interesting conclusion about the need for
existence of some substance in agreeing positions: according to G. Poulet,
the literary text acquires the completeness of existence only in the reader.
It is clear that the texts contain ideas that are thought over by someone to
the end, but at the time of reading, we become the subject who
understands. Thus, the “subject-object” division disappears, which is a
prerequisite for any cognition and any observations; elimination of such a
division places the reading in a unique position, which implies the
possibility of absorbing new experiences. The idea that in the process of
reading we have to think through the thoughts of someone else, led Poulet
to the following conclusion: “All that I think is a part of my mind world.
And if I think of thoughts that obviously belong to another world of
thought, then this world is a thought in me, although I did not exist in it
[...] When I read, I mentally uttered the “I” and this “I”, which I say, is no
longer me”16. Therefore, the approach to the literary work as a
phenomenon of many voices is perhaps the most acceptable for the
synthesis of achievements and the search for tangent narratology lines of
research: structuralism, semiotics, phenomenology, receptive aesthetics,
and cognitive psychology.

2. The Narrator: Functional Circle and Place

in the System of Creation of Meanings
One of the key concepts for the narratological study of a literary
work in the discourse of its cognitive projections is the understanding of
the specificity, functionality and stylisticity of the narrator in the artistic
space. First of all, “the art of the writer consists in how he outlines the
boundaries of this space (the space of the figure), the visible body of the
Literature”17. Therefore, before the text as the completion of verbalized
experience, the author is modeling the figure of the one who will embody
the worldview, invite the Other to the dialogue and rise above the literal

15
Шмид В. Нарратология. М. Языки славянской культуры. 2003. С. 12.
16
Ізер В. Процес читання, феноменологічне наближення. Слово. Знак. Дискурс :
антологія світової літературно-критичної думки ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької.
Львів. Літопис. 2001. С. 363.
17
Женетт Ж. Фигуры. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М. Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998.
Т. 1. С. 208

140
meaning of each word. R. Barthes polarized the objects of the study,
adding rights to the interpreter and curtailing the creative intention of the
author: “The author is considered the father and master of his work, so
literary studies teach us to respect the autograph and openly certified
intentions of the author ... In relation to the text, there is no record about
his father [...] The Text does not require respect for any monolithic
integrity, it can be disassociated”18. However, the complete and
subjectively directed understanding of the work gives grounds for many
doubts in the conclusion of such an interpretation, since it threatens to be
so deeply rooted in the “metaphor grid” that more or less verbatim setting
of meaning would be either impossible or alienated from the original
plan. Probably, one of the functions of the narrator is to maintain
equilibrium as a perception of the value of specific structural elements of
the work, as well as a holistic understanding of its cognitive-aesthetic
consistency.
The narrator is at the intersection of all subjectivized instances of the
narrative literary work. The concept, widely used in the modern literary
criticism, undergoes some synonymy, coming closer with the narrator,
and then with the storyteller. By definition of W. Schmid, “the narrator is
the addresser of the fictitious narrative communication”19. At that time,
the narrator was called “a kind of literary subject, a person, imagined by
the author, on its behalf the author narrates about events and people in the
artwork”20 or “a person acting in the work as a subject of the story,
namely, as a hero, from a person whose epic or lyrico-epic kind of
literature is being told and acting in the function of the imaginary
author”21. His attribution is the absence of real relationships and contacts
with the image of the world, but allows them to be imagined. Instead, the
storyteller is defined as “a protagonist acting in the work both as a subject
and as an object (directly or indirectly) of the narrative, that is, as a hero
who is a participant or is directly related to the events that he tells”22.
Moreover, he is sometimes called the narrator: “The narrator is a kind of

18
Барт Р. Від твору до тексту. Слово. Знак. Дискурс : антологія світової літе-
ратурно-критичної думки ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької. Львів. Літопис. 2001. С. 494.
19
Шмид В. Нарратология. М. Языки славянской культуры. 2003. С. 63.
20
Літературознавчий словник-довідник / авт.-уклад. Р.Т. Гром’як, Ю.І. Ковалів
та ін. К. ВЦ “Академія”. 1997. С. 522.
21
Теорія літератури / за наук. ред. О. Галича. К. Либідь. 2001. С. 146.
22
Ibidem. С.149.

141
literary subject, a person who is designed by the author, on whose behalf
he tells a story about events and people, through which the whole
imaginary world of a literary work is formed; he is a literary figure,
which, as a rule, is at the same time an author and a character”23.
The problem of actualization of the place and the outline of the
narrator’s functional circle in the narratological discourse arises not by
chance – the contours of the new methodology are to a large extent
conditioned by the possibility of multiple theoretical modifications of the
modern research process. Attempts to synthesize narratological
methodological tools with the parameters of cognitive psychology
indicate that the need for another reading of well-known and little-known
texts, as well as the flexibility of literary and artistic material on the
application of diverse analytical procedures. Adhering to the classical
conviction as to “what would be the need in the narrator, if the concept
was revealed without language?”24, the new terminological definition –
“metanarrative” – was proposed by J. Lyotard to characterize the culture
of the transitional period25. According to the researcher, in the
development of mankind, certain modes of knowledge of reality, models
of their expression in history and narrative discourse have been formed.
These models of narratives as ways in which a person narrates about
himself and the surrounding reality, which have imposed on the world a
human limiting framework, are called “metanarratives” in the postmodern
philosophy. Consequently, “metanarratives” are “all those explanatory
systems that organize society and serve as a means of self-justification”26.
In the search for ideological or psychological balance, a person tries to
identify a newly seen or a newly perceived by a certain canon, therefore
the initial analytical position can be considered a global system-forming
model of awareness and assimilation of someone else's experience.
A similar explanation for the need for updating philosophical foundations
is found in the writings of G. Genette: “A modern person feels his time as
an “anxiety”, his inner world as an intrusive care or nausea; given to the
authorities of the “absurd” and tormented, he calms down, designing his
mind on things by constructing plans and figures, thus drawing at least

23
Літературознавчий словник-довідник / авт.-уклад. Р.Т. Гром’як, Ю.І. Ковалів
та ін. К. ВЦ “Академія”. 1997. С. 602.
24
Аристотель. Поетика. Аристотель. К. Мистецтво. 1967. С. 71.
25
Лиотар Ж. Состояние постмодерна. М. Алетейя. 1998. С. 5.
26
Ibidem. С. 6.

142
some firmness and stability from the geometric space”27. Therefore, the
development of narratological concepts becomes fully justified in view of
their ability to maximally assimilate the research into the subject of an
artistic text.
The modern narratological discourse focuses on two key research
objects, therefore, two directions of analytical study of a literary work are
synchronously developing: the “narrative” and “communicative” ones.
For the first one, the text is important as a statement of the sequential
deployment of events, as a gradual reproduction of a certain story; the
second one is set forth directly on the artistic text as a mediator for the
communication between the author and the reader. G. Genette insists that
the basis of any theoretical reasoning about the functioning of artistic text
in the cultural space is the opposition of “objective narrative and
subjective discourse”28. In the studies of I. Papusha, this differentiation of
narrative has the following format: “representations” and demonstrations
of a certain number of its properties – “temporal and causal”29. Over time,
with radical changes in the contextual space of not only literature but also
culture in general, there is a need to penetrate the hypothetically original
sense of work from the point of view unexpected both for the author and
for his first readers. In particular, according to G. Genette, “the structural
method as such arises at a time when the code again reveals a newly open
message – discovered as a result of the analysis of immanent structures,
and not imposed from the outside by the force of ideological
prejudices”30. Therefore, the narrator as a subject, as a function and a
method of the new reading of literary codes, seems to be quite
appropriate in the field of terminological categories of the leading
literary trends during the transitional period – the period of the
20th-21st centuries.

27
Женетт Ж. Пространство и язык. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М. Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 127.
28
Женетт Ж. Границы повествовательности. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М. Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 294.
29
Папуша І. Міжнародна наратологія: проблеми дефініції. Теорія літератури,
компаративістика, україністика : збірник наукових праць з нагоди сімдесятиріччя
д. ф. н., проф. Р. Гром’яка / упор. М. Лановик та ін. Studia methodologica. Вип. 19.
Тернопіль. Підручники та посібники. 2007. С. 31.
30
Женетт Ж. Структурализм и литературная критика. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М.,
Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 2. С. 164.

143
 Already from the beginning of its methodological assertion,
narratology was on the brink of structuralism, receptive aesthetics and
hermeneutics. In spite of this, the proper “narrative” categories become
particularly relevant for this field of studies: “communicative
understanding of the nature of literature; the idea of an act of artistic
communication as a process that occurs simultaneously at several
narrative levels; predominant interest in the problem of discourse; the
theoretical substantiation of numerous narrative instances that act as
members of the communicative chain, which carries out the “transfer” of
artistic information from the writer to the reader who are at different
poles of the process of artistic communication”31. In the context of
narrative research, some categories of receptive aesthetics, in particular,
the concept of the textual strategy, are harmoniously fitted. Being
outlined by H. Jauss as the dependence of the reader's perception not only
on his subjective position, this concept acquires the ability to depend on
the narrative instruction of the author and thus articulated as a concept of
narrative analysis. Adding cognitive disposition to the post-classical
narratology format complements and specifies the psychological aspects
of cognition and interpretation of artistic phenomena.
The notion of the narrator is semantically interconnected. After all,
the formalization of the narrative authority does not deduce the intention
of creating beyond the bounds of the artistic world, it only organizes the
communicative text field. Important is the ability of the constituent to
become the center of understanding in the classical oppositional structure
between language and speech, between the addressee and the recipient,
and then between the sense and meaning of the text. Indeed, “literary”
production “is a speech in the Saussurean – a series of individual, partly
autonomous and unpredictable speech acts; “consumption” of the same
literature by society is a language, that is, a certain whole, whose
elements, regardless of their number and nature, tend to order in the
framework of a connected system”32. The author's speech is carried out
within the limits permitted by the historicity of the language in its original
sense, as well as in the context of a set of secondary values that are

31
Современное зарубежное литературоведение (страны Западной Европы и
США) : концепции, школы, термины : энциклопедический справочник / ред.-сост.
И.П. Ильин, Е.А. Цурганова. М. Intrada. 1996. С. 69.
32
Женетт Ж. Структурализм и литературная критика. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М.,
Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 2. С. 174.

144
obscured for the reader from subsequent generations. Furthermore, the
reader is primarily dependent on his own intellectual and axiological
environment, so he designs the proposed text according to the selfish
need to be self-recognizable. Thus, the differences are clearly articulated
between what is described (the narrative) and what is perceived
(discourse).
According to G. Genette, the basis of differentiation is the
psychological categories of objective – subjective: “the objective
narrative and the subjective discourse”, that is, “subjective” is the
discourse in which the presence of “me” is explicitly or implicitly marked
(or referred to it), but this “I” is not defined simply as the person who
declares this speech. The present time, i.e., the main time of discursive
mode of expression, is defined only as the moment at which the given
speech is spoken, so that its use is marked by “the coincidence in time of
the described event with the speech act that describes it”. And vice versa,
the objectivity of the narrative is defined as the complete lack of
reference to the narrator”33. It is the narrator who must establish or
determine the level of reader’s autonomy and responsibility – he either
gives a guideline for the full assimilation of the receptive field with the
intentional efforts of the author, or creates the impression of the reader's
selfhood and allows the use of a completely objectified world. At the
same time, the narrator outlines the boundaries of fiction in the artistic
space, since the reader is invited to identify the dominant features of what
was or what could have been depicted in the text. Places of conjecture of
a descriptive picture and summing of existing or imagined values of text
fragments are established in the expressive predominance of narrative
knowledge.
Trying to bring the author's language (the language of the text) and
the reader's speech (the language of the work) together as closely as
possible, G. Genette notes that “in the discourse, there is almost always a
certain part of narrativity; whereas in the narrative, there is a certain part
of discursiveness”34. Probably this happens precisely because of the
communicative strategy of the entire complex of formal and informative
factors of the literary work as a holistic aesthetic and cognitive

33
Женетт Ж. Границы повествовательности. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 295.
34
Ibidem. С. 297.

145
phenomenon: just as the author hopes to articulate the perception of his
experience to someone else and therefore behaves like a real participant
in the dialogue he modeled, the reader identifies himself with the Ideal
Reader (U. Eco), and considers his version of the meaning of the work
quite similar to the author's idea. Therefore, the narrative and discourse
synchronously coincide in the direct deployment of the text –
specifications of the event and to some extent diverge at the level of
individualization of meaning. The process of summing the meanings of a
particular text occurs not only under the influence of the subjective
reader's expectation and its implementation, but also as a completely
objective development of eventivity from one point of the plot to the next
one (or ones). According to G. Genette, “it is not difficult to define a
narrative as an image of one or more successive events, real or fictional,
through the mediation of language, including the written language”35.
In order to establish the cognitive foundations of perceiving the
narrative, it should be taken into account that within the limits of some
event that forms the basis of a work, the author must be aware that at the
stage of reception the event designed by him will revive, overcoming his
original meaning: “The main provision should be taken: the arbitrariness
of the narrative [...] that dizzying freedom, which gives the narrative,
firstly, the possibility whatever orientation to choose at any step, [...] i.e.,
the arbitrariness of the direction (or streamline – L. M-B.); and secondly,
the freedom to stay in place and swell at the expense of adding various
circumstances, messages, signs, [...] i.e., the arbitrariness of distribution.
Hence, the illusion of the complete imitation of the reality of determinism
would be opposed to another one – possible-at-every-moment, which
seems to be more true”36. Thus, the division of the object of the narrative
research into its cognitive coordinates may continue in relation to the
plane of the implementation of the text – the perception of the event itself
as a fact and representation of the illusory contact of the reader's
imagination with the depicted deployment of the event as realized in the
fiction world. Actually, the reader's strategy in this case is more suitable
for modifications, because, unlike the author, the reader's fixing of the
meanings read at some point in the text is situational, unpredictable,
35
Женетт Ж. Границы повествовательности. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 284.
36
Женетт Ж. Правдоподобие и мотивация. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 317.

146
depending on the psychological state of the recipient. The freedom of the
author's perspective is limited by the fact of written fixation of both the
event and its tendentious coloring, with the discourse of author's
focalization gradually shifted in favor of an individualized perception.
Obviously, therefore, by distinguishing between “three types of narrative:
putative, motivated, and arbitrary”, G. Genette observes that “the
unequivocal difference is the difference between a motivated and
unmotivated narrative. This distinction obviously leads us to the already
recognized opposition to the narrative and discourse”37. That is, there is
an expressive attempt to realize the artistic plane in the system of the
conceptual apparatus of receptive aesthetics, as well as narratology and
cognitive psychology.
In order to outline the cognitive horizon of the study of artistic
narrative, one should take into account the fact that the nature of the
literary phenomenon is complex and multilevel, and an attempt of
unambiguous interpretation of the essence of the narrative source will
inevitably result in failure. The narrative plane of research grows to a
system of values analogously to the expansion of the communicative
space of the text itself, which will gradually communicate with the
reader. If a literary work is recognized as a “secondary modeling system”,
the outline of the narrative contours of the analytical process resembles a
“tertiary modeling system” or “the system of the third level of values” (by
analogy with the classification of the narrator in the concept by
W. Schmid), but its semantics is much wider and more arbitrary, since it
is determined predominantly by non-textual factors. The context of
creation is only partially overlapping in semantic positions with the
context of perception, because in the first prominent place belongs to the
complex representations of the author about the world, which is projected
onto the expected reader's response, and for the second – the main thing
is the life experience of the recipient itself, and the more we deviate from
the historical creation, the more noticeably the reception context darkens
the original meaning of the work. Therefore, the function of the narrator
is determined also by the need to restrain the arbitrariness of reading, to
correct the instructions and expectations from aesthetic communication,

37
Женетт Ж. Правдоподобие и мотивация. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 322.

147
as articulated by the reader, and to ascertain the author's context as fully
as possible.
The concept of context, which is key for receptive aesthetics
(proposed by W. Iser), becomes important in the creation of cognitive
discourse of narratological paradigm in the text analysis. The totality of
external factors concerning the literary and figurative world attracts
G. Genette's attention and leads to reflection on the method of aesthetic
communication, namely: “under what conditions a certain text, oral or
written, can be perceived as a literary work», or, more broadly, as a
(verbal) object that is endowed with an aesthetic function”38. The
synthesis of narratology and cognitive science is due to the fact that
phenomenological attribution of the creation of being by the perceived
consciousness is incorporated into the field of studying the specifics of
the narrative nature of literature. After all, there is nothing predetermined
for it, and the depiction of the world of a literary work is only a
prerequisite for modeling one's own conception of a certain fictional
world that acquires real contours precisely in the consciousness and is
identified as a primary aspect in the system of meanings. Therefore, the
“constitutional mode of literariness” can appeal to aspects of narrative’s
fictitiousness, and “conditional mode of literariness” – can become the
object of the communicative narrative.
Cognitive narratology can join the solution of the complex problem
as to the clear delineation of the limits of the author's intention and
freedom of interpretation, which is partially represented by verbal
formulation of the text, in particular, the articulation of the author's point
of view on an event or its preconditions, and has every reason not to be
assimilated into the personal space of the reader. Suggestion should have
attributes for recognition and appropriation of someone else's imaginary
world, that is, “speech acts of characters of both dramatic and narrative
fiction are authentic speech acts that possess all of the locutionary
characteristics, the illocutionary force and “the point of application”, and
all deliberate and unintentional perlocutionary effects. The problem
consists in the constitutional speech acts of the very context, in other
words, the narrative discourse itself – the author's discourse”39. The
38
Женетт Ж. Правдоподобие и мотивация. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 317.
39
Женетт Ж. Вымысел и слог. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во Сабашниковых.
1998. Т. 2. С. 369.

148
process of formatting the narrative discourse must distinguish the
narrative assignment of the text from its receptive plane. The existence of
narrative or narrative instance in one way or another embodies many
contextual layouts. For the better in the qualitative sense and deeper, in
the opinion of the author, communication he introduces a significant
range of ideological, ethical, abstract and personal hints. The function of
the narrator is to assimilate a set of prompts of “the author's discourse”
into that of the reader. Therefore, the literary text offers a modification of
the narrative strategy, defined by the original idea of creation. Even with
the separation of “the only type of literary discourse that has a specific
illocutionary status, it is “extra-personal” narrative invention”40. The
conditionality of such an analytical operation should be recognized, since
extra-personality can also be conscious or intentional, in other words –
the author's narrative strategy, which defines a strategy of perception and
interpretation.
For mutual transformation of “textual structures” and “structures of
human thinking” (O. Sobchuk) we should consider the concept of
narratological study of the text, which was presented in his writings by
W. Schmid. The author specifies the research palette in two main
directions: “1) “perspective” (the communicative structure of the
narrative, narrative instances, the point of view, the ratio of the text of the
narrator and the text of the character), and 2) plot (narrative
transformations, the role of timeless connections in the narrative text)”41.
Such a synthetic position is extremely productive in the context of the
studying the specificity of the transposition of the text into the mind of
the reader, since it makes it possible to integrate the key concepts of the
content and formal organization of the literary and artistic work.
According to W. Schmid, “narrativity”42 is characterized by two distinct
concepts in the literary criticism. The first of these was formed in the
classical theory of the narrative, primarily in the theory of German origin,
which then was called not narratology, but Erzählforschung or
Erzähltheorie (the narrative theory). In this tradition, literary works were
attributes to the narrative or story-telling category according to the
communicative structure. The literary work was associated with the
40
Женетт Ж. Вымысел и слог. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во Сабашниковых.
1998. Т. 2. С. 385.
41
Шмид В. Нарратология. М. Языки славянской культуры. 2003. С. 9.
42
Ibidem.

149
presence in the text of the voice of the mediated instance, called the
“narrator” or the “storyteller”. In the classical theory of narrative, the
main feature of a narrative work is the presence of such an intermediary
between the author and the narrative world. The essence of the narrative
was reduced to the classical theory of refracting the narrative reality
through the prism of the author's perception.
The second notion of narrativity [which is the basis of the work of
W. Schmid – L. M.-B.] was formed in the structuralist narratology. In
accordance with this concept, decisive in the story is not a sign of the
structure of communication, but a sign of the structure of the narrator as
such, which greatly converges the proposed approach with the possibility
of its cognitive projections. The term “narrative” refers not to the
presence of an indirect instance of the statement, but to a particular
structure of the presentation material. Texts, defined as narrative in the
structuralist sense, are present a certain story, possessing a temporal
structure at a level of the depicted world. An event is some change in the
initial situation: either external situation in the narrative world (natural,
actional and interactional events), or internal situation of a particular
character (mental events) [...], in the structuralist sense, narrative works
present the story in which the event is displayed”43. Thus, we can assume
that the position of W. Schmid as a follower of structuralist methodology
is the continuation or reproduction of a new semantic level of classical
understanding of the narrative nature of the text. In the future, the
structure of narrative will lead to identification of the specifics of its
cognition and perception, and therefore – can be designed at the level of
structures of human thinking.
The essence of mediated instance of the statement does not cause
any doubts or objections, only the fundamental principles of typology
will not relate to the definition of the author's original intention and the
subsequent determination of the semantic strategy of the work, but to the
outline of the contours of events and differentiation of narrative behavior
in the direct fiction world. Therefore, it is important to differentiate
objects that should be perceived as actual in a conscious fictional world:
“Actual” in a dramatic sense is an event that is occurring now [...]
“Actual” in the sense of epic is, first of all, not an event which is narrated,

43
Шмид В. Нарратология. М. Языки славянской культуры. 2003. С. 11–13.

150
but the narrative itself”44. Thus, according to the structuralist approach,
the specificity of the event is determined by the dependence on the
“minimum condition”, which is: “the existence of a change in some initial
situation, regardless of whether the given text indicates the causal links of
this change with its other thematic elements or not (in contrast to the
position of B. Tomashevskyi, who attributed the plot to “not only a
temporal, but also a causal property)”45. At the same time, an event is
“actual” in the receptive and psychological plane when the reader learns
about something “here and now”, regardless of repetition of this
procedure.
Other, not less important, according to W. Schmid, conditions of the
event are “factuality or reality” and “resulting quality”46 of changes of
some initial state. Even as part of the imaginary reader (and created as the
author), the described event should be perceived as a fulfilled fact of the
characters’ life or the formation of their spiritual experience, and
simultaneously with exhaustion of the textual array, the semantic
decoupling should be articulated, that is, an understanding of that
“something happened” in the mind of the reader. And then we can add
W.Schmid's “criteria of maximum eventivity” to the paradigm of
adequate perception of the artistic world47:
• “relevance” – an event must be significant in its meaning space;
• “unpredictability” – the level of destruction of the horizon of the
reader's expectations increases the semantic loading of even the usual
situation;
• “consecutiveness” – change in attitude or perception of the
character, caused by the event;
• “irreversibility” – is manifested in the maximum climax of the
change in the initial state, when it becomes clear to the reader that the
return to it is no longer possible;
• “repeatability” – the semantic weight of the event becomes
valuable for its one-time reproduction, multiple repetitions in the image
remove the narrative tension, and the text is modified from the narrative
form into the descriptive one.

44
Шмид В. Нарратология. М. Языки славянской культуры. 2003. С. 25.
45
Ibidem. С. 13.
46
Ibidem. С. 15.
47
Ibidem. С. 16-18.

151
 Thus, on the one hand, “narration, by catching signals from all
previous levels and responding to them, appears as a complexly
organized, internally contradictory set of the diversity of language-
forming entities”, and on the other, “the atomic wealth of the level of
narration is unattainable for its sufficient detalization”48. Therefore,
among the specified features of the event and the criteria for its maximum
realization, others will be added unexpectedly due to the peculiarities of
the direct artistic world. Among them, an important place should belong
to the detected peculiarities of the reader's self-identification, which, by
assigning the experience of the Other, and being in the world of the
Other, masters all the event attributes in aggregate.

CONCLUSIONS
For cognitive narratology, the spiritual world of the author is
important, which is largely modelled for textual design. Contextual
factors are added to it, and it is projected in advance on the expected
reactions of the reader (readers) and the literary process in general.
Therefore, the spirituality of the narrator has all the signs of a “secondary
modeling system”: it is created according to certain canons and rules; it
begins to function as a self-sufficient organism with its own levers of
persuasion of the recipient. For the most part, the reader identifies the
psychological nature of the author, precisely because of the prism
permitted by the narrator; his interpretation of the literary work unfolds
from his point of view. By definition of M. Lehkyi, “the narrator is a
linguistic and stylistic epicenter of presentation. The reader perceives
“here” and “now” of the narrator as the starting point of his chronotopic
orientation. Narrator is a fictitious figure, contrived by the author, derived
from his consciousness, and he is not devoid of some autonomy” 49. To
understand the specifics of psychology of reading and understanding, one
must take into account that the essence of the narrator synthesizes all the
inherent features of literature as a spiritual and intellectual phenomenon:
the rooting of a certain personal experience into the matrix of the text
with subsequent openness to the infinite reception and interpretation,
staying in a created fiction world with unique time and spatial
48
Кодак М. Поетика як система. Літературно-критичний нарис. К. Дніпро. 1988.
157 с. С. 131.
49
Легкий М. Форми художнього викладу в малій прозі І. Франка : дис. на
здобуття наукового ступеня канд. філол. наук : 10.01.01. Львів. 1997. С. 22.

152
characteristics, objective reproduction of events in various forms,
coexistence of several speech planes, which allow polyphony of the
artistic text, etc.
Autonomy of the narrator is a constant of a narrative work, since it
gives the opportunity to polarize the author and characters, the author and
the reader, the fictional world of the depicted reality is modified in the
imaginary real world, known by the reader That is, being the subject of
the statement, “the narrator forms this statement, and with him – the
artistic world of the work”50. Therefore, for the cognitive field of
research, the narratological principles remain of paramount importance:
identification of the narrator in the literary work, which include “the point
of view, adopted in the narration, the distance to characters and events,
the epistemological perspective and principles of appreciation, knowledge
of the world and the means of limiting and motivating this knowledge”51.
The psychological aspects of the knowledge of the artistic narrative are
based on the understanding of the nature of the narrator as a complex
organization with many ways of his appearance as an intermediary
between:
a) the real world to which the biographical author belongs and the
fiction world of the artistic work;
b) the depicted symbolically significant world of the literary work
and cognitive competence of the reader;
c) intellectual, ideological, aesthetic, moral experience of the author
and receptive readiness of the reader for a specific, one-way dialogue;
d) speech constructions, natural for the real author, tendentiously
modelled speech of characters and the reader's response to another
cultural historical reality on the verbalization of the spiritual essence of a
remote epoch.
Thus, the problem of the narrator in the literary discourse synthesizes
a variety of approaches and principles of analysis. The narrative paradigm
of an artistic text, being designed for the cognitive coordinates of its
study, has the ability to deepen the knowledge of the text, to express
understanding of its meaning(s), to deepen the contextual horizons of its
interpretation.
50
Легкий М. Форми художнього викладу в малій прозі І. Франка : дис. на
здобуття наукового ступеня канд. філол. наук : 10.01.01. Львів. 1997. С. 22.
51
Głowiński M., Kotsiewiczowa T., Okopień-Sławińska A., Slawiński J. Słownik
terminów literackich. Wrocław ; Warszawa ; Kraków ; Gdańsk. 1976.

153
 SUMMARY
The article presents the study of two important components of
narratological discourse – narrativity and narrator in the structure of
artistic presentation, based on the interesting metaphor (“dizziness”) once
proposed by G. Genette,. The deployment and detalization of
narratological discourse at the time after the “narrative turn”
(M. Kreiswirth) makes it possible to focus on the problems of modern
studies in the field of exploring the specifics in presentation structures,
their transformations and modifications, as well as the forms and methods
of receptive and psychological adaptation in the mind of the reader as one
of important participants in the literary and artistic communication.
Having been conceived in the bosom of structuralism, narratology has
proven its productive methodological flexibility, and has been revealed in
numerous poetological and poetical studies, having convincingly proved
the possibility and effectiveness of the widest scientific and
methodological synthesis. The combination of forms and methods of
designing the parameters of aesthetic communication to the plane of
understanding the meanings of an artistic work is one of the core aspects
of cognitive narratology, making it possible to harmonize the “textual
structures” and “structures of human thinking” (O. Sobchuk). The
peculiarity of sense creation or the form of creation reproducibility in the
artistic narrative, as well as its functional purpose, is considered in its
canonical perception as the means of creation of “the zone of
psychological comfort” for the reader, in order that an individual self-
recognition of personality could occur in an acceptable emotional and
sensory context through mediation of the text. The proposed
interpretation of the problem of artistic narrative in the parameters of
creation of meaning, as well as in the complex with the question of the
nature and appointment of a narrator makes it possible to formulate the
basic principles for modelling the cognitive panorama of narratological
discourse.

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педагогічного університету. 2016. Випуск ІХ. С. 200–206.
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в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 283–299.
9. Женетт Ж. Правдоподобие и мотивация. Фигуры :
в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во Сабашниковых.1998. Т. 1. С. 299–322.
10. Женетт Ж. Пространство и язык. Фигуры : в 2-х томах.
М., Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 126–132.
11. Женетт Ж. Структурализм и литературная критика. Фигуры :
в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 2. С. 159–179.
12. Женетт Ж. Фигуры. Фигуры : в 2-х томах. М., Изд-во
Сабашниковых. 1998. Т. 1. С. 205–217.
13. Ізер В. Процес читання, феноменологічне наближення. Слово.
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ХХ ст. / за ред. М. Зубрицької. Львів. Літопис. 2001. С. 349–368.
14. Кодак М. Поетика як система. Літературно-критичний нарис.
К. Дніпро. 1988. 157 с.
15. Легкий М. Форми художнього викладу в малій прозі
І. Франка : дис. на здобуття наукового ступеня канд. філол. наук :
10.01.01. Львів. 1997. 182 с.
16. Лиотар Ж. Состояние постмодерна. М. Алетейя. 1998.
17. Літературознавчий словник-довідник / авт.-уклад.
Р.Т. Гром’як, Ю.І. Ковалів та ін. К. ВЦ “Академія”. 1997. 752 с.
18. Папуша І. Modus ponens. Нариси з наратології. Тернопіль.
Крок. 2013. 259 с.
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наукових праць з нагоди сімдесятиріччя д. ф. н., проф. Р. Гром’яка /

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поетики до нових наративних практик студіювання художнього
тексту. Науковий вісник кафедри Юнеско КНЛУ. Серія Філологія.
Педагогіка. Психологія. 2015. Випуск 31. С. 111–119.
21. Собчук О.В. Переосмислення понять наративності, пер-
сонажа і фокалізації в сучасній когнітивній наратології.
МАҐІСТЕРІУМ. Випуск 48. Літературознавчі студії. С. 108–113.
22. Современное зарубежное литературоведение (страны
Западной Европы и США) : концепции, школы, термины :
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нова. М. Intrada.1996. 319 с.
23. Теорія літератури / за наук. ред. О. Галича. К. Либідь. 2001.
488 с.
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2003. 312 с.

Information about the author:

Matsevko-Bekerska L. V.
Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor,
Head of World Literature Department,
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
1, Universytetska str., Lviv, 79000, Ukraine

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DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/157-175

NATURE OF COMMUNICATIVE STRATEGIES

AND TACTICS: LINGUISTIC APPROACH

Melko Kh. B.

INTRODUCTION
At the present stage of human development achieved significant
progress in many areas of life. The main factor that contributed to the
development has become the communication process, which can also be
considered the basis on which the experience passed from generation to
generation. The process of communication is the main way that refers to
the transmission of information or message from the sender through a
selected channel to the receiver overcoming barriers that affect its pace. It
is a continuous and dynamic interaction, both affecting and being affected
by many variables.
Speech communication is not a simple exchange of information. It is
rather a specially organized influence of the speaker on the addressee in
order to change his external behavior and / or the inner world. Having our
own mental-verbal picture of the world as a subjective image of objective
reality, the speaker reveals the The speaker transmits not only the content
of own thoughts, but also expresses the subjective relation and the
attitude to the marked communicative personality in the creative use of
available wide range of language units to express how factual content and
giving their message subjective evaluative characteristics.
The totality of different communication tactics forms the
communicative strategy of the speaker as a cognitively and
intentionally planned sequence of its speech actions, aimed at
achieving a general communicative goal. Communicative strategies of
the speaker belong to the complex of the communicative competence,
which is also obligatory as a socio-ethno-cultural component, which
manifests itself as a compliance with the specific socio-ethnocultural
rules of communication. Interpersonal communication forms
interrelated replicas of interlocutors that give rise to each other. This
interconnectedness is manifested in cooperation intentions sender and
recipient, which may overlap or contradict each other to obey.
Depending on their own communicative goals and intentions, each

157
participant builds own communicative strategies and tactics. Everyone
has own means and ways to achieve communicative goals. The
development of a communicative event can be different: from
harmonious, cooperative to disharmonious, conflict.
The choice of a variant depends on the type of personality of the
participant in communication, communicative experience, communi-
cative competence, communicative guidance, communicative benefits.

1. The Notion of Communicative Strategy and Tactics

Verbal communication is orderly phenomenon that is based on a
speech action planning and choosing the best way to achieve the goals of
communicants. It provides grounds for considering linguistic
communication as a strategic process, the result of which is a
communicative strategy.
The communicative influence of the speaker is manifested in
communication through the implementation of relevant communication
strategies and tactics.
The term "strategy" is borrowed from Military Science, it means "the
art of warfare, a general plan for conducting military operations." It is
used in the meaning "the art of planning any activity and managing it on
the basis of precise forecasts".
In linguistics, the term "strategy" began to be actively used in the
mid 80-ies of XX century, but its definition is still not clearly defined.
Many linguists associate a strategy with the intentional program of
discourse, the organization of speech behavior in accordance with the
plan, the main intention of the communicants. Given the variability of
verbal behavior in communication strategies perceive the selection of
language resources and adapt them to the conditions of communication to
effectively influence the recipient.
In the theory of linguistic communication, F. Batsevich, under the
strategy of speech communication understand the optimal realization of
the intention of the speaker to achieve the specific purpose of
communication, that is, control and the choice of effective
communication and flexible modification of their communication in a
particular situation1.

1
Бацевич Ф.С. Основи комунікативної лінгвістики: підручник. Київ:
Академія, 2004. 342 с.

158
 There is no universal classification of communicative strategies in
the theory of communication. In dialogic interaction, distinguish
strategies depending on how to deal with a communicative partner:
a) cooperative strategy – a set of speech acts which uses sender to
achieve communication goals through cooperation with the addressee;
b) non-cooperative strategy – a set of speech acts that sender uses to
achieve its strategic goal for interfering with the recipient.
Olga Issers believes that strategies as a kind of human activity have a
deep connection with the motives that govern the speech behavior of the
individual2. The most significant motivations of human behavior are
completed as follows:
1) primary motives:
• the desire to be effective, that is, to realize the intention;
• the need to adapt to the situation;
2) secondary motives:
• the need for self-expression;
• the desire to preserve and multiply meaningful values for it;
• desire to avoid negative emotions, etc.
O. Iserss classifies communication strategies on the hierarchy of
motives and goals most relevant to the speaker3. The basic strategy is
semantic or cognitive, such as subjugation, discrediting a third person,
etc. An auxiliary strategy is a pragmatic one that serves all the goals of
self-presentation and expression, and exists in such varieties: image
building, emotional mood creation, etc. Dialogue strategies are
determined by the wishes of the addressee to manage the communicative
situation. Achievement of the goal is possible, if during the
communicative act the intellectual and emotional resources are
controlled. Specific actions that individually or in combination lead to the
solution of strategic tasks are the constituent speech tactics. Strategy and
tactics are related as genus and species. The purpose of describing
communicative strategies is to present a range of typical tactics that
implement specific communicative strategies.
T. Yanko believes that the communicative strategy is to choose the
communicative intentions and the distribution of quanta (particles) of the
2
Иссерс О.С. Коммуникативные стратегии и тактики русской речи. Изд. 5-е.
М.: Издательство ЛКИ, 2008. 288 с.
3
Иссерс О.С. Речевое воздействие: учеб. пособие для студентов, обучающихся
по специальности «Связи с общественностью». М.: Флинта : Наука, 2009. С. 46–52.

159
information on the communicative components4. According to T. Yanko,
the communicative strategy includes:
1) selection of the global speech intention (intention to state the fact,
ask questions, request, etc.);
2) the selection of components of the semantics of the sentence and
extra-linguistic consistency, corresponding to the modification
communicative values;
3) determining the amount of information pertaining to the basic of
an atterance, one rheme, etc.;
4) correlation of quanta of information about the situation with the
states of consciousness of the interlocutors and the factor of empathy;
5) determination of a certain sequence of communicative
components;
6) setting of the communicative structure of the expression on a
certain communicative mode, style and genre.
Consequently, a communicative strategy involves a set of measures
necessary to achieve goals and is designed for a certain perlocative effect.
T. van Dijk distinguishes contextual, speech, semantic, syntactic,
schematic, text communication strategies. The others identify
communicative (the rules and sequence of communicative actions
performed by the communicator) and content (phased, meaningful
planning of the purpose, taking into account the existing language code
within each turn in the communication) or cooperative (informative and
interpretive dialogues: advice, narration, communication) and non-
cooperative (conflicts, disputes, claims, threats, evasion of answers)
communicative strategies5.
Implementation of a communicative strategy is carried out with the
help of tactics, a set of techniques and means for achieving a certain goal.
It is a strategic plan identifies specific way to implement the intentional
application of discourse, the relationship between communication
strategies and tactics is regarded as links of the genus and species.
The strategy chosen by the participants in communicating in one or
the other communicative situation involves the use of the appropriate
communicative tactics, that is, a definite line of behavior at a certain stage
4
Янко Т. Коммуникативные стратегии русской речи. М., Языки славянской
культуры. 2001. 384 с.
5
Ван Дейк Т.А. Дискурс и власть. репрезентация доминирования в языке и
коммуникации. М.: Либроком, 2013. 344 с.

160
of communicative interaction, aimed at obtaining the expected result or
preventing undesirable. Communicative tactics is a way of implementing
a communication strategy that involves performing one or more actions
that contribute to the implementation of the strategy. The strategy is
associated with the concept of "globalization", and tactics is with the
notion of "locality". The strategy associates the general purpose of
communication, the global level of awareness of the communicative
situation in general.
Communicative strategy is the main line of speech behavior within a
specific communicative event, determined by the general purpose of
communication, the situational context and ideas about the recipient.
Tactics are called rhetorical techniques and lines of speech behavior.
They are correlated with separate intentions corresponding to the stages
or phases of the communicative event. Communicative tactics is
determined by the strategy of speech processes, which together give an
opportunity to achieve the main communicative goal.
The tactics are based on logical and psychological means of
influence include:
1) tactics of "reincarnation" (O. Goychman, T. Nadein)6;
2) tactics of "transfer";
3) tactics of "generalization";
4) tactic of "prompting an example";
5) tactics of "surprise";
6) tactics of "provocation";
7) tactics of "direct inclusion";
8) the tactic of "proof from the opposite".
There are different ways to achieve a strategic goal (except in
cases of rigidly ritualized speech actions) in communication. We can
use several tactics within a given strategy. For example, to persuade a
stubborn interlocutor to be in different ways: one can ask, beg,
threaten, appeal to conscience, etc. There are few strategies, they
outline the main route of discourse, from the idea of communication to
its implementation. There are a lot of tactics, they provide the
flexibility of communication.

6
Гойхман О.Я., Надеина Т.М. Речевая коммуникация: Учебник. 2-е изд.,
перераб. и доп. : ИНФРА-М; Москва; 2008. С. 8–10.

161
 Each tactic is aimed at a certain change in the fragment of the
conscience of the addressee in the direction desired by the addressee.
Communicative tactics is dynamic in nature, providing rapid response to
the situation. It is based on speech skills, communicative competence.
The instrument of its implementation is a communicative move. The
communicative tactic has a symbolic representation, therefore, the
method of its installation, unlike the strategy, is guided by the explicit
information. It also has certain markers. At the semantic level, it is a
cliché, nominees of communication participants, performances,
connotative meanings of words, particles, repetitions. Lexical and
grammatical markers can be syntactic constructions of the corresponding
modality, phraseologized sentences, syntactic synonyms, transposition of
syntactic structures, syntactic stylistic figures (parallelism, gradation,
anaphor, epiphora, etc.). Pragmatic indicators of tactics are the types of
the recipient's reaction, the implication, the structure of the
communicative moves, and so on.
Communication tactics that implement strategies varied. They
depend on the type of discourse, the speech genre, the configuration of
intentions in a particular subject of discourse in a particular situation.
They are considered false if they do not give the desired results
communication. The notion of "communicative strategy" and
"communicative tactics" is actively used to study the communicative
speech behavior in different types of discourse, to identify its variability
and effectiveness.

2. Typology of Communicative Strategies

In modern linguistics there is no exhaustive typology of
communicative strategies. This is due to the variety of communicative
situations and the problem of choosing the best criteria for their
stratification. The most common is the classification of the Dutch linguist
Toyne van Dijk and his American colleague Walter Kincha that given the
nature of the process of generating and understanding discourse
highlighted7:
1) propositional strategies that involve the design of proposals
through the recognition of the meanings of words activated in semantic
memory and syntactic structures;
7
Van Dijk, T.A., Kintsch, W. Strategies of Discourse Comprehension. New York:
Academic Press, 1983. pp. 145–157.

162
 2) strategies of local coherence, aimed at establishing meaningful
relationships between the sentences of the text through the linear
ordering of sentences, explicit links and knowledge stored in long-term
memory;
3) macrostrategies due to the need to identify global coherence; they
allow you to define a global theme with text fragments, or "words, create
semantic macrostructure;
4) schematic strategies related to the presence of traditional,
conventional schema superstructures that form macro proposals (global
content of the text), for example, narratives are characterized by a narrative
scheme, the elements of which is a tie, climax, decoupling; conversations
may have an introductory part – greetings and final – farewell;
5) productive strategies that lead to the formulation of surface
structures with different semantic, pragmatic and contextual data;
6) stylistic strategies that enable tailoring and interpret language
means considering the type of text and contextual information (a type of
situation, the level of formality of communication, types of participants,
nature of common goals), providing stylistic coherence;
7) rhetorical strategies that promote the effectiveness of discourse
and communication;
8) non-verbal strategies designed to process non-verbal information
(gestures, facial expressions, posture, etc.);
9) Conversion (spoken) strategies that realize the social and
communicative functions of discursive units. Conversion strategies are
determined by the semantic, stylistic and pragmatic choices of the
speaker. For example, the strategy of politeness imposes certain
restrictions on the semantic content of speech, their stylistic design and
the use of speech acts.
Ukrainian researcher Sergey Datsyuk, depending on the language
resources communication distinguishes semantic strategy focused on
meaningful planning objectives, taking into account the existing language
material (locale) within each turn (step) in communication and proper
communication strategies that make the rules and consistent
communication actions which follows the participant of communication8.
Both types of strategies determine the general style of speech interaction,

8
Дацюк С. Коммуникативные стратегии. URL: http://www.uis.kiev.ua/~_xyz/
moderation.html

163
that is, how and in what ways and means can reach the goals of
communication.
From a functional point of view Oksana Issers singles:
1) main strategies (semantic, cognitive), which are the most
significant in terms of the hierarchy of motives and goals and are mainly
related to the influence on the addressee (discredit strategy, subordination
strategy, etc.);
2) supporting strategies that promote the efficient organization of
interactive engagement optimal impact on the recipient. Among them are
distinguished:
• pragmatic strategies (communicative-situational) due to such
components of the communicative situation as the author, the addressee,
the communication channel, the communicative context (strategy of
self-presentation, strategy of emotional adjustment, status and role
strategies, etc.);
• dialogue strategies (conversions) that are used in accordance with
the tasks of monitoring the organization of the dialogue (for example, the
strategy of control over the topic, the strategy of control over the
initiative);
• rhetorical strategy within which use various techniques of oratory
and rhetorical techniques of effective influence on destination (the
strategy of attracting attention, strategy dramatization).
Tetiana Tolmachova offers a typology of communicative strategies
based on groups of speech acts combined with similar communicative
functions: exchange of information, evaluation, expression of emotions,
motivation, etc9. This typology is formed by:
1) informative communicative strategy is a set of speech actions
aimed at the notification / obtaining the necessary information, which
directly or covertly influence the verbal / nonverbal behavior of the
interlocutor, aimed at understanding the situation of the conversation,
giving him some freedom of choice of speech-behavioral tactics:
providing information, expression of consent / disagreement, information
request, expression of latent expression of will;

9
Толмачева Т.А. Методический потенциал использования коммуникативных
стратегий иноязычного речевого поведения в процессе обучения иностранному языку
в языковом вузе. МНКО, 2008. № 4. C. 95–98.

164
 2) evaluative-influential communicative strategy is a set of speech
actions aimed at the implementation of the axiological influence on the
interlocutor, the verbal expression of emotional evaluation, the state,
thought, the building of the desirable for the speaker of the associations
and comparisons, the desire to create the necessary communicative
atmosphere, an appeal to the values, instructions interlocutor,
verbalization evaluative judgments and emotions that accompany them;
3) emotionally-influential communicative strategy – a set of speech
actions that express the emotional state of the interlocutor: approval,
praise, evaluative judgment-thought, sympathy, joy, fun, happiness, etc.
By implementing this type of communicative strategies speaker is trying
to change the psycho-emotional state of the interlocutor or to induce him
to perform certain actions;
4) regulatory and incentive communication strategy – the type or
line of behavior of one of the communicants in a particular
communication situation that correlates with the plan for the achievement
of global / local communicative goals within the entire scenario of the
functional-semantic representation of the interactive type and is related to
the intention of the author of persuasive messages. It is aimed at
controlling the behavior of the partner, expressing a direct inducement to
the action (advice, request, complaint, claim, order, argumentation, etc.);
5) conventional communication strategy that can be of two types:
conventional social and communication strategy (establishing,
developing, maintaining, opening contact) communication strategy and
organizing speech utterance and maintaining attention (etiquette, apology,
expressing gratitude, request additional information, friendly
communicative interrupts, preventing interruption communicative,
involving companion to the communication process, avoiding unpleasant
discussion topics for talking, etc.)
Considering the main factors (ethnic, social, gender, age, personality,
and time) that influence the formation of communicative strategies and
tactics, A. Belova, a Ukrainian researcher, systematizes them as a set of
opposition10:
• universal :: ethnic-specific;
• common :: individual;

10
Бєлова А.Д. Комунікативні стратегії і тактики: проблеми систематики. Мовні і
концептуальні картини світу: зб. наук. пр. К.: КНУ ім. Т. Шевченка. 2004. С. 11–16.

165
 • common: status;
• common :: age;
• unisex :: gender-marked;
• verbal :: nonverbal;
• atemporal: limited in time;
• cooperative :: conflicts;
• address orientated :: addressee oriented;
• informative :: persuasive.
A. Belova notes that a combination of communicative strategies and
tactics can take place in a communicative space. For example, the
strategy of persuasion inherent to children of the Russian community can
be qualified as a tactic of persuasion within the strategies of persuasion
and characterized as ethnic (visible only in certain cultural communities),
age (young children), unisex, conflict (used at the time of conflict with
parents), encouraging (insistent request to buy something, allow to do
something), verbal and nonverbal (tears).
The typology of communicative strategies, which is based on
dialogue interaction based on the communicative event such as harmony
or conflict, is generally recognized. In view of this, strategies are divided
into cooperative and non-cooperative (conflict, confrontational). If the
interlocutors realize their communicative intentions, while preserving the
balance of relations (communicative equilibrium), it means that
communication is built on the basis of a cooperative strategy. The
interaction of communicative partners in this case is characterized by
confirmation of mutual role expectations, rapid formation of a common
picture of the situation and empathy towards each other. It is considered
cooperative strategies of politeness, sincerity and trust, intimacy,
cooperation, compromise and others that contribute to effective
administration of verbal interaction and implement cooperative strategies
using cooperative tactics, offer, agreement, assignment, approval,
compliment others.
If communication goals are not achieved and communication does
not promote expression of the positive qualities of speech subjects, the
communicative event is governed by strategies of confrontation. In this
embodiment interaction is not confirmed unilateral or mutual role
expectations, there are differences between partners in understanding or
assessing situations arise antipathy between them. By confrontational
strategies include aggression, violence, defamation, subordination,

166
coercion, exposure, etc., the implementation of which brings discomfort
situation creates speech communication and conflict. Confrontation
strategies are associated with confrontational tactics: threats, intimidation,
bullying, plucking, insults, provocations, etc.
In dealing communicant often resorted to dubious tactics that can be
cooperative and conflict whichever strategy within which they are used.
First of all, this is the tactic of lies. It performs the function of a cooperative
strategy for the implementation of politeness, which purpose is not hurt your
partner show it in an attractive way. At the same time, this tactic can be
conflicting for using it within the framework of confrontation strategies,
such as discredit strategies. By double tactics are tactics and irony, flattery,
bribery, comments, requests, changes and other topics.
Consequently, in real communication, strategies and tactics intersect,
are imposed one by one, depending on the changing parameters of
discourse. The proposed typology of communication strategies is
somewhat conditional and incomplete. Strategy for human communi-
cation is an open list and required further research.

3. Communicative Strategies and Tactics

in Different Types of Discourse
The existence of a set of communicative strategies and tactics of a
particular discourse is primarily due to the goals of the type of
communication. The specific tactical and strategic potential can be found in
different types of discourse, including the discourse on the examined area of
communication, educational, medical, religious, advertising, political.
Educational discourse. Educational communication aims to ensure
the socialization of new members of society, that is, the formation of the
individual in the process of learning the knowledge, values and norms of
society. Strategies of educational discourse are formed by communicative
intentions that specify its main goal: an explanation of the arrangement of
the world, its norms and rules of conduct; organizing the activities of a
new member of society in order to attract him to the values and behaviors
expected from the student; verification of understanding and assimilation
of information, evaluation of results, etc. In this regard distinguish such
basic teaching strategies discourse: explanatory, organizational,
attitudinal, perception, monitoring and others.
Explanatory strategy. This is a sequence of intentions aimed at
informing the addressee, reporting him\her knowledge and ideas about

167
the world. These intentions are realized in many speech genres of
educational discourse: from a household conversation between parents
and children about the surrounding world to a philosophical conversation
between a teacher and his\her students. An explanatory strategy is
implemented using the tactics of naming, describing, interpreting,
providing definitions, paraphrasing, abstracting, generalizing, specifying,
giving examples, etc.
Organizational strategy. It is in the joint actions of the participants of
communication. This strategy can be implemented tactics to attract
attention, questions, orders, requests, invitations, permission, prohibition
appeal.
Attitudinal strategy. It reflects the social significance of the teacher
as an expression of the rules of society and exercised the right to evaluate
the events, circumstances, characters referred to in the learning process
and student achievement. Typical tactics of this strategy are praise,
compliment, approval, disapproval, contrast, opposition, reproach,
condemnation, discredit, mitigation (mitigating categorical assessment).
Perception strategy. It is in the support and correction of the student
and is closely related to the evaluated strategy. However, in contrast to it,
the strategy of perception is aimed at creating the optimal conditions for
the formation of the personality of man and expressed in the form of a
positive attitude to the addressee. Its tactics include: accentuation on
positive information, justification, consolation, encouragement,
encouragement, constructive criticism.
Monitoring strategy. It is a complex intention, aimed at obtaining
objective information about the acquisition of knowledge, the formation
of abilities and skills, awareness and perception of the system of values.
We can ese use tactics of direct inquiry, execution of speech / infantile
action, verification, provocation, doubt, refinement to implement the
monitoring strategy.
Strategies and tactics of educational discourse reflect the
communicative behavior of its main participant, the teacher, who has an
initiative role in communication. They are aimed at optimizing the
learning process through communication and designed for active
collaboration with the addressee.
Medical discourse. The purpose of communication in the medical
field is to provide qualified assistance to the patient, which involves the
collection of anamnesis (history of illness and life), assessment of the

168
patient's condition, diagnosis, appointment of treatment, recommend-
dations, etc. All these specific goals determine the strategies of medical
discourse: pre-diagnostic, diagnostic, therapeutic, recommendatory,
explanatory, attitudinal, etc.
Pre-diagnostic strategy. It consists in collecting anamnesis, that is,
obtaining information about the patient's living conditions, the diseases
transmitted, the history of the disease. This strategy is usually
implemented through tactics of direct inquiry, the caution of speech
execution, verification, clarification, clarification, retrospection.
Diagnostic strategy. It is associated with the establishment and
formulation of a diagnosis and is implemented mainly by tactics of
differentiation, description, summary and correction.
Therapeutic strategy. Its purpose is to oblige the patient to comply
with the doctor's prescriptions, which can be achieved by tactics of direct
inducement, instruction, prohibition, warning, promise, reference to an
unrealized act, giving an appraisal value, appealing to authority, etc.
Recommendatory strategy. It involves providing recommendations
for disease prevention and is usually implemented through tactics of
advice and caution.
Explanatory strategy. Its use is caused by the need to explain the
anatomical and medical terminology, treatment or prevention method
drug use and so on. The main methods of implementation of this strategy
are the name of tactics, repetition, description, interpretation,
paraphrasing, summarizing, specification, of analogy, prompting
example, a reference to the source.
Attitudinal strategy. It is to assess the patient's condition and the
effectiveness of treatment, often carried out using tactics compare,
contrast, synthesis, specificity, positive emphasis on information
mitihatsiyi, avoidance of providing negative evaluation, and others.
Strategy and tactics of medical discourse, describing communicative
action physician, formed due to his professional responsibilities, and
physical and mental state of the patient.
Religious discourse. The most important goals of religious
communication are to involve people of God, to get support from God,
purify the soul, calling for repentance and faith, to strengthen the faith
and virtue, explain the doctrine, ritual realize because they belong to a
certain denomination . According to these goals, the following strategies
for religious discourse are singled out: prayer, confessional, self-

169
identification, explanatory, invocatory, emotional mood formation,
attitudinal, sacral.
Prayer strategy. It provides a sincere turning to God and can be
implemented using tactics praise, confession, requests, thanks.
Shrive strategy. It is associated with a prayer strategy, but the
difference between them is that man does not shrive to God, but a
clergyman who must listen to confession and let go of sins. A shrive
strategy demonstrates the will of the one who repents, to purify the Soul,
which can be achieved by such tactics: telling about committed sins, self-
condemnation, repentance, and request.
Self-identification strategy. It focuses on the awareness of the unity
of the faithful and their differences from the other, and is usually realized
by the tactics of community and opposition "WE :: STRANGER".
Explanatory strategy. Its use is conditioned by the need to explain
the doctrine, the principles of religious morality. The tactics of this
strategy include interpretation, definition, analogy, reference to the
source, generalization, specification.
Attitudinal strategy. It is based on moral assessments that reveal the
essence of the attitude of people towards God, his wills. The most
widespread tactics of the evaluated strategy are condemnation, approval,
appeal to authority and to the model.
Appeal strategy. Its purpose is to motivate people to live according
to religious laws. It is actualized by tactics of request, invitation,
reservation, appeal to conscience, custody and execution of a certain
action, quoting Sacred books, and accentuating on the important mission
of the faithful.
Strategy of formation of emotional mood. This strategy is intended
to influence the emotions and subconsciousness of the listeners, adjust
them to accept certain information. It can be realized union tactics,
compare, contrast, repetition, questions of analogy, improving tone and
others.
Ritual strategy. It overlaps with all other strategies religious
discourse. At the same time, it is an additional component of a certain
action – a wedding ceremony, funeral, confirmation, excommunication,
etc. Its tactics are numerous and diverse: a request, an invitation, a
question, a caution for the performance of a certain act, a quotation of the
Holy Book, gratitude, an oath, etc.

170
 Communicative strategies and tactics of religious discourse are based
on the specifics of its speech genres (sermon, prayer, confession, etc.).
Self-identification, the formation of emotional mood, explanatory,
evaluative and appeal strategies are the essence of the sermon, which is
the central language genre of religious discourse.
Advertising discourse. A feature of advertising communication is its
focus on achieving commercial goals, in particular, the promotion of a
specific product on the market or the provision of paid services. To
achieve them, using communication strategies that actively influence the
target audience, actualizing and keeping in the minds of the recipient the
advertised object, expanding knowledge about it, convincing its benefits,
forming an interest in it, and inducing to choose this particular object. For
this purpose, use strategies of advertising discourse: positioning,
optimization, value-oriented, argumentative, forming emotional mood,
mnemonic, inviting, and others.
Positioning strategy. It is to inform the recipient of an advertised
item, allocating it among these objects and the formation of the desired
perception of the object. This strategy is implemented through tactics
differentiation, providing evaluative values, emphasis on positive
information.
Valuably oriented strategy. It resorted to form value orientations and
appropriate lifestyles promoted to associate the object with important
target audience value concepts. This strategy can be implemented through
tactics of taking into account the value orientations of the addressee,
appealing to universal values (common sense, benefit, satisfaction,
success, comfort).
Argumentative strategy. It is based on the logical proof of the
conformity of product qualities to the needs of the addressee and forms a
meaningful attitude to advertising. To implement this strategy, the tactics
used to reference the facts pointing arguments "for" opposition,
contrastive analysis, the study estimates repeat citation illustrations.
Strategy of formation of emotional mood. This strategy aims to
construct certain symbolic characteristics of the advertised object, create
an image attractive to the consumer, affect its feelings and emotions. The
implementation of it is provided by the tactics of creating an attractive
image, appealing to the recipient's emotions, accentuation, tonality,
taking into account the value orientations of the addressee, establishing
associations.

171
 Mnemonic strategy. It is used to facilitate the memorization of
advertising, which can be achieved by tactics, such as multi-level
repetition, semantic alignment of the beginning and end of the text.
Optimization strategy. It is to improve the influence of advertising
messages, overcoming the adverse conditions of communication,
caused by the peculiarities of the perception of advertising and the
attitude towards it. The tools for implementing this strategy may
include tactics of coordinating the language and the world of
communicants, simplifying, narrowing the subject, facilitating the
recognition of advertising, playing words and meanings, distributing
information around the axis "more important / less important",
appealing to different representative systems.
Inviting strategy. Its purpose is to make people purchase the
advertised product or use the service. This strategy is usually actualized
by the tactics of causing the execution of a certain action, invitation,
promise, encouragement, pointing to the future.
Communicative strategies and tactics of advertising discourse are
characterized by a significant influential force, enable the management of
human consciousness and often force the addressee to act contrary to his
real desire or needs.
Political discourse. Political communication is aimed at gaining and
retaining power. The choice of a communicative strategy and its tactics
depends on the genre of political discourse (television debates,
campaigning, political advertising, media interviews, etc.), and from the
configuration of intentions to the particular subject of discourse in a
particular situation. Different tactical and strategic repertoire is inherent
in the opposition and politicians in power. There are such strategies for
political discourse: self-presentation, agitation, emotional mood
formation, informational-interpretative, argumentative, manipulation,
discredit, attack, self-defense, etc.
Strategy of self-presentation. It is the key to the linguistic behavior
of politicians who are fighting for power. This strategy is to demonstrate
the most profitable qualities of a speaker for the formation of his image
and is realized mainly through the tactic of identifying someone or
something, solidarity with the addressee, creating its own circle,
distancing, self-gratification. At the same time, politicians who have
gained power use self-presentation mainly as an accompanying tactic of
agitation and other strategies.

172
 Each discourse has its own set of communicative strategies and
tactics that serve the implementation of specific speaker intentions. At the
same time, there is a significant arsenal of universal, common strategies
and tactics, and specialized and general strategies and tactics can be used
in different types of discourse. In addition, new types of discourse and
forms of communication require new strategies and tactics.

CONCLUSIONS
The basic principles of classification of communication strategies
take into account ways to create logical built, connected, compositionally
and stylistically issued a message that has some impact on the recipient,
using a variety of speech means, according to the purpose and the specific
conditions of communication.
Further study of communication strategies occurs within certain
discourses, including institutional (political, advertising, educational,
scientific, medical, business discourse), where communication is
regulated both in content and form, and communicant guided status and
role-playing rules. To describe a communicative strategy, one needs to
present a range of typical communicative tactics that implement it and
determine the specific speech actions at a certain stage of communication.
We can analyze the implementation of the communicative strategy
at the formal-semiotic level (treatment, personal pronouns, verbs of the
imperative mode, exclamations, inserts words to denote arguments,
etc., repetition in order to attract attention, the choice of a certain style
of speech, etc.). Speaking about the cognitive-interpretive level, we can
take into consideration the coincidence of the thesaurus of the
addressee and the addressee, their situational, encyclopedic, reference
knowledge, representations of the world, the common presupposition
and the ability of the recipient to decode the hidden content of the
message. The motivational-pragmatic level is realized on taking into
account the strategies of the addressee, the social-role status, the
purpose of speech contact, adherence to ethical ritual behavior.
Researchers revealed that the human brain thinks in a number of
distinct ways which can be identified, deliberately accessed and hence
planned for use in a structured way allowing one to develop strategies
for thinking about particular issues.
Every discourse has its own set of communication strategies and
tactics that serve specific embodiment of the intentions of the speaker.

173
There is a significant arsenal of universal, common strategies and tactics,
in different types of discourse you can use specialized and general
strategies and tactics.

SUMMARY
The article deals with the problem of classification communication
strategies and tactics in different types of discourse. Strategies
characterize the modern cultures of thinking. Communication strategies
can be of different types depending on the discourse. It can be realized
with some approaches and tactics. The recent tendencies show increasing
interest in discourse analysis, and in particular in the ways people create a
mental representation of the world. Nowadays, it is difficult to win
success in any sphere of intellectual activity without permanent
regulation and organization of thinking process. The direct and hidden
power of words represents a great interest for modern linguistics.

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Information about the author:

Melko Kh. B.
Candidate of Philological Sciences,
Associate Professor at the Korunets Department
of English Philology and Translation,
Kyiv National Linguistic University
5, Stanislavska str., Drohobych, 82100, Ukraine

175
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/176-195

COGNITIVE MAPPING IN THE STUDY OF MENTAL

RESOURCE OF THE DISCOURSE

Osovska I. M.

INTRODUCTION
Present-day linguistic studies (S. Zhabotynska, V. Karasyk,
O. Kybryakova, A. Martyniuk, A. Pryhodko, T.А. van Dijk,
R. Jackendorff, G. Lakoff) are focused on systemic organization of the
individual's thinking. It resulted in rather successful researchers’ attempts
to reconstruct the mental background of an activity as separate concepts
containing specified knowledge, conceptual spheres and fields united by
common logical-semantic or substantive content, and conceptual systems
as discursive-relevant formations of concepts, interpretation frames and
cognitive maps. Although, some researchers (N. Kravchenko,
O. Selivanova, R. Axelrod, E. C. Tolman) interpret cognitive maps
differently and claim the main purpose to be a representation of the global
picture of communicants’ programs, they render mental frameworks of a
linguocultural community discursive practice and reveal an established
way of comprehension of a certain segment of activity of its
representatives.
Accordingly, the relevance of the study is determined by the
orientation of modern linguistic studies within the cognitive-discursive
paradigm on the objective determination of complementarities of the
mental and verbal resources of discursive practices, which enables to
describe their mental conditionality. The cognitive-discursive approach to
the study of discourse practice allows presenting its information archive,
discovering the roots of the national mentality, comparing its cognitive
representation, linguistic objectification and communicative realization.
The proposed approach is based on the idea that mental resource is a
cognitive space of a certain discourse containing representative and
dynamic knowledge, introduced by a specific conceptual system. It can
be modeled by using the methodology of cognitive mapping initiated by

176
I. Osovska1 and adapted by other researchers2. This methodology includes
conceptual analysis within constructive method, which is used for
determination of autochthon concepts, logical-semantic analysis allowing
to define the type of inter-conceptive correlations connection, as well as
linguo-statistical methods (chi-square calculation (χ2), contingency
coefficient K and the Pearson correlation coefficient r), which make
verification of conceptual system elements and correlations between them
possible. As the result of this methodology usage, cognitive maps of
different discourse types are constructed. They represent a relevant
conceptual nomenclature, connection system of its elements and make it
possible to realize the main national stereotypes in certain spheres of life.
The aim of this research is a representation of the mentioned
methodology usage results on the basis of several types of discourse
practice.
The materials of the research are represented as wide range of
methods of an existence of a discourse practice, studied on the basis of
modern texts, oral interactions and films scripts (in accordance with the
investigated discourse types).

1. Methodology: The Technique of Cognitive Mapping

The attempts of scientists to represent complex mental processes are
reflected in the suggestion of various types of structures, such as
interpretation frames and cognitive maps. The latter, though differently
understood by the researchers, but being aimed mainly at representing the
global picture of the communicants' programs, represent the mental
frames of discursive practices of the linguistic-cultural community and
reveal the established way of comprehending a certain segment of its
members' activities.
1
Осовська І.М. Сучасний німецькомовний сімейний дискурс: ментальний і
вербальний ресурс. 2013. 404 с.
2
Гуцол А.М. Німецькомовний матримоніальний конфліктний дискурс: когнітивний
вимір : автореферат дис. канд. філол. наук 10.02.04 – Германські мови. Чернівецький нац.
ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці, 2015. 20 с.; Коропецька О.І. Сучасний британський
парентальний дискурс: когнітивно-семантичний аспект : автореферат дис. канд. філол.
наук 10.02.04 – Германські мови. Чернівецький нац. ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці,
2018. 20 с.; Савчук Т. Г. Когнітивна карта сучасного англомовного гастрономічного
рекламного дискурсу. Science and Education a New Dimension. Philology. Budapest, 2018.
VI (45), Issue 152. Pp. 60–65; Томнюк Л.М. Сучасний німецькомовний тюремний дискурс
(когнітивно-семантичний аспект) : автореферат дис. канд. філол. наук 10.02.04 –
Германські мови. Чернівецький нац. ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці, 2018. 20 с.

177
 The creation of complete presentation of the concept system,
reflected in the cognitive map, requires the determination of its
"skeleton" – the autochthon concepts and the partial outline of the corpus
of аllochthons as discursive variables. At that, the adequate
methodological approach was to define the synthesis of conceptual
analysis, corpus linguistics techniques and linguoquantitative methods.
This enables to observe the complete mental representation of discourse
as a conceptual system in a statistically verifiable conceptual structure
and a system of correlations among its elements.
Modeling a cognitive map includes several stages: 1) defining basic
situational formers that outline the communicative frame as a situational
"skeleton"; 2) determining the allochthons as a general complex of
possible information elements; 3) determining autochthons as regular
elements of the discourse through the procedures of statistical verification
of actuals; 4) finding quantitatively significant dependencies
(subordination, consequence, causation, and interconnection) of
autochthons, that show the interconcept correlation within the discourse;
5) formulation of the so-called discourse integrators – its uniting
presupposition elements.
Stage 1 is substantiated by the fact that the actualization of the
discourse semantic space is provided with an adequate situational
framework. On the other hand, due to anthropocentricity, the deictic
characteristics of the dialogue discourse and understanding of the action
transformations as a continuum of "causal chains", from which the
consciousness of the interpreter "pulls out separate links"3, this situational
framework can be outlined by the main formers presenting the spouses,
the global strategic objectives and the spatio-temporal localization of the
communicative action. The latter is the basis of the situational
predictability of the discourse, represented by the locus of the common
dwelling and the time parameters of interaction, characterizing the
localization of the communicative action in relation to the repeating
periods of human life and social and cultural traditions.
Stage 2 requires additional explanation. The lexicosemantic space is
based on the structural representation of the categorical potential in each
representative unit in the framework of the field system and is, in a

3
Croft W.A. Syntactic categories and grammatical relations. Chicago; London, 1991.
P. 159.

178
certain way, a scheme of the paradigmatic organization of lexemes, which
in a certain language are the conventional nominators of a certain
categorical meaning. In this perspective, the lexical-semantic space can
be regarded as a combination of means for verbal interpretation of a
certain conceptual space whose nuclear component is compared with a
verbal unit capable of activating the given concept in the consciousness
of the native speaker. Considering such units the objectivators of
concepts, one can detect the concepts that are regularly or occasionally
represented in discourse.
The holistic theory as a methodological basis of modern cognitive
linguistics combines the formats of the presentation of the semantic and
the conceptual, considering language as the main means of categorization
and conceptualization of the world, an open cognitive system that
interacts with general mental capabilities. Cognitive structures are deep
thought-based entities, the discovery of which can only be done through
the study of meanings of the language units4, because "the lexical
meaning is a concept activated by the word in thought"5. Raczaszek-
Leonardi mentions that "being physically present in interactions, as
utterances in dialogues, language is a part of co-action"6 and the word
used by a person is the "flash" of information, – both the nominator of a
certain notion or meaning, and an element of knowledge of the native
speaker in the context of his national mentality, social, psychological,
gender, and worldview characteristics.
Without calling into question the statement that the concepts are
segmented by conceptual, figurative and value cognitive features, we
believe that the real text within the discourse gives an opportunity to
examine, first of all, the conceptual side, in which the fixedness of the
concepts is determined by certain verbal means, the set of which forms
the concepts expression plan. Any mental formation is constantly in the
relations and dependences, and therefore the determination of the
algorithm for the exteriorization of concepts in the space of the text

4
Тукаева Г.С. Исcледовательский потенциал когнитивных структур. Вестник
Башкирcкого университета. 2009. Т. 14 (3). Ст. 862.
5
Жаботинская С.А. Имя как текст: Концептуальная сеть лексического значения
(анализ имени эмоции). Когниция, коммуникация, дискурс. 2013. № 6. Ст. 76.
6
Raczaszek-Leonardi J. & Vallee-Tourangeau, F. Language as a part of action:
Multidimensional time-scale integration of language and cognition. Psychology of language
and communication. 2018. Vol. 22 (1). DOI: 10.2478/plc-2018-0012. Р. 282.

179
enables not only to implement their profile, but also to construct the
concept system of discourse.
The verbal interpretation of concepts leads to the need of identifying
their actualizers (known as objectivators, explicators, nominants,
verbalizers, conceptual qualifiers, etc.) – verbal units that provide the
conceptual basis of the discourse, despite the fact that communicative and
pragmatic parameters for defining qualifying senses of the lingual units
are quite subjective both from the side of the communicants, and from the
perspective of the investigator. The actualizers of concepts can be
presented explicitly or implicitly, and "any particular actualizer of the
concept – a word, a phraseological unit, a syntagma, etc., – is not an
isolated unit, but a part of the general system of actualizers, which can be
represented in the form of an associative semantic field"7. The explication
of concepts in the form of a system of actualizers is performed by a
speaker, who builds a chain of proposals, objectifying the concept.
The laws of logic and causal links lose their explanatory power, as
soon as the weak implicational structures occur in the text – for example,
metaphorical nominations containing a significant emotional component.
The solution of the problem of the implicit meanings categorization, if
there is no alternative, requires the introspective analysis, which enables
to distinguish discursively significant meanings of certain language
means. Consequently, in order to isolate the constants of the discourse
concept system, an inventory of the texts was made, the objectivators of
concepts (nouns, verbs, and adjectives) were fixed, the classification of
which into the semantic domains allowed defining the matrix of concepts
as the basic beams of meaning within the discourse.
Since only the repetition of particular verbals can indicate a certain
relevance and regularity of certain conceptual configurations, elements of
statistical analysis were used enabling to determine the statistical
significance of a) domain presentation in the text, and b) certain concepts
in the selected domains at Stage 3 of the study to give the status of
autochthons to certain concepts from other fields. Selected lexemes as
linguistic signs, fixed to the subjects of cognition and by relations
between them, represent elementary meanings in the consciousness; the
7
Бобкова Ю.Г. Концепт и способы его актуализации в идиостиле
В.П. Астафьева (на материале цикла "Затеси") : автореферат диссертации на
соискание ученой степени кандидата филологических наук. Специальность 10.02.01 –
Русский язык. Пермь, 2007. Ст. 8.

180
names of domains formed – generalized concepts that semantically
combine all the elements of a group that, through their presentation in the
family interaction, indicate the points of meanings condensation.
The need to distinguish between natural and random phenomena
causes applying quantitative analysis. Verification of data using the
techniques of calculating the χ2-criterion and contingency coefficient K
allows to select the main meaning dominants, categorial units of the basis
of its concept system from the set of fixed allochthons – conceptual
variables presenting atypical knowledge quanta, regular autochthons of
discourse concept system – by determining the correspondences between
the frequency distributions of concept actualizers of a certain domain in
the texts and specific concepts in statistically significant domains.
The traditional study of the fullness of conceptual structures is based,
as a rule, on the definition of the frequency of lexemes that designate
certain elements or nominal characteristics of the concept. However,
quantitative techniques, in particular, one of the basic methods for
verifying hypotheses in linguistics – the chi-square (χ2) criterion, enable
to determine the existence of correspondences or discrepancies between
distributions of frequencies of the quantities under observation8, actually
verifying their regularity of this discursive environment. The most widely
used formula for calculating the χ2 criterion is
(O  E )2
2  
E

where O – actually observed values, E – theoretically estimated ones,

Σ – the total amount.
The relation between the features is confirmed by the χ2 index, which
is larger than the critical value, and its degree is determined by Chuprov
mutual contingency coefficient K9 by the formula:

x2
K
N (r  1)(c  1)
,
where N is the total number of observations, r is the number of lines
in the table, c is the number of columns.

8
Левицкий В.В. Семасиология. Винница, 2012. Ст. 156.
9
Ibidem. Ст. 160.

181
 The values of the mutual contingency coefficient can be from 0
to +1, while the significance is determined in correspondence with the
value of χ2.
Exceeding the value of χ2 testifies to the prevalence of the empirical
use of the domain over the theoretical expectations, confirming its
selective character and, consequently, its importance for the discourse.
The similar procedure determines the value of χ2 for all allochthons
actualizers within each of the distinguished domains. As a result of such
calculations, the most significant concepts for each of the predefined
statistically significant domains are determined in the text. The detected
concepts are autochthons of discourse.
However, this result is not the final stage of the study of the
discourse conceptual structure, since only "the analysis of the concepts
connectivity, <...> enables to construct the picture of the world that is
characteristic of everyday consciousness" 10. Before starting this phase of
the study (Stage 4), some explanation should be provided. Thinking of
the connectivity motivation by semantic properties, the cognitivity of
relations between the objects of reality and the closeness of the words
related in their meaning placed in the text11, lead to the assumption that
consideration of their co-occurrence, "neighbourhood" in the text may
reproduce a fragment of the linguistic picture the world, on the
background of which the concept space of discourse is realized. The
determination of the pairs of autochthons, among which there is a
statistically verified relation which is logical for this representation. This
relation can be detected using the correlation analysis, which states the
correlation (statistical) dependence characteristic of linguistic phenomena
and, in our case, allows detecting the autochthons in the text fragments,
the actualizers of which are observed in co-occurrence.
The simple linear Pearson correlation (r) assumes that, as the values of
some feature increase, the value of another one either increases or decreases
in a certain order. If the values of both features are characterized by the
increase, then a positive correlation is stated, but if it is characterized by a
reverse relationship, there is a negative correlation. Correlation coefficient
values can range from +1 to -1, indicating the degree of relation between the
10
Чернейко Л.О. Металингвистика: Хаос и порядок. Вестник Московского
университета. Сер. 9. Филология. 2001. № 5. С. 39.
11
Вдовиченко А.В. Расставание с языком. Критическая ретроспектива
лингвистического знания. Москва, 2008. Ст. 15.

182
phenomena: the closer the value approaches zero, the lower the dependence;
the sign in this case denotes the nature of the relation12. To calculate the
correlation coefficient, we use the formula:

r  ( x  x )( y  y )
i i

(x  x ) ( y  y)
i
2
i
2

where r is the coefficient of linear correlation, Σ is the sum of the

obtained values, xi is the value of the first feature, уi is the value of the
second feature, x – the average value of the first feature, y – the average
value for the second feature.
Avoidance of random variables is ensured by determining the
number of degrees of freedom – the number of independent values that
participate in the formation of a particular parameter. This indicator for
correlation analysis is determined by the formula df  (r  1)(c  1) where r is
the number of lines in the table, c is the number of columns.
The critical values of the correlation coefficient for a different index
of degrees of freedom df and different levels of significance P are fixed in
special tables13. Using the level of significance, the validity of the results
obtained is determined, as well as the percentage of cases, in which an
error is possible (95% validity corresponds to the significance level
P = 0.05, 99% validity – P = 0.01). If the obtained result corresponds to
the significance level of 0.05 to 0.01, then the values obtained are
considered statistically significant.
Statistically significant pairs of autochthons indicate certain
dependencies in the mental space, but do not explain it. Having detected
the conceptual correlation, we turn to the qualitative logical semantic
analysis and to the phenomenon of cognitive inference, which enable to
explain it.
The meaning, modeled by interactants in the process of
communication, does not exist in nature in its finished form due to its
essence – simulation of the configurative features of the constituents,
mobility and melting into the context, can only be established through the
analysis of a particular semantic environment. The latter also enables the
discourse modeling on the basis of the combinatory properties of its
12
Тулдава Ю.А. Проблемы и методы квантитативно-системного исследования
лексики. Тарту, 1987. Ст. 82–84.
13
Перебийніс В.І. Статистичні методи для лінгвістів. Вінниця, 2001. Ст. 17.

183
conceptual dominant. The specific collocability of the concept system
elements depends on the combinatory power of the cognitive-semantic
parameters, as well as on the discursive intentions of the speakers. An
adequate interpretation of meaning of the expression/complex of
expressions is performed through cognitive operations for obtaining
deductive knowledge – inference14 (Грайс 1985: 221).
According to the mentioned above decoding of discourse-making
meanings represented in text fragments, in which the verbalizers of
statistically relevant conceptual configurations of autochthons are
recorded, should be performed on the basis of the analysis of each
separate sentence/dialogical unity through fixation of both the
conventional meanings of language forms, and decoding the
implicatures – deductive knowledge gained due to formally logic
deductive communication. The introspection method borrowed from
psychology, which presupposes observation of the researcher over
himself, his own perception of the environment, his own experience, is
indispensable for such an approach15.
The analysis of utterances/dialogical unities, performed according
to the above defined principles, enables to assert that the palette of
inter-concept correlation is confined to four main types of relations –
inclusion, consequence, causation, and mutual exclusion. These
relations are based on the logical regularities symbolically designated
by the schemes "X includes/implies Y" (≡), "Y follows X" (→),
"X causes Y" (=>), "X or Y" (↔).
The presented types of relations show all the statistically verified
inter-conceptive correlations stated in the texts. On Stage 5 of the
research, the set of them allows formulating relevant for discourse
integrators – presuppositions, discursive unifying representations, which
essentially are the cognitive foundations of the communicative activity of
an individual as a member of the family group within a certain
linguoculture. The discourse integrators (the term seems to be apt due to
its sense of a unifying rule) known as the elements of cognitive basis,
fundamental stereotypical core of knowledge or common cognitive
foundation formulate basic discourse adequate mental elements, indicator
14
Грайс Г.П. Логика и речевое общение. Новое в зарубежной лингвистике. 1985.
№ 16. Ст. 221.
15
Комарова З.И. Методология, метод, методика и технология научных
исследований в лингвистике. Москва, 2013. Ст. 332.

184
of similarity of their world picture, subconsciously available in the
discourse communicants-participants.
Including the social intragroup structure of thinking of the group
members on the basis of texts produced by them in the described method,
it is possible to identify the common elements integrating the discourse
within the network – concepts as cementing elements in the national
consciousness that influence the process of linear strategic deployment of
the communicative event, and their correlations – in the structure of
thinking. All information obtained results in the cognitive map – a
schematically presented information archive.

2. Results and Discussion. Cognitive Mapping of Discourses

The research performed enables to state that the represented
methodology of a detection of mental basis of different discourse practice
types is applicable, relevant and efficient.
For instance, the study of the modern German cooperative parental
discourse makes it possible to claim that its conceptual system is based on
37 autochthons16. They prove a relevance of an interpersonal (feelings,
emotions and activity) and out-of-group (social values, service and leisure)
information for a German family communication in a parental sector. It is
revealed that the stereotypical priority of communication with children is an
emphasis on social values and conventions (order, planning, development,
study), as well as daily life physical needs (nutrition, sleep). Common
everyday life and leisure are of a particular importance. Children are
brought up to be tidy, diligent, responsible, polite, punctual, tolerant,
sincere, clever, dignified and creative. The basis of feelings of a parental
communication is trust, love and joy. An inner group of communicants
include such important people as parents, brothers, sisters and relatives,
while social group consists of friends and company.
Cognitive map of the modern German cooperative parental discourse
(which besides autochthons, presents statistically verified connection
between them) proves such main presuppositional ideas of the members
(Figure 1): parents and children relations are based on feelings and
emotions (16% of inter-conceptive correlations), socialization (24%) and
upbringing (40%) in special ethnic values and traditions (19%).

16
Осовська І.М. Сучасний німецькомовний сімейний дискурс : ментальний і
вербальний ресурс. Чернівці, 2013. 404 с.

185
 1 – domain ‘domestic and 4 – domain ‘feelings and 7 – domain ‘rest and leisure’
financial-economic spheres’ emotions’
2 – domain ‘physiology’ 5 – domain ‘verbal activity’ 8 – domain ‘social values
and conventions’
3 – domain ‘personality 6 – domain ‘social activity 9 – domain ‘family
traits’ and collaboration’ affiliation’

Fig. 1. Cognitive map of modern German cooperative

parental discourse

Social conventions and values – tidiness in household and

appearance, fair distribution of responsibilities and activity planning are
vital for modern German cooperative parental communication. Parental
love guarantees family unity. Diligence is a pledge of success of a child,
which makes parents feel proud. Everything child participates in (study,
celebration) should be creative and bring joy. Vital factor of an individual
development is sincere and responsible communication – discussion of
interests (art, literature, sport) or feelings with friends and parents.
The study of the modern British parental discourse, in particular, its
cooperative and conflict types, with the help of proposed methodology 17

17
Коропецька О.І. Сучасний британський парентальний дискурс: когнітивно-
семантичний аспект : автореферат дис. канд. філол. наук 10.02.04 – Германські мови.
Чернівецький нац. ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці, 2018. 20 с.

186
constitutes that: a) the conceptual system of the first type is formed by
45 autochthons, which claim that mental basis of cooperative existence of
British parents and children forms information about family, heredity and
health, house and presence in it, friends, support and care, work and
money, emotions, physiological (water, food, sleep) and social
(communication, upbringing, work) human needs, as well as necessity of
an individual and social safety (habitation, health). 21 inter-conceptive
couples with strong correlative connection prove the actuality for
cooperative parental communication of the modern British family of
information about parents functions in the process of upbringing –
ensuring the basic needs, habitation, creating of safe life conditions and
health of a child, respecting a child’s honour and dignity, forming of a
child’s worldview, satisfying the requirements of communication and
socialization. All examined information is represented in a cognitive map,
which emphasizes on the main mental priorities of British people in a
sphere of an appropriate communication between parents and children
(Figure 2).

Fig. 2. Cognitive map of the modern British

cooperative parental discourse

187
 Mental resource of a conflict type of the modern British parental
discourse is formed on the basis of 43 autochthons (for instance,
UNDERSTANDING, KNOWLEDGE, WISH, FAIRNESS, WORK,
MONEY, PRIVATE LIFE, TRUTH/LIE, MYSTERY,
DUTY/OBLIGATION, MORAL, HOME, RESPONSIBILITY,
INDEPENDENCE, AUTHORITARIANISM, INTELLIGENCE etc.),
which prove that: dissatisfaction of actions of one of a family members
provokes anger, disobedience of a child causes parents’ fury, which may
appear as a punishment, while an inappropriate reaction, as other
members of a family may think, generates disagreement that appears as
indignation; frequent educational measures and lectures directed to an
individual responsibility for personal things, actions, future. In order to
guarantee a peaceful life of a British family, it is vital for parents and
children to communicate with each other, support one another, be
interested and participate in family members’ lives.
The study of two representation forms of the modern German
matrimonial conflict discourse – literary and oral18 resulted in the
following conclusions: a) dominant position with significant overbalance
in the conceptual system take 56 autochthons in oral (in particular, ZEIT,
GEFÜHL, FEST, GELD, ARRFTT, STUDIUM, ERHOLUNG,
BEWERTUNG, BEZIEHUNG, BEWEGUNG, AUSSEHEN, NATUR,
ABSTRAKTE BEGRIFFE, GEISTIGE AKTIVITÄT) and
86 autochthons – in literary type (FAMILIENMITGLIEDER, ESSEN
UND GETRÄNKE, KLEIDUNG, SACHEN/TECHNIK, GEBÄUDE,
FARBE, PHYSISCHE PROZESSE, KOMMUNIKATIVE TÄTIGKEIT,
LAGE, PHYSIOLOGISCHE PROZESSE, KÖRPERTEILE,
NATIONAUTÄT/ RELIGION); b) statistically, 12 strong and
12 medium inter-conceptive autochthons connections are relevant for the
literary form, while for oral – 7 strong and 8 medium, represented in
cognitive maps, which reveal the basic knowledge of a married couple
communication about certain phenomenon in their consciousness during a
conflict interaction; c) for real life picture of the world, represented in the
matrimonial conflict discourse, it is common to detect mostly abstract
ideas of personal and spiritual (feelings, rest, evaluation, relations,

18
Гуцол А.М. Німецькомовний матримоніальний конфліктний дискурс: когнітивний
вимір : автореферат дис. канд. філол. наук 10.02.04 – Германські мови. Чернівецький нац.
ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці, 2015. 20 с.

188
appearance, intellect), as well as general notions (time, activity,
celebrations, nature). The component of rationality in a real life picture of
the world is introduced as a step-by-step process of person’s realization in
society: firstly, education as a starting point for a professional career, then
work that determines a social role of an individual, and finally, financial
reward – money for the fulfillment of needs of a human and family. It is
revealed that the formation of the modern genre of an author’s
worldview, represented in the literary matrimonial conflict discourse,
includes shifts of emphasis towards the material side of a human’s life as
a biological creature (parts of body, food and drinks, physiological and
physical processes), conscious in the environment (objects and technical
devices, clothes, color, buildings, location), and as a social person (family
member, communicative activity, nationality and religion) and at the
same time, with complete insignificance of abstract and spiritual
phenomena in comparison with a real life picture of the world,
represented in an oral conflict of a married couple. In other words, the
author’s view changes the subject of the matrimonial conflict discourse
worldview, making it socially oriented. An oral form in real life puts an
emphasis on feelings as a necessary component of a married couple and
family overall, which distinguishes it among other small social groups.
The study of cognitive space of the modern German prison
discourse19 also proves that communication between prisoners has
different lexical meaning in the literary and oral forms (the range of full
meaning vocabulary in the first form is 61,3%, while in the second – only
42,7%, which is, obviously, caused by an individual’s preference in
laconism and informational compression during communication). It is
proved that: a) conceptual system of the modern German oral prison
discourse includes 42 autochthons (Figure 3), while the literary one – 34
(Figure 4); b) the investigated conceptual systems are absolutely
different: in German author’s worldview (literary form of representation)
knowledge about prison is actualized, first of all, as a social institution
and conditions, in which the convicted complete their term. It is also
stated that person as a biosocial creature, has his/her inner world and
spiritual space, where belief in God takes a dominant place, as well as

19
Томнюк Л.М. Сучасний німецькомовний тюремний дискурс (когнітивно-
семантичний аспект) : автореферат дис. канд. філол. наук 10.02.04 – Германські мови.
Чернівецький нац. ун-т ім. Ю. Федьковича. Чернівці, 2018. 20 с.

189
types of human activity, the main of which is communication. The least
important spheres of knowledge operated by the prisoners and
representatives of a penitentiary system are physical characteristics of
objects of reality, sound and light phenomena (Figure 3). However,
showing the peculiarities of communication between prisoners in real life,
conceptual content of an oral representation form proves an active
operation of knowledge about prison subculture, German code of criminal
procedure, time, emotional and psychological condition of the convicted
and cognitive procedures, which take place during correctional education
of the criminal (Figure 4).

1 – domain ‘prison 4 – domain ‘time’ 7 – domain ‘process’

subculture’
2 – domain ‘law and 5 – domain ‘thinking
legislation’ activity’
3 – domain ‘physical act’ 6 – domain ‘emotional and
psychic state’

Fig. 3. Cognitive map of the modern German

oral prison discourse

190
 1 – domain ‘human body’ 4 – domain ‘motion’ 7 – domain ‘physical
characteristics of an object’
2 – domain ‘speech 5 – domain ‘emotions and
activity’ feelings’
3 – domain ‘Religion / 6 – domain ‘sound / light
supernatural’ phenomena’

Fig. 4. Cognitive map of the modern German

literary prison discourse

The study of mental basis of the modern English-language

gastronomic advertising discourse using the above mentioned
methodology20 made it possible to state that the conceptual system
consists of 49 autochthons and 37 inter-conceptive connections, which
prove that the traditional English-language worldview, represented in the
modern English-language gastronomic advertising discourse, can be
characterized by significance of nutritiousness, brand, freezing and
canning of products as the main way of their preservation and usage, taste
and sensation, dietary description, baby food, food for animals, water,

20
Савчук Т.Г. Когнітивна карта сучасного англомовного гастрономічного
рекламного дискурсу. Science and Education a New Dimension. Philology. Budapest, 2018,
VI (45). Issue 152. Pp. 60–65.

191
non-alcoholic drinks (tea, coffee, juice, smoothie), and alcoholic drinks
(beer, wine, energetic drinks), bakery and sweets, where attention is paid
to the quality of taste, fast food, recipe, healthy nutrition and meals as the
most important factor in the process of person’s nutrition, where
emphasis is put on traditional or non-traditional conditions, sea products
and fish, as well as prices for products, in particular, special offers and
discounts.

Fig. 5. Cognitive map of the modern English-language

gastronomic advertising discourse

CONCLUSIONS
The research performed enables to assert that the discourse cognitive
system is an indispensable part of the individual cognitive space of a
human being – a complex hierarchically structured self-regulating system

192
of formation and development of human experience. The main conceptual
constants of its varieties, determined by its strategic-role divergence, are
segments of a specific concept system. Including the structure of thinking
of the group members in the cooperative / confrontation situation on the
basis of texts produced by them, we tried to identify the elements
integrating the discourse in the structures of thinking – concepts-
autochthons that create a matrix, a framework, affect the process of linear
strategic development. Discourse autochthons, like cores of a cognitive
map, indicate apparent spheres of stability / instability в певному
сегменті соціуму.
Cognitive maps of the discourse practices are complemented with a
different quantity of original autochthon configurations, fixing certain
relevant dependencies in the consciousness of the representative of the
ethnospace. Schematically represented in the cognitive maps, they are
reflected in the integrators – relevant prototypic presuppositions being the
cognitive factors of the communicative activity.
The prospects of further research in this regard may be associated
with an in-depth analysis of the elements and structure of the conceptual
space of the other discursive practices based on the proposed
methodology, in the comparative linguocultural dimension in particular.

SUMMARY
The article proves that the methodology of the cognitive mapping of
the discourse is efficient and appropriate. It consists in a reconstruction
technique of the conceptual system of the discourse on the basis of a
synthesis of conceptual analysis and linguoquantitative methods. It allows
to create a cognitive map, which schematically traces the integral mental
representation of the discursive practice of a certain type in a statistically
verifiable conceptual structure and a correlations system between its
elements.

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Information about the author:

Osovska I. M.
Doctor of Philology,
Professor at the Department of Germanic,
General and Comparative Linguistics,
Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University
2, M. Kozyubynskogo str., Chernivtsi, 58002, Ukraine

195
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/196-213

ETHNIC STEREOTYPES IN VERNACULAR ENGLISH,

UKRAINIAN, POLISH AND FRENCH
OF THE XIXTH CENTURY

Palchevska O. S.

INTRODUCTION
In folk culture the attitude to others is determined by the notion of
ethnocentricity, when "own" traditions, "own" religion, "own" customs,
"own" language is only "correct" and "righteous". Everything strange is
challenged as unacceptable and sinful, and any representative of another
ethnic group is perceived as being dangerous, almost "indulging."1
As you know, the model of the world in any language is based on a
system of binary oppositions, which are associated with social categories
such as male/female, senior/junior, friend/enemy2.
Opposition "friend/enemy" is implemented in the cultural codes of
all languages. All linguocultures inherent the separating "own" features
concerning people, living on the common territory, professing the same
religious and sociocultural principles that demarcate them from
"strangers". In speech this opposition is primarily provided by
ethnonyms, which are divided into auto-ethnonyms (ethnic self-
designation) and alethonyms (names of ethnic groups given by other
ethnic groups). In the alethonyms can be divided into the actual
ethnonyms and ethnophobia: the first are neutral or positively charged
names of other ethnic groups, the second are humiliating, insulting,
negatively charged nicknames of the other ethnic groups representatives3.
Such opposition is based on a certain case motivated situation, which
is a stereotypical reflection of the image inherent in a particular linguistic
and cultural community. The case motivated situation is a kind of "ideal
situation" that has ever been real, or belongs to virtually created by
human. According to V. Krasnyh, case motivated situation is the one

1
Белова О. Славянский образ "инородца" в приметах и легендах. URL:
http://www.hrono.ru/proekty/slavyane/belova.html (дата доступу – 10.07.2010).
2
Цивьян, Т.В. Модель мира и ее лингвистические основы. Москва, 2005. C. 5.
3
Селіванова О.О Лінгвістична енциклопедія. Полтава, 2010. C. 168.

196
which is firstly well-known for a certain mental-linguistic complex, is,
secondly, relevant in cognitive terms, that is a variant of perception,
which includes certain minimized and national-determined knowledge, or
some definite idea of the situation, including connotations, which are
connected with this situation, and, thirdly, the appeal to which is frequent
in the given nation representatives communication4.
The case motivated situation of ethnophobia is realized through
certain inter-ethnic stereotypes. The stereotype is a standard viewpoint
about social groups or individuals as representatives of these groups5. The
stereotype is inherent in a logical form of judgement, which is very
simplified and generalized, with emotional colouring, which gives a
certain class of certain quality or installation, or, conversely, denies these
qualities or installations in them, and is usually expressed by means of a
sentence. Dominant for our study is the delimitating function of the
stereotype. The embodiment of the generalized phenomena of "strangers"
in the motivation of words and idioms is determined as xenomotivation
(the process of formation of such units is named xenonomination, and
linguistic units that have arisen as a result of this process are known under
the name of xenonyms)6. Xenonym contains a certain opposition, which
leads to the above-mentioned effect of differentiation. Typically, these
counterattitudes are hyperbolic, which allows to emphasize some features
of the situation and to ignore others. In the study, we will try to trace the
functioning of xenonyms. Such nominations are presented in the majority
of lexical-thematic groups. There are some of them. The language material
of the study consists mainly of the dialectal dictionaries data, although in
some cases the sporadic parallels are given with the literary language
dictionaries. The works of leading linguists7 are also involved.

4
Красных В.В. «Свой» среди «чужих»: миф или реальность? Москва, 2003. C. 214.
5
Демьянков В.З. Стереотип. Краткий словарь когнитивных терминов. Москва,
1996. C. 177–179.
6
Березович Е.Л. Лексическая семантика в этнолингвистической перспективе.
Язык и традиционная культура. Москва, 2007. C. 415.
7
Wright J. The English Dialect Dictionary V. I–VI. Oxford, 1898–1905; F. Grose
A provincial glossary; with a collection of local proverbs, and popular superstitions.
London,1811; P. R. Wilkinson A Thesaurus of English traditional metaphors. London and
New York, 1992; Jan. Karlowicz, Slownik gwar polskich, Т. 1–VI. Krakow, 1900–1911;
Аркушин Г. Словник західнополіських говірок Т. Ι–ΙΙ. Луцьк, 2000; Словарь
української мови: у 4 т. / упоряд., з додатком власного матеріалу Борис Грінченко;
зібр. ред. журн. „Киевская старина", Київ, 1958–1959; Le Grand Robert & Collins 2009:
Robert Format / Quality: iso/Tested on Daemon Tools Lite 4.30.1

197
 1. Cultural Stereotypes
Belonging to one or another ethnic culture is determined, as modern
ethnologists note, by the basic stereotypical core of knowledge that is
passed on from generation to generation in the process of the individual
socialization in a certain particular society. Stereotypes, being a special
form of social consciousness manifestation, are sustainable culturally
determined ideas about objects, phenomena, situations8. Stereotypes are
also considered as some fragments of the conceptual and linguistic world
pictures of one or another ethnos, existing both as a mental image
(concept) and as a verbal form (words, phrases, sentences, text)9.
According to V. Maslova, the stereotype is “a stabilizing factor that
allows, on the one hand, to store and transform some of the given culture
dominant components, and on the other, to manifest oneself among “the
own” and at the same time identify this “own”10.
The term “stereotype” entered science from typography, where it
denotes a monolithic printed form, a copy of a typographic set or cliché
used for rotary printing of large-circulation publications. The term
“stereotype” was introduced by W. Lippmann in his work “Public Opinion”,
in which stereotypes are defined as “images in our mind, with the help of
which society tries to categorize people”11 [Lippmann 1922: 95]. The
researcher made an attempt to determine the place and role of stereotypes in
the system of public opinion. According to W. Lippmann, it is possible to
derive the following definition: a stereotype is “an example of perception,
filtering, interpretation of information taken in historical commonality,
recognizing the world around, based on previous social experience” [Ibid.].
The system of stereotypes is a system of ordered ideas about the world
around. According to the scientist, a person has a clear idea of the most
things even before he directly encountered them in life. Such stereotypical
representations are shaped by the cultural environment. The stereotypical
picture of the world, as a rule, is incomplete and relative. W. Lippmann
states that if the personal experience of an individual contradicts the
stereotype, then one of two things happens most often: a person is inflexible

8
Садохин А.П. Межкультурная коммуникация. М.: Альфа-М: ИНФРА-М,
2011. 288 с.
9
Бухаева Р.В. Этнокультурные стереотипы речевого общения (на материале
бурятского языка) : дисс. … д-ра филол. наук. Улан-Удэ, 2014. 409 с.
10
Маслова В.А. Лингвокультурология. М.: Академия, 2001. 208 с.
11
Lippmann W. Public оpinion New York: Harcourt Brace, 1922. 384 p.

198
or simply does not notice this contradiction, or considers it an exception
confirming the rule, and usually just forgets about it; a person who is
receptive, flexible, when confronting a reality stereotype, corrects his
perception of the world [Ibid.].
Stereotypes of traditional folk consciousness (mental stereotypes) that
are one of the subjects of this study determine the specificity of the ethnic
world picture (the word “consciousness” is used in this case conditionally,
since it implies not only conscious representations, but also unconscious
attitudes). The stereotypes of traditional folk consciousness underlie the
mentality of one or another ethnos. The mentality, as was noted, is a certain
way of the world perception, inherent in members of one or another ethnic
group, a certain predisposition, an internal readiness to act in a certain way;
a set of images and ideas that guide in everyday life; unconscious
orientations and bases for thinking, perception, and behavior.
The well-known Polish scientist J. Bartminsky defines a stereotype
as an image of an object, shaped in a certain social frame and defining
what this object is, what it looks like, how it acts, how it is interpreted by
a person, etc., while the conception is fixed and accessible through
language and relates to collective knowledge of the world”12. According
to J. Bartminsky the language picture of the world and the stereotype
correlate, as a whole and its part.
J. Bartminsky identifies several types of stereotypes: images (such as
it is), patterns (such as it should be), mythological ideas (as it can be) and
ideological ideas (such as it can and should be). From the J. Bartminsky
point of view, the main properties of the stereotype are the following:
1) the way it exists in consciousness (including in language) is a
collective representation; 2) this view reflects cultural and linguistic
knowledge of the object characteristic of all members of the community;
3) the submission contains an assessment by the community members of
what is reflected; 4) the presentation content is consistently associated
with, fixed and reproduced by certain linguistic signs13.
V. Krasnykh defines a stereotype as follows: “A stereotype is a
certain structure of a mental-lingual complex, formed by an invariant set
of valence bonds attributed to a given unit and having the image-
12
Slownik stereotypow i symboli ludowych / pod red. J. Bartminskiego. T. 1. Z. 1.
Lublin, 1996; T. 1. Z. 2. Lublin, 1999.
13
Bartminski J. Ethnolingwistyka, lingwistyka kulturowa, lingwistyka
antropologiczna. Jezyka a Kultura. 2008. T. 20. S. 15–33.

199
representation of the phenomenon standing behind this unit in its national
and cultural marking with a certain predictability of directed associative
links ( vectors of associations)”14. The stereotype, according to the author,
has two varieties: a stereotype of behavior stored in consciousness as a
consciousness stamp and acting as a canon defining communicative
behavior in a typical communicative situation, and a stereotype
representation stored as a cliché of consciousness and functioning as a
standard. The second type dictates a set of associations and predetermines
the stereotypical expression language form. Thus, stereotypes-images
(a bee is a worker) and stereotypes-situations (stork – cabbage), including
the predictable behavior of the participants of communication expected in
this culture, are distinguished.
The study of perception stereotypes (ethnic stereotypes) originated
within the framework of a sociological approach, gradually being
distinguished into a special research field, now widely mastered by
ethnographers, ethnologists, culturologists, folklorists, and ethno-
linguists. According to the definition of V. Maslova, ethnic stereotypes
are “generalized view of the typical features that characterize any
ethnos”15. Each culture creates a portrait of a “stranger”, based on its own
system of ideas and values. In this regard, ethnic stereotypes may be
associated with prejudices, phobias and superstitions with a
predominance of negative assessment in relation to “strangers”. For
example, there are stereotypical ideas about the whole nation, which
apply to each of its representatives: German tidiness, Russian “maybe”,
Chinese ceremonies, African temperament, Italian hot temper,
stubbornness of Finns, slowness of Estonians, Polish gallantry. The
structure of the ethnic stereotype includes such concepts as
autostereotype and heterostereotype.
Autostereotypes reflect what people think about themselves, and
heterostereotypes reflect the opinion of one nation about another. The
second type of stereotypes is the most critical. For example, the same fact
among the representatives of own nation is considered a manifestation of
prudence and among the representatives of strange nation will be looked as
a manifestation of greed. People perceive ethnic stereotypes as patterns that

14
Красных В.В. «Свой» среди «чужих»: миф или реальность?. М.: Гнозис,
2003. 375 с.
15
Маслова В.А. Лингвокультурология. М.: Академия, 2001. 208 с.

200
must be met in order not to be a “black sheep”. Therefore, stereotypes have
a fairly strong influence on people, causing them to form characteristic
traits, which are reflected in the stereotype. It should be noted that the ethnic
stereotype is not only an evaluative image of the “strange”, fixed in the
language (nominative models, idioms), but also a significant concept that
constitutes a mandatory element of the language world picture.
Behavioral stereotypes perform the function of a behavior program
that is realized in specific rites, customs, rituals, etiquette, etc. In the
behavioral stereotypes adopted in a particular society, ethnospecific
features are clearly manifested. For example, having received the news of
the misfortune, the Italian will sob and tear his hair, and the Japanese will
smile, so as not to upset others. Each ethnic culture has its own ideas
about the significance or insignificance of some fragments of behavior,
but in any culture the rule is: the more significant the behavior scope is,
the more it is regulated, the stronger is the public control over compliance
with standards and patterns. For example, punctuality, highly valued by
the Germans and the Dutch, means relatively little in Spain and even less
in Latin American countries. Stereotypes of behavior dictate both the
form and the content of actions. Stereotypical behavior does not need
motivation. The most weighty argument in favor of this method of action
is the reference to the law of the ancestors. The most important
behavioral stereotypes form the basis of customs, traditions and rituals
adopted in one or another national culture. According to V. Krasnikh, a
stereotype as a model of behavior is associated with a certain nationally
and sociohistorically determined choice of a particular behavior strategy
in a particular situation16.
Communication stereotypes (language / speech stereotypes) are
reflected in the ethnospecific features of speech etiquette. The stereotypes
of communication are understood as ready-made speech formulas that
quickly and economically convey the generally significant and generally
understandable content in typical communication situations (greeting,
farewell, acquaintance, situations of business communication, etc.). The
ability of a language to reflect the characteristics of the ethnos mentality
is one of the reasons for the emergence of a “cultural barrier” even if all
language norms are observed. An example is the case described by

16
Красных В.В. Этнопсихолингвистика и лингвокультурология. М.: Гнозис,
2002. 284 с.

201
A. Wezhbitskaya with an English conductor who was invited to work
with a German orchestra. Work did not go well. The reason for the
conductor was that he speaks English and the musicians do not perceive
him as “their own”. He began to learn German, and the first thing he
asked the teacher was how to build the following sentence in German:
“Listen, I think it would be better if we played like that”. The teacher
thought, then said: “Of course, you can build a phrase like this, but it’s
better to say: you have to play so”17.

2. Thematic Groups of the Stereotypes in Vernacular English,

Ukrainian, Polish and French of the XIXth Century
Language-intellectual activity
The category, which often conceptualise incomprehension is used to
denote the foreign speech. For example, about the child or adult who is
talking unclearly, it is said: to talk double-Dutch coiled against the sun, to
talk as Dutch as Daimport's (Davenport's) bitch. So, the nomination to
talk Dutch has two meanings – (1) to speak a more subtle language than a
native speaker of an ordinary dialect; (2) to speak angrily. Compare with
the modern French phraseological unit c'est du haut allemand (literally –
it’s upper German, “incomprehensible, gibberish”). О. Berezovych leads
the standards of incomprehensible language for Russians of Onega
peninsula and the population of Arkhangelsk region: корелять – to speak
incomprehensible language, comes from ethnonym карел, зыряна – a
man who speaks undistinctely, from зырян, where карел and зырян are
the representatives of neighboring nationalities18. In Polish dialects we
find phraseological unit za ruski pacierz with the meaning of a slightly
greater extent that aroses because Russians in comparison with Poles
speak slower. The alien language for the British is primarily associated
with the Welsh: He's talking Welsh! That's Welsh! Means I don't
understand you.
Human traits and behaviour
Among the nominations studied, most often there are those that
embody the negative traits of a person's character (falseness, cruelty,

17
Вежбицкая А. Семантические универсалии и описание языков. М.: Языки
русской культуры, 1999. 780 с.
18
Березович Е.Л. Лексическая семантика в этнолингвистической перспективе.
Язык и традиционная культура. Москва, 2007. C. 408.

202
bad manners), or intensify some features. So, As Dutch as a mastiff, is
spoken of a man who has an innocent look after having done some
harm. In the late seventeenth century Danes-traders brought dogs of
this breed from South Asia to England, where they became popular
pets. In the nomination the typical dog’s behavior is represented. The
Turks attribute the violence – to behave like a turk. Expression as hard
as a Turk, used to mark the brutal or tireless workmen. When someone
does something like a Turk, it means that he does it vigorously,
diligently or frantically. The idiom the Turk a bit is used as a strong
objection and is a paraphrase of the nomination the devil a bit. The
lexeme Turk is also used to denote a mischievous child. Yorkshire
bite – the contemptuous nickname of the York resident, is used to call a
sharp, arrogant man. Norway is a country of cattle breeders, so any
Englishman who shouts, has a voice like a Norwegian bull: This Will
has a voice like a Norawa' bull. For the French Bédouin (Bedouin) is a
rude, uneducated man; Juif (Jew) – a cunning and hypocritical, the
lexeme is realized in the nomination entre les mains des juifs –
(literally as being in the hands of Jews) "to get into trouble"; Chinois
(Chinese) considered to be suspicious persons, from here chinoiseries –
unnecessary complications; chinoiser – to complicate, to cling to
trifles. The lexeme Grec has a lexical-semantic variant “the player, the
scammer, cheater”. The prototype is the Greek nobleman Apollos, who
lived at the court of Louis XIVth (1638 – 1715) and who was caught
cheating at cards and sentenced to twenty years in the galleys. In
Ukrainian dialects жид [жид] "a gready man":: Ни йди до того жйда
просити – все одно ни дас'т'. And so жидивський [жидйве'кий] –
figur. 'fake'; німец [н'імец] -мца [German] , "deaf-and-dumb man";
"the dog that silently chases the beast."
Games
The ethnonyms can also be a part of the game nomenclature. So,
French blindman's-buff, is a children's game that was known in Greece
since 2000 years ago. The game is widespread in Europe: in Italy it is
called mosca cieca ("The Blind Fly"); in Germany – Blindekuh ("Blind
cow"); in Sweden – Blindbock ("Blind Goat"); in Spain – gallina ciega
("Blind Chicken"); in France – colin-maillard (the name is an allusion to
the medieval battle of French Lord Leuven and a man named Klin who

203
fought with a wooden hammer and was blinded in this battle).19. French
flies is a game for boys in which the participant gets on all fours with his
hat on his back. The task of other players is to jump over the back without
breaking the hat. French Jackie, French tag is a game in the "hole", the
rules lie in the thing that the players stand in a circle except one who is
standing aside, he touches one of the players and takes his place the other
name is a French leap-frog – leap-frog. The idiom English and Scots is
also the name of the children's game, still known as England and
Scotland. The game contains in its conceptual structure familiar to games
of this type distribution "friend/stranger", and reflects the confrontation
between the British and the Scots: Sc. The English And Scots used to be
played by parties of boys, who, divided by a fixed line, endeavoured to
pull one another across this line, or to seize, by body strength or
nimbleness, a 'friend of wad' (the coats or hats of the players) from the
little heap deposited in the different territories at a convenient distance,
Blackw. Mag. (Aug. 1821) 35; the company is parted into two bands. . .
The baggage, or object of spoil, lies behind the line... On the signal being
given, the opposite parties rush forward, and endeavour to seize the spoil.
He who is taken within the line, is carried off as a prisoner . . . and
obtains no relief from captivity unless one of his own party can touch
him . . . unmolested by his assailants (Jam.). Dmf. It [an old tree] never
was the ' dools,' nor the ' bult ' ; nor were the ' outs and ins,' nor the hard
fought game of ' England and Scotland ' ever played about it, Cromek
Remains (1810). A children's game the British and French appeared in
the period of the long-term war with France: colored butterflies or slugs
were considered "own" while white "strangers". Through playing,
children kill white butterflies and snails considering them a symbol of
France: French butterflies, French snails.
Alcohol, food
Glutonyms also contain in their structure reinterpreted xenonyms:
French cream, or French Cream Brandy “whiskey”. In France, there was
a tradition after lunch to drink a cup of coffee with a glass of brandy,
which was added to it instead of cream20. French wheatcakes are the
cakes of coarse flour from buckwheat flour, similar to buns, but less

19
Britannica Online Encyclopedia. URL: www.britannica.com (дата доступу –
11.08.2018).
20
Brewer E. Cobham. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. London, 1894.

204
porous, brown and thin. Because of the climate in the UK buckwheat is
imported from France, so the products of such flour called French
wheatcakes, which can be literally translated as cupcakes from French
wheat. The birthplace of buckwheat is northern India, where it is called
"black rice". In the western spurs of the Himalayas the wild forms of the
plant are concentrated. Buckwheat is bred in the culture more than
5 thousand years ago. In the XVth century BC it penetrated into China,
Korea and Japan, then into the countries of Central Asia, the Middle East,
the Caucasus and only then into Europe (probably during the Mongol
invasion, so it is also called the Tatar plant, Tatar). In France, Belgium,
Spain and Portugal it was once called the Arab grain, in Italy and
Greece – Turkish, and in Germany – simply pagan grain. The Slavs
began to call it Гречаною Greek plant only because it was brought to
them from Byzantium in the VII century21. In the minds of the poles
cygany is a dish that includes grated poppy seeds with boiled potatoes,
where cygany – a kind of potato; niemiec is a dish of peas and butter. The
French salade russe is literally called salad "Olivier", hodgepodge,
whisky soviétique (literally called Soviet whiskey), means a glass of red
wine. In the Ukrainian dialects appear the following names: : польські
борщ [пол'с'к'і боршч] [Polish borshch] "borshch, fried with cracklings":
Бо так за Пол'шчи робили – внутринё сало притовче, шчопоток
вкине муки, капусти. То і йе пол'с'к'і боршч; швед [швед] [Swede]
"the same as shkvarka" – shkvarka, a piece of cooked bacon.
Mode of action
Action semantics of idioms is marked with a quality or value of the
ethnonym. Thus, an idiom to make a French bed, to french a bed is
known to the respondents under the nomination to make an "apple-pie"
bed. The nomination showes, a special, French style of making the bed,
which is called nappes pliees, this method has spread thanks to the
puritans who borrowed it from the French. The apple-pie order
nomination itself has a meaning of a "perfect order" that comes from the
tradition of noticing pies over the days of the week when they have to be
eaten, leaving large ones for the days more work is accounted. The
semantics of deception is manifested in the context of Yorkshire:
Yorkshire miles come "to be deceived"; put, Yorkshire on one "to be

21
Википедия – свободная энциклопедия. URL: www.wikipedia.org (дата
доступу – 10.07.2018).

205
deceived"; to go Yorkshire "deceive someone". Nominations that embody
social stereotypes include Welsh-main, which has two meanings: 1) fight;
2) the method of voting, in which applicants are gradually eliminated
until there are two, for which they vote again.
Qualifiers
Evaluative semantics in the context of ethnonyms often emphasizes
the extreme degree of connotation – either very good or very bad. This is
due to the attempt to find differences in the "strange" nation, to
emphasize the way out of the "own" norm.
Here are examples of nominations related to the bottom of the
evaluation scale, for example, make one French is used as an expression
of contempt, or denotes something very bad, problematic: It seems to
mean, quite generally and individually, as bad as bad can be. Any
extreme provocation, severe disappointment, or keen distress is enough to
make one French!. Weed that boys smoke while playing is called French
tobacco.
Cheap foreign goods are known under the name Cheap Germans:
Cheap Germans would by their superior cheapness have rendered the
business a nullity. Nomination Turk accumulates the semantics of
something big, used as an intensifier: They have been a-gaying together
this turk of a while in foreign parts; There's a turk of a rat. Speaking of
unpleasant feelings or itching the metaphorical expression a Welshman's
hug (literally embrace of the Wales inhabitant). is used. Something very
small in size, but able to work hard in English linguoculture is
differentiated as like the Welshman's cow (literally like a cow of a
Welshman).
Objects and quality of material culture
The artifactual semantics of matches is primarily associated with the
Germans: (i) German Congreves, Lucifer matches: Congreves were a
predecessor of the Lucifer matches. The splints were dipped in sulphur
and then tipped with the chlorate of potash paste, in which gum was
substituted for sugar, and there was added a small quantity of antimony
sulphide. The match was ignited by drawing it through a fold of
sandpaper under pressure. The matches were banned in France and
Germany, because they were considered dangerous22. Ethnonyms can

22
Probert Encyclopaedia. URL: http://www.probertencyclopaedia.com (дата
доступу – 10.07.2018).

206
also be used in order to qualify the material culture: Turk on Turk "The
name of a certain kind of material for making nets": For any one who's
making wabs, It would be little work; To add some five or six plies of
good Turk on on Turk; The last new bits o ' furniture they have been
getting it may be a Turk-on-Turk bed or a new piano; He would put his
head through their Turk-on-Turk hangings. A special kind of outerwear is
called "Turkish Fly", because of its bright red color: My Coat was what is
called a Turkish Fly, in red velvet, cut off like a waistcoat, with a peak
before and behind. The slate of three to two feet is called Welsh-rags.
Flat stones which are used for the manufacture of road coverings are
called Yorkshire flags. Stone for aggravation of the guns in the English
consciousness is associated with Norway. In this case we can observe the
conversion: A kind of stone, cut into a long finger-like shape. It is never
to be confounded with a whetstone. The latter is a rough grindstone grit
for sharpening scythes, while a norway is finer in grain, more of the
texture of a hone or oil-stone, but is used dry. Nomination polka, also
found in the form of polky [polka] has two lexical-semantic variants:
1. women's jacket Shu grippid da needle in her teeth an' Poo'd her oot o'
da Brest o' da polka–a auld ane o' Girzzie's; Shu artist aff her wincey
polka, an' pat on a white slug oot her waests. 2. cotton skirt, clothes of
factory workers. Artifactual semantics has also been implemented in the
nomination American rake "equipment for raking the hay."
From the stereotype theory point of view as to the conceptualization
of folk foreign nationality representations, the one of Jews in the areas
of Cornwall and Devon is indicative. These stories emphasize the
negative attitude of Jews to the nation as a whole. According to some
legends, the ghosts of the workers in the mines are the souls of the Jews
who worked in the tin mines in this region. Other legends say that these
are the souls of those Jews who crucified Jesus, and then were
condemned to hard labor in the mines as slaves by the Roman Emperor.
Such associations arise on the basis of historical facts-after the conquest
of England by the Normans under the leadership of William the
Conqueror, the tin mines were given by the official charters signed by
the English kings (for example, King John) to the Jews into rent. As a
result, in the language of the region emerged such terms: Jews' bowels
"small pieces of molten tin", which can be seen in ancient products;
Jews' houses "very old places for melting"; Jews' leavings "the remains

207
of the mines"; Jews' pieces of old blocks of tin 23. Thanks to the coal
mines housed on the territory of Wales, there was a nomination "Welsh",
which denotes the building for coal storage.
As noted above, the semantics of "strange" is always stereotyped.
So, for the British something foreign is marked as "French" with the
meaning of new, foreign, not English, strange, unusual, rare, unusual
beauty: Applied to any new invention. A new pattern in forks or spoons,
though imported from America, would be called French.
In the language of Ukrainian dialects on the designation of artifacts
common "Gypsy", "Jewish", "Polish" and "Swedish" cultural motifs:
циганник [Gypsy], жидок – "folding knife"; циганчук [Gypsy],
циганник "large homemade knife with a wooden handle": Колйс' був в
мене циганчук... Ото ниж!; швед [швед], сведер: Од'їла шведа да й
пушла; ляшок [л'ашок]; ляшок [Pole] " the sheaves that are put together
and covered with a "cap" to dry", " pile of sheaves made up in a form of a
cross in order to dry": Просохне жито в л'ашков'і, то пот'ім ставим
копи.; жидел "liquid measure in Galicia": zhydel of beer. Zhyd [Jew]
"missed place in the field while worked by hand".
Weather
The scope of unfavorable weather conditions is implemented in the
context of the Welshmen and the Gypsies: Welshmen plucking their
geese, proverb is used to describe heavy snowfalls with a piercing wind; ;
рум [рум] рому "thunder": Тут рум не вдарит.
Family relationships
Nomination American widow belongs to the conceptual sphere of
marriage, and is used to indicate the woman, whose husband went to
America to earn money.
In an English speaking environment distant relationship is
accumulated in the expression Welsh-aunt or – uncle "great-aunt or uncle".
This idiom absorbs the family semantics with an inherent taxonomic
opposition of own/strange, where the distribution done into relatives (those
who live together at the same territory) and distant (strangers, living far
away, in a foreign side, perhaps in the enemy place). In the French
language tradition, this taxonomy is implemented in the idiom un cousin
(un parent) à la mode de Bretagne. Here the division into friends/strangers
is based on the opposition of French and Bretons. When indicating that

23
Wright E. M. Rustic Speech and Folk lore. London, 1913. P. 342.

208
someone is à la mode de Bretagne, a relation to a distant relative who is
given the name of close relatives, aunt or uncle is implied. This expression
depicts a much closer relationship between relatives in the Breton families,
than in families in the rest of France. Less often this nomination is used to
illustrate the connection between two things.
Space
The conceptual opposition of long/short in the context of distance is
implemented in the nomination Yorkshire-mile "a little more than a mile".
Spatial characteristics is seen the lexeme Norlander where two
components North + lander are connected. We observe the typical for
dialect vocabulary suffixal truncation of th. The lexeme is used to refer to
any inhabitant of the land that is North of a certain area: They met with a
bold Norlander of Aberdeenshire. Indicative nomination "Norlan ' Nettie
is used to designate a woman, a resident of the highlands, which
exchanges wool for small clothes.
Plants
Ethnic senses which occur in the composition of the phytonimic
nominations, very often conceptualize dangerous qualities. Thus, the
poisonous plant French broom the common laburnum, Cilisus Laburnum
"buckthorn", another name of which is Old Lad pea-codes (w.Yks.) –
secretes toxic substance cytisine, which in large quantities paralyzes the
сentral nervous system, causing seizures and respiratory collapses24.
French furze, another name -gorse, Ulex europaeus is a bush with yellow
flowers, has leaves in the shape of thorns. The lexeme gorse comes from
the old English gors, gorst, with the Indo-European root meaning "rough,
prickly". French grass, Orbexilum onobrychis a plant from the legumes
family. Up to 80 species are known to grow wild in Central and southern
Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. These are herbs and small
bushes with thorns. In the Ukrainian dialects there is a nomination
Польський гриб [Polish mushroom], field mushrooms Agaricus vernalis
are called жидки (Jewish mushrooms); жидівка [a Jewish woman], bot.
a chanterelle :» Вчора назб'ірау ц'іли кошик жидовок. The ethnonym
румун [Romanian] is translated into English as Italian camomilla,
German chamomile, Hungarian chamomile (kamilla), it is a wild
chamomile or scented mayweed, is an annual plant of the composite

24
Токсикология ядовитых растений. URL: http://www.cnshb.ru/AKDiL/0045/
base/k0260028.shtm3 (дата доступу – 10.07.2010).

209
family Asteraceae. M. chamomilla; жидок – a flower called Tagetes.
Жидівські груші (Jew pears) Physalis alkekengi in the minds of
Ukrainians is one of the species of physalis, Physalis alkekengi, which is
known for its red lanterns and is used as an ornamental plant with
inedible fruits. Flagroot, a plant with a strong, intoxicating scent in the
language picture of the Ukrainian dialect is metaphorically called
жидівські лепехи або татарське зілля Jewish or Tatar herbs. The
leaves of green onions is given the name of татарка [a Tatar woman]:
Іди нашчипай татарок.
Animals
The ethnonym poland, in English dialects functions as
xenonomination, and is used to speak of hornless cows. In Ukrainian
dialects we meet the nomination of the same type прус German] «a
cockroach of the black or brown color»; прусак [German] «a cockroach»:
Йак завидутса прусак'і, то ради нихто ни дас'т'. The folk etymology
of dialect conceptualizes the black grouse in татарчук [Tatar]. The
insect hornet is metaphorically imagined as a швед [Swede]. Жидок –
Harpalus rufipes (Deg.) is a hairy ground beetle a grain pest. Another
meaning of the lexeme is a small ant, which is found in houses. Жидівка
or жидівська курка [Jewdish hen] – «a partridge».

CONCLUSIONS
This paper represents the ethnic specificity of the language
categorization of the world studying on the material of Ukrainian,
English, French and Polish languages experience a comprehensive
comparative analysis of the ethnocultural archetypic representations and
stereotypes of traditional national consciousness, represented by the
author in Ukrainian, English, French and Polish languages within the
relevant thematic areas.
Therefore, it is possible to conclude that in the language of the
"strange" the image is manifested through ethnonimic (xenomotivated)
lexemes, which reflect the "strange" world and are motivated by some
case situations that the ethnic group had to face in the course of history.
Ethnic picture of the world viewed through the prism of lexicology and
phraseology rises as a part of the national consciousness, and is realized
in folklore and mythology, which are closely intertwined with reality.
The study of the linguistic world categorization mechanism,
conducted on the basis of a comparative semantic study of two or more

210
national languages, makes it possible to reveal the originality of the
perception and knowledge of the world by different nations and the
nature of its reflection in the ethno-cultural features of the linguistic
sign semantics. The semantic space of each language is determined by
the presence of universal and ethnospecific conceptual structures that
shape the image of the national culture and act as an enocultural
identifier.
One of the main conceptual structures conducting the semiotic
mechanism of language ethnos and culture interaction is the
stereotypes of traditional folk consciousness and ethno-cultural
archetypal ideas that have a dual nature: they function as concepts,
being components of an ethnic conceptual world view, and are
represented in the national language, being components of the language
picture of the world.
The stereotypes of traditional folk consciousness and ethnocultural
archetypal ideas, realized in language through the development of lexical
polysemy, stable comparisons, metaphors and traditional folk symbols,
being the basis of linguistic units cultural connotations, reflect the
characteristics of the collective consciousness of peoples, contribute to
the identification of universal and national-specific features of the
worldview of one or another ethnic group.

SUMMARY
The article deals with problem of “strange” which is one of the
fundamental problems in modern semantics and particularly actual in
connection with social and cultural linguistic processes. Such language
units can function as separate lexemes and be part of phraselogical units.
“Strange” image is realized in ethnonyms or xenophobic nominations.
National and cultural stereotypes are seen as the main model of ethnonym
nominations formation. Stereotype is understood as a culture-specific
cognitive phenomenon: a system of (conscious or unconscious) beliefs
concerning an entity or a situation of a given kind, that is shared by
representatives of a certain culture. This system includes beliefs
concerning those properties of human beings that may vary across
nations, such as appearance, language, food, habits, values etc.

211
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Information about the author:

Palchevska O. S.
Ph.D.,
Associate Professor at the Department
of Foreign Languages and Translation Studies,
Lviv State University of Life Safety
35, Kleparivska str., Lviv, 79007, Ukraine

213
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/214-231

INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE
OF THE EVALUATION CATEGORY

Prihodko G. I.

INTRODUCTION
The essence of the category of evaluation is elucidated by the theory
of value direction of person’s activity and consciousness, and the scope of
its features embraces all that is given by the physical and mental nature of
individual, his being and feelings1. The values’ model of the world is
arranged through the structure of the cultural universals, i.e. a set of
interrelated universal concept, which can be expressed by different
language means.
Evaluation is a crucial constituent of cognition, which is based on a
value approach to the phenomena of environment and society2.
Individual’s activity and life as of a human being having different needs,
wishes, interests and aims is impossible without assessment. All objects
of reality perceived by man have a certain value in our minds, that is, they
may be estimated.
Many attempts have been made to investigate the quintessence of the
evaluation category in present-day linguist studies. The functional
semantics of evaluation has been thoroughly examined by Martin &
White3, Volf4. Evaluation speech comprehension and its pragmatic
significance have been analysed by Bigunova5, Myroniuk 20176,
Prihodko7,8.
1
Byessonova O. Reconstruction of Value Concepts in the Language Model of the
World. Part I: Lingustics, Translation and Cultural Studies. 2012. Pp. 7–14.
2
White P.R.R. Appraisal Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Language and
Social Interaction. 2015. Pp. 1–8.
3
Martin J.R., White P.R.R.. The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. New
York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 278 p.
4
Вольф Е.М. Функциональная семантика оценки. М.: Едиториал УРСС, 2009. 280 с.
5
Бігунова Н.О. Позитивна оцінка: Від когнітивного судження до
комунікативного висловлювання. Одеса: КП ОМД, 2017. 580 с.
6
Myroniuk T. Evaluative Responses in Modern English Fiction. Advanced Education.
2017. Vol. 8. Pp. 103–108.
7
Prihodko A. Cognitive-communicative organization of the evaluative frame. Lege
Artis. 2016. Vol. 1(1). Pp. 275–308.

214
 Nevertheless, there are certain gaps in researching of the inter-
disciplinary character of evaluation. The importance of the present paper is
determined by the fact that the evaluative cognitive process and evaluation
speech realization require a further development. In the presented
conception, the category of evaluation is interpreted as the chief cognitive
and communicative category that shows a relationship with pragmatic
social linguistic characteristics of the communicants and establishes their
speech behavior, serving as the initial point of a speech act.
The subject of the discussion is the representation of the evaluation
category as a universal linguistic phenomenon. The purpose of this piece
of writing is to determine the position and functions of evaluation in the
process of manifestation and perception of the objective reality.
The material, which is subjected to analysis, is a selection of
approximately 550 utterances of the works by contemporary British, and
American writers. The principle of the selection was the existence (direct
or indirect) of evaluative seme in words of the utterance.
The methodology that is in use in the study is Appraisal theory,
which presents a essential notions for the linguistic analysis.
Concentrating chiefly on semantic peculiarities of evaluation, this theory
expands the boundaries of the analysis with discourse semantics. It means
that all components of communication (register, mood, participants with
their communicative purposes and cognitive systems) become very
significant for the study of creating and targeting assessment. In this
respect, the theoretical standpoint important to the study is also the
pragmatic approach to evaluation analysis9;10;11 focusing on the function
of extralinguistic knowledge in utterance explanation and the principles
that restrict its use as well as on the context types for appraisal.
This research involved a variety of methods. A descriptive method,
by which we mean a set of research techniques that allow one to move
from particular observations to generalizations and conclusions is widely
used; methods of contextual and presuppositional analyzes, allowing to

8
Prihodko G. Specific Nature of Evaluative Speech Acts. Advanced Education. 2018.
Vol. 9. Pp. 201–205.
9
Арутюнова Н.Д. Логический анализ языка. Адресация дискурса. Москва:
Индрик, 2012. 511 с.
10
Приходько Г.І. Категорія оцінки в контексті зміни лінгвістичних парадигм.
Запоріжжя: Кругозір, 2016. 200 с.
11
Вольф Е. М. Функциональная семантика оценки. М.: Едиториал УРСС, 2009.
280 с.

215
detect the influence of the role structure of the communication situation,
social factors on the communicative semantics and functional features of
utterances with evaluative words and phrases. Speech act analysis is used
while studying the pragmatic characteristics of utterances containing
evaluative concepts.

1. Assessment and Values

The category of evaluation is a rather popular point of linguistic
analysis. It is known that the essence of the category of evaluation is
clarified by the theory of value orientation of person’s activity and
awareness, and the set of its characteristics embraces all that is given
by the physical and mental nature of the individual, his being, mood
and feeling. Evaluation is defined as speaker’s objective or subjective
attitude to a certain object, which is explicitly or implicitly expressed
by language means.12
Appraisal is as a type of cognitive activity, as in epistemological
terms, any cognitive act expresses the attitude of the speaker to the thing
described, that is, contains an act of evaluation.13 We can’t but mention
the problem of reasons of evaluation. From the viewpoint of Ananko,
motives of assessment and assessment itself don't have a direct
connection, though they are in a eternal empirical interrelation in the
consciousness of individuals14.
Values are determined by certain needs in different periods of life.
Thus, evaluation is seen as a cognitive process, which presupposes the
use of two kinds of knowledge: the knowledge of the estimated object
and the knowledge of the evaluator's own inner needs, desires and
requirements.
Human being’s activity is a pragmatic concept. It is appropriate only
when it is aimed at those phenomena and things from which it is possible
to get something useful, practical and valuable.
Evaluation by its nature is anthropocentric, it means that the contents
of evaluation expose human nature and depend on the values and

12
Приходько Г.І. Категорія оцінки в контексті зміни лінгвістичних парадигм
.Запоріжжя: Кругозір, 2016. 200 с.
13
Breeze R., Olza I. Evaluation in media discourse. European perspectives. Berlin:
Peter Lang, 2017. 286 p.
14
Ananko T. The Category of Evaluation in Political Discourse. Advanced Education.
2017. Vol. 8. Pp. 128–137.

216
axiological standards of the society and an individual.15 It should be noted
that evaluation is characterized by selectivity. It means that it takes out
and preserves the features that are essential from an evaluation
individual’s point of view.
One and the same thing can be of interest to one person and can
leave another person uninterested. From a huge amount of various items,
people assess those, which are important for them at a given moment and
those that provoke their feelings. If an object does not influence the
person’s attention, no evaluation will be created: neither in the mind, nor
in communication.
Evaluation is based on the logical notion of “value”. Values are
based on perceptions and observations of a definite object and
phenomenon. Values can be considered as one of the means of
categorization on the foundation of assessment, and the outer reality can
be portrayed as a hierarchy of values.16
Origin of the notion of "value", if we resort to reconstructing it on
the basis of the etymology of the words it is named, fixes in it at least
three key elements. They are the following: the characterization of the
external properties of objects and things as phenomena of evaluative
attitude to them; psychological qualities of the human being as a subject
of this attitude; relations between people, their communication, due to
which values obtain a universal meaning.
Value is a positive or negative property of the objects of the
surrounding world for the speaking community. This significance of these
properties is determined not by the objects’ characteristics as such, but by
their function in the life of an individual language speaker and in the life
of the speaking community in general.17
Each of the classes of values combines the basic meaning of value its
material-objective, psychological and social significance. By recognizing
the natural properties of objects and reproducing their value, a person
reveals certain features of social relations, because the importance of a thing
or phenomenon is determined primarily by the social attitude towards them.

15
White P.R.R. Appraisal Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Language and
Social Interaction. 2015. Pp. 1–8.
16
Wang Y., Xu J. The interrelation between evaluative categories and evaluated
items. Linguistics and the Human sciences. 2013. Vol. 8 (1). Pp. 29–61.
17
Partington A. Evaluative clash, evaluative cohesion and how we actually read
evaluation in texts. Journal of Pragmatics. 2017. Vol. 117. Pp. 190–203.

217
 There exist universal values (common to all humanity, peculiar to
individual communities) and individual ones. Being a concentrated
expression of the vital activity’ experience of a particular social
community values form a certain scheme, which an individual as a
member of this society adheres to in the course of self-evaluation.
Personal values are an individual manifestation of group or universal
values. They are somewhat unlike in different people, due to the
interpretation of their content and the shift of accents. The selection,
appropriation and assimilation of social values by an individual are
explained by his social identity and the values of the small contact groups
referenced to him.
The subject of assessment acts in these cases as a mental or physical
receptor, evaluating event, situation, thing and object from the point of
view of different ranges: ethical evaluation (embarrassing, humiliating,
sinful), emotional (boring), intellectual (foolish), utilitarian (meaningless,
late) and psychological (difficult, easy, not easy, wise). This highlights
the most important feature of evaluative phenomena i.e. the diffusion of
their meanings, which is primarily conditioned by the ability to present
appraisal in terms various reasons.

2. Cognitive and Pragmatic Nature of Evaluation

Evaluation is an essential component of a person’s everyday life. We
assess others and are evaluated in accordance with our actions and words.
People evaluate their past and present, appearance and behavior of the
individual, the shape and size of various subjects, things, duration and
frequency of events, the degree of complexity of tasks, etc.18. Evaluative
interpretation of circumstances, subjects is one of the most important
types of mental-speech activity in everyday life of a human being.
Evaluation is always cognitive in its nature, and hence logical-subject.
Evaluative and epistemological functions of the language are closely
interrelated and interconnected.19 In addition, at the same time, they are
equal, as in the process of appraisal, cognition is transformed, and in the
process of cognition, evaluation is always present.

18
Bednarek, M. Dimensions of evaluation: Cognitive and linguistic perspectives.
Pragmatics and Cognition. 2009. Vol. 17(1). Pp. 146–175.
19
White P. Evaluative contents in verbal communication. Verbal communication.
2016. Pp. 77–96.

218
 The correlation between cognition and evaluation is very complex. It
belongs to the field of cognitive linguistics, the problems of which cover
the nature of the procedures that control and structure the speech
perception. As a result, the cognitive approach based on the interaction of
language and thinking is the most appropriate for the examination of the
evaluation category, because it studies it in the context of human
cognitive activity.
Evaluation is a process that is characteristic of any science. This is
confirmed by the fact that value orientation in many cases contributed to the
progress of a whole range of directions not only in the linguistic field, but
also in computer technology, genetic engineering, and many other areas.20 It
indicates stable incorporation of scientific knowledge within the cognitive
paradigm that was formed as interdisciplinary (cognitive) science.
The cognitive process of assessment, including in the general program
of human activity, is decision-making-oriented, and is the foundation of the
choice of practical actions. A person as a subject of linguistic activity is an
individual who perceives and comprehends the world, and is capable of
evaluating speech facts in his day-to-day speech practice.
Human activity is a pragmatic concept. It is appropriate only when it
is directed at those phenomena and properties from which it is possible to
obtain something useful and valuable. As rightly remarks Arutyunova,
the nature of the evaluation always corresponds to the nature of man,
because we evaluate only “what is needed (physically and spiritually) to
man and to Mankind”.21
The communicative aspect of linguistics is relatively young, but is
actively developing. It puts the focus not only on the language in the
inseparable unity of its form and substance, but also on higher unity,
namely, the connection between language and person who acts in the real
world, thinks and perceives the environment, communicates with other
individuals.
It should be noted that when we talk about the communicative aspect
of mastery of language or language skills, we mean, above all, the
orientation to the interlocutor. Hence, communication is the optimal

20
White P.R.R. Appraisal Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Language and
Social Interaction. 2015. Pp. 1–8.
21
Арутюнова Н.Д. Логический анализ языка. Адресация дискурса. Москва:
Индрик, 2012. 511 с.

219
influence on the interlocutor in the form of intercourse, exchange of
thoughts, information, ideas, etc.
Therefore, it can be asserted that the notion of language began to be
understood more widely than it was inherent in structural and generative
linguistics. Triad form – meaning – function correlates language with extra
lingual activities and with the conditions of its use in human activities.
Multidimensionality, of language system allows it to be
simultaneously turned to the external reflected reality and to the sphere of
human mentality. Achieving any pragmatic goals is impossible without
communication, so the latter is perhaps the most important condition of
person’s activity and life itself. Verbal communication is carried out
through a language, which is both a form and a means of communication.
The communicative purpose put forward by the speaker is to convey to
the listener his point of view, to convince him of the possibility and
legitimacy of precisely this, and not another vision of the word in the best
possible way. The image of the word, which is stored in the linguistic
consciousness of the individual, is revealed in emotional and aesthetic
evaluations.
The close connection between the speaker's evaluation and his
knowledge of the world is confirmed by the fact that in the utterance an
evaluation can find its expression in the characterization of certain events,
objects, phenomena that have a positive / negative evaluative significance
for a particular social group or society as a whole.
Functional orientation of evaluative utterances is caused by the fact that
the speaker uses language means as a device for his own intrusion into a
speech act, as an expression of his thoughts, his attitude and his evaluation,
the expression of relations he establishes between himself and the listener.
It is the evaluative-communicative function of the language, which is
opposed to the representative (or conceptual) one. Modern linguists
express similar opinion and emphasize on the necessity for a functional-
cognitive approach to the study of the category of evaluation.
So, the notion of “function” is essential in the study of linguistic
units: “this is ... the ability to perform a certain purpose, the potential of
functioning (in a reduced form), and at the same time the realization of
this ability, that is, the result, the purpose of functioning”22. Functional

22
Бондарко А.В. Основы функциональной грамматики: Языковая интерпретация
идеи времени. СПб.: Изд-во С. – Петерб. ун-та, 1999. 260 с.

220
principle allows to see evaluative utterances in their “actions”, reflecting
positive or negative values, attributed to the subject of the object of
assessment.
The possibility of verbal communication is always realized in a
particular situation, in a certain context, which is an internal characteristic
of communication. The communicative aspect of the language means the
existence of a unified structure of the linguistic units, bound by the
connection of meaningful and formal sides.
It becomes apparent that the communicative approach involves
interweaving with the cognitive approach. In this regard, the functioning
of evaluative utterances acquires special significance, because the
evaluation of various fragments of the world is one of the most important
components of individual’s cognitive activity.

3. Biocognitive Dimensions of Evaluation

Modern stage of linguistics is characterized by coordination of
various scientific opinions regarding its object – language. With all the
differences in the interpretation of natural language dominant directions
converge that this phenomenon can be understood and explained only by
considering it as an integral part of the cognitive system, i.e. all of the
structures and mechanisms that combine to provide cognitive and
intellectual person’s activity.
Within the cognitive approach category of knowledge is considered
the key one. It combines knowledge of the world and language system.
This focus of linguistic research makes problems of solving linguistic
semantics in terms of categorization and conceptualization of cognitive
processes of surrounding reality particularly urgent.
The fundamental principles of cognitive field of the first generation
were questioned and main principles of cognitive science of the second
generation (as it is conventionally called by Lakoff and Johnson)23 were
worked out. Cognition is seen by scholars as the activities of the human
body, carried out in the course of interaction with the environment in
order to adapt to the environment for survival and reproduction.
It is very important to note that this thesis and other postulates
formulated by Lakoff and Johnson were reflected in biocognitive theory

23
Lakoff G., Johnson M. Metaphors we live by. London: University of Chicago Press,
2003. 276 p.

221
developed by Chilean neurobiologists Maturana and Varela. Researches
proposed an interesting conception of living systems, based on the
principle of living systems are studying systems, and life is a process of
cognition.
In other words, an attempt was made to find an explanation for the
phenomenon of knowledge as an effective action, which enables a living
organism to continue its existence in certain environment. In addition,
scientists emphasize that the center of any knowledge is observer.24
This complex representation is considered as a structural unit of the
experience / memory, or concept. In other words, concept is a set of
representations of interactions with the object or objects (non-linguistic
and linguistic), characterized by the causal dependency and promotes
effective adaptation of the organism to its environment.
During his development, a person, like human society as a whole,
discovers the reality, receives new knowledge about the world, in a
certain way organizes them and correlates with the already known.
Processes of conceptualization and categorization are of particular
importance for the systematization and updating of the received
knowledge, for their successful application in different situations.
The specificity of conceptualization consists in comprehension of
received information, the thoughtful construction of objects and
phenomena, which leads to the formation of certain ideas about the world
(concepts); while categorization is a mental act that organizes,
systematizes and selects representations of interactions in human
consciousness, which reduces the infinite variety of individual to an
appreciable number of units. Together they represent a complex mental
process, aiming at the effective incorporation of a human being into the
surrounding environment.
Evaluative conceptualization is an appraisal of objects of the
surrounding world and as a result the formation of evaluative concepts in
our consciousness. Evaluative categorization is a grouping of objects and
phenomena by the nature of their evaluation in accordance with the
evaluative classes and categories, as well as the mental correlation of an
object with a certain category.
Evaluative concepts define the content of the evaluative categories
and serve as the cognitive basis for their formation. The nature and

24
Maturana H., Varela F. The Tree of Human Understanding. Boston, 1987. 224 p.

222
structure of the evaluative categories are largely determined by the
system of quantitative and individual values of an individual. The specific
nature of the evaluative categorization and its main difference from
natural categorization is in the fact that the basis of these two processes
lies in different ways of perceiving the surrounding reality, natural and
evaluative worldviews.
Each person has a unique experience of adaptation to the
environment; hence, the set of representations and concepts of causal
relations is also to some extent unique. In this connection, it is lawful to
talk about the individual level in the structure of the concept.
However, a man lives in a certain society, which is a part of his
niche. The existence of an individual directly depends on the interactions
with other individuals, as they orientate him on his effective behavior in a
specific situation. In this regard, it is possible to speak about social and
national levels of concept.
Cognitive patterns that exist in the person’s mind, are diverse
according the channels of incoming information, or, in terms of the
biological approach, they are formed because of different kinds of
interactions with elements of the niche. Therefore, we can distinguish the
concepts of sensory perception of the world and concepts of mediate
knowledge.
From the angle of the biocognitive approach, the conceptual
worldview can be defined as the totality of concepts or complex
representations present in the person’ mind. They reflect the collective
experience of direct and indirect interaction with the environment25. This
conceptual system itself is the object of interaction.
The evaluation category is an important element of the conceptual
worldview, since the notions of positive and negative, good and evil,
beauty and ugliness, moral and immoral are inherent in any culture, any
social system.
At the same time, in the minds of the possessor of each language, the
image of the world is created by a combination of linguistic universals and
the special functioning of linguistic signs, which reflect the national
worldview. In the language worldview important fragments of reality which
are important for people are recorded by means of different symbols.

25
Кравченко А.В. Знак, значение, знание: очерк когнитивной философии языка.
Иркутск: Иркутская областная типография № 1, 2001. 261 с.

223
 It must be noted that the objective reality, judgments about it, its
evaluative characteristics and the subjective attitude to it of the members
of this society are represented in the interaction of different language
means of expression.
Thus, we consider the evaluative concept as an independent mental
formation characterized by cultural specificity. Verbalizing, this concept
enters the conceptual and language worldview of a certain linguocultural
community, and can be recognized as their structural and fundamental
element. The reason for this is the thesis that the evaluation, being a
feature inherent in any culture, participates in the formation of an
evaluative worldview.

4. Interconnection of Context and Evaluative Utterance

One of the manifestations of the interdisciplinary nature of the
evaluation category is its connection with the context. This fact is
highlights by many linguists26, 27 who emphasize the dynamic correlation
between evaluative utterances and context. Our understanding of the
context is based on its pragmatic interpretation, because “the notion of
pragmatic context is a theoretical and cognitive abstraction of a variety of
physical, biological, and other situations”28.
The pragmatic context provides information on the conditions under
which not only the utterance is perceived, but also gives rise to expectations
regarding the probable objectives of the participants, and therefore,
relatively possible speech acts that can be carried out in this situation.
In other words, the pragmatic context, which serves to express the
meaning of the utterance in the speech, is formed by a set of subordinate
contexts: linguistic, stylistic, paralinguistic, situational, cultural, and
psychological. It is within the framework of the pragmatic context the
transition in the usage and perception of the utterance from the level of
meaning to the level of sense, in particular pragmatic, takes place. This
approach to understanding the context is appropriate, as for the study of
the realization of the evaluative potential, knowledge of all conditions
under which it occurs is required.

26
Fedoriv Ya. Speaking to the global audience: A case study into the message
transformation. Lege artis. Language yesterday, today, tomorrow. 2016. Vol. I (2). Pp. 1–36.
27
Kecskes I. Intercultural Pragmatics. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2013.
277 р.
28
Dijk, T.A. van Text and Context. L.: Longman, 1977. 260 р.

224
 Context gives an opportunity to expose their hidden potential.
Linguistic units encode previous experience and former contexts of the
use of a given phrase or expression. In the act of communication, the old
collides with the actual one.
The genuine communicative meaning is generated because of a clash
in the coded lexical units of the “old”, previous contexts and the actual
situational context in which this utterance is used. The individual contexts
of the speaker and hearer, encoded in the same terms based on personal
experiences or in the same linguistic expressions, often differ.
All said above gave opportunity to establish three types of
interconnection between the context and evaluative utterance:
1) the context influences the evaluative utterance, changing the
character of the evaluation;
2) the evaluative utterance affects the context by adding the
evaluative component to its structure;
3) the mutual influence of the evaluated utterance and context.
Consider the mechanism of mutual influence of the context and the
evaluative utterance in detail.
In the first type of interdependence, two variants are possible –
negative and positive.
In a negative context, an evaluative utterance (positive or negative)
has a negative connotation. If, there are no semes with negative
evaluation in the lexemes that are part of the utterance, they are added to
the semantic structure of words under the influence of the context:
(1) “Poor little rich girl”, I said savagely”29.
In this utterance, the lexeme little is undoubtedly has evaluative
seme, but the word poor is perceived more vividly, in contrast to the
word rich, although it is not its antonym in this context. The negativity of
the entire context is predetermined by the use of the word savagely
(fiercely, roughly), which, in contrast to the word little, serves rather to
express the intensity of the evaluation than to qualify its character It also
contributes to the appearance of negative-evaluative impulses in the
semantic structure of the words that make up this utterance.
Here is another example that illustrates the impact of context on the
mark of evaluation:

29
Christie A. Endless Night. L.: Publ. by Collins, 1967. 224 p.

225
 (2) “How nice to you, Cindy told him with pseudo-sweetness that it's
not just dull old delegations who come to you with problems”30.
The word old deprived of its nominative meaning, serves here to
express the negative qualification of the subject of the utterance
(disapproval, ridicule), which is revealed as a result of its use next to the
lexeme dull (boring annoying), which expresses negative evaluation.
It is necessary to mention that the ironic use of nice is restrained in the
same way, which is emphasized by the usage of the word pseudo-sweetness
and the plural of noun delegations in the meaning of the singular.
In a positive context, an evaluative utterance with a neutral or negative
evaluation acquires positive connotation, adding to its semantic structure
semes of occasional positive evaluation under the influence of the context.
It takes place because some pejoratives in a certain context may
express the opposite evaluation due to their ambivalence. In these cases,
the descriptive semantic features of words do not agree with their
evaluative trait:
(3) “Listen. Listen, you little fool! You deserve a hundred lashes. Are
you going to ruin things now by mindless stupid jealousy? І'm here I love
you, you are my wife”31.
In this utterance the negatively colored words fool, stupid, jealousy
are used to enhance the pragmatic effect of the positive evaluation. This
becomes possible due to the fact that the positive context indicates the
unreasonableness of the addressee’s disturbance.
In the second case, it is possible to distinguish two types of
interaction between the context and the evaluative utterance:
1) the context (neutral or positive) combines in the utterance lexemes
with negative-evaluative semes, under the influence of which the context
becomes negative:
(4) “Opening it (the door), I beheld a handsomely ugly face, animal
and engaging”32 .
In this utterance, we observe a combination of an objective
characteristic of a person, expressed with the help of the adjective ugly,
and emotionally-subjective expressed by the adverb handsomely.

30
Hailey A. Airport. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1968. 440 p.
31
Murdoch I. The Sacred and Profane Love Machine. N. Y.: Viking Press, 1974. 374 p.
32
McInnes C. City of Spades. N. Y.: Macmillan, 1958. 255 p.

226
 The phrase of this type is not always an oxymoron in the
conventional sense because the lexemes that make it up are not
necessarily antonyms. Their peculiarity is precisely in the fact that a
word, which usually expresses a positive characteristic of a phenomenon
or object, is used here to convey a negative evaluation.
2) the context (neutral or negative) due to the words with positive
meaning in its structure reflects the positive sense of the utterance:
(5) “Old friend of my fаthеr's. Said it was good to have me
abroad”33.
The change in the evaluative perspective occurs under the influence
of the general-evaluative predicate good the semantic structure of which
contains semes of positive evaluation. The change in the estimated
perspective occurs under the influence of the general-estimated good
predicate, which contains seven positive assessments.
It should be noted that the change in the speaker's opinion about the
object of evaluation is influenced by the fact that integrated speech is
incorporated into the direct speech as an evaluative element of the whole
utterance.
In the third case, an interaction between the evaluative utterance and
the context is observed.
The utterance contains appraisers with only positive semes in their
semantic structure, and appraisers with only negative-evaluative semes.
Interacting with the context, such utterance contributes to its
transformation into a negative one (that is, the first two variants of the
mutual influence of the evaluative utterance and the context seem to be
combined here):
(6) “I left them working, the car looking disgraced and empty with the
engine open and parts spread on the work bench, and went in under the
shed and looked at each of the cars. They were moderately clean, a few
freshly washed, the others dusty ... I looked at the tires carefully, looking for
cuts or stone bruises. Everything seemed in good condition. It evidently
made no difference whether I was there to look after things or not”34 .
Describing the state of military equipment, the author uses words
(epithets) with both a negative evaluation (disgraced, empty, dusty) and
positive one (clean, freshly, good), which, interacting within the

33
Vonnegut K. jr. Player Piano. N. Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952. 295 p.
34
Hemingway E. A Farewell to Arms. M.: Progress Publishers, 1976. 320 p.

227
boundaries of the context, determine its negative perception. The
negativity here is also emphasized by the last phrase of the utterance,
which shows the hero’s indifferent attitude to the phenomenon described.
It is impossible to overlook the fact that in this situation variants also
are distinguished. If an utterance contains words with the positive
evaluation, and the context conveys the negative one, then due to their
interaction, the weakening of the negative evaluation of the context and
the positive evaluation of the utterance takes place. Moreover, on the
contrary, if the utterance includes words with the negative evaluation, and
the context is positive (such cases are much less common than the
previous ones), then the result of their interaction is the same – there is a
weakening of both evaluative meanings.

CONCLUSIONS
The interpretation of the evaluation as a universal category of
intellection and language reflects the multifaceted and contradictory
nature of the evaluative semantics, which consists in generalizing
reference of the evaluative function, “secondariness” of its nomination,
the specificity of the communicative aim, which reproduces the objective
properties of information simultaneously.
So we can understand the evaluation as an representation of the
evaluative attitude of the speaker to the subject of speech, achievable at
all levels of the language, which is the result of abstract work of the
speaker's consciousness, logical analysis.
The concept of “evaluation” has become an integral and essential
part of the conceptual apparatus of present-day linguistics, which clearly
demonstrates the fact that it is impossible to study a language without
resorting to its major purpose, its “creator”, carrier, consumer, specific
linguistic personality, a person.
The evaluation, therefore, should be investigated comprehensively
and profoundly as a category of high-level abstraction as one of the
categories given by the social, physical and mental nature of a person,
which determines his relation to other individuals and objects of the
surrounding reality.
The evaluative conceptualization is the assessment of objects of the
outer world and the formation of the evaluative concepts in our minds.
The evaluative categorization is a grouping of objects and phenomena in
accordance with the evaluative classes and categories.

228
 To sum up, having focused the research on the field of the
representation of the evaluation in different types of context, we have
submitted results of interconnection of context and evaluative utterance in
the area of Pragmatics, Evaluation theory, theory of Text, and theory of
linguistic and stylistic Context. Often, units that are neutral at the
language level become evaluative in context. Such context can be called
evaluative, as only within its boundaries the expression acquires an
evaluative meaning that is not inherent in its normative usage.
Our research shows that three types of interaction between the
context and the evaluation utterance can be distinguished: the context
affects the evaluative utterance, changing the mark of evaluation; the
evaluative utterance influences the context, transforming the nature of its
evaluation; the evaluative utterance and the context carry out organic
mutual influence, and none of the parties prevails.
It is obvious that evaluation is created, realised and can be
interpreted only within the context. The important role in this process
belongs to various expressive means and stylistic devices.
In conclusion, this study points out the necessity of the investigation
of the evaluation in different types of context taking into account national
stereotypes.

SUMMARY
The paper examines the interdisciplinary character f the evaluation
category, a very significant and attractive phenomenon in linguistics.
Evaluation of different world’s fragments is a considerable part of human
cognitive activity. The essence of the category of evaluation is explained
by the theory of value orientation of person’s activity and consciousness,
and the range of its characteristics embraces all that is given by the
physical and mental nature of man, his being and feeling. The article
proposes the communicative approach to the research of evaluative
phenomena that exist in the reality and are reflected in language. It results
in the interconnection of the context and the evaluative utterance. The
piece of writing discusses the bioсognitive foundations of evaluation
category. Particular attention is paid to the structure of the evaluative
concept. Three types of interrelation between the context and evaluative
utterance can be established: 1) the context influences the evaluative
utterance, changing the character of the evaluation; 2) the evaluative
utterance affects the context by adding the evaluative component to its

229
structure; 3) the mutual influence of the evaluated utterance and context.
The results obtained corroborate the idea that the evaluation should be
studied comprehensively and profoundly as a category of high level
abstraction as one of the categories given by the social, physical and
mental nature of a person, which determines his relation to other
individuals and objects of the surrounding reality.

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9. Hemingway E.A Farewell to Arms. M.: Progress Publishers,
1976. 320 p.
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11. Lakoff G., Johnson M. Metaphors we live by. London:
University of Chicago Press, 2003. 276 p.
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16. Myroniuk T. Evaluative Responses in Modern English Fiction.
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25. Бігунова Н.О. Позитивна оцінка: Від когнітивного судження
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Information about the author:

Prihodko G. I.
Doctor of Philological Sciences,
Professor at the Department of English Philology,
Zaporizhzhia National University
66, Zhukovsky str., Zaporizhzhia, 69600, Ukraine

231
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/232-251

THE ROLE OF CULTURAL CODES

IN THE CREATING OF IMAGES OF LIFE AND DEATH
IN THE GOTHIC LINGUOCULTURE

Prykhodchenko O. O.

INTRODUCTION
The developing and changing character of human’s life was always
the object of the scientific studies, which led to the establishment of some
particular phenomena, which are called ‘cultural codes’. They correlate
with the peoples’ understanding of the world, its creation, progress and
functioning during centuries.
The notions of life and death are pancronistic. But, any linguoculture
and sub-culture, and the gothic one in particular, has the specific
configuration of concepts depending on the specifics of the mentally-
lingual complex of communicants, which characterizes the national and
cultural specificity of the understanding of some realia of surrounding
world, determines the dominant character of some qualities of the
conceptualized notions and the priority of relevant language means of
their representation.
Cultural codes are universal by their nature phenomena, which are
peculiar to people, but, at the same time, the meaning and value of each is
different in every culture1.
Cultural codes distinctively represent various aspects of
understanding the world by people. As the generalization, so called
binary oppositions were singled out, which are common for most of the
cultures. One of them is the opposition LIFE – DEATH.
The subject of the article is the representation of concepts LIFE and
DEATH via cultural codes in the Gothic worldview.
The purpose of the article is to determine the specificity of the
representation of the concepts LIFE and DEATH via cultural codes in the
Gothic linguoculture.

1
Снитко О.С. Коди культури у мовній об’єктивації дійсності. Studia Lingvistica.
2008. C. 115–121.

232
 The material under analysis is presented by 16 Gothic novels about
vampires of the 19th – 21st centuries.
The aim was achieved with the help of such methods: continuous
sampling for inventory and interpretation of the language units;
descriptive-interpretational method for explanation of the facts after the
commenting on the material under analysis.
Images of LIFE and DEATH are represented by means of different
codes, the most effective among which are somatic, zoomorphic,
vegetative, spatial, time, objective, actional, color, auditory, tactile, taste,
olphactory. Let’s study these codes in more details, analyze their
components and the meaning of the language units, which refer to their
own referents of denotation.

1. The Somatic Code in Representation of Life and Death

The elements of the somatic code are represented via naming of the
parts of body, denoting their functions or actions, which are performed
with their help, and also with their evaluation2:
 part of the human’s body which is his / her identical part, and
which expresses emotions (‘the face’ –“the face of death”3);
 parts of the human body, which have the functional meaning and
make the performance of different actions and operations, for example,
grabbing, possible (‘the hand’, ‘the finger’ – “hands of death”4, “fingers of
death”5), tearing and holding of the food (‘fang’ – “She felt the sharp fangs
puncture her skin and begin to slowly draw her life's blood from her”6);
 parts of human’s body, which perform the locomotor and
regulatory functions (‘bone, ‘flesh’ – “death, flesh and bone” 7);
 tissue of the organism, which performs important functions in
ensuring its vital activity (‘blood – “I saw him filled with his own life and
own blood”8); the liquid which exist in the sells, tissues and cavities of
vegetative and animals’ organisms (‘juice’ –“the juice of death”9);
2
Бацевич Ф. С. Словник термінів міжкультурної комунікації. URL:
http://terminy-mizhkult-komunikacii.wikidot.com.
3
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 28.
4
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 65.
5
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 489.
6
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 122.
7
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 233.
8
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 12.
9
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 118.

233
  functions or actions, which are performed with the help of
different parts of body (‘by moving of the muscles of the throat pull
something into the stomach from the mouth’ – “swallow death”10, ‘pull
something, some liquid via movements of lips and tongue into the
mouth’ – “a human death due to blood-sucking in”11, ‘breath in some
smell through the nose’ – “smell death”12, 13, 14, ‘perceive with eyes,
observe’ – “see life”15, “watch death”16, ‘perceive with the help of organs
of hearing’ – “heard life”17).

2. The Zoomorphic Code in Representation of Life and Death

Constituents of the zoomorphic code are mostly the names of wild
animals (‘bat’, ‘mad dog’, ‘wolf’ – “…a big bat, which had evidently
been buffeting its wings against the window”18; “it was a single bat, just
visible against the faltering light”19; “… a mad dog with greedy fangs and
red eyes”; “It came as a wolf, black pelt and bloody eyes”20), unnatural
creatures (‘angel (in religious cult – the messenger of God; is depicted as
a young boy with wings’) – “the angel of death”21), monsters (“Every
breath exhaled by that monster seemed to have clung to the place and
intensified its loathsomeness”22; “Why would you call him a monster, a
demon?”23), zombies (“Zombies are raised from the grave”24), skeletons
and dead (“The very ceiling writhed with skeletons and moldering
dead”25), and the parts of their bodies (“…the wolves …. Their red jaws,
with champing teeth, and their blunt-clawed feet … to struggle … against
the Count was useless”; “…a big bat, which had evidently been buffeting
its wings against the window”26).

10
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 390.
11
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 91.
12
Reynolds D.B. Jabril. Memphis : ImaJinn Book,. 2013. P. 81.
13
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 113.
14
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 63.
15
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 46.
16
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 68.
17
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 54.
18
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 121.
19
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 32
20
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 201; P. 36.
21
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 62.
22
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 214.
23
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 209.
24
Hamilton L. Guilty pleasures. New York: Jove, 2002. P. 12.
25
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 125.
26
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 121; P. 41.

234
 3. The Vegitative Code in Representation of Life and Death
Less productive appeared vegetative code, which included the names
of wild plants (“the branch of wild rose”; “a wilderness of beautiful
white flowers”27) and cultivated plants (“you do not find the good
husbandman dig up his planted corn”; “these flowers are only common
garlic”28; “Elderflower, yarrow. No cayenne?”29).
Plants, food and domestic animals, which exist near humans (“… the
green of the grass, the yellow flowers … Hoyt walked his horse
around”30) are determined as attributes of LIFE, as are associated with it
(“Birds sang, pouring joy into air that was fragrant with flowers”;
“… where birds were bright as the flowers, and the flowers like jewels”31;
“among tall green grasses”32; “Over them he brewed tea”33; “blue-purple
blossoms spilling down”; “on the other end of the reins were two
horses”34; “his dogs, two enormous German shepherds”35), and are
characterized with full, bright, saturated colors, which are close to the
world of alive.
At the same time, wild animals (“It came as a wolf, black pelt and
bloody eyes”; “She heard the wolf howl, and the sound was hunger”36),
silence (“The vampire was looking out the window…the silence was so
sudden the boy seemed to hear it”37), gloom and monsters (“ghastly
figures towered over us in the gloom, those ruthless skeletons ferrying
the helpless dead”38) symbolize DEATH and are defined as those, which
don’t have any signs of life.

4. The Spatial Code in Representation of Life and Death

The elements of the spatial code are the representation of the
division of space, which are used for coding of information about

27
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 205; P. 139.
28
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 101; P. 111.
29
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 38.
30
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 49.
31
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 412; P. 455.
32
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 226.
33
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 15.
34
Cast P.S. Marked. New York : St. Martin'sGriffin, 2007. P. 193; P. 228.
35
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 178.
36
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 36; P. 232.
37
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 9.
38
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 125.

235
different aspects of existence39 and non-existence. Components of the
spatial code are represented by such units:
 adverbs and prepositions with locative and directional
meanings – “life under the earth”; “life in the library”40; “beyond
death”41; “across death”42;
 nouns, which determine the landscape, in particular, natural
(‘land – “land of death”43; ‘desert – “death in the desert”44; ‘valley’ –
“the valley of death”45), cultural (‘organized territory, a garden’ –
“garden of death”46), antropogenetic (‘town’ – “death in a small town”47,
‘building, structure’ – “life in the cabin”48; “life had begun in this
house”49, ‘part of the house or dwelling, for example, ‘a pathway inside
the house’ – “down the hallway like Death”50, ‘the lower part of the
doorpost, place in the house near the door or behind the door’ –
“threshold of death”51);
 nouns and adjectives with the dimensional meaning – ‘the most
remote from the center part’ (“at the edge of death”52), ‘not very big in
size, amount’ (“death in a small house”53);
 locative and directional meanings show the division of the space
into two parts – ‘above’, which is characteristic of people (“…some
students… two floors above”54) and ‘down’, which is appointed for the
creatures, who are related to the underworld (“Madame Dorothea – she
lives downstairs – she's a witch”55; “He went down into the cellar…
Teeth. Barlow's teeth – all that was left of him”56;

39
Hiraga M. K. Metaphor and Iconicity. A Cognitive Approach to Analysing Texts.
New York : PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2005. P. 118.
40
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 3; P. 23.
41
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 221.
42
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 217.
43
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 164.
44
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 100.
45
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 182.
46
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 51.
47
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 205.
48
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 239.
49
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 161.
50
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 252.
51
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 11.
52
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 106.
53
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 59.
54
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 76.
55
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 42.
56
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 281.

236
  the description of the ruined buildings is actual for representation
of DEATH (“The Ghost town... deserted houses, overgrown lawns,
deserted streets, and back roads”57; “…in the courtyard of a vast ruined
castle ... the door opened... “I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome”58),
and the description of houses with pleasant interior are used to denote
LIFE (“Born and bred in French houses with lofty ceilings and floor-
length windows…”59, “His life had begun in this house…”60). Such
images help to recreate verbally the picture of the space in densely
populated cities (“ … the essence of life in New Orleans…”61), in the
center of which usually was church (“She had been born in Fell's
Church, … all her life”62).

5. The Time Code in Representation of Life and Death

The constituents of the time code divide the time axis into different
parts according to our understanding of the world. Based on our
knowledge about the notions of LIFE and DEATH this code becomes
very productive representing this information. The units of this code
realize the meaning of the next time relations:
 time boundaries – “upon death”, “before death”63; “until
death”64;“after death”65;
 period, fragment; limited period of time – ‘early’ (“early
death”66 ), ‘final’ (“final death”67), ‘part of the day’ or ‘long period’
(“day and night, birth to death”68 “long life for that era”; “millennia-
long life”69), ‘short period of time’ (“short life”70; “untimely deaths”71;
“sudden death”72);
57
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 10.
58
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 11–13.
59
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 15.
60
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 161.
61
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 24.
62
Smith L. J. The Awakening. New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. P. 108.
63
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 245; P. 240.
64
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 23.
65
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 43.
66
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 191.
67
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 28.
68
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 26; P. 34.
69
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 239.
70
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 179.
71
Reynolds D.B. Raphael. Memphis : ImaJinn Books, 2013. P. 106.
72
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 126.

237
  the course of time has neither the beginning nor the ending, it is
not restricted by any particular term – “eternal life”73, “continuing life”74,
“unending life”75, “his whole life”76, “entire life”77;
 the time, which has gone long ago – “old death”78, “ancient
life”79.

6. The Objective (Artefact) Code in Representation of Life and Death

Objective (artifact) code is formed by the denotations of the artificial
creations of material or non-material form, realia made by person to
counterbalance natural things:
 implements – ‘sickle (agricultural implement for cutting crops,
grass)’, ‘spade, mattock (implement for treatment of soil’ – “the Aud Man
is already whettin' his scythe”, “a … sound as of mattock and spade, …
the end of some ruthless villainy”80;
 musical instruments – ‘tube (wind copper instrument of high
register)’ – “the Angel of Death will sound his trumpet for me”81; ‘piano
(‘key musical instrument with standing frame and vertically-strained
strings’) – “I would see Claudia at the piano's edge that last night when
Lestat was playing, preparing to die…”82; ‘violin’ (‘bow musical
instrument of high register’) – “Upstairs the thin violins began a waltz”83;
 weapon – ‘bullet (‘a small shell, which is in the cartridge for
firing from guns, rifles’) – “a … bullet fired into the coffin”84, ‘sword’
(‘cold weapon with double-edged long straight blade’) – “Though she
was the goddess of battle, she wore no armor, and carried no sword”,
“If he had to lift his sword now to save his life he would die with his
hands empty”85;

73
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 56.
74
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 179.
75
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 8.
76
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 258.
77
Cast P.S. Marked. New York : St. Martin'sGriffin, 2007. P. 132.
78
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 161; P. 165.
79
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 68.
80
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 62; P. 36.
81
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 63.
82
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 113.
83
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 86.
84
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 205.
85
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 21; P. 30.

238
  ritual things – ‘coffin (specially designed box, in which dead are
buried)’ – “By the side of the box was its cover, pierced with holes here
and there. …I saw the dead eyes…”, “this man-that-was, we can confine
him to his coffin”86), ‘crucifix (cross) (the object and symbol of the cult
of Christian religion)’, ‘candle (the small stick of wax, which is used to
lighten up and also as an attribute in the customs of church)’, ‘cover,
shroud (the piece of tissue, with which the dead person is covered)’ – “the
sign of the cross”, “The tall wax candles showing a sufficient light to note
… Lucy's loveliness had come back to her in death”, “The end of the
winding sheet was laid over the face”87);
 clothes – “…a tall man, with a long brown beard and a great
black hat, which seemed to hide his face from us…”88;
 objects of the mode of life – ‘mirror (specially produced thing
with a surface, which reflects different objects, which are situated in front
of it’) – “He throws no shadow, he make in the mirror no reflect”89).
The usage of the musical instruments as part of the objective code
shows, on the one hand, the existence of all living things and, on the other
hand, they become the symbol of anxiety and uneasiness –“These rock
videos… You must obtain superior instruments-synthesizers, the finest
sound systems, electric guitars, violins”; “a great noise … the sound of a
deep gong perhaps”90.
Bright, modern, stylish clothes symbolizes living beings – “The dress
was slashed down from neck to navel, revealing her pale, ivory skin”; “She
was still wearing the Roberto Cavalli dress”; “The girls were in chic black
cocktail dresses and pearls, the guys in blue blazers and wool trousers”91;
“There was the girl in her long white dress”92; “She was wearing a light
green summer dress”93, and dark, old and strange clothes represents dead “a
tall man dressed in a sober three-piece suit in spite of the day's heat”94;
“… his [Dracula’s] cloak spreading out around him like great wings”95.

86
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 39; P. 205.
87
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 6; P. 139.
88
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 9.
89
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 204.
90
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 10; P. 58.
91
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 38; P. 49.
92
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 7.
93
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 52.
94
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011.
95
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 28.

239
 7. The Actional Code in Representation of Life and Death
To the components of the actional code (the code of action) belong
the representations of action, process or state, which correlate with
different lexico-semantical groups:
 movement – ‘to go (step by legs, move, changing the place in
the space (about a human or animal)’ – “She did not want to go into the
darkness alone”96, ‘to walk (move using your own legs, without any
help)’ – “She walked back to one of the windows, looked out into the
moonstruck dark”97; “…he did not appear to walk in a human way”98,
‘to fly (have an ability to stay and move in the air)’ – “Hoyt felt himself
flying backward”99; “…the vampire using all his power now to fly”100;
 the position – ‘to lay (to stay in the horizontal position, be
flatten with all body on something (about people and some animals) –
“He could not have lain there long … I saw the dead eyes…”101, ‘to
stand (be on legs in the vertical position, not move from the place
(about human and animals)’ – “He continued to speak softly and stand
very still”102, ‘to sit (to be in a position, when the torso is placed
vertically, leaning on something (about human)’ – “… he came to sit
beside me, forgetting for a moment to be human”103.
 aspect / phase (the beginning, continuation, ending) of an
action or process – ‘to begin, to start’ – “She had to start moving
on with her life”104; “I had never died. The world was beginning
again”105, ‘to continue, to go on’ – (“The vampire paused, then moved
as if he meant to go on”106; “Did you continue your research about
Dracula after that?”107), ‘to stop, to cease’ – “…when he ceases to
drink blood”108;

96
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 4.
97
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 214.
98
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 153.
99
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 133.
100
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 173.
101
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 39.
102
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 166.
103
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 391.
104
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 128.
105
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 206.
106
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 70.
107
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 169.
108
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 2.

240
  partial or complete action – ‘actions, processes or states, which
are targeted to achieve your own inner edge’ 109, ‘to build (create,
organize something)’ – “This must have taken lifetimes to build”110), ‘to
create (to produce, make something)’ – “We cannot create new life”);
“But since the Red Bloods have the ability to create new life”111; “… who
said he couldn't live and create among mortals”, ‘to ruin (to disorder or
destroy something)’ – “I will not let those monsters ruin this for us”112;
“That creature ruined my family”113), ‘to destroy (ruin or spoil something
breaking, tearing or deteriorating it)’ – “I wished I had a gun or some
lethal weapon, that I might destroy him [Dracula]”; “… are we not
pledged, to destroy this monster?”; “… long enough to destroy that
earthly life of him”; “… we can confine him to his coffin and destroy
him”; “… we should destroy the Count's lair close at hand”114;
 verbs (link verbs) which determine existence – “He was either
dead or asleep … for eyes were open and … The lips were as red as ever.
But there was no sign of movement…”115; “His death had seemed
peaceful, not violent, more of a letting go”116; “He seemed drained of
life”117, formation – “… before he turns you into a small white man”; “…
we all have to become warriors”118; “He can transform himself to
wolf”119; “… keep the same physical shell and become Enmortal”120;
“Torchlight turned wine to blood”121; “My eyeteeth had become fangs
already!”; “… as in the kill the blood ceases to be blood and becomes
life”122, being in some state – “… he would as soon have gone to his coffin
as remained here”123; “… they’ll keep him alive”124);

109
Вихованець І. Теоретична морфологія української мови. К. : Університетське
видавництво "Пульсари", 2004. C. 225.
110
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 229.
111
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 100.
112
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 550.
113
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 191.
114
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 39; P. 200; P. 263; P. 205;
P. 251.
115
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 39.
116
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 173.
117
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 48.
118
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 73; P. 401.
119
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 204.
120
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 64.
121
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 4.
122
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 68; P. 236.
123
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 136.

241
  verbs, which give the name of the state or action, which cannot
be connected with any person or object – “… it continued to rain, but in a
fine, misty drizzle”, “… the storm blowing still, splattering on his
roof”125; “…when it rained and the park was uninhabitable”, “… they
went … hailing with battery-powered bullhorns”126, “I think it's time we
blow this joint”127;
 possession – “the cheeks had the warmth of life”128; “Raphael
owns this territory, Cyn”129; “… someone who owns so many books must
know something”; “The demon possessed her”130;
 the process of speaking – “… a mortal boy getting one of the
undead to tell the tale”131; “He said that in all his life he had never
had”132; “…know it's bad luck to talk about death in a sickroom”133;
 physical feelings – “…to watch their [human’s] lives through
glass”; “…and told me I might watch my death”134; “ … and watched his
brother battle for his life”135; “To feel that when death took someone
close to you”; “…I feel like you've brought me back to life”136;
 mental perception, desire – “You will die, you know”137; “Do you
know all the mystery of life and death?”138; “…we would like to know
about life in the monasteries of Bulgaria”; “…he wishes a long life”139;
“…that I wished to understand death in stages”; “Many of them would
not have desired the life of a runaway”140;
 emotional, psychical state – “… his life would be with me to help
and cheer him”; “You like life, and you want life?”141; “love him to the

124
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 377.
125
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 163; P. 16.
126
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 71; P. 59.
127
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 55.
128
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 39.
129
Reynolds D.B. Raphael. Memphis : ImaJinn Books, 2013. P. 38.
130
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 74; P. 210.
131
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 11.
132
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 284.
133
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 33.
134
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 49; P. 13.
135
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 446.
136
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 3; P. 206.
137
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 15.
138
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 163.
139
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 229; P. 170.
140
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 40; P. 32.
141
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 83; P. 230.

242
end of my life”142; “She hated the inertia and the hopelessness of
our life”143.
The description of actions (to go, to walk) corresponds with the sphere
of LIFE, as they are common to living creatures – “Rossi usually went to
sit on the edge …”144; “she [Glenna] walked to the opposite curve”145. The
description of very slow or non-peculiar to the living creature motion (to
crawl, to fly) appeal to the sphere of DEATH – “John saw him [Dracula]
fly from this so near house”, “I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the
window and begin to crawl down the castle wall”146.
In addition, such units correlate with the sphere of LIFE: predicates
with active semantics (to walk), verbs, which have in their structure the
meaning of ‘creative activity’ (to create, to rebuild), and also the
denotation of speaking (to talk) – “I can walk,” Moira began”; “…creating
a protected zone around the house”147; “ … trying to rebuild her life in as
normal”148; “You talk too much, as usual”149; “… a city policeman was
talking with the department chairman and several men”150.
At the same time, such units correlate with the sphere of DEATH:
predicates with inactive semantics (to lay), verbs, which have the seme of
‘ruination, destroying’ in their meaning (to ruin, to destroy), and also the
representation of way of speaking, which is peculiar to non-living
creatures (to hiss, to screech, to cry) – “… the corpse lay there in all its
death beauty”151;“… whose life he ruined from a distance”152; “…that man
who had killed him, who destroyed his old life”153; “… flew the vampires,
hissing and screeching, filling the night with predatory cries”154.
Predicates with meanings ‘fight’, ‘exterminate’ and ‘save’ create
certain scheme of actions, which is common to the gothic linguoculture
and includes such stages as discovering, fighting and the victory over the

142
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 195.
143
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 32.
144
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 7.
145
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 130.
146
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 204; P. 28.
147
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 203; P. 461.
148
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 69.
149
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 244.
150
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 24.
151
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 182.
152
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 261.
153
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 83.
154
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 168.

243
chaos, which is not characteristic of humans’ existence: “…he was
creating a library that would fight the evil that Dracula had spread in his
city after his death” – “…waiting to save me if my life one day
collapses” – “find Dracula and exterminate him I might be completely
well again, a good mother, a person with a new life”155.

8. The Combination of Different Codes in Representation

of Life and Death
The other important code, for the description of the gothic
linguoculture, is the one which is formed by the representations of the
visual, auditory, taste, tactile and olphactory senses (“…that sounds, and
looks, and tastes, and smells like death”156) and the depiction of
characteristics and qualities of their stimuli.
The units of the visual sub-code are represented with the names of
colors of daylight, darkness etc.:
 the description of color – “silver death”157; “…a hard-looking
mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory”;
“…a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and
clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about
him anywhere”; “He was either dead or asleep … The lips were as red
as ever”158;
 ‘without the natural color, pale, soft or such, that must emit
the light or be distinguished by its coloring’ – “deathly pale”159, “bright
with life”160;
 ‘energy, which is ejected or perceived by the eye or its absence’ –
“There are darknesses in life, and there are lights”, “He was either dead
or asleep … for eyes were … without the glassiness of death …”, “the
eyes seemed to throw out sparks of hell fire”161;
 the shape, figure, size etc. – “… to pass through his side of the
ring … I had been breathlessly watching … with the tail of my eye, seen

155
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 99; P. 47;
P. 321.
156
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 63.
157
Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. P. 129.
158
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 9; P. 13; P. 29.
159
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 31.
160
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 60.
161
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 156; P. 39; P. 181.

244
him…”; “The leiter-wagons contained great, square boxes, with handles
of thick rope. These were evidently empty by the ease with which the
Slovaks handled them”162.
For the description of the world of living creatures the denotations of
color with the semantics ‘bright’, ‘light’ are used – “lit everything nearly
to daylight brightness”163, “… the ornate facades brighten in the
sunlight”164. At the same time the unreal world of dead is describes with
the help of colors, which have the meaning ‘dark’ in their semantics –
“Then Cian was out, a blur of dark in the dark”165.
The constituents of the auditorial sub-code embrace such names:
 the sounding (“the sound of life”166; “hear about life”167), that is
uttered by creatures (“no cry from the woman, and the howling of the
wolves”), unnatural creatures (“the flapping of the wings of the angel of
death”) or non-creatures (“the sound of rattling chains and the
clanking…”168);
 muted sound, whisper – “… moaned in terror as men do in
pain”; “… and whispered, like a voice that one hears in a dream, so low
it was”; “a far-away muffled sound as of mattock and spade, … the end
of some ruthless villainy”169;
 the absence of sounds, noise – “All was in dead, grim silence”170.
The units of the taste sub-code (“taste of death”171) are represented
mostly by the names of characteristics, which are perceived while
consuming food (“life at its sweetest”172; “…his so beloved was, after all,
an UnDead. <…> he must pass through the bitter waters to reach the
sweet”173; “If you knew how he drinks death you'd hate him more than
you ever hated Lestat”174).
The units of the tactile sub-code include such names:

162
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 307; P. 35.
163
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 183.
164
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 41.
165
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 544.
166
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 91.
167
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 66.
168
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 37; P. 134; P. 13.
169
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 300; P. 36.
170
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 300.
171
Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books, 2005. P. 254.
172
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 406.
173
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 172.
174
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 134.

245
  the touch – “…a shadowy glimpse of those women that would
have kissed him. … these weird figures drew near”; “I could feel the soft,
shivering touch of the lips on the super sensitive skin of my throat”; “his
hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect
which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed cold as ice, more like
the hand of a dead than a living man”175; “Do you feel the cold?”; “the
shadows were so thick she could feel them brushing over her skin” 176);
 the characteristics of stimuli – ‘the temperature’ (“This poor soul
is nearly as cold as that beside her. She will need be heated”; “I could
feel the hot breath on my neck”177); ‘the texture (“hard life”178; “life was
fragile”179; “harshness of death”; “through the softness of human
lips”180); ‘the shape (“blunt-clawed feet”; “two sharp teeth, just touching
and pausing there”181).
The olphactory code is represented by the names of smells. Among
them there can be different structures of description distinguished:
(а) simple nominations of the ability to produce and / or perceive
some smell (smell “the act of perceiving the odour of sth”182), of pleasant
scent, aroma (scent “a distinctive ordur that is pleasant’, aroma “a
distinctive ordur that is pleasant”183), unpleasant smell, stench, stink
(stench “a distinctive ordur that is offensively unpleasant”, stink “smell
badly and offensively”184), heavy smell, for example, “smell death”185;
“scent of blood and death”186; “the stench of death lies heavy on the air”;
“heavy smell of incense”187;
(b) attributive turns of speech – Adj1 + (Adj2) smell (of…), which are
used with the aim of specifying the variety of smell – “an earthy smell”;

175
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 300; P. 31; P. 13.
176
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 181; P. 232.
177
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 124; P. 31.
178
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 456.
179
Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. P. 17.
180
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 137; P. 130.
181
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 41; P. 31.
182
The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM, version 3.1. 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford
University Press, 2004.
183
The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM, version 3.1. 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford
University Press, 2004.
184
The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM, version 3.1. 2nd ed. Oxford : Oxford
University Press, 2004.
185
Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. P. 113.
186
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 59.
187
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 239; P. 58.

246
“with the garlic smell”; “pungent, acrid smell of blood”; “a queer, acrid
smell”188;
(c) unfolded descriptive phrases, which can be the part of the
comparative constructions (…as of…; …like…) and can be used for the
description of the smell, which cannot be specified accurately, for
example, “…an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma, which came
through the fouler air. But as to the odor itself, how shall I describe it? It
was not alone that it was composed of all the ills of mortality and with
the pungent, acrid smell of blood”189; “morgue smell of chemicals – the
smell of death” 190; “It smell so like the waters of Lethe, and of that
fountain of youth”191;
(d) metonymic periphrasis , which has in its meaning indirect
indication of the olphactory characteristics, but the main attention is
concentrated at the evaluative part of the utterance, for example, the
usage of expressions not snub that nose and bring the nose all straight
with the meaning “not to purse the nose” enables to avoid the direct
indication at the vulgar smell of the garlic’s flowers; neutralize the
pejorative evaluation of the description of realia, and also to realize the
meliorative meaning about the healing properties of the plant – “…they
are not to take in a decoction or in nauseous form, so you need not snub
that so charming nose, … my pretty miss, that bring the so nice nose all
straight again”192.
The results of the analysis enable to make such general conclusions.
At the process of verbalization of concepts LIFE and DEATH the most
actual were units different in their semantic, structural and functional
properties. The actual character of the verbal means is determined by the
opposition and interrelatedness of the analyzed concepts. This is proved
by such facts.
The representation of one concept is realized by means, which
correlate with different codes. For example, concept LIFE is actualized
with the help of such codes: “How sweet (taste sub-code) it was to
breathe (somatic code) the fresh air, that had no taint (visual sub-code)
of death and decay. How humanizing to see the red lighting (visual sub-

188
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 214; P. 111; P. 214; P. 122.
189
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 214.
190
Reynolds D.B. Jabril. Memphis : ImaJinn Books, 2013. P. 81.
191
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 111.
192
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 111.

247
code) of the sky beyond the hill (spatial code / natural landscape), and to
hear far away the muffled roar (auditory sub-cod) that marks the LIFE
of a great city”(spatial code / antropogenetic landscape)193.
The actualization of one concept is implemented with the means,
which coincide with different sub-codes of senses. For example, the
concept DEATH: “There's something in that … sounds (auditory sub-
code), and looks (visual sub-code), and tastes (taste sub-code), and
smells (olphactory sub-code) like DEATH”194. Often the verbalization is
created with the help of synesthetic denotations, which appear as a result
of outer and inner modal transference: “The scent of death hung in the
air, sharpened with the harsher aroma of undead blood”195 (tactical
perception → olphactory perception).
The verbalization of the concept by different codes contributes to the
poliaspect, complex demonstration of its features, and the representation
via different sub-codes makes the specific conceptual characteristics
more detailed.
The conceptualization of opposition LIFE – DEATH is represented
with the help of verbal means, which have such relations:
 full (formal-semantical) identity (“hard life” – “hard death”196;
“see life” – “see death”197; “watch lives”198 – “watch death”199);
 partial semantical identity (“to rid the earth of this terrible
monster” – “a fearful death”200; “a very beautiful corpse” – “he was in
life a most wonderful man”201;
 semantical opposition (“long life”202 – “short life”203; “bright
with life”204; “deathly pale”; “it seemed cold as ice, more like the hand of
a dead” – “the warmth of life”205; “unending life”206 – “sudden death”207;
“sound of life”208 – “in dead, grim silence”209).

193
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 179.
194
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 63.
195
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 219.
196
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 456; P. 442.
197
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 46.
198
Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. P. 49.
199
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 68.
200
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 190; P. 165.
201
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 138; P. 257.
202
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 196.
203
Frost J. First drop of crimson. New York: Avon, 2010. P. 179.
204
Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd, 2007. P. 45.
205
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 31; P. 13; P. 39.

248
 The actual character of the relation of identity and opposition in the
system of mentioned means can be explained by the fact, that the
understanding of life and death arise and are fixed in the system of
peculiarities about the existence in general, which is comprehended by a
person as a constant unity of different things and phenomena,
antagonistic and non-antagonistic oppositions.
Verbal constituents of these codes of Gothic culture, except
linguistic (systematic) meanings, which are recorded in dictionaries, have
symbolic meanings. Being the signs of the secondary semiotic system,
these units are characterized by concrete determinants. And in such
boundaries systematic lexical meanings are varied from the symbolic
meaning of language units.

CONCLUSIONS
To conclude all the observations, we may say that, verbal means,
which are used in the novels about vampires, correlate with different
cultural codes (somatic, zoomorphic, vegetative, spatial and time,
objective, actional, and perceptive). Thanks to these means of coding,
such abstract notions as ‘life’ and ‘death’ gain some image representation
and become more concrete and specific. For example, the constituents of
somatic, actional and perceptive codes make the personification of
concepts possible, and the complex usage of the constituents of somatic,
zoomorphic and vegetative code’s elements create the anthropomorphic
or zoomorphic representation of the concepts. Objective and perceptive
codes guarantee the illustration of the abstract ‘life’ and ‘death’ in terms
of more specific notions.

SUMMARY
The article deals with the problem of cultural codes, which are
universal phenomena and play a significant role in the understanding and
revealing of human’s experience about the world. Being the most
common in person’s surrounding, opposition of concepts LIFE – DEATH
occupies the important place and is represented by different cultural
codes. The most widely used are somatic, zoomorphic, vegetative, spatial,
206
Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. P. 8.
207
Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. P. 126.
208
King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. P. 91.
209
Stoker B. Dracula. England : Penguin books, 1994. P. 300.

249
time, objective, actional, color, auditory, tactile, taste, olphactory codes.
Each of them denotes different aspect of concepts LIFE and DEATH,
which are common for Gothic linguoculture. In such a way different
functions of human body, aspects of space and time, types of actions,
which are performed by human, are represented. All of them show
important parts of natural and unnatural world, which is represented in
the Gothic linguoculture. The combination of several codes for
description of one or another concept is also peculiar for the Gothic
novels. Such way of representation turns the abstract notions of ‘life’ and
‘death’ into more specific in the frame of the Gothic linguoculture.

REFERENCES
1. Cast P.S. Marked. New York : St. Martin'sGriffin, 2007. 169 p.
2. Clare C. City of bones. New York : Walker Books Ltd, 2015. 279 p.
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4. Hamilton L. Guilty pleasures. New York: Jove, 2002. 141 p.
5. Hiraga M.K. Metaphor and Iconicity. A Cognitive Approach to
Analysing Texts. New York : PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2005. 261 p.
6. King S. Salem’s Lot. New York : Anchor, 2011. 288 p.
7. Kostova E. The Historian. New York : Time Warner Books,
2005. 329 p.
8. Kruz M., de la. Blue Bloods. London : Atom, 2010. 138 p.
9. Mead R. Vampire Academy. New York : Penguin Books Ltd,
2007. 259 p.
10. Reynolds D.B. Jabril. Memphis : ImaJinn Books, 2013. 210 p.
11. Reynolds D.B. Raphael. Memphis : ImaJinn Books, 2013. 199 p.
12. Rice A. Interview with the Vampire. СПб. : Sphere, 2012. 190 p.
13. Rice A. Prince Lestat. СПб. : Sphere, 2015. 427 p.
14. Roberts N. Morrigan’s Cross. New York : Jove, 2007. 582 p.
15. Rollins J. The Blood Gospel. New York : Harper, 2013. 242 p.
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18. The Oxford English Dictionary on CD-ROM, version 3.1. 2nd
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Studia Lingvistica. 2008. C. 115–121.

Information about the author:

Prikhodchenko O. O.
Associate Professor at the Department
of Foreign Languages for Specific Purposes,
Zaporizhzhia National University
66, Zhukovsky str., Zaporizhzhia, 69600, Ukraine

251
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/252-269

CONCEPT GENIUS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

AND SPEECH

Strochenko L. V.

INTRODUCTION
The phenomenon of genius throughout history has fascinated
academic and pop-culture authors alike1. Considerable attention was paid
to the study of different aspects of genius in philosophy and
psychology. Among main trends in the study of the phenomenon of
genius are: irrational approach, which emphasizes the divine nature of
genius and is closely related to archaic and religious ideas; rational
approach, within which genius is seen as the innate quality of a person,
which makes it possible to clarify genius as a property of the human mind
and to study it in different directions in psychology and genetics, as well
as to determine biological (instincts, memory, genetic heredity, innate
abilities to creativity) and psychological (fantasy, imagination,
inspiration, spontaneity) factors of genius; empirical approach, according
to which genius is the acquired property of a person in the process of
his/her development; socio-cultural approach, which considers the
significance and, at the same time, problematic interaction of a genius
and society2.
At the present stage of its development, cognitive linguistics has a
great deal of works devoted to the study of related concepts, in particular,
BRAIN, INTELLECT3. However, the phenomenon of genius as the
highest manifestation of intellectual or creative activity of a person – who
is called a genius – has remained beyond the attention of linguists which
adds to the relevance of this study.

1
Ball L.C. The Genius in History: Historiographic Explorations. The Wiley handbook
of genius. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2014. P. 3–19.
2
Хомченкова Е.А. Феноменология гениальности: от антропной к
социокультурной детерминации : автореф. дис … канд. філос. наук: 09.00.13. Омск,
2007. 20 с.
3
Антология концептов / Под ред. В.И. Карасика, И.А. Стернина. Том 1.
Волгоград: Парадигма, 2005. 352 с.

252
 The aim of the present paper is to study the means of verbalization of
concept GENIUS in the English language and speech. The theoretical
premises of the work are the basics of semantic-cognitive approach to the
study of concepts. According to Z.D. Popova and J.S. Sternin,
representatives of the semantic-cognitive approach, concept is a basic unit
of human mental code, which has an internal structure consisting of
conceptual features; it is the result of the individual and social cognizing
of the world. Conceptual features contain comprehensive information
about the corresponding object or phenomenon, as well as the
interpretation of information of public consciousness and the treatment of
the subject or phenomenon4. Thus, representatives of this trend treat
language as one of the main tools of cognition and conceptualization of
the world. To examine a concept through the language is the most reliable
way of linguistic analysis which allows to detect its conceptual features
and to work out the model of the concept. The structure of a concept is
manifested through dictionary definitions of the corresponding lexical
units (the name of the concept and its synonyms) and through speech
contexts. The linguistic embodiment of the concept under study is being
considered on the basis of English explanatory dictionaries, specialized
encyclopedias, biographies and publicist texts.

1. Verbalization of the Concept GENIUS in the English Language

First of all, let us consider the motivational features of the studied
concept through the analysis of the etymology of the English lexical unit
genius which comes from Latin.
" L. genius the superior or divine nature which is innate in
everything, the spirit, from genere, gignere , to beget, bring forth ".
The Latin noun genius for a long time maintained links with the
verbs genere, gignere (give birth). In a historical perspective, the term
genius is rather problematic: it has had a long history of use, and has
acquired multiple meanings, describing vastly different phenomena. The
first known instance of the term genius being used in the English
language is during the Roman Empire, where it referred to a male
spiritual protector or a guardian spirit. Typically, the protection offered

4
Попова З.Д., Стернин И.А. Семантико-когнитивный подход как направление
когнитивной лингвистики. Vita in lingua: К юбилею профессора С.Г. Воркачева:
сборник статей / отв. ред. В.И. Карасик. Краснодар: Атриум, 2007. С. 171–180.

253
by a genius was applied to individuals, families, and physical spaces.
Every person, family, city, body of water, or other important physical
structure had its own genius. In addition, a genius could also refer to the
“spirit of the times” or zeitgeist. Over time, genius became more
intimately connected with individuals. However, it was not until the
Enlightenment when the connotations of the word obtained its present
implications: genius referring to the superior or unique abilities of an
individual person. In the second half of the XVIII century there was a
turning point in the semantics of this lexical unit. Since then, genius has
denoted not only a special ability, but also a person who has such quality.
That is when there appeared numerous researches, which gave impetus to
further study of this phenomenon5.
Thus, the inner form of this nomination foregrounds the irrational
component of the corresponding concept.
Modern explanatory dictionaries of the English language6 register
four semes of lexeme genius and offer the following definitions.
" Genius 1. A good or evil spirit, or demon, supposed by the ancients
to preside over a man's destiny in life; a tutelary deity; a supernatural
being; a spirit, good or bad. Cf. Jinnee "The unseen genius of the wood."
We talk about the genius still, but with thought how changed! The genius
of Augustus was a devotee of the demon, to be sworn by and to receive
offerings on an altar as a god ".
The first sememe refers to the genius-spirit, that affects the destiny
of a person or locality, which testifies that, the original meaning of this
lexical unit rooted in Latin is preserved up to now.
" Genius 2. A man endowed with uncommon vigor of mind; a man of
superior intellectual faculties and creativity; Shakespeare was a rare one
genius ".
The second sememe indicates a person with extraordinary abilities.
These abilities relate to human intelligence or his/her creativeness. Such
qualifiers as uncommon, superior emphasize the uniqueness of the
intellectual and creative capabilities of a person.
"Genius 3. Distinguished mental superiority; uncommon intellectual
power; especially, a superior power of invention or the generation of any

5
Ball L.C. The Genius in History: Historiographic Explorations. The Wiley handbook
of genius. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell, 2014. P. 3–19.
6
Genius. URL: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/genius

254
kind, or of forming new combinations; as a man of genius. "Genius of the
highest kind implies an unusual intensity of the modifying power ".
The third sememe indicates this extraordinary ability, quality of a
person. Again, such semes as uncommon, superior, distinguished
emphasize the novelty of the discovery or invention made by such person.
"Genius 4. The peculiar structure of mind with which each
individual is endowed by nature; that disposition or aptitude of mind
which is peculiar to each man, and which qualifies him for certain kinds
of action or special success in any pursuit; special taste, inclination, or
disposition; a, a genius for history, for poetry, or painting".
Finally, the last sememe denotes the natural inclination of a person to
a certain type of occupation – aptitude, disposition, which is inherent in
every person and is an individual feature – peculiar to each man.
Since explanatory dictionaries reflect the naïve image of the world,
the following notional conceptual features of GENIUS in the English
naïve world image can be singled out: intellect (verbalized by the
following lexical units used in dictionary definitions: intellectual
faculties, intellectual power, intelligent, mental, vigor of mind); creative
abilities (verbalized by such lexical units: creative power, talent,
creativity); outstanding / highest / extraordinary (verbalized by the
following lexical units: uncommon, superior, distinguished, highly,
exceptional, extraordinary, marked superiority); novelty / originality
(verbalized by the following lexical units: the power of invention or the
formation of new combinations; the original work).
Alongside with the lexeme genius, which nominates the given
concept, they constitute the nucleus of the corresponding nominative
field.
One of the stages of the analysis of the nominative field of a
concept7 concentrates on singling out the medial part of the field. In our
case it is represented by several synonymic lexical units.
The first of the registered nominations is formed by compounding of
two units which refer to the brain and the computer respectively:
“Brainiac (n.)"very smart person," 1982, U.S. slang, from brain (n.)
+ ending from ENIAC, etc. Brainiac also was the name of a comic book
villain in the Superman series and a do-it-yourself computer building kit,

7
Колегаєва І.М. Конструювання номінативного поля концепту: етапи та
одиниці. Записки з романо-германської філології. 2018. № 1(40). С. 121–127.

255
both from the late 1950s, and the word may bear traces of either or both
of these”;
“ENIAC – acronym from "electronic numeral integrator and
computer," device built 1946 at University of Pennsylvania by John W.
Mauchly Jr., J. Presper Eckert Jr., and J.G. Brainerd. It cost $400,000,
used 18,000 radio tubes, and was housed in a 30-foot-by-50-foot room".
Until 1982, this nominative unit served as the name of certain
cartoon characters, so probably some features of these characters are still
reflected in the meaning of the word, which is defined as:
“Brainiac. (Slang) A person who is highly intelligent”.
It is worth mentioning that the explanatory dictionaries used in the
study indicate prototype examples of geniuses, such as Shakespeare and
Mozart. Another example of the typical representative of the category
"genius" is the scientist Albert Einstein whose surname became synonym
to the lexical unit "genius". This case of antonomasia (einstein) is
registered in the dictionaries.
“Einstein – someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and
originality”.
The definition of the next nomination contains an indication of a
very smart person and the specifics of his/her activity: namely, running
some important and difficult project:
“Mastermind. A highly intelligent person, especially one who plans
and directs a complex or difficult project”.
Another nominative unit is an example of metonymy used to denote
(in colloquial English) an extremely clever person:
“Brain (Informal) A highly intelligent person”.
It should be noted that these synonymous nominative units have
several common features. Their definitions contain an indication of a high
level of intelligence and they, as a rule, function in the colloquial layer of
the English language.
The only exception here is the nominative unit prodigy, which has
the following semantic components in its dictionary definitions: the
indication of a young person with extraordinary intellectual and creative
abilities:
prodigy – an unusually gifted or intelligent young person; someone
whose talents excite wonder and admiration; "she is a chess prodigy"”.
We treat PRODIGY as a subconcept that should be included in the
medial part of the analyzed nominative field of the concept GENIUS. The

256
given subconcept in its turn is represented by the following lexical units:
wunderkind, child prodigy, infant prodigy, whiz kid. The analysis of the
definitions of all mentioned units enabled singling out such conceptual
features as age (a child or young person ); intelligence (ability,
intelligent); creative abilities (talent, gifted); extraordinariness
(unusually, excite wonder and admiration).
Thus, in the English naïve picture of the world concept GENIUS is
represented by the following core conceptual features: intelligence,
creative abilities, extraordinariness, originality, and medial ones: age,
ability to deal with difficult tasks.
The next stage of our research deals with the analysis of conceptual
features of GENIUS in the English scientific image of the world. The
investigation is based on the material of specialized medical dictionaries8
and encyclopedias9.
Let us first consider the definition of the lexeme that nominates the
studied concept in the given lexicographic sources.
“Genius: the demonstrated exceptional achievement in a person.
Different theories: born with, environmental reasons, overcompensation
for inferior feelings. Generally seen as a joint product of heredity and
environment”10.
The given definition contains a short definition of the phenomenon
of genius, which manifests itself in the exceptional, extraordinary
achievements of a person, and gives three basic theories of the emergence
of this phenomenon and its generally accepted interpretation as a
combination of heredity and the environment.
Another definition in the English specialized dictionary foregrounds
extraordinary abilities and creativity of a person, in particular,
intelligence, with one of its indicators being the level of IQ – 140 and
above:
“Genius: a term used to describe a person with exceptional ability
and creativity within a particular field, for instance intellect (by defining
IQS of 140 + as the guideline for genius)”.
Both the above mentioned definitions foreground such conceptual
features of GENIUS as exclusivity (manifested by the seme exceptional),

8
Genius. URL: https://psychologydictionary.org/genius/
9
Genius. URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/genius-psychology
10
Genius. URL: https://psychologydictionary.org/genius/

257
intellectual abilities (intellect, defining IQS of 140+), creative abilities
(creativity), achievements that have been demonstrated (demonstrated
achievements).
One of main differences between the definitions of general
explanatory dictionaries and medical ones is that the latter emphasize
exclusively the intellectual abilities of a person-genius, while the
explanatory dictionaries also mention outstanding creative potential.
Another feature of the scientific interpretation of the phenomenon of
genius is the indication that it can be measured by the IQ test: according
to psychologists, a person is considered a genius if his level of IQ is
higher than 140. According to official statistics, such personalities make
up only 1% of mankind.
Focused on a wider range of readers Encyclopedia Britannica
contains an article defining the phenomenon of genius, at the beginning
of which genius is specified as a person with extraordinary intelligence:
“Genius (in psychology) a person of extraordinary intellectual
power”.
Then the article gives the history of the theory which defines genius
through intelligence tests and criticism of such researches:
“Definitions of genius in terms of intelligence quotient (IQ) are based
on research originating in the early 1900s. In 1916 the American
psychologist Lewis M. Terman set the IQ for “potential genius” at 140 and
above, a level exhibited by about 1 in every 250 people. Leta Hollingworth,
an American psychologist who studied the nature and nurture of genius,
proposed an IQ of 180 as the threshold–a level that, at least theoretically, is
exhibited by only about one in every two million people”.
As seen from the given definition, another conceptual feature –
rareness of a genius – is foregrounded here – one in every two million
people. The article also highlights a term potential genius, that is, a person
who has certain exceptional abilities but does not always realize them.
Psychologists who specialize in the study of gifted children,
however, have observed that the genius designation occurs much more
frequently than it should be reasonable, leading some to speculate that a
“bump” has emerged, with many more geniuses appearing in the general
population than seems statistically probable. There is a probability, of
course, that conventional intelligence tests are ineffective in measuring
intellectual ability beyond a certain point. In any case, “genius,” as

258
determined by these tests, simply means great intellectual ability and
signifies potential rather than attainment11.
The article in Encyclopedia Britannica also highlights two theories
concerning the phenomenon of genius. M. Terman's theory holds that
genius is an exceptionally extraordinary intellectual ability. The second
theory which was presented in to the works of F. Galton and which is
more popular, according to the author of the article, defines genius as
creative abilities that were realized in a particular achievement, having a
long-lasting value.
“The word genius is used in two closely related but somewhat
different senses. In the first sense, as popularized by Terman, it refers to
great intellectual ability as measured by performance on a standardized
intelligence test. In the second and more popular sense, as derived from
work of the 19th-century English scientist Sir Francis Galton, it designates
creative ability of an exceptionally high order as demonstrated by actual
achievement–always provided that such achievement is not merely of
transitory value or the result of accident of birth”.
The next fragment of the Encyclopedia article considers differences
between talent and genius. Here new conceptual features of GENIUS
can be singled out, namely, originality and possibility of discovering
something new in spheres which were not previously explored:
“Genius is distinguished from talent, both quantitatively and
qualitatively. Talent refers to a native aptitude for some special kind of
work and implies a relatively quick and easy acquisition of a particular
skill within a domain (sphere of activity or knowledge). Genius, on the
other hand, involves originality, creativity, and the ability to think and
work in areas not previously explored–thus giving the world something
of value that would not otherwise exist”.
The overview of existing theories of the nature of genius foregrounds
two other conceptual features, namely, fervor and work:
“There have been a variety of attempts to explain the nature and
source of genius, as well as many investigations of the relationship of
genius to madness. Galton, who inaugurated the systematic study of
genius, formulated the theory that genius is a very extreme degree of
three combined traits–intellect, zeal, and power of working–that are
shared by all persons in various “grades.” In his Hereditary Genius

11
Genius. URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/genius-psychology

259
(1869), he put forth the idea that genius, as measured by outstanding
accomplishment, tends to run in families. This became a controversial
viewpoint, and, since its introduction, scientists have disagreed about the
degree to which biological heredity, as distinct from education and
opportunity, is responsible for the great differences in achievement
between individuals”.
Although the theories which associate genius and insanity are rather
controversial, we consider the seme madness as a representation of the
conceptual feature dissimilarity. This feature is also foregrounded in the
following fragment:
“The qualities of extreme genius may, however, be associated with
unique problems. While Terman found that children of high general
intelligence, classified as “gifted” or “potential genius,” are on the
average superior to other children in physique and health and in
emotional and social adjustment, Hollingworth’s studies (as well as more-
recent investigations) showed that profoundly gifted children may suffer a
variety of problems related to their clear deviance from their age peers”.
Modern researchers point out that genius is always accompanied by
perfect knowledge in a particular field, his skill and his autonomy, which
allows not only to work alone, but also to express pioneering looks,
endurance and inspiration:
“The study of eminent men and women showed how great creative
achievement cannot exist without mastery of the skills and specific
knowledge of a domain. These can be achieved only through excellent
training and access to accomplished teachers and mentors. At the same
time, Csikszentmihalyi demonstrated a link between creative genius
and “flow,” a state of mind in which the creative individual
experiences a sense of challenge, timelessness, and oneness with the
work at hand. Finally, in studying the personalities of prominent
individuals, Csikszentmihalyi identified common attributes in their
psychological makeup. One such trait is autonomy, which is needed
for working alone and for daring to express novel or divergent points
of view. Another example is endurance, which involves an ability to
persist, to complete tasks, and to follow through–a characteristic that
all true geniuses seem to have”.
Thus the definitional analysis enabled singling out the following
conceptual features of the concept GENIUS in the English scientific image
of the world: exclusivity (manifested by semes exceptional, superior),

260
intellectual abilities (intellect, defining IQS of 140+), creative abilities
(creativity), achievements which were proved, demonstrated
(demonstrated achievement), deep knowledge of a certain sphere
(specific knowledge of a domain), mastery (mastery of the skills),
independence (autonomy, which is needed for working alone and for
daring to express novel or divergent points of view), endurance
(endurance, which involves an ability to persist, to complete tasks, and to
follow through), inspiration (“flow”), dissimilarity from others
(deviance, madness), fervor (zeal), work (power of working), originality
(originality, the ability to think and work in areas not previously explored).

2. Verbalization of the Concept GENIUS in the English Speech

Verbalization of the concept under study in the English speech has
been analyzed on the material of biographies and publicist texts. In
modern linguistics, several types of biographies are distinguished, among
which are academic, artistic, documentary and popular scientific12. The
given study focuses on the popular scientific biographies of such
generally recognized geniuses as Leonardo da Vinci13, Isaac Newton14,
Albert Einstein15 and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart16. The target audience
of these publications is the average naïve native speaker, so the analysis
of their linguistic peculiarities will enable singling out conceptual
features of the concept GENIUS in the English naive picture of the world.
The investigated popular scientific biographies foreground, first of
all, the conceptual feature prominence / extraordinariness. The
corresponding examples can be found in the first lines of the analyzed
biographies:
“Isaac Newton (January 4, 1643 to March 31, 1727) was a physicist
and mathematician who developed the principles of modern physics,
including the laws of motion, and is credited as one of the great minds of

12
Ефремова Д.А. Типы англоязычных биографий второй половины ХХ – начала
ХХІ века. Филология и культура. 2013. № 1 (32). С. 142–145.
13
Leonardo da Vinci. URL: http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-
40396#the-last-supper
14
Isaac Newton. URL: https://www.biography.com/news/isaac-newton-biography-
facts
15
Albert Einstein. URL: http://www.notablebiographies.com/Du-Fi/Einstein-
Albert.html#ixzz4WVvnakf8
16
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. URL: https://www.biography.com/people/wolfgang-
mozart-9417115

261
the 17th century Scientific Revolution”; “And because other Newton
scholars have defaulted on the task of evaluating Newton’s motives, such
“suggestions” have stood unchallenged and unrefuted to this day–coloring
the legacy and tainting the name of one of history’s greatest scientists”.
His work is graded as the most influential in the sphere of physics
and in science in general: “It is said to be the single most influential book
on physics and possibly all of science. Its publication immediately raised
Newton to international prominence”.
His contemporaries called his abilities extraordinary, and the
scientist himself – the most prominent genius in the history of mankind:
“In August 1669, Barrow identified its author to Collins as "Mr. Newton
... very young ... but of an extraordinary genius and proficiency in these
things”; “Isaac Newton's fame grew even more after his death, as many of
his contemporaries proclaimed him the greatest genius who ever lived”.
In the biographies of Leonardo da Vinci the given feature is
verbalized with the help of such lexical units as leading, great:
“Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) is one of the world’s greatest
thinkers, artists and philosophers”; “Leonardo da Vinci was a leading
artist and intellectual of the Italian Renaissance who's known for his
enduring works "The Last Supper" and "Mona Lisa."”.
An interesting, however, unreliable fact of his biography is the
reaction of his teacher, the artist Verrocchio, to the abilities of the
student. He was so impressed with the works of da Vinci, that he gave up
painting:
“According to “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and
Architects”, written around 1550 by artist Giorgio Vasari, Verrocchio
was so humbled by the superior talent of his pupil that he never picked up
a paintbrush again”.
This context also verbalizes the feature of extraordinary creativity.
The next conceptual feature, which is verbalized in these biographies, is
intellectual ability. For example, Newton’s uncle insisted on his entering
the university, understanding his innate mental abilities:
“Perhaps sensing the young man's innate intellectual abilities, his
uncle, a graduate of the University of Cambridge's Trinity College,
persuaded Newton's mother to have him enter the university”.
The lexical unit leading in this fragment also underlines his
extraordinary intellect:

262
 “It also cemented his position as one of the leading minds of
his age”.
The conceptual feature intellect can be also verbalized with the help
of nominative units inventive, curious, keen:
“Using his inventive mind, da Vinci sketched war machines such as
a war chariot with scythe blades mounted on the sides, an armored tank
propelled by two men cranking a shaft and even an enormous crossbow
that required a small army of men to operate”; “Possessor of a curious
mind and keen intellect, da Vinci studied the laws of science and nature,
which greatly informed his work as a painter, sculptor, architect,
inventor, military engineer and draftsman”.
As for the biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, they are
characteristic of the widespread use of the nominative unit prodigy and its
derivative prodigious:
"The composer." Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) led a life
that was dramatic in many respects, including his career as a child
prodigy, his struggle to achieve personal independence and establish a
career, his brushes with financial disaster, and his death in the course of
trying to complete his Requiem"; "Born in In Salzburg, he showed
prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on
keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed
before the European royalty ".
In addition, the age in which he achieved success is strongly
emphasized:" Mozart wrote his first symphony when he was eight
years old ".
Thus, the conceptual feature age of the investigated concept is
foregrounded by such lexical units as the earliest childhood, the age of
five , eight years old.
The extraordinary talent of Mozart is emphasized, in particular, in
the memoirs of his sister who wrote that their father began teaching
little Amadeus to play as an entertainment, but the boy showed
unusual abilities:
"In the fourth year of his age, his father, for a game, as it was, began
to teach him a few minutes and pieces at the clavier .... He could play it
faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time ....
At the age of five, he was already composing small pieces, which he
played to his father who wrote them down".

263
 The feature of extraordinary giftedness is also emphasized by the
fact that the little boy became a composer before he could write down his
own compositions, and his father was doing it for him for some time.
Mozart's success became such a big surprise to his father and teacher at
the same time that he even ceased to write music himself:
"In his early years, Wolfgang's father was his only teacher. There is
evidence that Mozart was keen on progress beyond what he was taught. It
came as a surprise to Leopold, who eventually gave up composing when
his son's musical talent became evident".
A similar example of hyperbolized actualization of the conceptual
feature of extraordinary creative abilities is registered in the
investigated biography of Leonardo da Vinci.
The conceptual feature originality can also be singled out on the
material of the studied biographies:
“Sometimes called the father of modern science, Isaac Newton
revolutionized our understanding of our world”; “Long before his
breakthrough work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica was
published, Newton was considered one of England’s leading thinkers”.
Another interesting fact is that Albert Einstein believed that
Isaac Newton was ahead of his time, which also foregrounds novelty
as a conceptual feature of the concept under study:
“Еinstein credited Isaac Newton, the father of physics and arguably the
founder of scientific certainty, with “the greatest advance in thought that a
single individual was ever privileged to make.” The compliment is not
hyperbole: In his Principia and the discoveries that preceded it, Newton
single-handedly deciphered more of the universe’s enigmas than perhaps
any other scientist in history. He revolutionized mathematics, integrated the
previously disparate fields of mechanics and astronomy, and thus opened
the door to the science of force and motion as we know it”.
The biography of Leonardo da Vinci also underlines that he was
ahead of his time and even prophesized the future:
“A man ahead of his time, da Vinci appeared to prophesize the
future with his sketches of machines resembling a bicycle, helicopter and
a flying machine based on the physiology of a bat”; “In several different
fields, from science to astronomy, he proved to be both innovative and
several centuries ahead of his contemporaries”.

264
 The conceptual feature of originality is often verbalized by the
lexical unit pioneer, which foregrounds the fact that da Vinci was the first
to use certain techniques in painting etc:
“His painting of the “Virgin of the Rocks,” begun in 1483,
demonstrated his pioneering use of chiaroscuro – a stark contrast
between darkness and light that gave a three-dimensionality to his figures
and sfumato – a technique in which subtle gradations, rather than strict
borders, infuse paintings with a softer, smoky aura”; “He also pioneered
the use of Chiaroscuro”.
Lexical unit invent also foregrounds the conceptual feature of
novelty: “He 'invented' the bicycle, airplane, helicopter, and parachute
some 500 years ahead of their time”.
The wide range of interests and trends of da Vinci’s works is
underlined with the help of hyperbole in the following fragment: “There
seemed to be no limit in the scope of his interest and work”.
The artist’s works are considered valuable as a part of human
culture:
“Today, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris,
France, secured behind bulletproof glass and regarded as a priceless
national treasure seen by millions of visitors each year”.
Thus, the following conceptual features of GENIUS have been
singled out in the naïve picture of the world (on the material of the
analyzed biographies): extraordinariness (greatest, extraordinary),
intellect (innate intellectual abilities, leading mind), creative abilities
(keen on progress beyond what he was taught), age (early childhood),
originality (breakthrough, advance in thought), value of the results of
his work (priceless treasure).
The scientific picture of the world is represented in our
investigation by the articles in National Geographic, the official
magazine of the National Geographic Society which focuses on
geography, world history, culture etc.
Informative and appealing functions of publicist functional style
found their reflection in the headlines of the studied articles, for example,
What makes a genius?, What made Leonardo da Vinci a genius? Can you
name these 13 geniuses?, Do you have the traits of a genius?.
Interrogative form of the headlines intensifies attracting of the readers’
attention.

265
 First of all, the conceptual feature extraordinariness is verbalized
here with the help of such lexical units as exceptional, rare, soar above
the rest of us, stood out:
“Some minds are so exceptional they change the world. We don’t
know exactly why these people soar above the rest of us, but science
offers us clues”; “Throughout history rare individuals have stood out for
their meteoric contributions to a field”.
The next conceptual feature – novelty, originality – is verbalized
here with the help of lexical units revolutionized, changing the world,
scientific breakthroughs:
“Einstein revolutionized our understanding of the very laws of the
universe”; “Instead we can try to understand it by unraveling the complex
and tangled qualities – intelligence, creativity, perseverance, and simple
good fortune, to name a few – that entwine to create a person capable of
changing the world”; “Scientific breakthroughs like Darwin’s theory of
evolution by natural selection would be impossible without creativity, a
strand of genius that Terman couldn’t measure”.
Besides, these fragments mention other features of GENIUS –
intellect, creativity, perseverance.
An interesting explanation of the nature of GENIUS is offered in the
following excerpt, according to which the phenomenon of genius is
closely connected with the diversity of a person’s interests:
“In all those books, I’ve noticed that creativity comes from
connecting art to science. To be really creative, you have to be interested
in all sorts of different disciplines rather than be a specialist. Being
curious about everything and curious just for curiosity’s sake, not simply
because it’s useful, is the defining trait of Leonardo”.
Such conceptual features as creativity and curiosity can be singled
out in the given fragment.
But to become a genius it is necessary to realize one’s potential
which feature is verbalized by the lexical units: achievement,
contributions:
“But monumental intelligence on its own is no guarantee of
monumental achievement, as Terman and his collaborators would
discover”. “Throughout history rare individuals have stood out for their
meteoric contributions to a field”.
The irrational approach to the nature of genius is reflected in the
following conceptual feature, namely: the unknown power, as in the

266
case of a well-known jazz pianist who cannot explain his emotional and
psychological state during the performance:
“This may help explain the astounding performances of jazz pianist
Keith Jarrett. Jarrett, who improvises concerts that last for as long as two
hours, finds it difficult–impossible, actually–to explain how his music
takes shape. But when he sits down in front of audiences, he purposefully
pushes notes out of his mind, moving his hands to keys he had no
intention of playing. “I’m bypassing the brain completely,” he tells me.
“I am being pulled by a force that I can only be thankful for”.
The importance of socio-cultural component in the development of a
genius is foregrounded in the following context with the help of lexical
units nurture, social and cultural influences:
“Genetic potential alone does not predict actual accomplishment. It
also takes nurture to grow a genius. Social and cultural influences can
provide that nourishment, creating clusters of genius at moments and
places in history: Baghdad during Islam’s Golden Age, Kolkata during
the Bengal Renaissance, Silicon Valley today”.
Thus, the analysis of the publicist texts enabled singling out the
following verbalized conceptual features of GENIUS in the English
scientific image of the world: extraordinariness (exceptional, rare, soar
above the rest of us, stood out); originality (revolutionized, changing the
world, Scientific breakthroughs); creativity (creative, creativity),
curiosity (curious, curiosity); intellect (intelligence); achievement
(achievement, contributions); an unknown force (a force); socio-
cultural influence (nurture, social and cultural influences).

CONCLUSIONS
The study of a concept through the language is the most reliable way
of linguistic analysis which allows to detect conceptual features and to
work out the structural model of the concept. The structure of a concept is
manifested through dictionary definitions of the corresponding lexical
units and through speech contexts. The linguistic embodiment of the
concept GENIUS was considered on the basis of English explanatory
dictionaries, specialized encyclopedias, biographies and publicist texts
which represent two variants of the English picture of the world, namely,
naïve and scientific. The following conceptual features have been singled
out: exclusivity, extraordinariness, intellectual abilities, creative
abilities, achievements which were proved, demonstrated, deep

267
knowledge of a certain sphere, mastery, independence, endurance,
inspiration, fervor, work, originality, young age, force, socio-cultural
influence. Such conceptual features as extraordinariness, intellect,
creativity and originality should be considered nuclear conceptual
features of the concept GENIUS as they are verbalized in all the analyzed
sources. Comparing the obtained results (namely the list of cognitive
features) with the analysis of the linguistic embodiment (both in language
and speech) of the concept under study, we conclude that there is a
significant expansion of conceptual features in speech contexts (mainly in
scientific discourse).
The prospect of further research is seen in consideration of the
verbalization of concept GENIUS in the English artistic discourse.

SUMMARY
The article is dedicated to the investigation of the peculiarities of
verbalization of the concept GENIUS in the English language and speech.
The research presents main aspects of the study of the phenomenon of
genius in philosophy and psychology. It analyzes definitions of the
lexical units genius and prodigy in the English explanatory dictionaries as
well as in specialized encyclopedias. The research singles out conceptual
features of the analyzed concept in the popular-science biographies and in
articles from National Geographic. These sources represent two variants
of the English picture of the world, namely, naïve and scientific. The
following conceptual features have been singled out: exclusivity,
extraordinariness, intellectual abilities, creative abilities, achievements
which were proved, demonstrated, deep knowledge of a certain sphere,
mastery, independence, endurance, inspiration, fervor, work, originality,
young age, force, socio-cultural influence. The nuclear conceptual
features proved to be extraordinariness, intellect, creativity, originality.

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16. Хомченкова Е.А. Феноменология гениальности: от
антропной к социокультурной детерминации : автореф. дис … канд.
філос. наук: 09.00.13. Омск, 2007. 20 с.

Information about the author:

Strochenko L. V.
Candidate of Philological Sciences,
Associate Professor at the Chair
of Lexicology and Stylistics of the English Language,
Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University
2, Dvoryanska str., Odesa, 65082, Ukraine

269
DOI https://doi.org/10.36059/978-966-397-124-7/270-289

LANGUAGE MEANS OF ‘ENVY’ AND ‘BETRAYAL’

CONCEPTUALIZATION: SPHERE OF SOCIALLY
EVALUATING AND EMOTIONAL CONCEPTS
AND THEIR INTERACTION

Tyshchenko O. V.

INTRODUCTION
Nowadays conceptual studies are one of the most relevant areas of
linguistics, as evidenced by a large number of works on linguo-cultural
concepts which are the verbal embodiment of complex mental formations
that exist “on ethno-cultural, sociocultural and individual levels of
consciousness1.
According to N.D. Arutyunova, common analogues of philosophical
and ethical terms create a vast field of natural languages vocabulary
which reflects the practical philosophy of a person. The latter is the result
of different factors interaction among which there are national tradition
and folklore, religion and ideology, life experience, feelings and values.
The researcher distinguishes two semantic layers of vocabulary –
TRUTH and KNOWLEDGE which include the epistemic concepts
belonging to the sphere of mental notions and mental action and FATE
which describes everything that happens to a person2.
From epistemological point of view, “the inner universum of a
person is described through the interaction of three spheres – will,
feelings and intelligence and, thus, there are few purely voluntary or
emotional and mental predicates in the semantic continuum of a particular
language3.

1
Алефиренко Н.Ф. Лингвокультурология. Ценностно-смысловое пространство
языка: учебное пособие. Москва, 2010. С. 5.
2
Арутюнова Н.Д. Ментальные действия: Сборник статей / Логический анализ
языка. Избранное 1988–1995; под общ. ред. Н.Д. Арутюновой. Москва: Индрик, 2003.
С. 456–461.
3
Danielewiczowa M. Główne problemy opisu i podziału czasownikowych
predykatów mentalnych / Studia z semantyki porównawczej. Nazwy barw. Nazwy
wymiarów. Predykaty mentalne; pod red. R.Grzegorczykowej i K.Waszakowej. Cz 1.
Warszawa: Uniwersytet Warszawski, 2000. S. 228.

270
 Language modeling of cultural values includes the formation of
sociocultural vocabulary reflecting the basic categories of culture,
regulatives of a person’s spiritual and practical experience, his/her
emotions and assessments, and also a specification of the semantics, the
forms and the spheres defining the application of language means by
which these categories are explicated. In the process of formation and
development of a certain type of culture, cultural and axiological senses
that have been formed in language (‘clots of culture in language” and
concept spheres) harmonize cultural memory, form ideas about cultural
identity and continuity, moral and ethical, philosophical and life values of
a certain linguistic community and stereotypical views on valuable and
spiritual matters and can be modeled as concept spheres4 .
The cognitive orientation of modern semantics is determined by the
necessity to systematize various fragments of knowledge about the world
and to explain the mechanisms of their reflection in the consciousness of
a language personality, in human psychology, socio-cultural stereotypes,
folklore, the language of ethnic culture, etc. It is linguo-cognitive
perspective that distinguishes the inner world of a person as a part, a
fragment of the general picture of the world reflected in the human
psyche and interpersonal relations and verbalized by means of a certain
ethnic language in certain axiological spheres or in the language of values
(«język wartości», J. Puzynina, J. Bartmiński, R. Grzegorczykowa).
On the other hand, it should be noted that emotional experience is a
part of human psychoemotional and an important component of cognitive
activity, behavior, communication with the external world and other
people. Human emotional sphere was the subject of deep and detailed
analysis by representatives of different scientific fields, first of all by
psychologists, who analyzed envy from the position of human behavior
social models (M. Klein, P. Kutter) as well as by philosophers (Aristotle,
F. Bacon, R. Descartes, I. Kant, B. de Spinoza, A. Schopenhauer) and
linguists (A. Wierzbicka, Ya.Ya. Stefansky, V.I. Shakhovsky,
Ya.Sazonova, O. Yasinovska, etc.).
The analysis of verbal explication of mental images which
differently reflect phenomena of culture and society and their emotional

4
Запольская Н.Н Спасение, любовь, милосердие: К вопросу о языковом
моделировании культурных ценностей / Эволюция ценностей в языках и культурах;
ответ.ред. И.А.Седакова. Москва: Пробел, 2000. С. 37.

271
notions makes it possible to observe in culture and society the specificity
of the usage of linguistic means in the form of socioally evaluative
concepts as “clusters of culture and people`s mentality in a language”,
which encompass Envy, Betrayal, Slander and others. We suggest
considering these concepts in linguocognitive and comparative coverage
in the Slavic language and conceptual pictuers of the world based on
lexicographical facts, data of bilingual phraseological and special
dictionaries as well as text corpora of different Slavic languages (Polish,
Russian, Ukrainian, Chesh compared with other not closely related
languages).
This approach allows distinguishing three components in the
structure of the concept: notional (stating distinctive features of primary
nomination in terms of dictionary definitions), associative-imagery
(represented by figurative and metaphorical nominations) and value (that
displays a number of secondary associative meanings related to norms
and evaluations of different aspects of the phenomenon of Betrayal,
Envy, or other analyzed ones.

1. Conceptualization of Envy and Related Concepts

Anna Wierzbicka notes, that there is always some reason for the
motive of envy, that is, the existence of something that “I do not have,
and I suffer from it, I consider it unfair to me and I would like to have
(and therefore I wish I had it, achieved the same thing)”. It is indisputable
that both emotions (envy and greed) have a destructive character, since
their deep structure is characterized by the general idea of suffering and
hatred. For a clearer delineation of these nuances of the investigated
emotions, the researchers use the principle of semantic primitives,
suggested by A. Wierzbicka: 1) X feels envy: “Something good happened
to someone else. It did not happen to me. I do not want that to be the case.
I want such good things to happen to me, not to someone else. Therefore,
I suffer and hate the others”; 2) X feels jealous: “It fear that the person
who is dear for me has good feelings for someone else. I'm afraid that the
person who is dear for me may loose good feelings to me. I do not want
that to be the case. I wish the person who is dear for me the expensive
face had good feelings only to me. Therefore, I suffer and hate the
other”5.
5
Wierzbicka A. Semantyka. Jednostki elementarne i uniwersalne. Lublin, 2006. S. 123.

272
 It is worth mentioning that in Russian predicates that consist of
stable word combinations in some regional language and various Russian
dialects, envy is also a subject of ownership (feel, state) and a verb with
the meaning of movement. For example, Зависть кидать “experiencing
feelings of jealousy” (Богатущая, а всё зависть кидает, всё ей мало,
больше хочет)6. It performs the function of a certain substance, as
evidenced by the combination with verbs “входить в” and the action
from somebody’s side, something external to the subject – the disease as
well as malicious look, etc.: входить в урос, урос напал “somebody got
sick from an envious, malicious look” (Вчера пришла из бани, так
хорошо было, да пришла суседка и изурочила меня, поглядела на
меня нагую и всё, урос напал на меня: голова болит, жар поднялся,
спать не могу, ворочаюсь всю ночь. Ой, кака баба, взгляд её
тяжелой 7).
With the same motivation people used the network in the Russian
North to get rid of the evil eye. In Pinega, when they spoke of a “wasting
disease” they cut off a piece from the fishing net and pounded it with
hemp fiber “away from oneself” (that is like twisting in the opposite
direction) and read the charm: «Как от сети узла никто не может ни
развязать, ни распустить – ни еретик, ни клеветник, ни завидник,
так же бы рабу божию (имярек) никто не мог бы ни испортить, ни
изурочить»8. In the traditional people’s culture there are folk believes
connected to some notions of timing charged with negative symbolism in
the traditional folk Christian calendar, especially in the traditional leap
year calendar as adverse period. V. Dahl presents the following facts in
the “Dictionary”: 29th February is the day of Касьяна завистливого:
Касьяна злопамятного, ill-willed, unmerciful, stingy personality.
Касьян на скот взглянет, скот валится; на дерево, дерево сохнет.
Касьян, на что ни взглянет – все вянет. Касьян на народ – народу
тяжело; Касьян на траву – трава сохнет; Касьян на скот – скот
дохнет 9. In this respect it is worth mentioning some Russian humoristic

6
Прокошева К.Н. Фразеологический словарь пермских говоров. Пермь, 2002.
C. 65.
7
Ibidem. C. 395.
8
Толстой Н.И. Этнографический комментарий к древним славяно-русским
текстам. 1. Сеть (мрежа) / Литература и искусство в системе культуры; отв.ред. акад.
Пиотровский. Москва: Наука, 1988. C. 122.
9
Даль В.И. Толковый словарь живого великорусского языка: в 4-х т. Москва,
1989–1991. Т. 1. С. 167.

273
wishes: Поздравляю с плешью. И зазывают шутливо: «Милости
прошу к нашему грошу со своим пятаком!» Везде, по пословице:
«Привет за привет и любовь за любовь, а завистливому – хрену да
перцу, и то не с нашего стола»10.
Envy in the Russian language, as in other languages, as a kind of
semantic universal, correlates with the idea of someone else's good and
material well-being, happiness; compare: Берут завидки на чужие
пожитки, Завидки берут, что нам не дают;, in the Kuban subdialects
this proverb is fixed in the Ukrainian form Беруть завидки на чужі
пожитки, Зависть – враг счастья 11. In the Smolensk Russian
subdialects it is fixed that envy is directed to someone’s goodness and
well-being: Чужое добро подпирает ребро кому12. Partial
correspondence and cultural analogue of the above mentioned statements
can be traced in Polish: Cudza dola pod bok kole13. Compare with
Russian: Зобастый беззобому не в зависть, Зависть прежде нас
родилась, всегда была и будет14.
When referring to the idea of envy, greed and conscience or its
absence in the composition of many dialectal idioms and proverbial
constructions the names of human body parts and, above all, the eyes are
objectified (with ascribed to them corresponding attributes which
reinforce the feature of the subject and have negative connotation,
compare, Russian: грабущие (with augmentative formant), руки: Руки
грабущие у кого15, облизал бы глаза (referring to shame) (От стыда
облизал бы глаза и ушел)16.
V. Dahl highlights the following contexts of an “envier”: Глазища
колом тычут, Глаза завидущи, а руки загребущи, Глазом не
10
Максимов С. Крылатые слова по толкованию С.В. Максимова / послесл. и
коммент. Ю.М. Медведева. Москва: Астрель, 2000. C. 240.
11
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т., Николаева Е.К. Большой словарь русских
пословиц. Москва, 2010. С. 356.
12
Словарь русских народных говоров. Вып.1–36. Москва-Ленинград (СПб.):
Наука, 1965–2002. С. 137.
13
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
T. 1. S. 464.
14
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т., Николаева Е.К. Большой словарь русских посло-
виц. Москва, 2010. С. 356.
15
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т. Словарь псковских пословиц и поговорок. Санкт-
Петербург, 2001. С. 66.
16
Фразеологический словарь русских говоров Сибири; ред. А.И. Федоров.
Новосибирск: Наука, 1983. С. 124.

274
наворотишь, упустив, Глаза человеку вороги ненасытностью,
Глазам-то стыдно, а душа-та рада, У него поповские глаза, Глазы
ямы, а руки грабли. Свиные глазы не боятся грязи, Завистливый
своих двух глаз не пожалеет, У зависти глаза велики17. In some
dialectal phraseological units of the Russian language there also appear
“fingers” as components of phraseological combinations correlated with
another free syntactic prototypes (direct variable phrases) – scenarios of
eating, tasting and licking as a figurative expression of desire to have the
same (Vologda subdialect): Облизывать пальчики “to envy
somebody”18. Concerning the so called “priest’s eyes” S. Maximov
remarks: “Our popular expressions dates back to that time when the
priesthood became so common and obligatory in the terms of national life
of a separate class that the people became to feel some inconveniences
and burdens and began to say: «От вора отобьюсь, от приказного
откуплюсь, от попа не отмолюсь». Then they recognized that the
latter had «не карманы, а мешки», and they got used to numerous
priests’ customs saying: «Родись, крестись, женись, умирай – за все
попу деньги отдавай». At the same time “поповские глаза завидущие,
руки загребущие и поповы детки непутныё” and are rarely successful,
while the priests’ habits and temper “на кривой не обведеш”19.
In conceptualization of envy and avarice the somatic code (throat,
mouth) is combined with parametric adjectives (broad) and the idea of
quantity (relative size “с губой”, obviously, with an omitted implied
adjective “большой” speaking about envious person: жалеть себе в
рот “be extremely meager”20, which are usually transformed into images
of insatiability and are marked as derogative in the above mentioned
dictionaries of dialects. The same negative connotation is characteristic
for the following sayings: Горло широкое “A greedy, stingy person”
(Мало плотят – шестьдесят рублей. И больше наполучут – все
равно мало. Горло шибко широкое у ей; Нет, они не дадут: горло
широкое у них, загребастые глаза). This connotation obviously occurs

17
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т., Николаева Е.К. Большой словарь русских
пословиц. Москва, 2010. С. 356.
18
Мокиенко В.М, Николаева Т.Г. Большой словарь русских поговорок. Москва,
2007. C. 479.
19
Максимов С. Крылатые слова по толкованию С.В. Максимова / послесл. и
коммент. Ю. М. Медведева. Москва: Астрель, 2000. C. 268.
20
Фразеологический словарь русских говоров Сибири; ред. А.И. Федоров.
Новосибирск: Наука, 1983. С. 69.

275
by analogy with “hands”: В два горла хватать «begrudge» (Им всё
мало, в два горла хватают) [Прокошева: 399]; мороженые глаза –
speaking about unscrupulous, arrogant person (Ты чо ета врешь,
хлопуша лешава, мороженые твои глаза21, глаза заморожены (Нет
смущения, совести». Чё он будет стыдиться кого-то? Глаза-то у
его заморожены)22, Глаза разбегаются в разные стороны у кого –
speaking about the feeling of surprise or envy23; Хоть плюй ему в глаза,
он говорит божья роса. Sometimes some rare examples may be
observed – substances “sweat”and “blood” in combinations with
description of complexion: На щеках потники у кого «о бессовестном
человеке» (Бессовестный, у него на щеках потники)24.
A psychosomatic and kinetic code in combination with a spatial one
can designate a different degree and character of the following emotional
manifestation: beginning, intensity, growth, gradation: Глаза не в ту
сторону забегают “Envy flares up” (Ох, у его глаза не в ту сторону
забегают; у соседа мотоцикл – и ему надо нажить25), Набирать
зависти “to begin envying smb”26. In this case envy is compared to a
certain substance, liquid which is ladled out and poured into a container:
Body is like a VESSEL, CONTAINER, which is filled with emotions.
Let's consider the nomination of envy in the Polish language picture
of the world. First of all, we have to note that in most European languages
the lexeme envy has wider semantic scope than in the East Slavonic
language and cultural continuum due to interlanguage homonymy. For
example, the Polish lexeme zazdrość (compare its semantic variant
zawiść, which almost completely coincides with the Ukrainian
заздрість) covers the semantic sphere that corresponds in Ukrainian or
Russian to two denotations – заздрість and ревнощі (compare scena
zazdrości – literally “the scene of jealousy”). Proverbial contexts in

21
Фразеологический словарь русских говоров Сибири; ред. А.И. Федоров.
Новосибирск: Наука, 1983. С. 42, 47, 69.
22
Прокошева К.Н. Фразеологический словарь пермских говоров. Пермь, 2002.
С. 76.
23
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т. Словарь псковских пословиц и поговорок. Санкт-
Петербург, 2001. С. 148.
24
Фразеологический словарь русских говоров Сибири; ред. А.И.Федоров.
Новосибирск: Наука, 1983. C. 149.
25
Прокошева К.Н. Фразеологический словарь пермских говоров. Пермь, 2002.
C. 76.
26
Мокиенко В.М, Николаева Т.Г. Большой словарь русских поговорок. Москва,
2007. C. 238.

276
Polish are mainly associated with the spatial idea of a repository (a person
falls in jealousy, as well as in anger): Zazdrość jest gdyby rów: kto w nią
wpadł, bywaj zdrów.
In many languages moral properties of bad conscience, slander,
gossip are realized with the help of metaphorical signs of impurity, dirt,
stains and, respectively, predicates of purification, ablution: Ukrainian:
Якби сам був білий, то б не чорнив другого; Хто обкидає болотом
других, у того руки брудні, Водою що хочеш, лиш сумління не
сполочеш27; Russian: Мазать/ замазать чёрной краской что “slander
someone”28, Мазать/ вымазать дёгтем, Клевета – как (что уголь):
не обожжет, так замарает29.

2. Conceptual Sphere BETRAYAL:

Ways of Representation in Slavic Languages
Let’s consider the individual cognitive metaphorical representations,
where false, deceit, slander and betrayal appear as one-order
phenomena, which belomng to the same semantic row: reside on the
surface or inside: Falsz się nie zatai, Falsz zawżdy wynurzyć si musi,
Falsz wyniknie, jednak zdrada się wytoczy30. Polish proverbs fixed the
idea that slander is more dangerous than direct and simple betrayal, these
images are motivated by the idea of sharp teeth, an animal grin: Trudno
się złośliwego zebu ustrzec “Trudno si ustrzec obmowy, oszczerstwa”31.
In this respect it's worth paying attention to the interesting old expression
in the Polish language Psim głosem odszczekać – literally “Bark in the
dog's voice”, which is recorded in the famous and one of the oldest
dictionaries of the Polish language. According to historical evidence, the
person who slandered Queen Jadviga should have had a degrading
punishment for causing offense: in the Sejm, sitting under the bench, bark
in a dog's voice, thereby recognizing his false testimony and betrayal.
Such a punishment was at one time appointed to storekeeper Gnevosh for

27
Плав’юк С. Приповідки, або українсько-народня філософія. / зібрав,
підготував до друку та опублікував Володимир С. Плав’юк. Едмонтон, 1998. С. 236.
28
Мокиенко В.М, Николаева Т.Г. Большой словарь русских поговорок. Москва,
2007. С. 178.
29
Ibidem. С. 178, 406.
30
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
Т. 1. S. 560.
31
Ibidem. T. III. S. 839.

277
a slander (oszczerstwo)32. The punishment for slander is inevitable – a
Russian proverb says Легко клевещется, нелегко отвечается. V. Dal
recorded Christian motives of punishment for slander, as a punishment
after death, in the afterlife: Клеветники на том свете каленые
сковородки лижут33.
Some Russian dialectal expressions, such as оскалять зло, also
appear similar in their internal form “it is not fair to bring your anger,
irritation, slander on smb.,”34. Some proverbial constructions and idioms
in Russian naturally correspond to the idea of evil tongue, for example,
змеиный язык "about the evil man who is a slanderer”. The Yaroslavl
dialects of Russia produced expressions: метровый язык "about the
gossip, slanderer”; Величается клеветник, изрывая яму языком
ближнему, и сам впадет в ию – such testimony is found in historical
dictionaries of the XI-XVII centuries35. In this respect there are
remarkable contexts where the predicates of gnawing and destruction are
highly frequent: Клевета беззуба, а грызьмя грызет36.
In the Polish language consciousness, BETRAYAL can be expressed
through torsion or thread spinning, for example: Niechaj ten zdrajca
takich wici więcej już nie kręci 'slip out', Kręcisz wici, jezuito37; identified
by comparison to a fragile item that can be broken (Zdradliwe szczęście,
szklane jest wszystko gdy ldyni się, wnet się złamie)38. Treason in Polish
phrases is motivated by the metaphors of impurity, dirt, stains, directed
towards the subject himself: plamić siȩ zdradą (Nie wymieniȩ jego
nazwiska, bo splamił siȩ zdradą, podał gestapo informacje o żołniezrach
Armii Krajowej)39. Similar moral and ethical ideas are also found in some
Ukrainian dialects (Ukrainian Eastern Slobozhansky dialects)
32
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
T. III. S. 376.
33
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т., Николаева Е.К. Большой словарь русских
пословиц. Москва, 2010. С. 410.
34
Мокиенко В.М, Николаева Т.Г. Большой словарь русских поговорок. Москва,
2007. C. 255.
35
Ibidem. С. 410.
36
Ibidem.С. 409.
37
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
T III. S. 658.
38
Ibid. S. 385.
39
Muldner-Nieckowski S. Carofano-Bugajska Wielki słownik frazeologiczny języka
polskiego.Warszawa, 2003. S. 935.

278
characterized by the attributive function (in Ukrainian: Гнилими
нитками шитий “to be inclined to treason”40. Let us also pay attention
to the sensations: zdrada enters into phraseological ties with the verbs of
sensation and perception, for example, wȩszyć / wietrzyć zdradȩ,
containing metaphors of taste and smell. The latter objectify treason both
as a direct meaning, in particular, the idea that treason can be felt,
smelled, like a beast sniffs out, searches for its prey (the verb wietrzyć is
used in relation to animals as part of this phraseological expression, to
feel with the help of smell the presence of someone or something, “feel
and anticipate something”), and a series derivative meanings of the verb
wȩszyć recorded in the latest explanatory and phraseological dictionaries
of the Polish language: “to constantly search for something, to follow
something or someone”, “to trace something in something”41, “to suspect
someone of treason, to be afraid of adultery, to trust no one”42.
Conceptually, this frame is associated with the frame of hypocrisy
represented in a set of figurative nominations. Let’s scrutinize it more
deeply. The conceptual metaphor treason – disguise – camouflage is
represented by units of bodily somatic and zoomorphic code (the Biblical
motif of wolf in sheep's clothing), where the heart acts as a container of
different emotions: Zrzucić maskę Spada maska, a zdrajca, co pod nią
przebywa43, Wielu się pięknie układa, a w sercu ich skryta zrada44,
Bernardyńska postawa, ale wilcze serce. The main motivators are
oriented towards opposing the bodily top and bottom: Z przodu liże, a z
tyłu drapie, Gdzie nie staje wilczej skóry, tam lisiej nadstawia, often with
actionable predicates – to lick (sickly-sweet, pleasing, kissing someone,
fawning before someone, betraying friendship (approach, false testimony,
prevaricate): W oczy mi się liżesz, a za oczy krzywa podstępną świadczysz
przyjaźń, Słowa w języku jedwabne, ale w piersiach serce zradne,
Miodowe albo jedwabne słówka tworzyć, a zdradliwym sercem, co może
być najgorszego, myślić; to taste differentiation sweet / bitter: Słówka

40
Ужченко В., Ужченко Д. Фразеологічний словник східнослобожанських і
степових говірок Донбасу. Луганськ, 2000. С. 214.
41
Dunaj B. Słownik języka polskiego.Warszawa, 2005. S. 771.
42
Muldner-Nieckowski S. Carofano-Bugajska. Wielki słownik frazeologiczny języka
polskiego.Warszawa, 2003. S. 935.
43
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red. J.
Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978. T. II.
S. 410.
44
Ibid. T. III. S. 852.

279
słodkie, a pod językiem piołun45; Сладкие слова, а под языком полын;
Znam cię ziółko, żeś pokrzywka, znamy ziołko pokrzywka: piękna, ale
zdradzi / I know a plant: nettle, beautiful, but unstable 46, Pełno slów
gładkich, wdzięcznych gębie, a zdrada w sercu, Wielu się pięknie układa,
a w sercu ich skryta zrada 47.
According to N.V. Skorodumova, “Treason, like a person, can
manifest itself in different spheres of life, perform some actions, generate
or initiate, send, carry, etc”. To confirm this thesis, let us turn to the ways
of metaphorical expression of betrayal in Polish literary discourse which
presents this phenomenon by conceptual metaphors that are diverse in
their ontology, origin and evaluation, or its figurative cognitive discursive
possibilities.
In the works of G.Senkevich, treason can wait for someone: Bogatym
jesteś, lecz nie wiesz, czy jutro nie każą ci porzucić bogactw; młodym
jesteś, lecz jutro może ci trzeba będzie umrzeć. Miłujesz, lecz czyha na
ciebie zdrada (H.Sienkiewicz «Quo Vadis», 162).
In Y. Slovatsky, the Treason can act as a symbolic Bottom,
expressed by spatial verbs – wpadać: a precipice or a pit filled with
treacherous snakes: Więc zdradziłem ją! Boże, w jakąż przepaść
wpadłem! Nie wierz mi! Ona tego sobie nie wyznała I mnie się nie
zwierzyła, z rumieńca odgadłem...» (Juliusz Słowacki «Maria Stuart»,
26), Jamy wężową napełnione zdradą…Powiem… wyroki wypełniając
wieczne, które to na mnie dzisiaj brzemię kładą (Juliusz Słowacki «Król-
Duch», 1).
The somatic code is categorized through the concept of the Body, its
upper and lower parts for the cognitive representation of human feelings:
le nie zaniepokoili się tym, albowiem z zapadniętych, mistycznych oczu
suchotnika patrzyła nie zdrada, lecz jakby głęboka melancholia
człowieka, który jest u brzegu życia… (Henryk Sienkewicz «Baśnie i
Legendy», 123).
Occasionally, the cognitive categorization of person’s perception
correlates with the verbs of taste (to taste the betrayal), such as, for
example, in G. Senkevich’s works: Poznasz, jako to fructa zdrady

45
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
T. III. S. 242.
46
Ibid. S. 865.
47
Ibid. S. 603.

280
smakują. Będziesz ty mnie jeszcze za przyjaciela uważał, ale jeśli lepszych
przyjaciół nie znajdziesz, to nie poluj nigdy na niedźwiedzia, chyba ci
skóra niemiła… (Henryk Sienkewicz «Potop», 194).
The metaphor of the disease ‘object is sick and requires treatment’ as
a key metaphor of different texts and genres was identified in political
communication and publicistic texts by A. Chudinov; it is manifested in
the frame of ‘Treason as an infection’, for example, in the works of
G. Senkevich: W pień ich!… Zdrada najzaraźliwsza, mości panowie!…
Wyrwać kąkol, bo inaczej zginiemy wszyscy! (Henryk Sienkewicz
«Potop», 115), Jakże?… I waćpan był pod Ujściem?… i waćpan patrzył
na to wszystko własnymi oczyma?!… Toż to po prostu zdrada była
najzaraźliwsza, w dziejach niesłychana! (Henryk Sienkewicz «Potop»,
133), which is represented in particular by comparative constructions:
Straszna rzecz, wiarę przechodząca! – mówił Stanisław Skrzetuski. –
Gdzie się coś podobnego działo? Ratujcie mnie, mości panowie, bo czuję,
że mi się w głowie miesza…Dwie wojny, trzecia kozacka… a do tego
zdrada jak zaraza (Henryk Sienkewicz «Potop», 191).
In Y.Slovatsky’s idiostyle, the analyzed concept is combined with
other emotional concepts – conscience, care, that fill or poison everyday
life and human fate imbibed with mother's milk: Gwiazdy winne, że
knułeś cudzą śmierć lub zdradę, W kolebce byłeś takim jak dzisiaj
zbrodniarzem, Z pokarmu matki ssałeś dni strute zgryzotą! (Juliusz
Słowacki «Maria Stuart», 22). Pejorative assessment can be attributed to
treason, as evidenced by the combinability of this word with moral and
evaluative adjectives as well as other ethical concepts – honor,
przysięga, grzech, hańba: Nikomu nie ufam – mówił zgryźliwie starzec. –
Bo jaką mi dać kto może rękojmię?... Przysięgę czy słowo honoru?... Za
stary jestem, aby wierzyć w przysięgi... Tylko wspólny interes jako tako
zabezpiecza od najpodlejszej zdrady, a i to nie zawsze...(Bolesław Prus
«Lalka» 56), Dokonano okropnej zdrady – odparł Mefres chwytając się
za głowę… (Bolesław Prus «Faraon», 527), On umiera! Królowo,
okropna to zdrada! Nicku! Nicku! i cóż mam uczynić dla ciebie? Oczy
twoje ściemniały i twarz śmiercią blada… (Juliusz Słowacki «Maria
Stuart», 76), Mości zwrócę, zanimbym do tej haniebnej zdrady miał
dobrowolnie przyłożyć ręki. Bogu Waszą Książęcą Mość polecam…
(Henryk Sienkewicz «Potop», 185); A jak widzę, to mnie tu on haniebnie
zdradza I sam pięknie przy własnej patronuje sprawie (Juliusz Słowacki
«Mazepa», 36).

281
 The conceptualization of breach of faith as a sin and dirt is
represented in Henryk Sienkewicz’s texts: „Raz pan nas już zdradził,
chyba nie skorzystamy z pańskich usług... (Henryk Sienkiewicz
«Przygody Kanoniera Dolasa», 72), Grzech nieczystości. Zdradziłem
moją żonę (Henryk Sienkiewicz «Przygody Kanoniera Dolasa», 94).
Artifact metaphors, as a rule, correlate with spatial and sensory code.
So, in «Pharaoh» by Prus, Treason is encoded as a liquid flowing from a
leaky barrel: Zdrada ciągle sączy się jak woda z pękniętej beczki…
(Bolesław Prus «Faraon», 925) or it can change in size: grow, increase
(the prototipical agricultural donor sphere), this parameterization of the
trait is observed in Y. Slovatskiy’s works: Czuć, że na twojej, mój
staruszku, roli Nie rośnie zdrada...(Juliusz Słowacki «Fantazy», 52).
Object symbolic metaphors appear in relation to the scenario of
hunting prey and tools and can be found in the texts of “ Psałterz
Dawidów ” by J. Kokhanovsky (the image of a fishing net as a symbol of
treason, a trap, a bird caught in a net as a symbol of treacherous actions
and deeds) : Strzeż mię od fortelów ludzi nieżyczliwych, Abych się nie
pobił w ich sieciach zdradliwych (Jan Kochanowski «Psałterz Dawidów»,
136), Wywikłaliśmy się z ich sieci zdradliwych, jako więc lichy ptaszek z
ręku myśliwych (Jan Kochanowski «Psałterz Dawidów», 125); Rybacy to
rąbali Przełomkę biednym rybkom zdradliwą... Nagle okropny krzyk – w
przełomkę człowiek pada (Juliusz Słowacki «Balladyna», 22), Napędzał
zaś ryby do zdradzieckiej sieci za pomocą Kinga, który, wprowadzony w
wodę, mącił ją i burzył tak niesłychanie…(Henryk Sienkiewicz «W
Pustyni i w Puszczy», 239). These Biblical motives are recorded in
dictionaries of symbols, for example, «Co więcej, człowiek jest
nieświadomy swego jutra, jak ryby schwytane w zdradliwe sieci albo
ptaki w sidła. „Jak one, tak też ludzie uwikłani zostaną w złej chwili, gdy
spadnie na nich znienacka» (Koh 9, 12). “Old Testament”, literally –
“Moreover, a person is not always confident in his future, like a fish
falling into a net or birds trapped; people similar to them can get into
adverse circumstances where they are jeoperdised”48.
It is also worth recalling in this respect the action-related predicates
connected to the opposition “to buy- to sell” which in their internal
form is close to Russian “передавать”, “sprzedac” or “одступать”

48
Lurker M. Słownik obrazów i symboli biblijnych; tł., red.bp K.Romaniuk. Poznań:
Pallottinum, 1989. S. 211.

282
(apostasy from smth, oath, faith, ideals, betrayal of Christ): Zarzucomo
mu odstępstwo od wiary49. The image of lentils as a Biblical symbol
of the betrayal of Jesus Christ is actualized in the Czech linguistic
culture: Prodat, zradit koho za mìsu čočovice/čočovici/pro čočovici
(sell, betray someone) – literally for lentil soup (for a bowl of lentils)50.
Let us also compare Russian and Polish typologically similar verbal
phrases with the variable lexical and syntactic composition: продать
душу дьяволу, Ni wie, gdzie Boga zdradzono, Nie wie, gdzie go
przedano51, Za pieniądze diabłu duszę sprzeda, Być dla kogoś judaszem
(człowiekiem falszywym), Patrzeć przez judasz (otwór w dzwiach),
Judaszowski uśmiech, Judaszowski/judaszowy pocałunek, Judaszowskie
srebrniki52, Russian: Иуда лижет блюда, Иуда ест и без блюда, Иуде
верить, не беда поплатиться 53. An echo of the Biblical motives are
represented in the Ukrainian language: І найсолодший поцілунок може
бути затроєний (profile “Biblical treason”, “Sin / Devil”, “Soul”,
“God). The insidiousness (with the semantic component “on
the sly”, “secretly”) is conceptualized by the Poles through the idea of
an unjust, black path: Iść czarnym szlakiem (borem) ’robić co
zdradziecko, podstępnie’.
Recurring to the subframe “adultery”, which is the most richly
represented in the Russian dialect language, including the boyfriend’s
treason, it is worth mentioning that the latter is also represented by the slot
“to encroach other’s property”, for example заняться чужбинкой
(Mordovian dialects) “betray a partner”, поджечь чужую масленицу
“betray somebody” (Novgorod subdialects)54. This expression is part of a
rather extensive synonymous row of phraseological units associated in
49
Dereń E., Nowak T., Polański E. Słownik języka polskiego z frazeologizmami i
przysłowiami. Warszawa, 2008. S. 259.
50
Mokienko V., Wurm A. Česko-ruski frazeologicky slovnik. Olomouc, 2002. S. 88.
51
Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych polskich. T. 1–4. / Red.
J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1969–1978.
T. III. S. 677.
52
Dereń E., Nowak T., Polański E. Słownik języka polskiego z frazeologizmami i
przysłowiami. Warszawa, 2008. S.146; Nowa księga przysłów i wyrażeń przysłowiowych
polskich. T. 1–4. / Red. J. Krzyżanowski, S. Swirko. Warszawa: Państwowy Instytut
Wydawniczy, 1969–1978. T. I. S. 508.
53
Мокиенко В.М, Николаева Т.Г. Большой словарь русских поговорок. Москва,
2007. С. 392.
54
Моргунова О.В., Кривощапова Ю.А., Осипова К.В. Русский народный
календарь. Этнолингвистический словарь. / науч. ред. Е. Л. Березович. Москва: Аст-
пресс книга, 2015. С. 253.

283
different languages with different realities of life, agricultural and other
instruments, cutlery. Compare for example, Russian (Arkhangelsk) Парить
кишку в чужом горшке “live with someone else's wife”55. In the Ukrainian
language some proverbs are also formed according to the model ‘attack on
someone else’s property, wife, etc”: Не скакай у чужу гречку, бо лихо
тобі буде, Чужая жона – здоровьє чиєсь, Як против солнця води не
напитися, так з чужою жоною, або з мужем чужим не нажитися56.
Similar notions are found in the Belarusian tradition, according to which
“extramarital relations of married people were perceived as a loss of
individual vital energy” (Не паглядай на чужых жонак: ці скасееш, ці
здурнееш) and the fate of the family: Чужую галубіць – сваю сям'ю
згубіць»; it was believed that the most active in terms of extramarital
relations men eventually begin to resemble their genitals: «Чужая падушка
лысіну працярэбіць»57. The idea of encroaching another's property is
clearly represented in the popular consciousness. Let us compare Russian
Зачем жениться, когда чужая ложиться58 [БСРП: 996] and the image
of a sickle in someone else's rye in English idioms: Put your sickle in
another man's corn which means adultery, extramarital contact59, as well as
some parallels, for example, in the Lemky dialect phraseology of
Ukrainians: ходити до чуджого ревіру – break adultery60.

CONCLUSIONS
All discussed secondary ways of conceptualization of ENVY,
BETRAYAL and SLANDER are united by the universal mental
predicates of action and state in their close relations to the corporal
metaphors and the verbs of destruction and physical influence (whine,
ache, hurt, gnaw, stab, feel hunger, etc.). Similar semantic regularities are
observed in ontologically and pragmatically different conceptual
spheres – TRUTH, JUSTICE, SHAME, MELANCHOLY, YEARNING,
55
Алексеенко М.А., Белоусова Т.П., Литвинникова О.И. Человек в русской
диалектной фразеологии. Словарь. Москва, 2004. С. 97.
56
Номис М. Українські приказки, прислів‘я і таке інше. Київ, 2004. С. 183.
57
Санько С., Валодзіна Т., Василевич У. і інш. Беларуска міфалогія.
Энцыклапедычны слоўнік. Мінск, 2004. С. 570.
58
Мокиенко В., Никитина Т., Николаева Е.К. Большой словарь русских
пословиц. Москва, 2010. С. 996.
59
Wilkinson P.R. A thesaurus of traditional English metaphors / P. R. Wilkinson.
London; New York, 1993. P. 159.
60
Вархол Н., Івченко А. Фразеологічний словник лемківських говірок Східної
Словаччини. Пряшев, 1990. С. 112.

284
CARE, FATE which, except destructive psychical correlates in their
semantic structure (see metaphor of worm or gnawing creature,
conscience as a judge and its actions), have specific means of
correlations between corporal and spiritual, mental notions (as in the
Czech language, where shame is transferred onto the human clothing,
compare: má z ostudy kabát ušitý “he has neither shame no conscience” –
lit. “his suit is made of shame”). Let remind in this respect the
mythological and naïve ideas that shoes, clothes and hair represent the
human being as a whole.
These and similar moral and ethical aspects require special
consideration both from the perspective of ethnic culture and customs and
in their relations to specific emotions. An old English proverb quoted by
social anthropologists may serve as an example (The greatest shame is to
envy people for their money, clothes or wealth61) or the Ukrainian cycle
of “shaming songs” in Ukrainian wedding traditions which were
performed in case when the bride turned to be impure and the wedding
was claimed “improper”.
Concerning the SLANDER, this concept is closely related to ENVY,
FRAUD and BETRAYAL as well as to hypocrisy (black colour and
sensational metaphors, for example, sweet or sour) manifesting deep
Christian and Bible roots verbalized in the idea of betrayal of Christ and
the punishment for slander and treason (compare, the national and
cultural symbolism of these motives represented in the image of “bowl of
lentil” in the Czech linguistic culture against the background of other
international phraseological units and proverbs, or the idea of punishment
for the calumny in the Polish linguistic culture). All discussed emotions
and axiological expressions from the cognitive treatment of the language
metaphorically codify and actualize the notions of surface and middle and
can function both as objects (to attack somebody …) and as subjects of
predicative constructions or patient (to overwhelm, encompass, overtake).
Imagery and notional centers of these expressions and idioms are
created by secondary evaluative philosophical and moral senses of good
and evil (pure and dirty in respect to the conscience, slander, betrayal),
mud, stain, purification embodying the principles of religious ethics or
violation of the conventional norms. Envy as betrayal (in Polish

61
Гельмут Шёк. Зависть: теория социального поведения / пер. с англ.
В. Кошкина; под ред. Ю. Кузнецова. Москва: ИРИСЭН, 2008. C. 30.

285
phraseology and literary discourse) manifests itself in the repertory of
similar metaphors – to emaciate, break, etc.; disease and corresponding
physical and psychological sensations; typologically similar spatial
symbolic representations of CONTAINER, BOTTOM, chthonic symbols
of Pit, Gap, Snake, symbols of colour and smell.
The profile “adultery” is directly related to the frame “domestic is
better than alien” and is represented by structural semiotic model that
includes variable optional components united by a certain subframe.
Some ethnic, cultural and psychological notions, Envy as an
example, are projected to the facts of folk calendar (compare the Russian
Касьян завистник) and traditional Christian believes about positive or
negative functions of certain Patrons from Slavic folk calendar: one more
circle of notions is linked to the stereotypes of ominous, sinister, ill-
boding eye in Slavonic magical apotropaic actions or objects and their
functioning. This phenomenon, thus, has brought forward numerous
somatic phraseological units in Russian dialects and in other languages.

SUMMARY
“Language modeling of cultural values” includes the sociocultural
vocabulary formation, which reflects the basic culture categories,
person’s spiritual and practical experience regulatives, his emotions and
estimations. In the certain culture type formation and development
process, cultural and value meanings formed in language (“the clots of
culture in language”) harmonize cultural memory, form ideas about
cultural identity and continuity, moral and ethical, philosophical,
ideological, religious and life values of a certain linguistic community.
This chapter presents a figurative and metaphoric component of the
conceptual spheres of Envy, Betrayal and Slander in Polish, Russian,
Ukrainian, Czech linguistic and conceptual picture of the world in their
interrelation and interpenetration. It reveals cognitive semantic and
pragmatic laws and principles of their content representation by indirect
derivational means of secondary nomination – phrases, idioms, stable
comparisons, proverbs, allusions in compared linguictic cultures; their
regional, ethnic and cultural specificity in certain dialects, as well as
bilingual and special dictionaries. It has been analyzed the cognitive
metaphors of BETRAYAL and TREACHERY in Polish fiction discourse
(in J. Kokhanowsky’s, J. Slovacky’s, G. Senkevich’s works,) and means
of their expression correlated with the corresponding cultural codes –

286
anthropomorphic, subject, artifact, spatial, colour and others, cognitive
models: “ENVY AND BETRAYAL – DISEASE, PASSION, PIT,
LIVING CREATURE, CAPACITY OF EMOTIONS, TABLEWARE,
LIQUID SUBSTANCE, etc. The chaper represents linguistic
culturological analysis of relevant conceptual spheres correlated with
socio-evaluative, ethical, axiological, calendar-ritual and other ideas
(deception, hypocrisy, revenge, infidelity, betrayal in the Christian
tradition and ideology, for example, some notions of time and Bible
notions associated with betrayal and envy) in their intertextual and
national-cultural aspects.

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Information about the author:

Tyshchenko O. V.
Doctor of Philology,
Professor at the Department
of Foreign Languages and Translation Studies,
Lviv State University of Life Safety
35, Kleparivska str., Lviv, Ukraine
Professor at the Department of Russian Studies,
University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
Trnava, nam. Herdu 2, Slovak Republic

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