Current issue

Due to technical reasons, several articles originally intended for the thematic issue “Pragmalinguistics: In Search of Synthesis” (Slovo.ru: Baltic Accent, 2025, No. 2), prepared by the editorial team in collaboration with guest co-editors V. V. Feshchenko, I. V. Zykova, and O. V. Sokolova, have been carried over into the present issue. With this release, we conclude the publication of the thematic cluster. At the same time, we plan to return to this line of research in the coming year and encourage further discussion of the proposed concepts and methodological approaches, especially given the inherently debatable nature of many contributions published over the course
of the year. The second section of this issue is devoted to a theme both central and longstanding for the journal: the reflection of cultural and historical epochs in the word, as well as the word’s active role in shaping them. This juxtaposition has unexpectedly revealed a deeper connection between the two thematic sections — the structuring of pragmatics within semantic systems and the realization of semantics within pragmatic models.

A hermeneutical interpretation of Goethe’s Faust’s attempt to interpret the meaning of the Gospel word λόγος, the first three verses of the Gospel of John, and the first three verses of the book of Genesis is proposed. The analysis of these hermeneutical constructions makes it possible to relate them—as well as the phenomenon of genesis itself—to the author’s model of recursion with inversive switching. The next step is to use this model to interpret and understand the pragmatic moment as the active beginning of meaning-making and communication. The radical expansion of pragmatics extends it beyond the bounds of semiotics proper, enabling it to be conceived as a virtually boundless sphere of human action—or more broadly, of universal agency. In this capacity, the expanding sphere of effective meaning-making is no longer reducible to practices and analytical rules of working with discrete signs. This requires their methodological and terminological distinction. Accordingly, the study of extended semiosis becomes a matter of emerging semiosics, and the principles and rules of combining discrete signs into complete statements become familiar semiotics. A similar need has emerged in contemporary linguistics: the need to distinguish between the expanded use of linguistic capacities for pragmatically motivated communication—or languaging—and the more narrowly defined traditional models of text and utterance construction based on normative lexicons and formal grammars. The article contains a sketch of the main approaches to the study of verbalisation and the formation of the corresponding scientific traditions.

This article examines the phenomenon of pragmatic obligatoriness. For illustrative purposes, it discusses Russian discourse markers—particularly the particles ‘vdrug’ and ‘razve’. An expression is considered pragmatically obligatory in a given communicative
situation if its absence, where the situation calls for it, may lead to unintended implicatures. Pragmatically obligatory discourse markers may occasionally appear in translation even when no direct stimulus is present in the source text. Special attention is given to the use of proper names and the act of telling jokes. The article explores the pragmatic principle governingproper names through the concept of the mental dossier, arguing that the introduction of a name should be accompanied by a description of its referent. In fictional texts, violation of this principle may produce specific artistic effects. The article also differentiates between the telling of jokes and related speech genres. It argues that the introduction of a forthcoming canned joke into discourse is necessary, and it examines certain clichés commonly used to preface such jokes—clichés that are never employed to introduce spontaneous jokes.

The article is devoted to connectives, i. e., functional words and constructions whose primary function is to express semantic relations between units of discourse. It aims to explore the pragmatic dimension of connectives, which remains largely underappreciated in linguistic pragmatics to date. Given that the concept of pragmatics has at least two distinct interpretations in linguistic research—here termed the epistemological (pragmatics as shared knowledge activated in discourse production and comprehension) and the semiotic (pragmatics as information about the speaker’s attitude toward the utterance, conveyed through linguistic means)—both perspectives are addressed. The introductory section justifies the use of the term konnektor (the Russian equivalent of connective), a relatively recent addition to Russian linguistic terminology, arguing for its advantages over closely related terms. This section also demonstrates the formal diversity of connectives. Section 2, the main body of the article, consists of two parts. In the first (2.1), it is argued that pragmatics, in its epistemological interpretation, functions as a factor that specifies or refines the general semantic relation expressed by the connective. In the second part (2.2), the focus shifts to the semiotic interpretation, where we identify pragmatic components within the linguistic meaning of connectives. Based on the analysis of several representative cases, the article concludes that,
in addition to their primary function of marking semantic relations within discourse, some connectives also perform a secondary function: conveying pragmatic information about the speaker’s attitude toward the propositional content of the connected units.

The study follows the tenets of cognitive multimodal pragmatics, focusing on some specific features of intersubjective positioning with gestures in Russian dialogic speech. It is hypothesized that gestures with recurring formal features (type and direction of movement, palm configuration, etc.) exhibit certain regularities when used with pragmatic markers of intersubjective positioning, such as agreement and disagreement, viewpoint blending, reference to the subject of positioning, opposition of viewpoints, and direct or indirect evidentiality. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of video recordings annotated with the help of ELAN software have revealed that offering gestures (open-palm, directed towards the interlocutor) are the most frequently used with all markers of intersubjectivity. However, statistically significant correlations between the gesture types and the (sub)types of intersubjectivity were found only for pointing gestures for agreement vs. disagreement, and for binary mirror gestures for merging viewpoints vs. opposing viewpoints. Namely, pointing gestures are significantly more often associated with agreement, while binary gestures are more commonly linked to the opposition of viewpoints. The approach enables the identification of gestures with regular positioning functions in dialogue (i. e., recurrent gestures). From a cognitive perspective, certain features of embodied cognition in dialogic communication have been identified. The findings confirm the significance of the bodily orientation of the speakersas related to the viewpoints they express. This is achieved through several mimetic schemas the gestures are based upon: demonstration of an object, establishing physical contact with the interlocutor, and localization or placement of objects in space.

The article highlights the features of self-presentation of the subject of retrospective mental and cognitive activity recorded in the texts of memoirs of German-speaking writers of the 19th and 20th centuries. The texts of fiction, which are fictional memories of the narrator and the main character of the narrative in one person, were also used as linguistic material. The novelty of the research is determined by the linguocognitive approach to the problem of interaction of the writer’s / hero’s reflexive personality with their own past SELF in the pro-
cess of reconstructing personal experience. The study preliminarily states the fact of ontologically conditioned heterogeneity of the human Ego as a result of the natural process of individual-personal development. The definition of the concept of ‘retrospective discourse’ is given, which is relevant in the context of the research and referentially correlates with memoir-autobiographical prose. The types of autobiographical SELF mentioned in the relevant literary sources are considered. The forms of explication of the heterogeneity of the speech subject in German-language autobiographical texts are revealed, the main of which is the semantic opposition ‘present SELF — past SELF’, or ‘subject-reconstructor — subject-reconstruct’. The variability of the eventual plurality of the subject-reconstruct and the opposition ‘conscious SELF — unconscious SELF’ are interpreted as the next forms of representation of the substantive splitting of the structure of the speech subject.

The paper discusses the latest results of the study of pragmalinguistic and proper linguistic mechanisms for expressing implicit evaluativeness of words and expressions of the Russian language in their discursive implementation. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the pragmatics of the induced evaluativeness in the context of the initially nonevaluative event verb ‘sovershit’sya’ in comparison with the previously considered quasi-synonymous lexeme ‘svershit’sya’. The author's methodology of complex (contentive and quantitative) corpus-discourse analysis is used. The source of language material is modern domestic media discourse. The direct material of the study is the contexts extracted from the newspaper corpora of the Russian National Corpus. At the preliminary, empirical level of the study, according to the dictionary data, it was found that the meanings of the verbs ‘sovershit’sya’ and ‘svershit’sya’ cannot be distinguished, while the analysis of a large block of corpus data showed significant semantic and stylistic discrepancies between these lexemes. The lexeme ‘sovershit’sya’ mainly denotes standard, everyday situations. The lexeme
‘svershit’sya’, in turn, tends to denote situations that have some significance for the conceptualizer — spiritual, social, psychological, moral, etc., both with a ‘plus’ and a ‘minus’ sign. It has also been established that in the aspect of “pragmatics of induced evaluation”, according to the data of quantitative analysis, the verb ‘sovershit’sya’ refers to a neutrally evaluated fact, event or phenomenon, while the verb ‘svershit’sya’ clearly tends to the positive-evaluative attitude of the speaker to the depicted. It is concluded that the method of corpus-discursive analysis of induced evaluativeness tested in the work has significant potential for research objectification of fairly subtle semantic differences between words close in meaning, as well as for recording intuitively felt, but not recorded by dictionaries, evaluativeness, which is implied by the immediate or further contextual environment of the analyzed word or expression.

The development of artificial intelligence and the new understanding of biomolecular processes for transmitting genetic information have emphasized the necessity to consider semiotic activity, that may operate autonomously from human cognition. In this regard, Charles Peirce’s latest conception of semiosis is of particular interest. For Peirce, semiosis is an interpretation that doesn't necessitate an external interpreter. A sign is viewed as a quasi-mind, and semiotic processes are carried out by these signs, specifically through the quasi-minds that are embedded within them: a quasi-utterer and a quasi-interpreter. Semiosis can thus be viewed as an ongoing, personalized interaction of structural semiotic entities (quasi-minds). The latest findings in molecular genetics and their implications in biosemiotics shed light on a unique aspect of interpretation: it can occur without an external interpreter owing to its mechanism of self-organization. By studying communication and information processes at the biomolecular level, we can redefine pragmatics as operations intricately linked with systemic self-regulation and interaction with the environment.

The article explores the semiotic potential of a postage stamp as a social communication tool. Despite the fact that a postage stamp is initially a utilitarian means of payment, it is capable of implementing many functions, and its pragmatics are directly related to the representation and transmission of cultural and ideological meanings, which makes the stamp an important means of forming cultural identity. Collectable practices make stamps semiotic artefacts that lose their utilitarian meaning and acquire new cultural connotations. The analysis of the series of postage stamps dedicated to the anniversaries of Alexander Pushkin, proposed in the article, illustrates the changes in cultural symbols during the period from 1937 to 2024. The specifics of the commemorative stamps show how not only the approach to depicting Pushkin himself is changing, but also the symbolic context in which they are included: from endowing Pushkin with the features of an ideal example of poetry to forming detailed personal representations. The dynamics of the ‘philatelic plot’ building around the anniversaries of Pushkin's work shows that, being a ‘strong sign’ immersed in the structure of everyday practices as a means of mass influence, the postage stamp is a powerful socio-semiotic resource that has a direct impact on the formation, transmission and representation of cultural meanings and values. The study demonstrates that in modern society, stamps are becoming not only attributes of postal correspondence, but also elements of a cultural narrative that are actively used to form and convey ideological and aesthetic messages.

This article delves into the dynamics of the semantic field surrounding the word ‘atlet’ (athlete) and its derivatives in the Russian language from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks of linguistic portraiture and discourse analysis, this study provides a comprehensive characterization of the phenomenon under investigation. Textual analysis reveals a transformation in the meaning of this loanword: evolving from denoting an ancient Greek ‘wrestler’ in the mid-18th century (with Latin or French origins) to signifying individuals engaged in physical culture by the late 19th century. Furthermore, the article explores the shifting perceptions of male and female athletes (‘gerkuleska’, ‘atletka’ — ' female Hercules figure’, ‘female athlete’ respectively), and the associated cultural stereotypes surrounding these figures. The research demonstrates that the semantics of the entire word group stemming from the root —‘atlet‘ is intrinsically linked to historical and social processes, reflecting evolving societal values and orientations. The analysis investigates the reasons behind the semantic expansion of ’atlet’, its development into a polysemous word used across diverse contexts, and elucidates the distinctions in cultural stereotypes associated with the masculine ‘atlet’ and its feminine counterpart ‘atletka’ in relation to perceptions and evaluations of physical strength. It also highlights the role of borrowings from French and English in enriching the Russian language with nuanced shades of meaning for ‘atlet’, and characterizes the connection of this entire group of cognate words to broader social and cultural changes in 19th-century Europe and Russia.

The article examines the conditions and mechanisms leading at an early stage of the formation of a literary tradition to the dependence of the innovative meaning of the word and its context. The translation of the title of Kosta Khetagurov‘s program verse “Nystwan”, which opens his poetic collection “Iron fændyr” (“Ossetian Lyre”), shows the fundamental differences between the semantics of this word in the ethnographic era and its modern interpretation. Further on, following Buslaev‘s fundamental idea that at its initial stage literature assumes not only secular, but also spiritual social obligations, it is possible to show that the title of the poem turns out to be a semantic intensifier, necessary to strengthen the imperative mood of the verb phrase “Nybbar myn!” (“Forgive (me)!”), which opens the verse. The word in the title is not only desemantized, but also loses its nominal features, at the same time acquiring verbal properties. As a result, the boundary, which should run between the title and the beginning of the poem, is blurred. At the same time, “Nystwan” acquires a special emotional strength, which puts it on a par with the verbal and interjective titles so characteristic of Kosta Khetagurov's poetry. This ‘blurring’ is due to the need to bring to a common denominator both Christian theological concepts, in this case, of a sacrifice, and also the ideology of the Ossetian spiritual tradition, which reveals itself in prayer and ritual tradition in general. It is also concluded that, in terms of semantics, Kosta Khetagurov, proceeds from the etymological meanings of the word ‘nystwan’, interpreting it as an Ossetian analogue of the historical and theological term ‘church tradition’, as a kind of ‘divine institution, rule’. The transition from folklore to literature itself is considered within the framework of the distinction proposed by Yu. M. Lotman between the aesthetics of sameness and the aesthetics of contradiction.

The article is devoted to the semantic evolution of the evaluative adjectives ‘horoshii’ and ‘plohoi’ (‘good’ and ‘bad’) in the early Soviet language. Through the use of party documents, propaganda slogans, letters to the government and literary texts of the 1920—1930s, the article reveals how these words turned into universal markers reflecting conformity to new social and political standards. The first part of the article analyzes the role of the adjective ‘good’ as a universal rhetorical tool used to create an optimistic image of socialist reality. This word gradually loses its subjective evaluative value, turning into a standard ideological stamp symbolizing positivity and conformity to socialist norms. The second section discusses the reinterpretation of the concept of a good person and the emergence of the opposition between a good person and a good communist, where the former remains the bearer of personal virtues and the latter — the embodiment of socialist ideals. The concept of a true person is seen as a compromise between these categories. The third section is devoted to the metaphorical concepts of strength, resilience, and reliability, which become central to the description of Soviet man and social structures. These characteristics, formed on the basis of technical metaphors, reflect the industrial and collectivist spirit of the era. The methodology includes discourse analysis and semantic research, which make it possible to examine how language, in shaping normative concepts, becomes a crucial instrument of ideological influence by consolidating socialist values through the semantic transformation of everyday language.

The article attempts to reconstruct the genesis of the concept of the ‘new Soviet man’ within the framework of communist ideology. An interdisciplinary research perspective enables an analysis of the development of the concept of the ‘Soviet man’ at the intersection of linguistics and history, viewed through the lens of the literary texts by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. As a result, the literary text is examined as a semiotic model of communication, in which the sender and the recipient of the text are linked through the narrative language and regarded as objects of historical analysis. The theme of the ‘new man’ constitutes the historiosophical core of the Strugatsky brothers’ oeuvre. Already in their early works, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky formulated the principal characteristics of the concept of the ‘Soviet man’ as a person of labour (action), a person of duty (sacrifice), and a person of science (enlightenment). This concept undergoes a significant transformation over the course of their literary work. The analysis of the semiosphere of the novel ”The Doomed City” (“Grad obrechennyi”, 1975) demonstrates that the Strugatskys succeeded in tracing the genesis of the ‘Soviet man’ through a symbolic system of images: from the revolutionary-destroyer of the 1920s, to the builder-creator of the 1930s; from the obedient executor—a cog in the state machine—of the 1940s and 1950s, to the individual of ‘developed socialism’ in the 1960s—1970s. This, in turn, allows for the identification of both the internal limitations of the ‘new Soviet man’ concept—above all, its dependence on ideology—and its transhistorical vitality and enduring appeal.

The article examines high Biedermeier in its rapprochement with the idyll genre based on the poetry of Annette Droste-Hülshoff and Eduard Mörike. The idyll is very influential and active in both poets. Biedermeier, which was considered an era, a trend, a style, in its variety, ‘high Biedermeier’ at the start can be interpreted in a fundamentally new way — as an unusual turn in the fate of the idyll genre and the idyllic mode. The purpose of the article is to study the idyll as one of the sources of high Biedermeier. This problem is posed for the first time. The research methods are structural-descriptive and historical-typological. The phenomenon of Biedermeier is diverse, and the described character is inherent only to high Biedermeier. In the canonical genre of the German idyll, which spread its influence to other genres, including prose, writers saw a number of possibilities of the Biedermeier. Having begun to develop the idyll in their own way, they led the variety of the genre they created away from the romantic channel. One of the sources of the high Biedermeier is, in all likelihood, the active behaviour of the canonical genre of the idyll, its inertia, expansion, diffusion with other genres and radiating influence on the lyrical, epic and dramatic genres.