ЛИНГВО-КОГНИТИВНЫЕ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ СКАЗОЧНОГО ДИСКУРСА (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ СКАЗОК И ЛЕГЕНД НАРОДОВ СИБИРИ)

Introduction

Discourse is considered to be a significant object of linguistic research in the framework of approaches worked out by sociolinguistics, pragmalinguistics, linguistics of speech and cognitive linguistics. Nevertheless existing interpretations of discourse are numerous and heterogeneous. Being oral or written, various in length discourse is treated as “the actual medium through which knowledge (linguistic and cultural) is produced, transmitted and acquired by members of the society” [10, P. 37].

Socio-cognitive approach to discourse is developed by Teun A. van Dijk who defines discourse as “a general idea of the text, a concept of text” [12, P. 380]. But in this case, common structural and stylistic features become existential characteristics of discourse.

Folktale discourse is not similar to pedagogical, political or any other type of discourse. It is close to fiction or belles-lettres. The difference is that in folktale discourse the writers (if tales have authors) try to realize not their individual views and assessments, but the collective ideas of the people [6, P. 155].

The actualization of the folktale discourse was caused by social requirements. Its transformation from situational to personal-oriented existential type of discourse was due to the transition from the oral communication into the written one. This shift or transmission resulted in the loss of the participants’ role-relations (those of a storyteller and a listener) and in digressions from a traditional formulaic style [2]. This shift brought significant changes in folktales. Folktale discourse acquired more aesthetic value.

All the diversity of folktale definitions can be reduced to the following two definitions as the most congruent ones:

- any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one considered to be false or based on superstition [4]

- a tale or legend originating among a people and typically becoming part of an oral tradition [13].

Each folktale is considered to be fictional, because it is a desacralized myth [9]. Nevertheless, it becomes part of an oral tradition, because in educational discourse, for example, folktales act as effective means of socialization of children and organization of educational process [3]. Moreover, some linguists insist that “the very idea of cross-cultural communication is impossible if the participants do not know each other’s folktales” [8].

Material and Methods

Any lingvo-cognitive analysis of a folktale discourse implies revealing the characteristics that serve to describe ethnic culture and national character. As Miftah remarks, “if we speak about folktales texts, we should remember that local lore and culture are probably their most important components” [7, P. 131].

These components are usually represented in discourse in the form of concepts. In this article, we’ll mean by concept a general unit of cognitive linguistics, the semantic formation of the lingua cultural features reflecting ethno cultural characteristics.

Thus, the relevance of this research is due to necessity of further investigation of folktale discourse, which plays an important role in forming the national world outlook and reflecting the cultural values of different ethnic groups.

The aim of this research is to describe lingvo-cognitive characteristics of folktale discourse on the example of the folktales and legends of Siberia.

This aim can be gained by completing the following tasks:

1. to analyze the plots of the folktales by stating the conflict situations and methods of their resolution;
2. to reveal the most significant concepts which constitute the concept sphere of Siberian folktale discourse and to describe its linguistic characteristics;
3. to make conclusions establishing universalities and peculiarities of Siberian folktale discourse.

Material of the research is the collection entitled Tales and Legends of Siberia (translated from Russian by R. Latypova) [11]. The collection includes 27 Siberian folktales and legends: 3 Tatar tales, 4 Nenets tales, 5 Evenki tales, 3 Chukchi tales, 4 Nanai tales, 1 Itelmen tale, 1 Mansi tale, 2 Tofalar tales; 1 Nivkh tale, 1 Koryak tale, 1 Udege tale and 1 Ostyak tale. The choice of the material is explained by the following reasons: 1) the tales in this are versatile: they are about household use, about animals, they contain some magic features which make the tales memorable and bright; 2) the quality of translation of the tales is of the highest level, their originality and uniqueness are preserved. Both these two statements make the tales suitable for analyzing and revealing specific characteristics of Siberian folklore.

Analysis of the Conflict Situation in Folktales

In this part the research is based on the supposition that it is a conflict situation that most fully reveals the national world outlook. In the material under investigation the conflict situation are as follows:

Table: Analysis of conflict situations

As it is seen from the table, the conflict situations arise for different reasons. Most often these situations resolve in favour of the main hero(ine). In such cases, the narration just describes the concrete steps, stated at the beginning of the tale, which are necessary to achieve the desired goal. But there are tales in which the main hero(ine) is punished for his (her) greediness (“Greedy Capercaillie”), boasting (“How the Crucian Carp Became Flat”), rage (“Iyoga”). In the tale “The Bear and the Fox” the Bear becomes the victim of the cunning Fox. The tale “Brave Siberian Girls” ends with a tragedy. The girls die, but serve as a vivid example for the Siberian people.

Cognitive Analysis of the Siberian Folktale Discourse

In this part the research is aimed at revealing the basic concepts of the Siberian folktale discourse. The basic concepts are the concepts which are essential for developing the actions of the tales and their understanding. Moreover, they have the largest amount of representations.

Five basic concepts constitute the concept sphere of the Siberian folktale discourse.

1. LABOUR

The concept LABOUR is most vividly represented in the Nanai tale “Iyoga”. This is the story about the beautiful, but lazy and ragged girl. As a result, she is transformed into a goose. The concept is represented by the following linguistic means: bring water, knead dough, bake cakes, work for, flap hands, stop helping, concern about the beauty, spoil the beauty, scratch hands, prick finger. So, the concept LABOUR in this context has an obvious connection with the concept BEAUTY.

2. KINDNESS

The concept KINDNESS is most fully represented in the tales “Three Sisters” (Tatar tale) and “The Grey Little Gosling” (Itelmen tale). The first one is the story about the youngest of the three sisters, the only one to run to their ill mother. As a reward for her kindness, she turned into a gold Bee after her death.

The second tale is the story of the wonderful rescue of the Grey Little Gosling (who couldn’t fly to the South with his relatives) by Sinanvet, the Wizard’s daughter.

Linguistically, KINDNESS is represented by the following patterns: bring joy to people, love, care, kind, warm, thank.

The described examples prove the idea that KINDNESS is closely connected to REWARD and GRATITUDE.

3. OBEDIENCE / DISOBEDIENCE

The concept opposition OBEDIENCE / DISOBEDIENCE is represented in most of the analyzed tales. It is described here as a binary opposition, because: 1) obedience / disobedience is a universal means of world cognition; 2) obedience/ disobedience reflects the same lingvo-cultural idea [1, P. 108].

In Nenets tale “Three Sons” only the youngest son obeyed his Mother’s will and ate the fat cakes given to him (the elder ones threw the cakes away, because they were stale), and this brought him happiness.

It is noteworthy that in Siberian folktale discourse OBEDIENCE has most often positive connotation, while DISOBEDIENCE has mostly negative connotation. In Russian folktale discourse, for example, both OBEDIENCE and DISOBEDIENCE can be both positive and negative. Ivan Durak never obeys any rules of the society, but finally, he gets his happiness.

But in Evenki tale “The Bear and the Fox”, the Bear obeyed the Fox, but this didn’t make him happy, because the Fox deceived him and ate the Crucian Carp only by herself. The conclusion to be stated here is that obedience makes heroes happy only when they are ready to act in accordance with their views and values.

Linguistically, OBEDIENCE / DISOBEDIENCE is represented by the following means: obey, good idea, …you’ve thought it up cleverly and skillfully.

4. CUNNING

The concept CUNNING is also widely spread in Siberian folktale discourse. It is represented in almost every tale. In some tales the Hero (ine) manages to outwit his (her) opponent: “The Fox and the Lynx”, “The Frog and the Elk”, “The Bear and the Chipmunk”, “The Cunning Fox”, “A Young Mouse and a Young Deer”.

But there are tales in which the Hero (ine) is being fooled himself (herself): “The Bear and the Chulbacha”, “How the Polar Fox made the Black Raven and the Polar Bear Quarrell”, “The Fox, the Bird and the Raven”, “The Bear and the Fox”. It is common when an animal, which is physically weaker and slower than the other animal, manages to outwit him (her) due to its cognitive abilities.

Linguistically, CUNNING is represented by the following lexemes: cunning, sly, outwit, overtake; escape, slow-witted, coward, silly, pursue, compete, cheat, deceive.

5. FIGHT

The concept FIGHT is most vividly shown in Tatar tale “Brave Siberian Girls”. This story ends up with a tragedy, because all the three hundred girls died. But this explains people that it is necessary to struggle for freedom and happiness.

The following linguistic means are used: injured girls, buried, killed, retreat, remain alive, be surrounded by enemy, mortal fight.

Conclusions

The research proves the significance of folktale discourse and its inextricable connection with educational discourse (because tales serve as means of children’s socialization) and the belles letters style (because both types of writing require imagination).

Siberian folktale discourse reveals important ethno-cultural characteristics which constitute national world outlook of the Siberian people. The world outlook is essentially influenced by the way of life of the Siberian people. Most of them live in taiga and tundra, in severe weather conditions, and they have to work really hard to survive; and keep the behests of their ancestors safe. So, the national values of the Siberian people are represented in such concepts as LABOUR, KINDNESS, OBEDIENCE / DISOBEDIENCE, CUNNING and FIGHT.

The analyzed discourse possesses both universalities (common characteristics which are relevant for any folktale discourse) and peculiarities (characteristics, which make this type of discourse special or unique).

Universalities consist of the following characteristics:

• magic heroes – in Siberian tales there are a few magicians (e.g. Nileke in “Three Sons”), wizards, eternal people (who possess alive water), the Squirrel in “Three Sisters” has some magic force, which she uses to punish the elder daughters and reward the youngest one;
• magic knowledge – e.g. the Mother in “Three Sons” somehow gets to know that her two elder sons disobeyed her and failed to do the job, the Fox in the tale “The Fox, the Bird and the Raven” somehow gets to know that it was the Raven who taught the Bird to disobey her;
• transformations – e.g. the youngest daughter in “Three Sisters” was transformed into a Gold Bee after her death, Iyoga was transformed into a goose.

The peculiar characteristic of Siberian discourse is that it reveals a strong explanatory paradigm. Having read the tales, the reader understands why the hares have long ears, but not horns, and why their ears are black. It becomes clear why the Polar and Brown Bears live separately, why the Bullfinch has a red chest.

It is an interesting fact that the story narrates about just one Hare (for example), but its results are generalized and become true for all hares as a species.

Discussion

Folktales are typically considered as children’s stories in the modern world. Certainly they do appeal to children and help them develop critical, social, cognitive, and linguistic skills. In the same way, it should not be overlooked that the themes and issues raised in these tales can be significant for all ages, all humanity. While folktales from different cultures may display many differences, some elements can be justifiably claimed to be common to many or all cultures.

In other words, the relationship of narrative form, function and field in tales with the didactic moral seems to appear in folktales from many lands [5, P. 8]. Just as such moral concerns of honesty, kindness and generosity, as opposed to jealousy, greed and pride, are issues in any culture, the contrastive structural form of presenting those issues are also found to be transcultural, if not universal.