2024 Issue №3

This article addresses the features of representing various meanings of situational and axiological modality in the Russian phraseological space and examines certain aspects of intracategorical connections between types of subjective modality. The research material comprises 154 stable combinations with “bodily” lexicon, obtained through continuous sampling from authoritative lexicographic sources, namely: the Great Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language edited by V. N. Telia, the Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language by A. I. Fedorov, and the Historical-Etymological Dictionary of Russian Phraseology by A. K. Birikh, V. M. Mokienko, and L. I. Stepanova. Additionally, contextual variants of the usage of the stated phraseologisms in artistic and journalistic texts included in the Russian National Corpus were analyzed. The study demonstrates the ability of figurative expressions with somatic components to form a modal context and express both specific situational meanings of subjective modality (possibility / impossibility, desirability, necessity, etc.) and various aspects of axiological modality, which are directly related to the value picture of the world of the Russian people. Special attention is paid to the analysis of those shades of modal meanings that overlap and are in motivated interrelated relationships in stable combinations.

The article highlights the results of a study on the cumulative functionality of fantasy character nominations in English-language video games. The relevant term “grifonym” is introduced for these nominations, proposed to denote quasi-anthroponyms of beings with a high degree of fictionality, possessing a one- or multi-component structural composition and relating to the appearance, unique characteristics, social role, activities, and origin of a fantasy character endowed with certain anthropomorphic traits. Considering the nature of the activities of grifonym bearers, it is established that, in addition to the universal nominative function, grifonyms in the accompanying texts of fantasy genre video games perform the function of conveying information about the specific qualities of the character (appearance, abilities, stage of evolution, etc.), the function of conveying information about the character’s habitat or fantasy locations, and the function of representing the referential correlation of grifonyms with real-world reality. The polyfunctional nature of grifonyms is noted, implying the simultaneous performance of two or more functions in the fantasy discourse. A conclusion is drawn about the significance of grifonym functionality in modeling fantasy realities, and prospects for further research development are outlined.

Researchers of L. N. Andreev’s work agree that the artistic methods of the first expressionist in Russian prose were significantly influenced by the work of V. M. Garshin. Taking this continuity into account, the article compares the texts of Garshin’s story Coward and Andreev’s novella The Yoke of War. The aim of the study is to identify similar features in the idiolects of the “forerunner of expressionism” and the “singer of horrors and nightmares”, while considering the functioning of means expressing the category of intensity. This approach allows for an expanded understanding of the evolution and transformation of such a unique direction in Russian literature as expressionism. Drawing on the texts of the works, the article demonstrates similar techniques in the depiction of the theme of war, which became the connecting link in the creative dialogue between the two writers, representing different generations of Russian literature. A more specific conclusion is made about L. N. Andreev’s changing perception of war by establishing connections between the late story The Yoke of War and the 1904 expressionist novella Red Laughter.