Philology, pedagogy, and psychology

2015 Issue №2

The role of discourse in modern linguistics

Abstract

This article considers discourse as a category giving a new perspective on the text. The author analyses various concepts of discourse, which were developed over the last decades within the cognitive, constructivist-poststru-cturalist, and neo-rhetorical approaches. Despite being based on different methodological principles, the concepts analysed in a text have a common ground: they focus on the same research object, namely, the text. Mono- and transtextual discourse models make it possible to transgress the limits of the text placing it within the dynamic space of communication. Discourse theory and the notion of discourse mark a new turn of the spiral of cognition that makes it possible to see and justify the cognitive and communicative potential of a text.

Download the article

On the structure of anthroponyms and their functioning in the Russian and English languages

Abstract

The article deals with the functioning of anthroponyms and the condi-tions for the realization of their cognitive potential in the Russian and English cultural contexts. In this survey-based research an attempt is made to demon-strate how the flexibility of anthroponymical models reflects both the represen-tation and perception of an individual in the two cultures, and how communi-cation is handled with the help of personal names’ variations.

Download the article

On the problem of interpreting the concept of SPACE in Russian and foreign linguistics

Abstract

This article considers the relationship between the TIME and SPACE concepts. The features of modeling space parameters in human cognitive ac-tivities and the universal ways of verbalization of space structures and attri-butes are analyzed. The research is focused on the theory of primary and se-condary space deixis put forward by the German linguist A. Friderici, which presents a system of coordinates giving the subject of cognition the possibility to navigate in the surrounding space.

Download the article

Realisation of the pragmatic potential of intertextuality in political discourse

Abstract

The article discusses the pragmatic potential of inter-textual inclusions in political discourse and how this potential is determined by the commonly shared precedent knowledge held in the cognitive base of all the members of the society. The paper touches upon the notion of precedent texts which have a unique system of commonly shared mental images and associations easily elicited in native speakers’ consciousness. That makes it possible for the politician to create a common discourse space, shared by both the speaker and the listeners, which has a great impact on shaping the desired viewpoint in the audience’s mind.

Download the article

Frames in discourse analysis

Abstract

This article focuses on frame analysis, which provides a communicative framework for the meaning formation and interpretation in a discourse. The correlation between the usage of linguistic structures and cognitive environ-ment of the sender and recipient is analysed. The structure of the frame model of a discourse as a cognitive space formed in view of the recipient’s relevance is described. Special attention is given to the process of conceptual integration in German political discourse.

Download the article

The axiology of images of space and time in B.L. Pasternak’s poem «When it Clears Up»

Abstract

This article focuses upon the 'time' and 'space' concepts in Boris Paster-nak’s poem “When it Clears up” (1956) and its English translation by Lydia Pasternak-Slater. Special emphasis is laid upon the significance of the 'holi-day' concept for the structural unity of the poem. In the atemporal dimension of a ‘holiday,’ visible images of the natural world become symbolic representa-tions of the invisible. In the English translation, the overt concreteness of some of the poetic images results in the partial loss of the text's axiological po-tential.

Download the article

Discursive and media borders of criticism in arts (based on written materials in German)

Abstract

In the information society, criticism assumes a special role in the system of genre and stylistic differentiation of media texts. The media culture of new generation is faced with the problem of studying the discursive characteristics of criticism of modern media genres. The analysed examples of criticism from German press focusing on arts and culture make it possible to reveal certain trends in the media perception in the early 21st century

Download the article