LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY AS COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT AND COMMUNICATION REPRESENTATIONS

The main goal of education is the development of competencies and knowledge of a foreign language, which is considered personally significant. In the system of language teaching, it is necessary to create certain conditions that contribute to the development of linguistic and creative abilities. Defining this is given quite a lot of attention in modern science. The definition of creativity is interpreted differently. Creativity is defined as a combination of personal and mental characteristics that enables a non-standard solution to the problem. In the humanities, creativity is usually defined as a combination of cognitive and psychological abilities, the development and implementation of new ideas, the creation of new meanings, and their manifestation with the help of new words and texts that previously had no use in the social space.

Creativity is a multidimensional phenomenon and depends on a large number of factors. They include the ability to divergent thinking, luxuriant imagination, aesthetic views, as well as the speed and flexibility of thinking [18, P. 444].

The lack of uniform terms for defining functions indicates a research gap in linguistics and a great prospect for the identification and explication of the categories of language and speech functions.

Functions are interpreted by linguists in a broader context. K. Bühler includes the function of the article, the function of the melodics, the function of the desire expression, grammatical function, the function of the melodics and accent, the pronoun function, the modulation function, the case function, the diacritic function, the appellative function, the indicative function, the reflective function, the function of representation, signaling function, expressive function, educational function [3, P. 473-474].

In their works, K. Bühler [3], J. Guilford [19], A. Galkina [4], H. Gardner [7], R. Jacobson [20] consider the aspect of the realization of creative abilities of a linguistic persona with the help of linguistic means.

Psychologist H. Gardner claims that by their nature, a person does not have a single intelligence; there are several of them, whereas one of the intelligence is the leading one. Among the seven types of intelligence, H. Gardner distinguishes linguistic, which he characterizes as the ability to work with the word [7, P. 311]. Words are used as a means of communication, of naming, and of artistic expressiveness. In the process of uttering a word, various types of functions are applied – communicative function, a function of the message (conveying logical content), and function of the impact (expression, expression of will, feelings, and emotions).

Main and auxiliary functions of the language, focused on linguistic and human factors, are correlated with the process of thinking and objective (as well as subjective) reality, which depends on the direction of the linguistic school of thought, concepts, tasks, and goals.

Creative properties of linguistic activity are characterized by their ability to choose and use certain stylistic devices. They are related to the individual’s ability to use unusual and original linguistic techniques and means of expressing thoughts in a foreign language [2, P. 116]. In other words, linguistic creativity is the structure of knowledge of a particular language, where an individual creates new words and forms and also transforms already existing linguistic means of expression in order to expand their semantic meaning or to achieve a certain effect.

J. Guildford identified certain abilities that determine linguistic creativity [19, P. 454]:

– fluency of terms and contrasts - the ability to express the same information, in other words, using a variety of language techniques;

– expressive fluency - the ability of an individual to easily and instantly compose various expressions in a foreign language;

– spontaneous flexibility - this is the ability of an individual to quickly and easily switch from their native language to a foreign one;

– adaptive flexibility - the ability of an individual to express the meaning of a particular statement in the linguistic form differing from others;

– audiovisual flexibility - the ability of an individual to change the visual form with the features they intended to use.

In his research, E.P. Torrance describes a model of creativity that includes three factors: productivity, flexibility, and originality. The criterion for creativity is a process that stimulates creative activity. However, in terms of linguistics, this approach means the ability to quickly express ideas in a unique and unusual form, using a variety of stylistic techniques [22, P. 56].

A.H. Maslow [16] claims that there are two stages in the development of creativity: primary and secondary. Primary creativity is of foremost importance for our article. A.H. Maslow [16] makes a conclusion that primary creativity is laid down since our birth. Consequently, primary linguistic creativity is based on the individual’s abilities; however, attention should be paid to the ability of an individual to improvise in a foreign language.

Linguistic creativity is associated with creative linguistic thinking, aimed at the emergence of new linguistic phenomena through the transformation of already existing ones in the linguistic space. Linguo-creative thinking operates with associations fixed in linguistic meanings.

Linguo-creative thinking stands out against the background of other types of thinking (such as visual, figurative, averbal (conceptual), practical), whereas linguo-creative thinking maintains the necessary balance between the language and reality.

Linguistic creativity is characterized by the following criteria:

1. Originality. Linguistic creativity involves an original and peculiar solution to the problem, an unusual design of a certain statement.

2. Acceptability. The linguistic diversity of the utterance should be appropriate and fit for the socio-cultural context and ideas of all parties of the communication process.

3. Compliance. Linguistic diversity is related to the fact that an individual uses various extraordinary linguistic techniques in a foreign language; however, this should not impede the understanding of what is expressed.

4. Solving linguistic problems. Linguistic creativity can be considered successful if, as a result of its usage, a practical result is achieved, i.e., an extraordinary expression of thought in terms of linguistics is formed (i.e., in an original, creative way).

All these criteria are in close connection with each other, reflecting the whole essence of linguistic creativity. The acquisition of a foreign language through the formation and development of linguistic and creative abilities is a very promising area of study.