卷 25, 编号 4 (2025)

The article studies one of the main variants of the English language, Australian English. The main variants of English differ from each other on phonetic and lexical linguistic levels. The grammatical structure is the same in all variants, that is why the focus of the study was the lexical level of Australian English. The word-stock of Australian English includes slang as a certain layer of the vocabulary. It started to be formed under a strong influence of the first settlers from Great Britain. These settlers were mostly involved in farming which was spread in rural areas of the Australian continent. The greatest challenge was the unusual environment which caused linguistic peculiarities of Australian variant. It was also influenced by lexical peculiarities of aboriginal dialects, later these were dialects and languages of settlers from other countries which arrived there during the period of Gold rush. Local farmers tended to use some newly coined words and expressions in their everyday speech. Thus, Australian slang came in use and as the analysis demonstrates it was closely connected with London Cockney dialect, which was used by the first settlers from Great Britain. Cockney dialect is remarkable for its rhyming slang, which has been registered in the present research as an essential part of the Australian slang. In the course of analysis both common and proper nouns were singled out that served as the basis for rhyme in Australian slang. Studying the Australian slang vocabulary allowed to identify some most productive types of word formation, such as affixation and abbreviation. The research demonstrates a strong bond between extralinguistic and linguistic peculiarities of how the Australian English slang was formed.

The article describes semantic neologisation within the lexico-semantic group “The denominations of mutant coronavirus strains” as part of the lexico-semantic fi eld “The new coronavirus infection”. The relevance of the article is determined by bringing into clear focus the lexical units that have not yet been analyzed within the designated topic. The paper aims at introducing the parameters according to which the linguistic units within the aforementioned lexico-semantic group can be classified, and at conducting a systemic componential analysis of the collected material, which lays the methodological basis for the paper. The lexical material is analyzed according to the following parameters: the designation of particular coronavirus strains (mutant strains, strains different by origin, spread and contagiousness) and the type of semantic development (semantic derivation or secondary borrowing). Certain hypero-hyponymic paradigms are singled out and carefully analyzed. The following ways of semantic neologisation are described: metaphoric shift – the dominant one; semantic syncretism; paronymic attraction. As far as the metaphoric shift is concerned, the paper analyzes the lexical units based on the names of mythical chthonic creatures evoking such connotations as ‘monster’, ‘threat’, ‘danger’, ‘death’, ‘hybrid’, ‘discord’, ‘strife’. Semantic syncretism is considered as semantic addition to the meaning of the original lexeme. The paper touches upon the derivational potential of paronymic attraction in the names of new coronavirus strains. The article also considers the issue of political correctness which determines the motivational basis for semantic neologisms. According to the encyclopedic notes on the site “New in the Russian vocabulary”, strains detected in particular countries are named with Greek letters so that those countries are not stigmatized.

The article analyzes phytometaphors recorded in the oral speeches of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov in 2022 – early 2025 describing the current political situation in the world. The relevance of the work is due to the fact that transfers based on floral vocabulary are among the most regular in the linguistic metaphorical system, but their place in diplomatic discourse as an important component of political communication has not been sufficiently studied. The purpose of the article is to establish the role of phytomorphic transferences in the formation of the modern political picture of the world in the speech of S. V. Lavrov; 41 metaphorical units in 110 contexts from 130 transcripts of Sergey Lavrov’s oral speeches from 24.02.2022 to 01.02.2025 (website mid.ru) served as the material of the study. The methodological basis of the research was the idea of metaphor as a way of forming a picture of the world, including the political one. The analysis employs a comprehensive method of systematic semantic, cognitive and discursive analysis of linguistic phenomena. It has been established that the Minister’s use of phytometaphores is regular and conceptually significant. Lavrov operates on two models of metaphorization – nuclear (existential-dynamic) and peripheral (pragmatic-axiological), in which political and socio-economic phenomena are associated either with vital activity or with the functional and pragmatic significance of various types and parts of plants. Following the cognitive matrices of these models in the political picture of the world, represented by the minister, the Kiev regime is positioned as a source of aggression and nationalism, actively supported by the “collective West” in its quest for global hegemony, and the Russian Federation – as a state defending its sovereignty and developing equal cooperation with friendly countries.

The article explores the correlation between analytical and objective psychologism in Crébillon-son’s works by means of analyzing an oriental fairytale Tanzaï et Néadarné and a novel Les Égarements du cœur et de l’esprit as parts of a unified artistic system. A preference for a certain form of artistic psychologism is defined by two factors. Firstly, it depends on the variability of characters mastering the rules of social etiquette while maintaining the interest in movements of their own hearts. Secondly, the preference is shaped by a search for poetological forms that would allow different readers to reconstruct the image of an implied author in their own ways. Analytical psychological characteristics are used to describe Néadarné’s discovery of the sensual side of self in order to provide the reader with more freedom to complete an ambivalent ethical and psychological image of the princess. Shy readers were exempt from frightening details of the private aspects of the soul, whereas those who sought to ignite their erotic imagination were free to fill in the blank pages of the young lady’s acquaintance with sensual pleasures. Les Égarements du cœur et de l’esprit reaches the level of objective psychologism. It allows not only to explore the influence of inconsistency as an integral part of human nature, available to Meilcour on his attempt to excel in high society, but also to finalize the result – ambiguous in both moral and psycho logical sense – of the rocaille person’s self-exploration per se. Thus, the signs of transition from analytical to objective psychologism, which are present in Crébillon-son’s later works, cannot be considered as merely an indicator of the author’s creative evolution, a result of genre dynamics or stylistic shifts in the French psychological novel of the 18th century. These signs also demonstrate the desire to depict the diversity of a rocaille person’s feelings and situations they find themselves in as well as to form such a system of poetological devices that would stimulate readers’ active participation not only in unraveling of the character’s ambivalent moral motivations but also in reconstructing the image of an implied author.

Naming characters is an opportunity for a playwright not only to indicate the attitude towards a character, but also to defi ne their role in the system of characters and the plot. In the plays of Catherine II, anthroponyms are formed on the basis of four key characteristics: the vice or virtue embodied by the character, significant events in his or her biography, social status, and exotic origin. Charactonyms are mainly used in comedies, while common nouns prevail in comic operas. It is noteworthy that the younger representatives of noble families are often deprived of surnames – this symbolizes their non-involvement in the vices of the older generation. The analysis of the recurrence of anthroponyms shows that in most cases the same names belong to different characters, which emphasizes their secondary importance (servants, young nobles), their inability to influence both the course of the play and, according to Catherine’s plan, social processes. This approach reflects the main goal of the empress-playwright – “correction of morals”, which includes the fight against personal shortcomings (greed, drunkenness) and socially dangerous phenomena (mysticism, liberal ideas), as well as the protection of the existing order. In the adaptations of foreign plays to “our morals”, Catherine retains the surnames of the characters that are consonant with the original, whose characteristics remain unchanged, but changes them when the role or image of the hero is significantly reconsidered. This is indicative of an elaborate system of character nomination, that reveals both the general principles of Catherine’s style of drama and the author’s attitude to individual characters and situations associated with them.

The article studies the theoretical basis of the concept of alpine text and its functioning in the poem of a representative of the first wave of the Russian émigré N. P. Gronsky “Belladonne”. This term, recently introduced into scientific usage, is studied on the basis of theoretical works by T. Scheidegger, L. Lyubimova, N. Mednis. The article introduces major principles that characterize alpine text in connection with the aesthetics of Swiss and German Art Nouveau, the mountainscape and mountain philosophy of the Russian literature. Features of alpine text are researched in the poem “Belladonne”, dedicated to the conquest of the peak of the same name in the Dauphine Alps. N. Gronsky follows both the traditions of European Art Nouveau and Russian classical literature. The conflict of the hero-conqueror and the element, and motives of death correlated with it, wild and pristine nature, danger and eroticism are characteristic for the alpine text of the world literature. At the same time religious motives and images are central, and the motive of a snowy dessert, often appearing in the mountain texts of the Russian classics, has connotations of spiritual loneliness, traditional for the poets of the Russian émigré in connection with the loss of their Motherland and forced residence in a “foreign” world. Religious symbolism connected with the images of the mountain Virgin Mother and granite Christ is studied. In these images the fusion of pagan and Christian principles, typical of Gronsky’s poetry, is manifested. Three parallel storylines are analyzed, correlating with the three heroes-alpinists who conquer a dangerous peak; the plot of the climbing is comprehended by the poet with the Christian themes of sin and retribution, purity of spiritual thoughts and finding happiness, religious integrity and salvation, chaos and harmony.

The rise of digital culture and the proliferation of new forms of folk creativity on the internet present new research challenges for con temporary folkloristics. Traditional methods of folklore analysis often prove inadequate for studying digital artefacts, necessitating a reassessment of existing methodological frameworks and an adjustment of the existing theoretical models. This article explores the key issues that the Russian scientific community is facing concerning the study of internet folklore, with a particular focus on the theoretical and methodological difficulties that arise in the analysis of this phenomenon. The study identifies three central challenges. Firstly, the problem of classification: should internet folklore be seen as an extension of traditional forms, or does it constitute a distinct new phenomenon triggered by the digital era which has changed the ways of creating, distributing and perceiving folklore texts? Secondly, the issue of contextualization: as folklore migrates into the digital realm, it becomes detached from its original cultural environment, which complicates interpretation and requires new analytical approaches. Thirdly, methodological limitations: conventional folkloristic approaches are often insufficient for analyzing digital artefacts, highlighting the necessity to develop new research tools and integrate methods from cognate disciplines. Furthermore, internet folklore, including memes, videos and other digital expressions of folk culture – exhibits a hybrid nature, blending elements of oral, written and visual communication. This hybridity calls for a reconsideration of established theoretical models and for the development of a comprehensive methodology. The article concludes by underscoring the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach, active interaction of different spheres of knowledge and the continued development of methodological frameworks to better account for the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of internet folklore.

The article examines the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, which the world faced in 2020, on the functioning of the Russian media, as well as on the transformation of the work of the editor-in-chief. The widespread lockdown, the introduction of tough restrictions, and the flow of unverified information significantly affected the work of Russian media in 2020: media managers had to learn to manage their teams in dramatically new conditions, using various tools and techniques, to establish interaction with a remote editorial board, and to form new ways of presenting information. The journalistic team, in turn, began to work in new conditions, while trying to maintain prompt work in the information fi eld and rigorous fact-checking. The article answers the following questions: how the work of the editor-in-chief changed during the pandemic, and which practices introduced back then are still relevant. The article uses excerpts from the author’s interviews with Russian media managers from federal publications of various thematic focuses as empirical material. The interviews were conducted several years after the pandemic to clearly track the patterns that emerged. In addition, the article uses interviews with managers from open sources on the Internet. It turned out that five years after the pandemic, some of the practices introduced into the work of media editorial offices during the lockdown have been preserved, as well as the general pattern of remote work, the use of social networks as the main channel of communication, and the reduction of hierarchical levels in media editorial offices.

The review is dedicated to the book written by a Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Department of History of Slavic literatures at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Department of Slavic studies and Central European studies at the Russian State University for the Humanities, member of the Union of Writers of Russia, a well-known science fiction scholar, and president of the Association of Science Fiction Researchers, E. N. Kovtun. The book is structured like a guide, presenting a gallery of afterlife worlds as envisioned by the human soul. The research draws on works by science fiction writers from the 20th and 21st centuries, representing literary traditions of Russia, Western Europe, and the USA. This review analyzes the key aspects of E. N. Kovtun’s research, highlighting her innovative approach to the study of science fiction and fantasy literature. It outlines the diverse perspectives through which she examines these genres, ranging from the artistic representation of the Afterlife World to the motifs that connect various locations, geographical elements, and landscapes within afterlife narratives. The review emphasizes the validity of Kovtun’s methodology, particularly her exploration of the Afterlife chronotope and the behavioral strategies of characters on the brink of crossing the divide between the living and the dead. Her analytical framework enables a multifaceted examination of selected texts, allowing for an objective assessment of the essential qualities and characteristics of the Afterlife. While commonalities emerge through intertextual connections, distinct national and aesthetic features are also evident. Kovtun seeks to interpret a wide array of works through the lens of their poetics. This monograph serves as a significant resource for researchers interested in theoretical literary issues. It weaves together reflections on chronotopes, plot structures, character types, fictional worlds, and authorial intent. Overall, Kovtun successfully achieves her primary objective: to defi ne and “justify” the role of fantasy in contemporary literature and to explain its ap peal to a large adult audience. This review is intended for a broad readership, including philologists, literary scholars, and anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy, and themes of the afterlife.