Functional-semantic features of "dynamic description"

Khandarkhaeva Irina PhD in Philology Associate Professor of the Department of the Russian Language and General Language Studies at Buryat State University 670000, Russia, Respublika Buryatiya oblast', g. Ulan-Ude, ul. Smolina, 24a, of. 2208 irina-68_68@mail.ru Other publications by this author

1.Introduction

"Description" is a functional and semantic type of speech in the form of an enumeration of simultaneous or permanent features of a subject in a broad sense" ^{[9, p. 94]} at a certain moment of speech. It is known that in linguistic literature, a text of the "description" type is understood as a static phenomenon, the logical and semantic basis of which is a synchronologeme ^{[9, p. 20]}. O. A. Nechaeva identifies the following genres in artistic description: portrait description, landscape description, interior description, subject description and characteristic description ^{[9, p. 60]}, we have chosen only a portrait description and a description of a person's appearance, as well as a description of nature, which allow for a shift in the temporal plane and create the meaning of dynamism, while the description of the interior, object, and characteristic contains the idea of static, combined with the invariant meaning of being.

Description is a complex organism in terms of the organization of the text, its lexical, structural and grammatical content, which cannot but arouse scientific interest. It is revealed that the description is not always static, since the synchronous features of the described object do not always coexist simultaneously, since the presence of static-action predicates gives dynamics to the descriptive text: the described objects of speech, their states may be in a state of change under certain conditions.

In this paper, devoted to the nature of "dynamic description", we rely on the opinions of linguists who, characterizing this kind of description, call it "dynamic". So, N.B. Bessmertnaya believes that "the image of changes, their movement, movement relative to each other, which is invariably associated with the idea of the passage of time, actions and changes in state as a sequential order in time" ^{[1, p. 8]}, that is, we are talking about a text of the "narrative" type. According to T.V. Bulygina, the signs "have a random, transient character of the corresponding situations, associated with the idea that over time they should be replaced by other situations, could be conventionally identified with "dynamism" ^{[4, p. 17]}. L.N. Omelchenko characterizes it as "the observed description", signs, processes, the states of which are unstable: "a static object is described in a given time slice; changes that may occur to it in the next moment are not taken into account" ^{[10, p. 131]}. Of interest is the position of I.R. Galperin, according to whom contaminated types are a fairly common phenomenon that, "complementing each other, they merge so organically that they are sometimes difficult to dissect" ^{[5, p. 21]}. The author of this article in his earlier work defines this type of description as "situational" ^{[12, p. 125]}.

Despite the similarity of ideas about the descriptive type of text, namely "dynamic description", the most accurate, in our opinion, is the opinion of M.P. Brandes, according to which "the compositional-speech form "dynamic description" is a description of the simultaneous (more precisely, with very small time intervals) course of actions in a limited space", which they are simultaneous and co-located ^{[3, pp. 67-68]}, which corresponds to our idea of the nature of "dynamic description".

Thus, a "dynamic description" is a special kind of artistic description aimed at conveying the movement, change, and development of the described object or phenomenon with a claim to a special status in the system of functional and semantic types of speech under special linguistic conditions. Unlike a "static description", which captures an object in an unchanged state for a long time and at the moment of speech, a "dynamic description" shows it in the process of changing over time. This is achieved with the help of special language tools and techniques that are able to express permanent signs, properties in motion and change.

For the study, we selected a group of predicates with state semantics, since it most vividly reflects the idea of static and dynamic in a description-type text. A number of researchers have pointed out in their works the semantic generality of the category of state: transition to another state ^{[7, p. 60-61]}, temporary change ^{[14, p. 14]}, acquisition of a new feature by a subject or object ^{[6, p. 104]}, the emergence of a new situation ^{[2, p. 138]}. All these interpretations are united by the idea of transition to a new state.

For the analysis, we have selected the following groups of predicates, which in the "dynamic description" express: the physical, mental, and emotional states of a person to analyze the description of his portrait characteristics (appearance), as well as natural phenomena. The material of our research is the data of the National Corpus of the Russian Language ^[8], which makes it possible to analyze texts from the middle of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century based on the material of the main corpus.

As is known, the semantics of a state is usually expressed by various linguistic means, including the verb, since it has the ability to verbalize the idea of statality: "what is who by virtue of a previously committed action" ^{[11, p. 256]}, expressing both the long-term and temporary state of the subject of speech.

2. Discussion

In the course of the study, it was revealed that static verbs, being labeled members of the static/actionality opposition, express the semantics of the state not only in the static version of the descriptive text, but also in the dynamic one. To confirm this idea, we analyzed the examples taken from the NCRE and divided them into 2 groups.

1. A group of predicates with a state value in the description of a portrait, appearance of a person

The corpus's capabilities allow us to determine the statistics of the concordance, which includes, for example, 999 texts and 2292 examples with the lose weight lexeme, as well as collocations of 400 examples, among which the most frequent are greatly lost weight – 33 occurrences, very lost weight – 26, lost weight and lost weight 21. This resource with a volume of more than 2 billion words is valuable for a researcher, it allows you to analyze language connections at the text level.

As mentioned above, the "dynamic description" is based on the idea of an action, a process at the moment of speech, when the observer sees the changes in the state of the subject of speech, as the dynamics occur "before the eyes":

1) Due to the bleeding, His grace lost a lot of weight at some hour, turned pale, haggard, his face wrinkled, his eyes were large, and it seemed to him that he had aged, become smaller, and it already seemed to him that he was thinner and weaker, more insignificant than everyone else, that everything that had been had gone somewhere very much-it is very far away and it will not happen again, it will not continue [A. P. Chekhov. Bishop (1898-1903)];

2) His healthy, broad face completely changed in a few seconds.: he seemed to have lost weight and aged for several years, his lips were thin, pale and compressed with visible tension.; the hasty and dull expression of his gaze was replaced by some kind of clear, calm gleam, and the features of death already lay on his bloody forehead and nose [L. N. Tolstoy. Logging (1854)];

3) [He entered smartly after his superiors], but as soon as he saw the dead man, he suddenly turned pale, his cheeks twitched, and he lowered his head and froze [L. N. Tolstoy. The Dream of the Young Tsar (1894)].

Considering the description of appearance, we note that in a literary text, when describing a person's appearance, only the distinctive features of appearance that are significant from the observer's point of view are listed, in this case, the face, eyes, height, which have undergone changes over a certain period of time: in a short period of time, an hour ago, the subject of the description was different. Action verbs (lost weight, turned pale, wrinkled, became smaller, twitched, lowered, froze) in these microtemes do not denote specific actions, but function as static, expressing signs of a change in the subject at a given moment of speech.

1) The young man repeated his offer, and when he learned the refusal, he darkened all over, thickened, even though he was already not white-skinned, and in such a heated mood he leaned out [Alexander Snegirev. Faith (2015)];

2) When, satisfied and tired, My Dear dumped the gifts on the table in front of Timofey, he suddenly darkened and frowned: what's all this about? [M. L. Halfina. My dear (1970-1980)].

In these examples, the predicates of the state do not indicate the action dynamics and the change of one action by another, but preserve the idea of statality, describing the mental and emotional state at the moment of speech. In this case, the verb darkened indicates a change in the character's complexion: it became dark; frowned - the subject's condition changed.

Speaking about the change of state, it should be noted that this category is understood by us as a change of situations that occur dynamically, but it is not considered as a change of sequential actions inherent in the narrative.:

1) [Took out the money, counted it out.] The elderly intellectual's face changed. The pale nose wrinkled, the upper lip lifted, exposing false teeth. Grekova. The Turning Point (1987)];

2) And worst of all, his face changed: the bridge of his nose sunk, the tip of his nose became wide and lifted, his ears protruded, and his mouth became wide. [A. R. Belyaev. The Man Who Found His Face (1940)];

3) But Haldor suddenly stared at someone behind the baron's back. His face changed. Cheekbones sharpened, pale lips pressed together [Elena Khayetskaya. Haldor from the Bright City (1997)].

In all these examples, predicates with the meaning of a change in state create a portrait of the characters at the moment of utterance, the enumerated features of the object, if they are fixed one after another, then the results of these actions coincide in time, they are synchronous, dynamic, as if assembled into a "bundle", which is characteristic of the description.

For comparison, we can cite microthemes with a "static description" and a narrative to confirm the idea that a "dynamic description" is a special type of text with its own functional and semantic "atmosphere" to demonstrate the acute psychological and physical experiences and states of a character.:

1) Within two months he had lost a lot of weight, he was covered in wax, and his hair stood in clumps on his head, like on dyed fur [D. N. Mamin-Sibiryak. In the Stone Well (1903)];

2) Over the winter, he lost a lot of weight and weakened, so that he was already drunk from one glass and shivered in the shade [A. P. Chekhov. My Life (1896)];

3) He seemed to me to have aged much more than Punin, although his gait remained firm and the general expression of his face was preserved; but he lost weight, hunched over, his cheeks became haggard, and his thick black stubble — "gray hair developed" [I. S. Turgenev. Punin and Baburin (1874)].

In these examples, the static nature of the signs is confirmed by temporary localizers (for some two months, during the winter) that determine the long stage of transition to another state. Changes in appearance that extend over time may be related to various external factors that affect its change, age, and take a long period of time.

Narration is dynamic in its logical basis, because it expresses unfolding actions or states ^{[9, p. 100]}, for example:

1) But at the same moment his face changed, and he began to sniff the air, flaring his nostrils wide. [V. P. Belyaev. The Old Fortress (1937-1940)];

2) Suddenly his face changed and, turning to Arkady, he said, as if with embarrassment, "Odintsovo has arrived." [I. S. Turgenev. Fathers and Children (1862)].

Thus, in the description of a portrait, a person's appearance, there is a change from one state to another through static predicates, and the change occurs very intensively, dynamically, which, in our opinion, should be considered a special intermediate type between description and narration, namely– "dynamic description".

2. A group of predicates with a state value in the description of the landscape

The most prominent signs of the semantics of the state are manifested in the description of the landscape, which can be both permanent and temporary. The landscape lists either static features with a list of permanent features of the area at the time of speech, or dynamic ones that indicate spontaneous processes or events. In the description of a landscape, the exit from a phase of a state and the beginning of a new, different state are most often observed, which is the essence of a dynamic description.:

1) During the time he spent in court, the weather changed: a damp wind, a harbinger of autumn, blew in from the sea, driving dirty clouds over the roofs of houses, as if trying to squeeze them into the corridor of Liteyny Prospekt, the wind pushed people in their chests, in their faces, in their backs, but people did not pay attention to it They were busy meeting each other quickly, disappearing into courtyards and gates of houses [Maxim Gorky. The life of Klim Samgin. Part 4 (1928-1935)];

2) We are informed from Nikolsk-Ussuriysky that on May 12th (25th) Tom's car arrived from Vladivostok in magnificent sunny weather and immediately set off on its way. Two hours later, the weather changed. The wind blew, rain poured down and a thunderstorm of such extraordinary force broke out that rivers overflowed their banks, flooded fields, and roads became even more impassable [Sport (05/31/1908) // Russian Word, 1908];

3) The sun went behind the clouds, and immediately the huge village council yard darkened, but very close by, two hundred meters away, clumps of chestnut trees, a white-stoned road, and the greenery of a cornfield were still illuminated as if by a particularly joyful sun [Fazil Iskander. Sandro of Chegem (Book 2) (1989)].

In these descriptions of nature, the dynamic dominant is emphasized by the circumstances of the time (immediately, two hours later), the signs that have arisen, expressed by static predicates (changed, darkened), all actions-states do not replace each other, but simultaneously coexist, also being influenced by the general meaning of the context.

Thus, depending on which aspect of movement or change is emphasized, the following types of "dynamic description" can be distinguished:

1. Description of the rapid change of state:

Fyodor Ivanovich's face darkened and he frowned — he was painfully worried about any tactlessness [Vladimir Dudintsev. White clothes / The first part (1987)].

This example highlights the speed of the state change.

2. Description of the slow state change:

Nekhludoff was so lost in thought that he did not even notice how the weather had changed: the sun had disappeared behind an advanced low, torn cloud, and a solid light gray cloud was approaching from the western horizon, already pouring out there, somewhere far away, over the fields and forests, in a slanting light rain [Tolstoy L. N., Resurrection, 1899].

This example highlights the smoothness of the weather change.

3. Description of the cyclic action:

Black waves crashed and roared against the rocky shores; in the middle of them, merging with the surrounding darkness, blackened the bizarre silhouettes of pointed cliffs, like some kind of fantastic monsters, mute, with cold, slimy sides [F. F. Tyutchev. On the rocks and valleys of Dagestan (1903)]

This example clearly refutes the idea that there is no repeatability in the "dynamic description", in this example there is an emphasis on phenomena that arise and repeat from time to time.

4. Description of the state change:

The bright and sharp, clear and flat colors of winter faded, softened, swelled with water, gained depth and heaviness. The forest was stripped, the ice darkened, and the snowdrifts settled. The sky, initially covered with low bluish clouds, cleared: a warm wind, pushing the windows apart, swept the clouds into huge stacks, and behind them shyly shone another pale height [Alexey Ivanov. The Heart of Parma (2000)].

This description highlights the process of development and changes in the state of nature.

If we talk about the functionality of a "dynamic description", it should be noted that in a literary text the main function of a "dynamic description" is, firstly, to show an object or phenomenon in motion, change, development; secondly, a "dynamic description" can create a background for events, illustrating their course in time and space; third, it serves as a means of showing subtle psychological and emotional experiences. In general, the functions of a dynamic description are multifaceted and depend on the context of its use.

3. Conclusion

The analysis of descriptive texts revealed that the "dynamic description" functions in such descriptive genres as a description of a portrait or appearance of a person and a description of nature, since it is in them that the idea of action is realized, changes in the state of the described object, the signs of which can be temporary, moving the text in time ^{[13, p. 61]}. This idea is implemented by static predicates, circumstantial words with the meaning of time, and the general context of a descriptive microtheme. It should also be noted that "dynamic description" is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon of artistic speech. The author's skill is shown in the ability to choose the most appropriate linguistic means to convey a specific type of movement (fast, slow, cyclical, state change) and achieve a certain artistic effect. Further research on such a phenomenon as "dynamic description" can be aimed at a deeper analysis of the interaction of various linguistic means, as well as at studying its role in the formation of an artistic image in various literary genres and directions.

Thus, a descriptive type of speech that has a logical basis in the form of a synchron system and a stable linguistic structure can have not only permanent, static features, but also temporary, dynamic features. All these characteristics allow us to express the opinion that a "dynamic description" is a special, mixed type of text that requires the close attention of linguists.