THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR’S WORLDVIEW IN MYTHONYMS CREATION

A literary work, which is a result of the creative process, is one of the variants of interpersonal communication which possesses a number of significant distinctive features. According to the article of A.S. Komarov this type of communication is of a virtual nature, carried out through a text that acts as a materialized form of this communication. Interlocutors in this type of communication are the author, the characters, and the reader [6].

Considering the role of the author's personality in this system of relationships it should be noted that the author creates a virtually new world that reflects the inner world of the author's personality as the implementation of the creative process. Onomastic space of the fiction composition is a part of this world and one of its subsystems. Onomastic space of a fiction text reflects the peculiarities of author's creativity, its genre and stylistic differences, as well as the attribution of the work itself to the epoch depicted in it, or the era it was created in. Onomastic space is a reflection of the linguistic personality of the author manifestation of his will and creative intention. Peculiarities onomastic space of a fiction text can be traced with the outmost clarity with an analysis of a big, epic composition or a successive analysis of several works of one and the same author.

Authors working in the fantasy genre often create a new world for their narration. According to L.A. Nefedova text perception can be regarded as a correlation of the world model in the subject’s head (the picture of the world) with one displayed in the text. In this perspective onomastic space of a fiction text gains special significance as it provides the necessary images of the author's model of the world, and we perceive the surrounding us objective world as a whole entity only on the condition that it contains supporting elements reflected in our consciousness in the form of visual images. They are images of individual objects included into a single reality and constant in comparison with the image of the whole world. In the process of perception of the text, the role of images of objects in it is fulfilled by the image of the content [8. P. 173-174].

It is worth mentioning the system-forming role of onyms for onomastic space of a fiction text. According to V.N. Mikhailov onyms themselves play the organizing role for onomastic space [7]. The systematic nature of this phenomenon allows us to identify the motives of onym selecting as well as to reveal their stylistic possibilities in a specific text.

Such features as static character, insularity and anthropocentricity of onomastic space of a fiction literature work make it possible to regard it as an independent, autonomously functioning phenomenon where the role of the author as a creator is significant. Being in the process of creation, the author manifests will in the initial creation of poetonyms, mainly relying on the national onomasticon. One of the important features is that the author is not allowed to alter the onomastic space of the fiction literature composition after its completion.

There is a special method of charactonyms which is widely used in fiction literature.  These proper names have a special position in the text: a proper name is enriched by the author with the variety of associative connections and the depth of meaning that is revealed in the context of the work.

According to E.A. Yushkova and N.V. Labunets charactonyms comprehension can serve as a key ‘to the entire fiction literature text comprehension’ [10].

A.V. Superanskaya allocates two categories of proper names: natural proper names and literary proper names [9]. There are both types of proper names used in fiction literature: natural names that were transferred by the author to the work and literary names. Mythonyms are a special category of proper names which also functions in the onomastic space of a fiction text describing the name of any sphere of onomastic space in myths, epics, fairy tales and folk epic stories [1].

Onym functioning in the text has its own specific features, so names, being the result of the writer's language identity work, create artistic images and become an integral element of the form of the story. Onyms can carry a remarkably expressed semantic load, have an unusual sound image and have a hidden associative background. It is included in the task of proper names of a fiction literature text to be stylistically correct and accurate, they must correspond the entire spirit, the idea and the aims of the work. They must bear the specific colour of the work and fully convey the author's idea.

Onyms are of particular interest for the study of the pragmatics of the literary text. Under the pragmatic function of a fiction text is understood the ability to evoke certain emotions, assessments, excitements, motivations from readers and listeners. According to scientists O.A. Biriukova and N.F. Sandina pragmatism of an artistic text is the ability to evoke a communicative effect which will reflect the author's intention, his communicative strategy and the conceptual picture of the world [2].

Proper name pragmatism and charactonyms pragmatism become interesting for research from the aspect mentioned above. The pragmatism of an onym assumes the correlation of it with a certain psychological essence, represented in the mind of the speaker or the listener. Onyms are attached to the object and acquire a reference only in the process of naming.

 It is worth emphasizing that the discourse of a fiction text is a special sphere of onym functioning. Words used in the text are correlated with "real and represented reality, with modern literary language and the language of the work of art [10]. This contributes to the fact that the reader forms associative links of the word independently which may lead to a reconsideration of its semantisation. Onyms invented by the author are one of the most valuable components in the system of means of artistic expressiveness in literature.

The works of the Belarusian writer Olga Nikolaevna Gromyko will be a good example to outline how an author’s worldview influences the selection and usage of proper names in fiction literature. O. N. Gromyko having begun to publish in 2003, quickly gained popularity in the genre of fantasy literature, was awarded with prestigious literary prizes "Sword without a name" and "Star Bridge", and the circulation of books in Russia is amounted to be about 300,000 copies. O.N. Gromyko was born in Vinnitsa, a city in west-central Ukraine. She graduated from Belarus State University and now lives and works in the Republic of Belarus. Although her work-language is Russian, her personality (and through this works) is also featured by Ukrainian and Belarus cultures. It can be easily traced through authorial mythonyms which bear clear resemblance of Slavic culture. So, for example, the name of Gromyko’s native town Vinnitsa was transformed by her into the name of a country Vinessa where people speak with an accent similar to Ukrainian [3]. The action of most of the writer's works unfolds in a fictional world with a single onomastic space that is composed of onyms in an idealized Slavic style: Vladstok, Beloria, Opadischa, claden, grayun-grass, etc. [3]. Even outside this series the author adheres to the chosen style while composing various onyms including mythonyms or charactonyms. The whole system of authorial mythonyms is influenced by Gromyko’s language personality which helps her to depict characters with the outmost clarity. The following examples are indicative.

Charactonyms are widely used by O. N. Gromyko to compose her mythotoponyms and mythopersonyms. One of the characters of the book "Year of the Rat" is called Невралий (eng. Neverlie). According to the story, he is a storyteller and a wandering wizard who has seen much in his way and therefore never lies in his stories. In this context, his name, being a charactonym, emphasizes his qualities and gives a positive characterisation, helping to understand the reader why all people in the book treat him respectfully.

– Знаменитый странствующий мудрец Невралий, – благоговейно ответила та. – Он знает одиннадцать языков, владеет шестью видами оружия и пешком обошел восемь стран! Книги с его творениями хранятся в доме у каждого богача, и любой менестрель почитает за честь сложить песню на его стихи![4. P. 13]

However in the course of the narrative the reader becomes aware that Невралий deceives people by presenting other people's stories as his own, and the attitude to the character is changing. The meaning of the charactonym is changed without changing the form. The reader sees that the very name of the character is lying and this allows the author to characterize him more.

Невралий быстро это просек и, заверив почтенную публику, что сейчас «поведает ей удивительнейшую историю, которая исторгнет смех и слезы даже из самых черствых душ!», сделал мальчишке-ученику знак тихонечко подыгрывать на флейте и начал «творить». Тут-то Рыска и допила вино, как воду. Мудрец рассказывал ее сказку.[4. P. 160]

Charactonyms are also widely used by O. N. Gromyko to describe the terrain where the actions unfold. Fictional toponyms (mythotoponyms) allow the reader to imagine where the characters are at this or that time. It also gives the author possibility to realize her creative intention. Through mythotoponyms, the author informs the reader about a city, river or fortress or other geographical objects of the world invented by her. Thus the desired communicative effect is achieved.

The fortress of Йожиг got its name from the distorted Russian word “hedgehog” or “ёжик”. The reader can easily imagine this animal which is able to defend itself by curling into a ball its needles outwards. During the war that took place in the fictional kingdom this fortress had to be the first to stand on the defensive.

– Маленький? – Теперь удивилась Рыска. Судя по рассказам дедка, Йожыг был единственным оплотом Ринтара в прошлой войне.

– В четверть Макополя. Фактически крепость, обросшая веской. А сейчас от него вообще одни развалины остались, он же вечно из рук в руки переходит: Йожыг первым сражением берут, а последним сдают.[4. P. 85]

Mythotoponim Зайцеград (Eng. Harecity) can also be considered as charactonym. The main activity for this city is hare fighting, which brought fame to the city. Location and appearance are the distinctive features of another fictional settlement Макополе  (Eng. Poppyfield). According to the author's description the hills around the city are covered with poppy fields, and the inhabitants paint the roofs in red "poppy" colour. Mythotoponyms allow the reader to imagine the city by giving clues to the imagination.

Рыска думала, что городом ее уже не удивить, но Зайцеград отличался от Макополя, как веска от хутора. Крыши и сами дома тут были ярко-рыжими по-настоящему, без крашеной соломы, – глины в округе хватало. Весело зеленели деревья, редкие, но оттого высокие и раскидистые. Ветер привольно гулял по широким улицам, выметая с них спертый городской дух.[4. P. 10]

С опушки на город открывался такой вид, что Рыска замерла от робости и восхищения. Конец весны расшил холмы маками, как старательная невеста – свадебное полотенце: густо и с душой. В центре огромным караваем лежал такой же алый город. Крыши смыкались плотно-плотно, словно шляпки опят; отсюда казалось, что они вовсе срослись. Понятно теперь, почему его Макополем кличут![5. P. 85]

To conclude this it should be said that the role of an author’s language personality in word building process is not studied well enough. Various researches are dedicated to this theme; e.g. the doctoral dissertation of Laszlo Toth based on the works by Istvan Szilagyi [11]. There are still points to be discussed.

Judging by the examples provided above, one can see how the author's language personality and worldview influence the process of a new world creation. Mythonyms which can be found in the text possess additional descriptive force for a reader due to the similarity of reader’s and author’s language personalities.  Function within the framework of a fiction literature text; where interpersonal communication occurs between the author and the reader, during which the communicative tasks of the author are achieved with the creation of literary images and their transfer using author's mythonyms. Creative thinking is realized as a higher level of the author's analogue-cognitive thinking in the process of creating mythonyms and an onomastic space of the text of literature works.