Issue 3(26) 2013

Annotations and key words. Issue 3 (26) 2013

I.   The Expressive Potential of the Word in Various Types of Discourse

(dedicated to the jubilee of Alexander Golodov)

 

Amzarakova, Irina, Ph.D., Professor

(Khakass State University named for N.F. Katanov, Abakan, Russia)

 

Game Space within the Dimensions of a Child’s Existence

 

The article is devoted to the description of game space in a child’s discourse. It scrutinizes the parameters used to describe children’s language as age-specific sociolect. Besides, it provides the de fi nition of the ho- rizons of a child’s existence and presents strati fi cation of games according to a child’s age. The game space analyses game names, children’s folklore and language game, which can be applied as markers of linguistic personality level and used for characterization of children’s linguistic behavior.

German colloquial speech, children’s language acquisition, horizons of human existence, game, game space, humor

 

 

Golodov, Alexander, Ph.D., Professor

(Ryazan State University named for S.A. Esenin, Ryazan, Russia)

 

Terms and Jargon in the Colloquial Variant of Special Vocabulary (exemplified by the German Language dealing with football)

 

The article highlights the aspect of football terminology vs. jargon words belonging to colloquial German. It is this colloquially colored part of special vocabulary, together with numerous nonce words, that make up the colloquial variant of the German language dealing with football. It is distinguished from the vocabulary of science and technology, as in the case of football vocabulary professionalisms are not opposed to professional slang in their use, being equally used both by specialists and amateurs. Colloquial words are used in the Ger- man football language as means of emotional evaluation.

colloquially colored part of special vocabulary, football professionalisms, colloquial football language, use in the special sphere, emotional evaluation

 

 

Gumovskaya, Galina, Ph.D., Professor

(Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia)

 

Informativeness as the Primary Category of the Text and Means of its Actualization

 

The article deals with prosaic text rhythm which is considered to be a tool of organizing the information structure of the text and the key factor of entropy neutralization. The compositional rhythm allows to reveal the regularity between the two types of the text content – the content of thought and the content of form. Due to the ability of the sentence in the text to develop meanings at the expense of functional failure of rhythm, the entropy of the esthetic-informative plane is removed and opened are the mechanisms of nuances formation of the implied message contained in the multidimensional information contents of the statement.

text, assimilative rhythm, dissimilative rhythm, information structure of the text, entropy, redundancy of information, objective information, subjective information, communicant, form, dicteme

 

Zhabotynskaya, Svetlana, Ph.D., Professor

(Charkassy National University named for Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Cherkassy, Ukraine)

 

Conceptual Metaphor in a Language for Specific Purposes: Procedure of the Analysis

 

This paper suggests a procedure for analyzing conceptual metaphors exposed in a language for speci fi c purposes – the linguistic subsystem employed by a particular professional fi eld in formal and informal com- munication. Such conceptual metaphors are represented by multiple linguistic expressions (words and set- phrases) which demonstrate cross-mapping of target and source conceptual domains constituted by a number of related concepts. Explanation of this cross-mapping is grounded on the methodology of the theory of con- ceptual metaphor, and the theory of lingual networks developed within the framework of cognitive linguistics. The illustrative data are metaphorical expressions used in the English language for general academic (schol- arly) purposes.

language for speci fi c purposes, conceptual metaphor, target domain, source domain, congruent and incon- gruent mapping, scope of metaphor, range of metaphor

 

 

Potapova, Svetlana, Ph.D., Professor

(Goethe-Institute German Center; MUBiNT, Yaroslavl’, Russia)

 

Survey of the Congress of German Language Scholars Held in South Africa

 

The paper highlights the activity of the Intercultural German Studies Society (Gesellschaft für interkul- turelle Germanistik) and gives a survey of the events of the recent conference in Johannesburg University (University of the Witwatersrand). The author includes the text of her presentation made at the conference and dealing with the nicknames of prominent public fi gures used in contemporary political discourse in German mass media.

German studies, “Gesellschaft für interkulturelle Germanistik“, nicknames, political discourse

 

 

Sobyanina, Valentina, Ph.D., Professor

(Moscow City Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia)

 

The Metaphorical Use of Names of Diseases

in German-Language and Russian-Language Discourse

 

The article is about one of the ways vocabulary units lose their terminological function – metaphorical us- age of disease names in different kinds of German-language and Russian-language discourse. The study found that medical vocabulary is most commonly used in a figurative sense in political and economic discourse, per- forming various functions there, fi rst of all, that of negative evaluation. The author points out both similarities and differences in the use of these units in the German and Russian languages.

determinologization, metaphorization, figurative meaning, medical vocabulary, political and economic discourse, functions of lexical units

II.   The Language Picture of the World as a Reflection of the Cultural Worldview

 

Zhel’vis, Vladimir, Ph.D., Professor

(Yaroslavl’ State Pedagogical University named for K.D. Ushinsky, Yaroslavl’, Russia),

Kutieva, Marina, Ph.D., Associate Professor (RUDN, Moscow, Russia)

 

Linguocultural Identity Viewed from the Grammatical Perspective

 

The authors give a comparative analysis of the ways in which certain aspects of one’s linguocultural identity are betrayed in the grammatical structures of one’s speech. The languages and corresponding cultures compared are: English, Spanish, and Russian. Comparison suggests that Spanish culture is the most individu- alistic of the three and is sharply opposed to Russian culture, whereas British culture occupies an intermediate position. The authors admit that this assumption is rather a generalization, as particular instances may not cor- roborate the overall conclusion.

culture: Spanish, English, Russian, linguocultural identity, grammatical perspective

 

 

Karimova, Rimma, Ph.D., Associate Professor

(Sterlitamak Filial Branch of Bashkir State University, Sterlitamak, Russia)

 

The Concept of “Labour” and Its Objective Conceptual Component (based on German and English vocabulary)

 

The article investigates the concept of «labour» in German and English. The author examines the objec- tive conceptual component of its semantic structure and explores the lingual speci fi city of the polysemantic nature of this term. The paper analyses the following components of this concept: “labour payment”, “the ways of labour activity”, “the forms of enterprises”. The author arrives at conclusions which help to determine the concept «labour» as a hierarchal concept.

concept, conceptual feature, conceptual component, the content of the concept, the basic lexemes, com- pound words, objectivation

 

 

Solodilova, Irina, Ph.D., Associate Professor

(Orenburg State University, Orenburg, Russia)

 

“Feature”-Evalution: Cognitive Basis and Peculiarities of Meaning Formation

 

This paper presents the results of the research that is being carried out by the author and focuses on the concept EVALUATION based on German fi ction. The concept under study is considered from the perspective of evaluation meaning formation as a result of real life objects’ evaluative categorization. The article stipu- lates basic characteristic features of the super-concept EVALUATION as the most signi fi cant ones from the viewpoint of interpreting the major cognition results, as well as the three ways of representing evaluation on the mental level: evaluation as a feature concept, image concept and situation concept. Evaluative meaning is studied from the angle of knowledge as a cognitive integrative structure, as multifold knowledge connected with various conceptual spheres being the sources of its content and maintaining its peculiarities. Thus, to iden- tify the whole spectrum of evaluation meanings the author offers a cognitive matrix analysis of an evaluative statement based on the matrix as a system of interrelated cognitive spheres or contexts.

evaluation, concept, cognitive matrix analysis, cognitive sphere, feature, aesthetic evaluation

III.   Methods of Developing Listening Skills

 

Baranovskaya, Tatiana, Ph.D., Professor,

Shaforostova, Valentina, Associate Professor,

Zakharova, Larisa, Senior Lecturer

(Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia)

 

Current Practices of Teaching Listening

 

The article treats the vital issues of teaching listening to students not majoring in English but requiring fl u- ent listening skills for professional purposes. The authors proceed from the assumption that the competence of aural comprehension is developed in close connection with the three other major skills: reading, speaking, and writing. The authors regard listening as both an end and a means of attaining other academic goals. The paper is based on the experience of teaching students of the Higher School of economics and training them for the fi nal IELTS examination, with the focus on “English for Specific Academic Purposes”.

listening, major skills, modern language teaching technologies, sitting for international language exami- nations, challenges of teaching aural comprehension

 

 

Bondarenko, Iana, Ph.D., Associate Professor (Kiev National Linguistic University, Kiev, Ukraine)

 

Modern British and American Movies as a Way of Stimulating Students’ Cognitive Activity: Linguistic and Didactic Aspects

 

The article deals with linguistic and didactic aspects of using modern British and American movies as a way of stimulating students’ cognitive activity. The expediency of using movie texts in teaching foreign language and translation is explicated. The author analyses possible approaches to choosing movie texts as teaching and learning materials. The paper discusses the basic advantages of movie texts in teaching foreign language and translation, including the possibility of extending students’ background knowledge. Some dif- fi culties arising in translating movie texts are explored.

movie texts, language personality, cognitive activity, translation, language and conceptual pictures of the world, background knowledge, play on words

 

 

IV. . Confucius Institute – to Teaching Foreign Languages and Culture

 

Danzhu Yang, Master, Lecturer (Changchun University, Changchun, China)

 

The Listening Skills in HSK Testing

 

The new HSK examination tests the knowledge of Chinese in foreign students, as well as their practical skills of using it for practical purposes of communication in academic environment and everyday life. The ex- amination consists of three parts: listening, reading, and writing. The article describes the types of examination tasks in listening and the technique of performing these tasks. Training for the examination becomes part of everyday Chinese studies, where students develop the required skills – from differentiating sounds to making meaningful decisions.

HSK, listening, examination, skills, methods,

Qu Weixin, Bachelor Degree, Associate Professor (Changchun University, Changchun, China)

 

Developing “Language Intuition” in Students of Chinese as a Foreign Language

 

Language abilities may concern acquisition of theoretical knowledge, an aptitude for practical skills or creative linguistic abilities, etc. The central position belongs to the aptitude for verbal communication. One of the concerns of educators is to develop the so-called “language intuition”. The author attempts to describe this evasive notion in terms of the stages a Chinese language learner undergoes on his/her way towards mastery of the language. The article suggests some strategies of developing “language intuition” at different stages of language acquisition.

Chinese as a foreign language, linguistic abilities, practical use of language, stages of developing “lan- guage intuition”, education

 

 

You Tian, Master, Lecturer

(Changchun University, Changchun, China)

 

How to Improve the Work of Chinese Volunteers Who Teach Chinese as a Second Language

 

The article examines the volunteer activities of Chinese students majoring in Chinese language education. The author comes to the conclusion that these activities, however vital (both for the volunteers and the foreign students they are in charge of), need improvement. The paper analyses the chief problems and suggests ways of making the work of volunteers more effective.

volunteer activity, models, methods of improving

 

V. Translation of Poetic Discourse with Translator’s Comments

Kuz’kina, Yulia, Master of Philology

(Ryazan State University named for S.A. Esenin, Ryazan, Russia)

 

The Semantics of a Poetic Image as the Basis for Adequate Translation of Poetry

 

The paper treats translation challenges of rendering a poetic image as the main component of verse. The translator assumes that any work of poetry is motivated and re fl ects a speci fi c communicative situation. A po- etic image is an inseparable part of the poet’s message. In our translation of Dylan Thomas’ poem “A Winter’s Tale”, we use the method of “disintegrating” a poetic image into its vital characteristics – so as to reassemble them in the code of another language.

Semantics, poetic image, translation of poetry