The article deals with the philosophical and cognitive criteria of the evolution of the sign (semiogenesis), growing from signal to symbol and further to the sign in Language. The article aims to reveal not only differences among the three semiotic forms, but also their common and generic features. As a common philosophical criterion, to define generic feature of all evolutional semiotic forms and to explain the principle of the inner relationship between the form and the meaning in them, category of otherbeing (inobytié) is used. The cognitive analysis, which deals with the differential features of the evolutional semiotic entities, is developed on the base of the categories of identification and interpretation. The both functions, the identification and the interpretation, correlate with each other differently in signal, in symbol and in conventional sign of Language. The transition from one function to another characterizes the essence of the speech actualization of the sign in the process of semiosis. The only functional condition, that remains common and unchangeable in all kinds of sign, is the transition to the otherbeing. The otherbeing (whatever its functional perspective) represents the phenomenology of the sign in speech. The article may be interesting for the specialists in philosophy, semiotics and general linguistics.

Teaching a foreign language in a non-linguistic college or university should be professionally oriented, which brings up the question of selecting the relevant vocabulary of a professional discourse under study. Modern text corpora are too general in subject matter and the time span. Therefore, a specially compiled collection of texts can serve the purpose of selecting the vocabulary. In the case of the Chinese language, the task is complicated by the lack of word segmentation in such texts. Taking into account the fact that most words in Chinese are written in two characters, it is assumed that one of the methods applicable in this situation is a comprehensive frequency analysis of text sequences of two characters – character bigrams. The analysis of frequent bigrams has showed that 70% of the most frequent lexical units are representative of the discourse, including 11% of out-of-vocabulary ones. The remaining part of bigrams pertain to syntactic constructions, including structurally incomplete ones, and fragments of longer lexical units. Thus, the high frequency of character co-occurrence can with a rather high probability (p > 0.7) be considered as an indicator of lexicality in identifying representative vocabulary in an unsegmented the matic collection of texts in Chinese.

The article is devoted to the study of culture-bound words as a method of verbal strategies of political discourse, aimed at both maintaining a positive image and verbal attacks against opponents and competing political parties. The relevance of research is due to insufficient knowledge of the lexical units with a national-cultural component from the standpoint of political linguistics. The material for the study included the speeches of the ruling parties’ leaders in Germany: Angela Merkel (Christian Democratic Union) and Horst Seehofer (Christian Social Union) in the context of the “Political Ash Wednesday” 2017. Politicians’ statements containing culture-bound words were selected by continuous sampling method. The analysis revealed that the speakers deliberately used culture-bound words in order to implement their communicative intentions. Such units illustrate non-linguistic reality; they are directly related to the values of society and influence the recipient in communication. Using the statements of A. Merkel and H. Seehofer, the author identified five speech strategies (self-presentation and discredit strategies, informationinterpretation, manipulative and agitation strategies), and also established their relationship with the use of culture-bound words.

The article deals with the problem of functional peculiarities of the modal verb “would” in narrative texts. The analysed corpus comprises those meanings of “would” that render temporal aspects of the semantics of the following simple infinitive. The various meanings of modal constructions are considered in terms of the relative frequency of their usage in written texts as well as of their dependence on the broader lexical and pragmatic context. The present article also studies cognitive nuances of creating and perceiving “would + simple infinitive” phrases including their referential characteristics. At the end of the paper we attempt to build a cognitive model of the narrative discourse functioning of “would”-constructions, which takes into account the addressor’s presuppositions at the input and the implications at the output as inferred by the addressee.

The article is concerned with a complex study of the specific features of international agreements in the aspect of functional stylistics and text linguistics. The linguistic evidence has been collected in the Old English texts of international agreements made in the late 9th century by the Wessex kings Alfred the Great, Eadward and the chief of Danes Guthrum as testified by the late 11th – early 12th century manuscript. The present article is intended to make some scientific contribution by trying to solve a number of functional style problems of a specific text type in diachrony, i. e. to consider linguostylistic features of international documents in the historical aspect. It has been found out that lexical, grammar, structural-syntactic and compositional features of the text type in question emerged at the early stage of its existence and are still functional now. The research also proceeds to various language levels, in particular the textual one, to reveal and describe the specific features of Old English international treaties which are no longer inherent in modern formal papers of the same type. As a result of analyzing the linguistic evidence, a conclusion is made that there has been effected some linguostylistic change in the course of formation of the given text type, which, however, can hardly be desribed as drastic.

The aim of the article is to analyze the manipulative potential of the modern Italian-speaking media space in terms of creating a negative image of Russia as an international player. The sources of language material for the analysis are two authoritative Italian publications − Internazionale newspaper and Formiche.net Internet portal − characterized by the exclusively analytical content of articles and expert comments in the field of international relations and geopolitics, the authors of which are able to significantly influence the readership. The methodological apparatus includes a descriptive method and a method of semantic and syntactic analysis of linguistic units with a manipulative potential. From a pragmatic point of view, examples of evaluation predicates used by the Italian mass media to inform the reader about the actions of the Russian Federation are given. The article may be of interest to linguistic researchers dealing with romance studies, political linguistics, as well as to political scientists interested in Russian-Italian relations.

The aim of this paper is to analyze how the axiological aspect of confrontational communicative strategies is realized in American political discourse. The problem of intensified conventional and destructive elements in American political speech requires thorough linguistic investigation as political discourse is becoming more subjective and negative. The evaluation category allows discourse participants to construct some hierarchy of objects based on the “good vs. bad” predicates. The author analyzes different types of evaluations and their realizations in confrontational strategies, e.g. instrumental, technical, conductive, utilitarian, medical, hedonic evaluations. The paper puts special focus on construction of evaluation act, which includes the subject of speech, the object of speech and the predicate. The subject of speech is expressed through personal pronouns, appeals to authority or majority. The object of speech can be specified directly (using, for example, proper nouns, familiar constructions and verbal labels) or indirectly (using deixis). The predicate is expressed through nouns, adjectives, modal and emotional verbs and infinitives. The negative evaluation comprises such typical means as modified personal pronouns, contextual metaphors, pun, indexical phrases etc., which are used for confrontational speech tactics of mockery, discrediting, exposing, prosecution, negative analysis and vulnerability.

The article highlights some features of German newspaper texts and related difficulties in translating them into Russian. The topicality of this study is explained by various linguistic and extralinguistic factors. The newspaper text should provide information in an understandable and accessible language form. However, in an effort to produce a greater effect on the reader, as well as to accommodate the maximum amount of information in a compressed form, journalists resort to special techniques to influence the reader, which, in particular, include the use of composites. The main purpose of the article is to remove some of the difficulties of translating composites in the German newspaper text, caused by implicit evaluation or background information (Trümmerfrau, Teflonkanzlerin, N-Wort), which requires additional “decryption” of the overall semantic meaning of the composite. To this end, the article analyzes the specifics of the German newspaper text, establishes the most active types of composites in German newspaper texts. The increased number of complex nouns in German newspaper texts is specified on the principle of linguistic economy, which is intrinsic to German communicative style, and German word formation. Options for translating rather difficult composites into Russian are offered. Attention is drawn to the transfer of the cultural specifics of the original when using lexico-grammatical transformations to preserve the semantic load of the original and its adequate translation. It is concluded that it is necessary to take into account the cultural specifics of composites in the German newspaper text when translating them into Russian.

The active development of intercultural communication in the cinematic arts sets new challenges for translation theorists and practitioners. The article presents concepts that are widely used in film translation, provides a classification of audiovisual translation types, and for the first time establishes a distinction between such concepts of translation studies as: “langue relais” (translator language), ”langue pont” (transition language),”langue véhiculaire” (Transporter language) and “langue interface” (interface language). Using the example of subtitles for the film “Turkish gambit”, the authors identified ways to translate them from Russian to French and conducted a detailed statistical analysis of the frequency of using methods of translating subtitles. According to the results of experimental data, borrowing was the leading technique in translating subtitles of Boris Akunin’s script “Turkish gambit”, which necessitated a comparative study of borrowings of Eastern languages, their assimilation in Russian and French, and translation features. The use of etymological, component and morphological analysis methods allowed us to identify the specifics of translation of orientalisms in Russian and French.

The paper studies the concept of identity verification of the personality in the state system from the perspective of finding additional socially marked meanings/connotations of the word “identity/ identité”. It is also necessary to consider the contexts affecting the variety of meanings that this concept embraces.

The study is based on the contexts derived from the French mass media. While describing the concept of identity verification, we use the term “diagnostic markers” to classify the meanings of the lexeme “identity/identité”. These markers can be represented by the linguistic units of different levels, which are used to detect the meaning of identity in a particular information context. The study of the concept helped to detect the associative field of “identity/ identité” from the perspective of personality verification in the state system. Thus, the nuclear meaning is the obligation for a French citizen to carry la carte d’identité/an identity card, while the peripheral meanings include the following: true and false optionality for providing the proof of identity; the contrast between real and official identities; identity as a proof (official document) of one’s nationality; lack of identity in the meaning of absence of legal proof of identity; identity in the context of restrictions imposed as a result of tough immigration policies. The social markers used to identify the personality within the state system were also analyzed from the perspective of ascribed and achieved identity. The first type refers to the situation of actually living in the chosen country, while the second type occurs when a person chooses a country for future residence.

The paper analyses the role of B. de Aldrete’s treatise “Del Origen y principio de la lengua castellana o romance que oi se usa en España” (1606) in the development of Romance philology. The XVII-century author writes about the most important aspects of internal and external history of Spanish, such as: pre-Romance Spain and substratum languages; Roman conquest and romanization; Hispanic Latin; German conquests of Spain; Arabic conquest and the Reconquista; formation of kingdoms in the north and state-building processes; sociolinguistic situation in Spain; the role of Spanish in the New World; changes from Latin to Spanish in phonetics and morphology; sources of Spanish lexis; early written texts; territorial, social, functional variation of Spanish. Apart from the aspects of Spanish philology, B. de Aldrete pays attention to the formation and functioning of Pyrenean languages: Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese. However, B. de Aldrete does not limit himself to examining Ibero-Romance languages. Many aspects of the history of Spanish are shown against a wider, Romance background, bearing in mind the earlier tradition (the Antiquity, in the first place). He also confronts Spanish with other Romance languages and Latin. The analysis of the first treatise on the history of Spanish makes one reconsider B. de Aldrete’s contribution to the development of language description models and the bases of Romance philology. The treatise sets up a model of Romance philology as a full-fledged philological discipline.

The article reveals the peculiarities of transmission of stereotypical images of various cultures in the language of a native speaker. Through a comparative study of the material of languages with different structures (English, Russian and Kabardino-Circassian), the specificity of linguistic explication of ethnocultural stereotypes is analyzed. The analysis of language tools demonstrates that stereotype as an integral part of human thought processes and a conceptual picture of the world is inextricably linked with ethnic culture, acting as an accumulator of collective experience and a regulator of individual’s behavior, and language not only transmits stereotypes of national thinking and projects the human worldview, but also creates reality, forming corresponding images in the minds of communicants. The study of linguistic material of compared languages made it possible 1) to conclude that language reflects the specific perception of surrounding reality by representatives of different linguistic cultures, due to the national mentality; 2) to identify the peculiarities of national thinking in the process of stereotyping; and 3) to determine the function of stereotypes reflected in language in building a constructive intercultural dialogue. The target audience of the study may include university students following linguistic, ethnocultural programs, employees of educational and research institutions, as well as all interested in a comparative study of languages with different structures.

The paper focuses on the semantic derivation of the adjective «toxic» in English, which underlies the neosemantization of the adjective “токсичный” in the Russian language. Due to exposing the seme of negative impact, the word “toxic” is subjected to metaphorization. It is actively used in various spheres of Anglo-American discourse. The universal character of the metaphor, in which the target domain is a person, and the source domain – toxic substances, explains the high frequency of its usage. The conceptualization of a person and the whole system of interpersonal relations in terms of metaphor “Man is a toxic substance” is considered as a verbal indicator of the real psychological state of Anglo-American society. The high frequency of the word in political discourse is characterized as a means of language manipulation. Attention is drawn to the ethnic specificity of the American feminist socioconstruct “toxic masculinity”, as a particular manifestation of the tendency to eliminate binary gender opposition. While examining the functioning of neosemantism “toxic” in the Russian language, a conclusion is made about the process of semantic calque, which proceeds in the form of exact copying the ways of its metaphorical usage in the donor language. In the speech practices of native Russian speakers the adjective “toxic” changes its traditional syntagmatics, including in the field of reference nouns with the meaning of a person or various types of human relationships. There are changes in the use of the adjective, which is becoming a fashionable attribute of the speech of politicians, financiers, and psychologists. It is emphasized that the semantic shift in the adjective “токсичный”, which is carried out under the influence of the donor language, is alien to the traditional system of values of Russian native speakers.

The article describes the experience of implementing the innovative programme Basic Journalism Writing (BJW) aimed at B2+-C1 (CEFR) journalism students. The programme was tested among first and second year bachelor students at the Faculty of Journalism, Moscow State University, in 2018-2020. The article analyses a complex methodological approach, which combines elements of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), process and product writing and Project-Based Learning (PBL). The programme is aimed at improving students’ English writing skills by means of developing journalistic competencies: genre writing, editing, pitching and publishing. In its step-by-step approach it guides the learner from meticulously studying and analyzing texts of various genres, from breaking news and features to opinion articles and reviews, to writing their own articles and publishing them in English language student media created as part of the programme. The article summarizes the results and draws the conclusions about the efficiency of project-based approach to writing for journalism students.

This article studies the Russian verb and its grammatical and semantic information in three dictionaries by Klevtsova S. D., Voskanyan G.A., Ovchinnikova I.K., which are the most relevant diction-aries at present and most often used while learning the Russian language in Iranian universities. In this work the problems with which Iranian students are faced while searching verb forms in these dictionaries are considered. By comparing these dictionaries in terms of the content and information contained in each entry, the author lists the differences between these dictionaries and points out the lack of some information necessary for Iranian students to learn. It seems that updating the content of the mentioned diction-aries will not only help to optimize the Russian language learning process by Iranian students at different educational levels, but also to solve translation problems.

The article deals with the relationship between perfectionism in the academic environment and foreign language learning. After defining the basic concepts (the three-dimensional model of perfectionism, its components, the multidimensional perfectionism scale by P. Hewitt and G. Flett), the results of the current related research conducted abroad and in Russia are briefly presented. The literature review allowed us to formulate a research question: Are the foreign language and its level of proficiency (on the Common reference levels) related to the degree of perfectionism and its components?

In search of an answer to this question, an empirical study was conducted (sample size 213 participants). Using objective statistical methods, it was found that, in general, there are no statistically significant differences between students studying different languages and students at different levels. However, differences in the degree of perfectionism between A2 level and neighboring levels attract attention in terms of the effect sizes. For individual components of perfectionism, the levels of Basic user (A1 and A2) differ most from other levels.

The presented results can be useful both for foreign language teachers and for scientists dealing with the success of language learning and the factors affecting this process.

B.M. Debov’s dictionary Romanic component in rhymes of French rap (On the specificity of youth’s word-creation)”. Ivanovo: Publishing House of Ivanovo State University, 2020. – 221 p. is the continuation of the preceding works of the author – dictionaries of abbreviations and deviating from norm vocabulary of youth (verlan, rap). The selection and analysis of Romanic (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Provensal) vocabulary is an evident quality of the dictionary. Among the words forming the rhymes are internationalisms (maestro, opera, villa, etc), names of well-known national dishes (macaroni, pizza), popular Latin American dances (lambada, samba, tango) and also the names of drugs used by some youngsters (cocaїna, marijuana). One can consider rap as a source to supplement vocabulary. The dictionary by V.M. Debov is undoubtedly interesting for those who study Romanic languages.