Author’s name:
N. A. Dobrolyubov Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Abstract:
The article describes associative links of the lexemes “merits” and “demerits” in fiction texts. The research is based on the work of Russian and foreign researchers on the associative structure of the text. The main method of work is the method of the associative experiment, which was carried out in senior student groups. The subjects were offered two excerpts from fiction texts by Mikhail Lermontov and André Maurois. The students were asked to write down associations that first came to their minds after reading the passages presented. The students’ responses were divided into two associative fields: 1) descriptions of a person’s merits and 2) descriptions of a person’s demerits. The texts were specially selected in such a way that they included implicit descriptions of positive and negative qualities of a person. The results were then analyzed, put into the respective associative fields “merits” and “demerits” after each text, and, further, summarized in the corresponding diagrams. The value of the associative field “merits” was 261 associations. All the qualities presented within the framework of the AS “merits” can be divided into two groups: 1) a set of properties that characterize high moral values of the person himself (e.g.: ‘modesty,’ ‘cheerful,’ ‘pride,’ ‘intelligent,’ ‘insight,’ ‘optimism’ etc.); and 2) a set of properties that are manifested in communication with other people (e.g.:’ understanding,’ ‘nobility,’ ‘forgiveness’ (i.e., the ability to forgive), etc.). The value of the associative field “disadvantages” is 238 lexical units. The meaning of the lexeme “demerits” includes character qualities, which are manifested by a person in the society of other people and reflect the peculiarities of their upbringing (e.g.: ‘evil,’ ‘cunning,’ ‘secrecy,’ ‘rancor,’ ‘envy,’ ‘complexes,’ ‘talkativeness,’ ‘personal,’ ‘mine,’ ‘bad.’). When characterizing its associative structure, the author singles out four associative branches of the lexeme “demerit” and comes to the conclusion that the experiment’s subjects were able to grasp the philosophical understanding of the authors’ views on “merits” and “demerits” and to understand that these qualities arise in the society, characterize the person and their attitude towards other people, as well as their ability to eliminate or hide their shortcomings. The author notes the lexical and grammatical diversity of lexemes when characterizing the associative field of the words “merits” and “demerits.”
| Section | LANGUAGE AND CULTURE |
| DOI: | 10.47388/2072-3490/lunn2022-58-2-9-22 |
| Downloads | 377 |
| Key words | associative field; associations; associative structure; fiction text; method of the associative experiment |
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