Perm University Herald. Russian and Foreign Philology

Kynonyms as a Сomponent of the Zoonymic Space of German Linguoculture

2025-11-08T11:24:06+00:00

The purpose of the study is to explicate the linguocultural potential of German kynonyms (dog names). The article analyzes the formation of the cognitive space of kynonymic vocabulary in the German language, which is based on linguocultural codes that accumulate the laws of functioning of society, the historical and social processes occurring in it. The linguistic essence of the lexico-semantic group ‘kynonyms’ is revealed. The paper deals with the semantic structure of kynonyms on the material of German-language dog names presented on Internet sites, identifies trends in the formation of German-language kynonyms as a separate stratum of the zoonomic space of linguoculture. It is shown that the process of giving names to dogs has its own specific features in the German language and depends both on the structural features of the language and on extralinguistic factors. Kynonyms are seen as a source for studying the worldview of German pet owners. The results of the study show that German kynonyms, as signs of onomastic linguoculture, in a semantic sense accumulate culturally specific information in the triad ‘pet (dog) – motivational sign – kynonym’. A kynonym, which is, as a rule, an important component indicating personality traits of a pet, is not a mere set of sounds, but encoded information. German-language kynonyms, on the one hand, reflect the realities of an intra-social nature, on the other hand, go beyond it. The study concludes that the kynonymic system of German linguoculture reflects some aspects of social traditions, tastes, preferences, ideological principles. It is noted that such visual animalistic images as Eichhörnchen (squirrel), Irbis (snow leopard), Frettchen (ferret), the character traits ‘courage’, ‘cowardice’, ‘cunning’, ‘kindness’, ‘resourcefulness’, etc. are implicitly present in the semantics of kynonyms.

Methods of Translating the Figurative Meanings of the Russian Verbs of Motion ‘прийти – приходить’ into the Persian Language

2025-11-08T11:33:58+00:00

The formation of communicative skills in foreign students is impossible without mastering language norms. The study of Russian verbs of motion, including their lexical and grammatical features, is among the most difficult challenges for Iranian audience. Most often, when studying Russian verbs of motion, students get acquainted with the direct and basic meanings of the verbs. The practice of teaching Russian as a foreign language shows that Iranian students often have no idea about figurative meanings of verbs of motion. Moreover, the ability of verbs to combine with different affixes and acquire new lexical and grammatical characteristics complicates the process of mastering their figurative meanings. The fact that verbs of motion are frequently used not only in everyday life but also in business communication makes it necessary to teach figurative meanings in audiences studying Russian as a foreign language. This research paper analyzes the methods of translating figurative meanings of the verbs of motion ‘прийти – приходить’ into Persian. The purpose of this article is to study the figurative meanings of these verbs in Persian as well as the linguistic means by which these meanings are conveyed.

(Im)politeness and Its Strategic Expression in Ethnic Stand-Up Comedy (drawing on English-language performances of Asian comedians)

2025-11-10T08:45:58+00:00

The article investigates the category of politeness and its strategic functioning in stand-up gigs involving ethnic humor and delivered by Asian comedians in front of western audience. The following reasons constitute the rationale behind the research: the importance of communication between members of multicultural communities, a lack of research on ethnic stand-up discourse, the play frame of the communicative situation engaging participants in a distinctive form of interaction. The aim of the research is to identify and classify speech moves effectuating the discursive (im)politeness tactic in ethnic jokes with specific audience members or audience as a whole being the butts. In this research paper a stand-up performance is considered to be a speech act. The extent to which Grice’s maxims could be applied with regard to stand-up discourse is analyzed. It is highlighted that, according to the audience’s beliefs, a stand-up comedian is expected to play a role of a marginal person, flouting conventional rules of social conduct. The categories of (im)politeness, including mock impoliteness, and their potential in creating comic incongruity is considered. The article provides an overview of modern literature concerning (im)politeness strategies in stand-up comedy. The material under research is a three-stage selection of video recordings of stand-up performances. A discourse analysis of the performances was conducted to pin down the application of (im)politeness tactics targeting the audience. The author distinguishes three types of speech moves: moves neutral toward the ‘face’ of the interlocutor(s), moves supporting the ‘face’ of the interlocutor(s), moves putting the ‘face’ of the interlocutor(s) at potential or real risk. The findings suggest that moves putting the ‘face’ of the interlocutor(s) at potential or real risk make up the majority of speech moves made by the comedians, the primary reasons being their effectiveness when it comes to creating the comic incongruity and their ability to boost the comedian’s ‘face’.

Developing an Optimal Information and Communication Strategy to Deal with Threats in Healthcare: A View from the Perspective of Chinese Experience in Combating the Coronavirus Infodemic

2025-11-10T08:55:31+00:00

The rapid and large-scale dissemination of information these days has a dual effect when considered through the prism of global challenges in the field of healthcare: on the one hand, the dissemination of vital information is accelerating but, on the other hand, there remains a tendency toward deterioration in the quality of information and destabilization of public life due to modern information advances. Major public health emergencies are not only a matter of national health systems but also a matter of national management and modernization of national communication and management capacities.

In this article, the author analyzes the fundamental factors from the history and social worldview of the Chinese that directly influence the media context of the reaction of the government and Chinese society to the coronavirus situation. The social worldview of representatives of Chinese society currently exists in a dynamically developing and heterogeneous (according to some scientists, transitional) context, which undoubtedly acts as a factor determining the development of social media. Respect for traditions and for a rational and harmonious social structure is intertwined with the development of individualism, modernization, and globalization. In this context, Chinese society is becoming more difficult to govern, particularly when faced with emergencies. China's experience in combating the infodemic and the mistakes made by the government allow us to identify some aspects of the optimal information and communication strategy in a situation of a threat in the field of healthcare.

Means of Expressing the Idea of Real and Virtual Space in the Internet News Discourse

2025-11-10T15:12:04+00:00

The article attempts to explore the linguistic means used to express the idea of real and virtual space in the Internet news discourse, to identify means capable of simultaneously representing the meaning of real and virtual space, to determine their connection with primary meanings and etymological nature. At the linguistic level, the authors treat the category of space (following A. V. Bondarko) as a functional-semantic category of locativity. The study employed the methods of linguistic observation and description, functional-semantic analysis, analysis of dictionary definitions, seme analysis, and etymological analysis. On the material of Internet news portals of the Amur region, the main means of expressing the category of locativity have been established. The following have been identified as representatives of the semantics of real space in Internet news texts: nouns of various lexico-semantic types (names of individual spaces, spatial concretizers of events, spatial metalexics, parametric lexicon, demonyms); adjectives that realize spatial meaning indirectly, through the spatial semantics of the nouns from which they are formed. The main means of expressing the meaning of virtual space in the Internet news discourse are nouns that name network resources, their elements, and specific Internet spaces. The specific means of representation of the semantic category of locativity in Internet media texts are neological units expressing the meaning of virtual space: the adjectives instagramny* and telegramny, formed from the names of the corresponding Internet spaces, as well as the verbs zapostit’ and repostit’ (to post and repost), the spatial meaning of which is embedded in their semantic structure. In addition, the Internet news discourse contains lexemes that, depending on the environment, can represent the meanings of both real and virtual space. The figurative meaning of these units have been formed through lexical transposition under the influence of semantic calquing.

Hesiod’s ‘Theogony’ 27-28: an Attempt at a New Interpretation

2025-11-11T16:12:22+00:00

A new interpretation of verses 27-28 of the proem to Hesiod's poem Theogony is proposed. The mysterious ‘many lies that look like the truths’, along with the actual ‘truths’ that Hesiod's Muses are able to tell, have brought to life a considerable number of interpretations, which in itself indicates the lack of a proper understanding. This passage receives a satisfactory explanation if we assume that in the famous remark of the goddesses about ‘many lies’ the author meant ambiguous answers given by the Delphic Oracle, which could be interpreted by mortals in various ways, including erroneously. The hypothesis is confirmed, inter alia, by Plutarch's testimony to the direct relationship of the Muses to the Oracle's activities as they were his ‘assistants in future-telling’. Remarkably, the famous phrase of the Muses coincides almost verbatim with the text of the Homeric hymn to Hermes, where three bee maidens, who taught the god the art of divination, could also ‘tell the truth’ or ‘lie’ when predicting the future, with ‘tell the truth’ meaning making true predictions, while ‘lie’ referring to making false predictions, depending on whether they taste the divine honey or not. The proposed understanding is supported by a significant number of unambiguous correspondences between various passages in Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod and the poetic responses of the Delphic Oracle. The author of the article comes to a conclusion about a common field of epic poetry, which included, on the one hand, the works of epic poets and, on the other hand, the activities of the Oracle, whose hexametric answers are directly related to the oral epic poetic tradition. This also gives some reason to deem it highly likely that the Boeotian poet familiarized himself with the corpus of poetic responses of the Oracle, which existed in one form or another.

Multimodal/Polycode Text as an Effectiveness Factor for Information Delivery on Social Media

2025-11-11T16:22:25+00:00

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the effectiveness of polycode/multimodal texts in digital business communication. Particular attention is given to the role of the verbal component in multimodal messages. The study is novel in that it deals with new material (business communication), provides scientometric analysis, and evaluates the effectiveness (ER) of polycode/multimodal texts. The research material consists of 221 polycode/multimodal texts used in social media communications of small businesses. The methods utilized for material collection are continuous sampling and observation. The methods of analysis include scientometric analysis, content analysis, quantitative analysis, web analytics (ER, engagement rate), elements of discourse analysis and multimodal analysis. Scientometric analysis shows that Russian academic discourse mainly employs the terms creolized text and polycode text, which cannot be considered synonymous with the term multimodal. The study confirms the effectiveness of polycode/multimodal texts in correlation with the content format, modes, content type, and media topics. It has been established that the effectiveness of polycode/multimodal text is related not only to the variety of formats, types of content, and media topics but also to the conditions of the reader-viewer interaction with the text. It is necessary to establish correlations and patterns in the navigation within the virtual space of a text, in the creation and construction of text meanings in a sociocultural context, and in the design of reading methods and trajectories. The data obtained brings us back to the discussion about the importance of verbal and non-verbal codes in the transmission of information.

The Real and the Unreal in the Depiction of the Dacha in the Prose of Anton Chekhov

2025-11-11T17:02:39+00:00

The article discusses the image of the dacha in the prose of Anton Chekhov. It demonstrates differences in the depiction of the dacha topos in the writer’s stories, notes the main functions of the dacha image in the organization of his works, their chronotopes. The material for the study is the stories The Green Spit (a little novel) (1882) and The New Dacha (1899), illustrating two different perceptions of the dacha. The article also deals with the image of the estate in the stories Verochka (1887) and The Name Day Party (1888), emphasizing that for a full understanding of the role of the real and the unreal when contrasting different types of the dacha life, Chekhov used his own estate-life experience. The methodology of the study is based on the comparative-contrastive method, the biographical method, the method of hermeneutic and holistic analysis. The article proves that the topoi of the estate and the dacha in Chekhov's works of the late 1880s – 1890s periodically converge. Chekhov’s stories and novellas of the late 19th century present the motif of impoverishment, destruction of the estate life, fading and disintegration of the dacha existence. But the writer demonstrates that the content of the estate and dacha life could be different, much more vivid and active. Chekhov continued to hope for the revival of the estate and dacha life in the future, so he aimed to preserve and convey the best examples. Therefore, in Chekhov's works the real in the depiction of estates and dachas coexists with the unreal and is opposed to the latter. The article examines two situations: when the images of dachas and estates play one of the main functions in the depiction of the heroes' existence, clearly determine their lives, while directly being the object of consideration; when these images are built into the narrative about the fates of the characters, their success and misfortunes. In the latter case, the analysis of the behavioral characteristics of the heroes and the comprehension of what happened to them would be incomplete without assessing the role of the dacha or estate in their lives. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that in the context of Chekhov's oeuvre, The Green Spit and The New Dacha constitute a paired antithesis, illustrating that the writer gradually became more and more disappointed at the impossibility of quick changes in the dacha life.

Intermediality in Donna Tartt’s Novel ‘The Goldfinch’

2025-11-12T05:54:10+00:00

The article is dedicated to the study of intermedial elements in Donna Tartt's novel The Goldfinch. The analysis of the literary text is preceded by a consideration of approaches to the phenomenon of intermediality and the problem of synthesis of arts as viewed by specialists who belong to the diverse fields of the humanities. The researchers mentioned in the paper have noted examples of the mutual influence of different artistic codes throughout history, despite the traditional view of the ‘monocode’ nature of individual art forms. This aspect is significant in the theory of intermediality. Within the framework of the proposed analysis of Donna Tartt's novel, the greatest attention was paid to the verbal representation of the pictorial code, whereas previously the cinematic features of the text in the process of its film adaptation were emphasized in studies. The paper explores the images of paintings included in the text regarding them as intermedial elements. In addition, the author's own picturesque style is noted, which uses elements of color and light as well as the symbolism of the paintings to deepen the semantic level of the work. This creative method serves to enhance the aesthetic and psychological effects. A particular focus is on the significance of the painting by Carel Fabritius The Goldfinch, which is connected with different levels of the novel. By virtue of this canvas, such motifs as fate, destiny, and the importance of art are brought to the fore. In addition, in connection with the painting, links between characters are organized, and the plot of the work develops and thickens. The facts offered above allow us to talk about the plot-forming and meaning-forming significance of intermedial elements in the text. The analysis leads to a conclusion that intermediality determines the poetics and is found at different levels of Donna Tartt's novel The Goldfinch.

Urban Confucianism and Rural Taoism: A ‘Tangle of Contradictions’ in the Works of Lin Yutang

2025-11-12T06:10:00+00:00

The article studies the perception of the philosophies of Confucius and Lao Tzu through the prism of the concepts of ‘urban’ and ‘rural’ by one of the most Westernized writers of China in the 20th century – Lin Yutang. The study is based on the writer’s thesis ‘Confucianism is essentially an urban philosophy, while Taoism is essentially rural’. Lin Yutang notes differences in the teachings as follows. In the ‘vertical plane’: Confucianism strives to divide the world (an exclusive type of thinking) and parallelly asserts the special role of man (anthropocentrism), while Taoism promotes a holistic vision of the world (an inclusive type of thinking) and the idea of fusion of man and nature; in the ‘horizontal plane’ – at the level of the ‘interhuman’ – Confucianism is focused on the collective, while Taoism is oriented toward individualism. In relation to literature, according to Lin Yutang, it is precisely such a worldview that can serve as a principle in dividing it into ‘urban’ and ‘rural’, and not the presence in a literary work of artistic images or ‘city-village’ themes, linguistic means, etc.

This paper also discusses a unique feature of Lin Yutang’s personality and works – the phenomenon of a ‘tangle of contradictions’, due to which it is impossible to say anything definite regarding the philosophical foundations of his worldview: is he a Confucian or a Taoist? For example, in modern Linxue (Lin Yutang studies) the opinion is widespread about Taoist ‘preferences’ of the writer. Perhaps not stating clearly his adherence to one of the two teachings the author wanted to express his point of view on the hermeneutic problems of interpreting the canons of ancient teachings, which are influenced not only by the worldview of the researchers but also by objective historical reality.

The Welsh Theme in Kingsley Amis's Novel ‘The Old Devils’

2025-11-12T06:18:55+00:00

Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) is an English writer of the second half of the 20th century and a member of the Angry Young Men literary movement, the main theme of which was a young character’s protest against existing social norms and foundations. However, his later novel The Old Devils (1986) deals with completely different problems and has a different tone. The novel is set in a small town in South Wales, and almost all of the main characters are elderly Welsh people. The use of the image of Wales in this case is legitimate: on the one hand, Amis follows John Wayne, who addresses the image of Wales in his novel A Winter in the Hills (1970); on the other hand, the writer is interested in the culture of Wales, especially in the works of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who became a prototype for the fictional poet Breedan, repeatedly mentioned in the novel. In addition, in the 1970s and 1980s, the question of the level of independence of small ethnic groups in Great Britain was brought to the fore again, as a result of which a number of reforms aiming to increase the region’s autonomy were introduced in Wales. Wales itself is presented in The Old Devils as a simulated space, devoid of authenticity and turned into a big tourist attraction. Such Wales is embodied in the novel in Breedan, who is elevated to a cult in the region and used as a local attraction, as well as in his double Alun Weaver, for whom Welshness becomes a tool to increase his media exposure. Kingsley Amis plays with common stereotypes about the Welsh that are spread among the English – those concerning drunkenness, greed, and adherence to tradition. At the same time, the Welsh characters speak ironically of these stereotypes by taking them to the point of absurdity. We can see that all the characters, to a certain extent, play the roles that are assigned to them.

Paradigms of Death: Poetic Interpretation of the First World War in the Works of W. Owen

2025-11-12T06:27:28+00:00

The article deals with the impact of the First World War on the historical and literary development of Great Britain, with an emphasis on the transformation of literary discourse and a detailed examination of the specific phenomenon of war poetry, called ‘trench poetry’. Analyzing the processes that took place in the literature of that time, the authors of the article note the mythologization of the events that became a turning point in history. The process of mythologization consists in using personal memories, autobiographies, and memoirs. The distinctive features of that period also include the dramatic break with the past, the contrast of positions, the realization of the impossibility of going back. The article explores the poetic works of Wilfred Owen, which stand out for their unique poetic interpretation of the tragedy of the war experience. Owen's poetry becomes an expression of the true feelings of a soldier, captures the horror and absurdity of armed conflict. The most important role in the poetic legacy of the author is played by the images of death, which serve as a symbolic expression of the physical death and destruction of the moral guidelines of mankind. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the semantics of death images and related motifs. The lyrical ‘I’ acts as an active witness to the events taking place, although sometimes the author resorts to changing the perspective of the presentation, trying to look at what is happening from different angles. However, a change of the perspective does not change the lyrical hero's attitude to what is happening. In W. Owen's poetry, war deprives a person of the senses not only literally but also figuratively. He can no longer enjoy this life, therefore, in the author's perception, the contrast between life and death is not presented as a strictly binary opposition, death is often perceived by the hero as a force with greater sincerity and empathy compared to life.

The Features of Philological Prose in the Novels of A. Bitov and J. Barnes: On the Problem of Paratextuality

2025-11-12T06:46:50+00:00

The article explores intertextual inclusions in philological prose through the examples of works by modern writers: Pushkin House (1971) by A. Bitov (USSR) and The Noise of Time (2016) by J. Barnes (England). One of the research objectives is to analyze the legitimacy of considering the novel The Noise of Time as that possessing the features of a philological novel. Since this work is considered in the country of origin as a fictional biography, the article examines the accepted markers of a philological novel and their presence in the novel by J. Barnes. The comparison of the two works reveals a common cultural code since the heroes of the novels are both affected by the time of the Great Terror. A. Bitov's novel is an artistic text that creates a literary portrait of the epoch employing the means of a philological novel. J. Barnes creates secondary text using already published biographies of Dmitri Shostakovich, but creatively rethinks biographical materials. A comparative analysis showed that one of the special features of the novels is their structure, characterized by the presence of several types of interaction between texts, including intertextuality and paratextuality. The novels contain quotes and allusions to classical Russian works of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy. The relationship between the texts and their titles, chapters, and epigraphs helps to create subtext, characteristic of a philological novel, the understanding of which requires at least minimal philological knowledge. A philological novel and a fictional biography novel synthesize memoir, biographical, essayistic, and artistic discourses. For the writer, the facts of biography and fiction become equivalent means of creating a literary image. As material the writer can use diaries or essays written by a historical figure, prototypes of the heroes. The personality of the hero, proposed for the reader as a riddle to solve, allows one to see the hidden meaning of the text, to join the intellectual game.

The Poetics of John Steinbeck's Reporting from the Fronts of the Second World War

2025-11-12T06:53:26+00:00

The study is devoted to analyzing war journalism of the Second World War through the example of John Steinbeck's reports. The article explores the transformation of approaches to the coverage of military operations in comparison with the First World War, noting the expansion of the geographical scale of the conflict, the complication of correspondents' tasks, and the influence of censorship restrictions. The heterogeneous backgrounds of war correspondents are emphasized, these including such famous writers as Steinbeck, whose journalistic activities remain understudied.[1]

Central to the investigation is the inherent tension between the demands of wartime propaganda and the pursuit of authenticity. The article meticulously examines the dual censorship systems – voluntary domestic censorship (seen as a necessary patriotic sacrifice) and mandatory battlefield censorship – enforced by bodies such as the Office of Censorship and the Office of War Information (OWI), which strictly controlled information flow, often sanitizing reality or delaying grim truths. Using Steinbeck's collected dispatches, Once There Was a War (1958) as a primary source, the study dissects his unique journalistic methods forged under these constraints. Steinbeck deliberately eschewed grand battle narratives, focusing instead on poignant ‘little stories’ of ordinary soldiers and civilians, employing irony, stark contrasts between mundane details and war's horrors, and utilizing literary techniques within documentary prose.

The article demonstrates how censorship and propaganda shaped the public image of war, while Steinbeck, balancing truth and patriotic narrative, sought to maintain a humanistic focus. It is concluded that his approach was unique, combining documentary accuracy with literary expression to capture not only the events but also the emotional experience of the participants while remaining within the requirements of wartime.