НАЗВАНИЯ ЖИВОТНЫХ В ПРОСТРАНСТВЕ ЗНАКОВОЙ ИГРЫ В РУССКОМ И АЗЕРБАЙДЖАНСКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ

The primary purpose of the present article is to analyze the play on the names of domestic animals (a cow and a bull) in the Russian and Azerbaijani languages. In the context of this study, it should be noted that the historically Russian and Azerbaijani Turks were able to observe the same animals, which determined the associative play on equivalent signs. The tendencies of this play depended on the cognitions relevant for these ethnic groups. In this context, the comparison of well-known and conventional nominations is essential as far as both the treatment of the relevant animals and associative plays on their names constitute semantic and cognitive standards. The differences in these standards are of importance for a contrastive analysis.

 The concept of “корова” (a cow) holds a special place in the consciousness of the Russian people. The main cognitive peculiarity of this concept should apparently be considered the feature of “feeding”. The cow is a nourisher. The image of this animal which nourished the younger generation is widely represented in Russian folklore. The SAD gives two meanings of the word корова. The first one is the main connotative meaning, and the second is figurative. The second meaning is labeled as vulgar and colloquial. The definition of the first one is also of special interest.  Thus, the SAD indicates that a cow is “a large domestic dairy animal, a female of a bull” [3, 2, p. 106]. Defining adjectives here are “large”, “dairy”, and “domestic”. In addition, the category of “size” is as important as of the “milk production”, and the fact that it is a “domestic animal”. For example, the feature of “a female” does not seem so important, because it is read against the background of “dairy”. The second figurative meaning is defined as follows: “a fat clumsy and stupid woman” [3, 2, p. 106]. The symbol of imagery here is the “size of the animal”. It is interesting to note that the cow may be small, and there are even smaller breed of cows. Nevertheless, in the consciousness of the Russian people the cow becomes the symbol of a large and massive creature. As for playing upon the “intellectual abilities” of the cow, a decisive role is apparently played by its eyes, usually large, naive, and expressionless. An important feature that allows creating various associations is also the slowness of this animal, and its bellowing. All this makes the basis for the creation of not only such metaphors as “fat and clumsy” but also “stupid”. In the process of the formation of figurative meanings based on the concept of “cow”, there is a technique identical to the metaphorical playing. Thus, a symbol of “clumsiness” is quite peripheral in the structure of the main nominative meaning. Not a single reference book on lexicography gives this feature along with such attributes as “domestic”, “dairy”, “meat”, and “female”. The feature of “clumsiness” is not an actual distinctive characteristic of an animal. Nevertheless, it is this feature which forms the basis of playing. As a result, it is moved from the periphery to the center. It is understood that the crucial role of this feature is provided by playing upon the meanings. In the entry of the SAD there are some phraseological units with the component корова. These are such expressions as дойная корова (milk cow), будто корова языком слизнула (literally “as though licked off by a cow” – disappeared quickly and completely), идет как корове седло (literally “be like putting a saddle on a cow” – look ridiculous), сидит как на корове седло (look ridiculous) [3, 2, p. 106]. In the structure of all these expressions, the concept of “cow” realizes some cognitive features, important for the Russian consciousness. Thus, in the first one it is “to do milking”, where the cow is a symbol of continuing benefits and food. The second expression represents a common occurrence when the cow is instantly licking something. Finally, the third and fourth expressions are built on the contrast of a cow as a symbol of clumsiness and a saddle as an attribute of such a beautiful animal like a horse. The GAD highlights this metaphor not as a single meaning, but as a colloquial metaphorical use according to the main nominative meaning [4, 5, p. 1448]. In addition, it also gives the expression бодливая корова (a butting cow).

J. Tresidder notes that the cow is an ancient symbol of maternal nourishment, and even an image of cosmic generative powers [5, p. 161]. The entry gives a number of cow’s symbolic features. It is characteristic that they are all positive. It states, “The cow’s quiet, patient rhythms of life presented an image of holiness so complete that it became India’s most sacred animal.” [5, p. 161]. In our opinion, it is this quiet and patient nature which caused the association with stupidity in the Russian consciousness. In other words, all of these features are interrelated and form the basis for opposing connotations. In the Dictionary of Youth Slang, there are two homonyms of the word корова. The first is directly and associatively related with the nominative meaning: “Корова (a cow), jocular: Девушка (a girl). By analogy with тёлка (a chick) in the same meaning” [2, p. 308]. The second is “jocular: A pop group “Corona”. I am young. 1997. № 38” [2, p. 308]. According to this dictionary, the diminutive form of the word корова is also played upon – коровка (a small cow). For example, “Коровка. 1. Homosexual: A passive lesbian. 2. Jocular: A car “Volkswagen” [2, p. 308]. The Dictionary of Russian Foul Language, in our opinion, wrongfully records the word корова in its widespread figurative meaning, as far as the definition does not add anything new to the known materials on the literary language. For example, “a fat and clumsy woman” [1, p. 175]. The dictionary notes that this metaphor is also known in other Slavic languages. There are also two set expressions presented: глупая корова (literally “a silly cow”) и пьяная корова (literally “a drunken cow”) [1, p. 175]. The first does not differ much from the literary language as far as the literary language dictionaries define “the intellectual imperfection” of a clumsy woman, called a cow. The second is also not of interest in terms of combinatorics, because a well-known metaphorical meaning of the word корова is enhanced by the word пьяный, characterized by an ordinary nominative meaning. In the Azerbaijani language, the equivalent inək is recorded in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language in two meanings. The first is defined as the main nominative meaning. The second one is figurative, which includes such factors as “fat”, “clumsy”, “cowardly”, “dull”, “woman” [6, 2, p. 550]. One could emphasize the complete coincidence with the Russian language, except for such a feature as “cowardly”. Therefore, the factor “cowardice” functions as a labeled feature in metaphorical terms if we compare the words корова и inək. This entry provides the only phraseological unit with the component inək in the Azerbaijani language. It is the expression inək kimi sağmaq, fully equivalent to the Russian idiom (literally “to milk somebody like a cow” – milk somebody/something for something; to get as much money or as many advantages as you can from a situation). Thus, the analysis allows to emphasize the equivalence of playing upon the concept of “cow” and corresponding linguistic signs in the Russian and Azerbaijani languages. In the consciousness of the Russian people the word корова is correlated with the word бык (a bull), which certainly has a logical-substantive motivation. The SAD defines only the main nominative meaning of the word бык. Two meanings are given, but the second is also of a special nature, “a name of the subfamily of large ruminant mammals” [3, 1, p. 129]. No figurative meaning is provided here, although it is well known that in the Russian colloquial language the word бык is widely used in the meaning of “a strong, stout and healthy man”. The SAD records the adjective быковатый (literally ‘bullish’ – morose), indicating the transformation of the symbol of the “bull” in the Russian consciousness: “a sullen, looking askance person” [3, 1, p. 129].

The SAD gives two expressions with this component: брать быка за рога (take the bull by the horns) and здоров как бык (as healthy as a bull; as strong as a bull). The first is a phraseological unit, wherein the component бык is a counterword. Not the word бык is played on here, but the relevant situation where the bull is etymologically and symbolically associated with the “problem”. The second expression is a simile, and the word бык is unchanged here. The main nomination is the word здоров (healthy) here, indicating the actual quality on an explicit level. To show the extent of quality, the word бык is used here, the referent of which acts as a symbol of health in the Russian consciousness. In the GAD, the word бык is given in three meanings – in the main nominative and two special meanings. The second meaning is technical (bridge pier), and the third one is zoological (водяной бык – the Eurasian bittern, a wading bird of the heron family) [4, 1, p. 718]. However, in the first meaning there are provided the following similes: упрям как бык (stubborn as a bull) and здоров как бык (as healthy as a bull; as strong as a bull), and the phraseological unit брать быка за рога (take the bull by the horns). It should also be noted that after these similes the standard expression “et cetera” is indicated. However, it remains unclear what other comparisons are meant by this adverb. There is also provided the expression смотреть быком (literally “to look at something like a bull”) which means to look sullenly, to look askance. The entry also gives the word бычок (a bull calf) in the expressions глядеть бычком – to look shyly; пить бычком – to drink without stopping, and breathing through the nose at the same time; по-бычачьи, по-бычьи – to look askance, sullenly. The word бычковатый is labeled as colloquial and is explained as “grim”. The field meanings of this word are “unsociable, shy, and clumsy”. For example, children could behave in such a way, they could “бычиться” which means that they are stubborn, shy, or afraid [4, 1, p. 719]. Thus, there is a whole range of negative emotions here. One can identify such semantic factors as “fear”, “discontent”, “shyness”, “frown”, “sullenness”, “strength”, “health”, “obstinacy”, “savagery” and some others at a more detailed analysis. However, the labeled features are sufficient for us to present a motivational strategy of playing upon the word бык in the Russian language. The Dictionary of Youth Slang gives six meanings of the word бык. The first meaning is defined as “an ugly and stupid young person” and is labeled as derogatory. The second is “a person who has grown rich”. The third is “an extortioner, a person who to collects tribute from street vendors”. The fourth one is “a racketeer”. The fifth is “a bartender”. The sixth meaning is “Bulls are representatives of youth gangs, similar to trust fund babies [2, p. 72]. Somewhat unexpected is the meaning of “a bartender”, all the other meanings having the same feature of “brute force” as their motive. However, in the meaning of “a bartender” one can suggest the following association: “a person who takes control behind the bar – hence, the owner, the one who possesses strength”. In the Azerbaijani Language, the lexical equivalent of the word бык is the lexeme öküz. In the Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language, this word is represented in two meanings. The first is the main nominative meaning, and the second is figurative. The figurative meaning is defined as “a very big, clumsy and bulky man”. The widely used interpretation of this word is also provided in the entry: “a very rude and stupid person” [6, 3, p. 546]. The dictionary gives the phraseological unit öküzün böyüyü pəyədədir where the bull acts a symbol of some difficult business. Literally, the expression means “the greatest bull is still in the barn”. In general, we can say that the Russian word бык and the Azerbaijani öküz correlate on the basic directions of reframing and playing. However, in this case, this linguistic sign is more widely played upon in the Russian language than in Azerbaijani. For example, the association with the “frown” look or look “askance” is completely absent in the Azerbaijani language. Azerbaijanis do not say öküz kimi baxmaq (literally “to look at something like a bull”). The metaphors correlate according to such features as “clumsiness”, “rudeness”, “strength”, and “insensibility”. Although dictionaries do not indicate it but in the Azerbaijani language the concept of “bull” reveals a cognitive feature of “obstinacy”. Therefore, in general the playing strategies coincide.

The conducted analysis suggests that in the context of the identical basic strategies of word playing (or their slight differences) the development of linguistic signs in the Russian language is much more intensive than in Azerbaijani. Another significant specificity of their development is the prevalence of negative connotations.