linguocultural aspect of discourse (based on THE WORKS OF JOHN UPDIKE)

Currently, interdisciplinary research is in the focus of attention of many scientists. In the linguistic sciences the object of study is not limited to linguistic possibilities but involves the whole complex problems associated with human communication in language ("background" knowledge, reflections of world images in language)

In linguistics, the phenomenon “discourse” is considered from different points of view. The pragmalinguistic approach is focused on the study of emotional and informational exchange between the participants of communication, their verbal and non-verbal interaction. For psycholinguists, discourse is “the deployment of switches from the internal code to external verbalization in the processes of speech production and its interpretation, taking into account the socio-psychological types of linguistic personalities, role settings and prescriptions”

In this study, we are interested in the linguocultural study of discourse. This approach aims to establish the specifics of communication within a certain ethnic group, to determine the formulaic models of etiquette and speech behavior in general, to characterize the cultural dominants of the corresponding community in the form of concepts as units of the mental sphere, to identify ways of referring to precedent texts for a given culture

The cultural paradigm is a complex, multifactorial phenomenon that can be considered in two ways

The cultural paradigm is the complex of paradigms of individual culture, national culture, and world culture. Within the text the cultural paradigm can be expressed explicitly (proper names, names of cultural heritage) and implicitly (cultural associations derived from the positions of the characters, their relationships).

The components of culture that carry a nationally specific colour include the following: traditions, customs, rituals; traditional-everyday culture; everyday behaviour (habits of representatives of a certain culture, norms of communication accepted in a certain society); mimic and pantomimic codes used by linguocultural community; “national pictures of the world”, reflecting the specific perception of the outside world, the national thinking peculiarities the particular culture representatives; artistic culture, reflecting the cultural traditions of a particular ethnic group

The cultural paradigm can be expressed explicitly – in the form of culture-bound terms, proper names, names of cultural heritage, etc., and implicitly – on the basis of cultural-conceptual associations, as well as extracted from the positions of the characters, their behavior, relationships, and the hidden position of the author.

Let us consider the first aspect of the cultural paradigm. In the analyzed discourse of J. Updike, there are often toponyms that carry a large semantic load. They determine the place of action, events, draw the culture related to the characters of the work, and give the works dynamism. Thus, in the story “Still Life”

The Updike's works also include: a)names of the places and buildings having social, cultural or historical significance: Constable School of Art, Kazmierczak Square; b) significant historical events that have influenced the culture of a given country: Fighting in Korea; Great Swamp Fight in King Philip's War; War between the South and the North in America; World War II: Britain, France, USSR and USA fight Germany, Italy, Japan; American War of Independence

The names of famous political and literary figures and artists are often used in the Updike's discourse. The associations which readers have in connection with these names increase the amount of hidden information. The names Castro, Ben-Gurion, Martin Luther King refer to racism and the black Americans rights protection

The discourse we analyze reflects culture-bound terms denoting the details of the national way of life of a culture, ethnic group, and nation. “Daily Express” – British newspaper, Levi's – American jeans brand, Camel – American cigarette brand, English Ford – English car brand, Chesterfields – American cigarette brand, Beatles, Monkeys – English pop groups; Celtics, Bruins, Whalers, Red Sox – American sports teams; Crest  – toothpaste brand, Webster – a Merriam (Springfield) dictionary, Chevy – the colloquial designation of the Chevrolet car brand, and Pennsylvania snack is a traditional dish of German immigrants in the USA – meat with sauerkraut. All these culture-bound terms – proper names – reflect everyday culture, closely connected with traditions.

Such words and phrases as Anglo-Saxon rubble, Greece's golden age, Roman-Christian, Venus de Milo, Chardinesque, Esquiline Venus, the Dying Gaul, Winged Victory, Japanese love tale, Italian fairy tale, Greek grace, Russian woman, Anglican vicar are associated with the culture of ancient Rome and Greece, France, England, and Japan. For example, the novel “The Witches of Eastwick”

So, in the discourse of John Updike, the cultural paradigm is expressed, firstly, explicitly, through place names, proper names, and art objects. On the other hand, the cultural paradigm in the works of J. Updike is included in the implicit sphere, which is extracted from the positions of the characters, their behaviour and relationships. For example, appellatives and addresses used in the discourse characterize the norms of behaviour specific to a given local culture: “Dear friends… Dear me… Will you pass me this cabbage, please?”

In the story “Still Life”

Obviously, the main idea of the story is connected with the conflict of cultures. Robin Cox, being an Englishwoman, has her own idea of the nation of Americans:

“You Americans are never serious. Everything you say's a variety of joke”

In the story “The Doctor's Wife”

One of the main ideas of the story is directly related to the conflict of cultures. Each nation representatives have their own opinion on the racism issue: Doctor's wife: “In America, now…are the coloureds well cared for? Are they  well off” Ralph: “In some parts better than others. In the South…they're openly discriminated against; in the North they…have to live in the city slums but…they have full legal rights.” Doctor's wife: "It is a problem, isn't it?” Eve: “Whose problem? She was a graduate of one of those female colleges where only a member of a racial minority or a cripple can be elected class president”

Thus, a representative of each local culture sees the world around him in his own way and “draws” his own picture of the world. As for the perception of a foreign culture, it should be noted that it is determined by national-specific differences that exist between different cultures.

The cultural paradigm in Updike's discourse is expressed explicitly, by means of geographical names, words-realities that carry a national-specific colouring. All of them evoke certain associations of time, space, history, place, culture, life in readers and set the general background. The cultural paradigm of John Updike’s discourse is also expressed implicitly and is derived from the attitudes and behaviours of the main characters as representatives of certain national cultures, which inevitably leads to their clash.