The article studies the mechanistic metaphor of the economic discourse of the Germanspeaking mass media. The importance of the economic discourse of mass media is highlighted in connection with a special role of economic science and culture, as well as a growing public interest in this problem. This explains the need to study the linguistic organization of economic discourse, and metaphor in particular. The topicality of the research is in the study of the methods of representation of the mechanistic model during the economic crisis associated with this metaphorical model of concepts and images characteristic of the crisis period. The article describes examples of the real use of realizations of a mechanistic metaphor in texts of economic discourse. The statistical and cognitive-pragmatic analysis of the collected material is based on the provisions of the descriptor theory of metaphor with the subsequent definition of the mechanistic metaphor as one of the discursive practices for the economic discourse of the mass media. Specific features of the German-speaking mechanistic metaphor are highlighted. The article is intended for scientists engaged in the study of discourse analysis, cognitive metaphors, and German studies.

The article continues to develop the lexical composition of the text model of “description” type. The main idea of the article is to study the features of the functioning of verb predicates in thematic varieties of description: the description-landscape and the description-interior. Non-active verb predicates of 11 lexical-semantic groups (LSG) with meaning of 1. placement in space, 2. position predicates, 3. with semantic of the form of the object, 4. space borders predicates, 5. coverage of the subject, 6. spatial ratio of objects, 7. filling of space, 8. characteristic of the flat surface of the object, 9. direction in space, 10. location in space, 11. isolation based on light / color characteristics of the object. In addition, the article deals with the specifics of functioning in the description of predicates of intermodal semantics, and active verb predicates with general meaning of existence fall into the field of view. The greatest variety of LSG of verb predicates is in the description-landscape, which has a significant number of various objects with a spatial structure. The actants are more important in the description-interior, because the objects are able to characterize the situation only by their presence, that’s why the description-interior has a smaller variety of LSG of verb predicates in comparison with the description-landscape.

Associative Plural is the communicative and grammatical mechanism to designate open classes of objects naming explicitly given prototypical (focal) representative and not named but alluded members. Referents of the Associative Plural form a set of members having conceptually or adjacently common features. Inexplicit referents are decoded by means of context or situation of communication and rely upon the knowledge about the external world of the speaker and the hearer.

Phenomenon of the Associative Plural is well described from the typological perspective; nevertheless it remains insufficiently studied on the data of particular languages. Researchers say that Associative Plural is observed on material of two basic lexical classes – personal names and terms of kinship. In Tatar prototypical manifestations of the Associative Plural are well fit in the canvas proposed by the typologists, nevertheless empirical data, including corpus evidences, show that the phenomenon is not limited by the mentioned lexical classes and it may be found in a much broader lexical material.

We pay special attention to the factors of communication − unofficial oral speech, comparable social status of the communicants, and shared knowledge of the external words, which enables to adequately decode inexplicit referents.

We consider different lexical classes that allow the forms of the Associative Plural, and pay special attention to toponyms and names of body parts. We conclude also that different forms of Plural in Tatar have no clear boundaries and often the context does not allow to make an unambiguous conclusion what type of the Plural us used – the additive, the associative or the expressive one.

This study is based on semantic and contextual analysis of lexical items supplied with some information on statistical distribution of related phenomena in Tatar corpus.

The article deals with one of manifestations of German-Czech language contact - semantic calques of German origin in Czech (noun polysemy patterned after German equivalents). The German-Czech language contact has been a focus of linguistic research for a long time and its phonetical, prosodic, morphological and syntactical features as well as German loanwords and loans in Czech are described. Nevertheless, linguists have paid not enough attention to numerous semantic calques of German origin. In this paper we focus on the following semantic calques: cz. pero – ger. Feder, cz.. křídlo - ger. Flügel, cz.. žába - ger. Kröte, cz.. kočičí hlavy - ger. Katzenkopfpflaster, cz. kmen - ger. Stamm, cz. stopka - ger. Stiel, cz. kostka - ger. Würfel, cz. koš - ger. Korb, cz. sešit - ger. Heft, cz. kus - ger. Stück, cz. poměry – ger. Verhältnisse. Comparing this Czech lexems with their equivalents in other Slavonic languages (Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Serbian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Slovenian), we made a conclusion that some of these languages hade also been influenced by German semantics. Russian and Bulgarian exhibit less similarities.

The article examines the semantic structure of the English modal verbs “shall” and “should” and attempts to formulate their systemic meanings based on the Lexical Prototype theory. With the lexical prototype underlying discourse-based word semantics and constituting lexical meaning at the level of the language system, the paper provides an algorithm for a cognitive analysis of the meaning of the modal verbs “shall” and “should”. The research results contain the wordings of the feasible systemic meanings of the verbs under discussion, which are presumed to exist in an average English native speaker’s linguistic consciousness: be obligated in one’s image to do sth (shall) and be expected in one’s image to do sth (should). The interpretation of the contexts of the “shall” and “should” uses in discourse gives ground to believe that the definitions registered in the dictionaries result from the verbs’ systemic (broad) meanings being used for pragmatic purposes. The research conclusions will allow of a fresh look at the issues related to the modal verbs polysemy and their role in various syntactic structures.

This article is devoted to the analysis and determining differences in the use of the prepositions ‘inklusive’ and ‘exklusive’ in German press and the rules of their usage found in German grammar books, Duden, for example. These prepositions actively penetrate into journalism with borrowed words, finding compatibility both with concrete and abstract nouns. Both show different regularity of use. The analysis of press materials has revealed variable case management − contrary to the rules found in grammar books. Formal structural factor is the basic factor affecting the use of case management. It is the use /or lack of the article, an accompanying word before a controlled noun, the position of the preposition, the type of declination of a noun used with the preposition − all these factors have the greatest impact on fluctuations in the use of prepositions in modern German language. According to the Duden grammar, the preposition ‘inklusive’ refers to the prepositions with Genitiv, but it is allowed − albeit less often − the Dativ. Prepositions as part of speech are one of those linguistic phenomena that are closely associated with the evolution of language, with those trends that manifest themselves in one or another language at a certain stage of its development. With a certain degree of certainty, it can be argued that the development of the prepositional system of language is a special case of that global process, which is based on the constant striving of the human brain to increasingly differentiate individual meanings.

The articles focuses on descriptive names, or periphrases, which are according to linguists the names of objects and phenomena possessing emotional and expressive as well as evaluative connotations and introducing additional information about the object of secondary nomination. The article presents descriptive nominations of two most famous German toponyms – the name of the country Germany and its capital Berlin. Under analysis are examples borrowed from the dictionary of German colloquial language [Küpper 1997], manuals by D.G. Maltseva [Мальцева 1991, 2001] and electronic resources found in the Internet. The capital of Germany is often called Spree-Athen; in the Internet one may find such descriptive names as ‘eine wachsende Stadt’, or ‘eine Stadt der kurzen Wege’, as well as ‘eine Drehscheibe des Spitzenssports’, ‘ein multikultureller Arbeitsmarkt mit Chancen und Herausforderungen für Jederman’. Germany has also got the names of ‘Reiseland Deutschland’, ‘Sitzstaat’, ‘Messestaat’, and ‘drittgrösster Beitragszahler der vereinigten Nationen’. Periphrases reflect sincere attitude of the citizens to their country and are significant linguo-cultural signs. The article is intended for students and researchers of the German language, it may be interesting for all people who have interest in a place-naming study.

Surprise is an emotional state contained within the subject. The article analyses three syntactic structures that describe the situation of surprise with all the parameters: the subject, the cause and the predicates of surprise proper. Surprise is a fleeting emotion, immediately following its cause that is expressed by propositions and subordinates describing the cause of surprise. The predicates of surprise are graduated on the scale of intensity and can contain a seme of positive/negative evaluation, or be neutral about it. Surprise is an uncontrollable emotion, but the modes of its manifestation can be controlled. Predicates of surprise containing the seme of negative evaluation are often described as compared to the physiological reactions of stiffness, loss of physical or intellectual capacities, while predicates containing positive evaluation are compared to ecstasy in the face of something extraordinary. The article also analyses conditions which make polysemantic predicates ‘espantar’ and ‘assombrar’ signify the emotional state of surprise.

The article focuses on a complex analysis of the mechanisms of representing the concept ‘Strength’ in the semantics of the lexeme ‘strength’. The analysis allows identifying the frame of ‘Strength’ – a complex of elements, such as ‘subject’, ‘ability’, and ‘activity’. The article also looks at the development of the frame in context. The contexts are taken from the dictionary entries to the word ‘strength’ and from the British National Corpus. The results of the analysis allow revealing a whole spectrum of representations of ‘Strength’. The article concludes by building the detailed conceptual basis of the representation of ‘Strength’ in the semantic content of the lexeme ‘strength’.

The author presents a scientific monograph “Spain as metaphor”. The aim of the research is to learn the national image of Spain at the junction of different scientific directions: history, culture studies, pragmalinguistics, social psychology, literary criticism, image and imagology. Features of the archetype and mentality of the inhabitants of Spain, the constants of the Spanish picture of the world, modern linguistic phenomena within the framework of national culture and sociohistorical context are considered. Turning to the concept of metaphor seen as ethnocultural concept, the author justifies the book’s title. The main theses of the chapters are considered by analyzing some basic notions and key words that allow one to study a national image of the country from different points of view: fiesta, color, humor, family, piropo-compliment etc. A sociolinguistic portrait of the Spanish society is presented through historical changes. The national character and details of everyday life are considered in the space of the Spanish language. Special attention is paid to the peculiarities of modern spoken language in different strata of society, changes in lexical and syntactic means of communication and transformation in forms of addressing. The mutual images of Russia−Spain /Spain−Russia in historical and contemporary contexts are traced. The author studies the stereotypical and realistic view of Spain. A brief review of the bibliography is presented.

Simin Behbahani (1927–2014) is a world-famous Iranian poetess, who was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize. The present research is aimed at filling the gaps that exist in the analysis of literary texts of this Iranian poetess, in particular, at identifying the relationship within the “man-woman” opposition.

In her early poetry Behbahani falls into a trap prepared by the system of patriarchal culture and language that reflects the masculinized consciousness, as she tries to identify herself in a masculine paradigm that coincides in its basic parameters with the universal one. The image of a man is often endowed with negative characteristics, and the woman is represented as a victim. Such psychological attitude coincides with the norm of hegemonic masculinity that is sustainable in the contemporary for the poetess society in accordance with the male habit of leadership and domination. The equality of men and women is a cross-cutting theme in the works of Simin Behbahani. She emphasizes the desired status of a woman as an equal partner, in the dichotomous couple recognizes exclusively parity relationships, understands a union with a man as a harmonious interaction of established personalities, based on a conscious approach to the fusion of two hearts. During the study, all the poetic material of Simin Behbahani was analyzed, and the presented poems were translated into Russian for the first time by the author of this article. The research results may be useful to orientalists and literary critics and can be used in the implementation of training programs of philological disciplines.

The article reveals the role of the Hungarian theme in the works of a Tatar writer Ayaz Gilyazov. Literary productions of the writer as well as his journalistic and epistolary heritage served as a material for analysis.

We have proved that interest in Hungary is due to A. Gilyazov’s biographical facts. The Tatar writer first encountered Hungarians during his studies at the Kazan University. Students from Hungary, who studied on the juridical and history and philology faculties of the University, were well educated, had knowledge of several languages and behaved with dignity. Closer acquaintance with the Hungarians took place in Stalin’s Gulag camp in Karaganda (Karlag) in 1950−1955, where A. M. Gilyazov got after the arrest. According to the Soviet sources, 550.000 Hungarians were brought into the Gulag camps from Transcarpathia and Hungary. Among them was Arpad Galgoci, with whom Ayaz Gilyazov was tied by a strong male friendship. The Hungarians held in Karlag together, helped each other. They stood out among the prisoners by the level of their education, and the sense of self-esteem. That’s why, Ayaz Gilyazov, while staying in the camp felt a deep respect to the representatives of this nation. It became the basis for a creative interpretation of Hungarian theme in the future.

In A. Gilyazov’s prose Hungarians act in the roles of cameo characters. We revealed the prototypes of the Hungarian heroes in the archival materials and we reconstructed the protocure of the Hungarian theme. It is proved that the writer created the image of Hungary and the citizens as a multilayer construct that includes the notion about the state and its politics, culture, and national character.

Proverbs represent the essence of a language. They are filled with cultural and linguistic characteristics. Proverbs describing a person are one of the most often used categories that play an important role in our daily life. There are many proverbs of this type in Russian and Chinese. Their similarity in semantics and rhetoric demonstrates the human’s commonness in cognition and thinking, while their differences in formal structure, metaphor image and source of precedent reveal the individuality of Russian and Chinese and their respective cultures.

The article is devoted to the study of comical absurdity. The aim of this article is threefold: first, to outline basic characteristic features of comical absurdity and examine lexical stylistic devices in absurd texts; second, provide a classification of absurd messages; finally, to outline common scripts of Russian absurd anecdotes. The authors come to the conclusion that basic characteristic features of comical absurdity are inductive or deductive errors, lack of time, place, number or action coincidence, tautological repetitions, nonselection, and parody. Imagery and expressivity of comical absurdity are created with the help of metaphors, personification, overstatement, understatement, oxymoron, and pun. The authors divide irrational messages into pseudo-absurd, relatively absurd and verily absurd postulates. Three common scripts of Russian absurd anecdotes are outlined depending on the clarity of verbalization and a communicative purport. The results of this research would help to avoid confusion, which is not rare in discussions on comical absurdity.

The article analyses how to make teaching a foreign language for professional purposes (FLPP as distinct from FLSP - a language for specific purposes) more efficient by making an emphasis on critical thinking (CT) and critical reading (CR) skills. The author sees CT and CR as compementary and making FLPP more practical. The author analyses her experience acquired both as a FLPP teacher and the author of a course in the theory and practice of argumentation and makes a conclusion that it is essential to add the methods from CR and argumentation studies to FLPP courses. Teaching FLPP should include such notions as argument structure, cognitive biases, especially, those caused by ego- and ethnocentrism, and fallacies, in particular, language fallacies. It will, on the one hand, give the students in such courses effective tools to improve their text interpretation skills (both orally and in writing), while on the other hand, it will make FLPP an integral part of developing interdisciplinary programmes for bachelor students in their final year as well as master students.

With formats of activity shifting in many spheres, there arises a necessity of devising an educational strategy adequate to meet the needs of the new generation of professionals ready to anticipate future trends in relevant areas, create innovative matrices of activity, and adapt to emerging profession-related contexts. The situation leads the pedagogic community to prioritize the matter of a student’s development in terms of a professional. The well-established concept of developmental learning, with its focus on schoolchildren, evidently, needs reconsidering and finding a solution centered on a new actor – a student of a higher educational institution – and a system of social network different from that typical of school.

Thus, the article is devoted to substantiating a language pedagogy strategy to provide anticipating professional identity development in non-linguistics’ students. The core of the educational process is seen in the binary prognostic simulation and development of students’ competencies, and in the first place, personal qualities essential for graduates’ further self-realization in the profession and career of their motivated choice. In this context, particular emphasis is laid on the poly-perspective representation of the goal-and-contents component of non-linguists’ foreign language vocational training with direct reference to the developing professional identity, and teaching focused on providing a relevant framework for that process. The approach in question makes it possible to shift the status of professional development traditionally seen as one of professional training outcomes, and treat it, primarily, as the underlying factor of professional training and only then – as a learning outcome. The discipline “Foreign Language,” due to its specific nature, developmental potential and current status, has every opportunity and thus is to trigger off the kind of transformation outlined in the article.