CC BY
60УДК 81 '33 DOI: 10.24411/2658-5138-2020-10003
ББК 81.1
CODES OF CULTURE IN ENGLISH, RUSSIAN
AND MONGOLIAN LANGUAGES (ON THE MATERIAL OF IDIOMS WITH THE "FIRE"-COMPONENT)
Batsuren Renchin, PhD, associate professor, ORCID: 0000-0003-4819-1822, Department of British-American Studies, School of Sciences, National University of Mongolia, bat-suren@mail.ru
Abstract: The subject for consideration in the article is idioms containing the concept of "fire" in English, Russian and Mongolian language views of the world. The purpose of this article is to examine the similarities and differences in the system of images included in phraseological units with component the "fire" in English, Russian and Mongolian. The primary method for achieving this goal is the analyzis of the the correlation of concepts that are expressed in culture-specific idioms with cultural codes, based on which the coding of cultural components in the systems of idioms of the studied languages is carried out. The analysis was carried out on the basis of the linguocultural approach to the study of phraseological units formulated by V.N. Telia. As a result of comparison of phraseological units across languages, the correlation of idioms with cultural codes in the relevant linguistic views of the world (including concepts from professional - religious, military, etc. domains) is established and the community and differences of cultural perceptions in the language view of the world are revealed.
Keywords: language and culture, idioms, language view of the world, cultural codes, fire.
КОДЫ КУЛЬТУРЫ В АНГЛИЙСКОМ, РУССКОМ И МОНГОЛЬСКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ (НА МАТЕРИАЛЕ ИДИОМ С КОМПОНЕНТОМ «ОГОНЬ»)
Батсурен Ранчин, кандидат филологических наук, доцент кафедры британо-американских исследований, Школа наук, Монгольский государственный университет, batsuren@mail.ru
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Аннотация: В статье рассматриваются соматические фразеологические единицы с компонентом огонь в английской, русской и монгольской языковых картинах мира. Целью данной статьи является рассмотрение черт сходства и различия в системе образов, включенных во фразеологические единицы с компонентом огонь в английском, русском и монгольском языках. Основной задачей для достижения поставленной цели является анализ характера соотнесенности вербализованных в идиомах фрагментов действительности с культурными кодами, на основании которых осуществляется кодирование культурологических составляющих в фразеологических фондах изучаемых языков. Анализ проводился на основе лингвокультурологического подхода к изучению фразеологического материала, сформулированного В.Н. Телия. В результате межъязыкового сопоставления фразеологических единиц установлена соотнесенность идиом с культурными кодами в рассматриваемых языковых картинах мира, выявлены сходство и отличия разнокультурных мировосприятий в языковой картине мира, включающей в себя профессиональные фрагменты (религия, военное дело и др.).
Ключевые слова: язык и культура, культурные коды, фразеологизмы, языковая картина мира, огонь.
Introduction
Language is the primary means of transmitting culture to subsequent generations. It is a means of formation, expression and transmission of a particular view of the world, unique to every culture. Modern linguistic research is marked by a new level of understanding of the problems of linguistics. Today, the attention of linguistic science is focused on the linguistic picture of the world as the form of the language [3: 36].
Cultural codes come from the most ancient archetypal representations. At the same time, it should be noted that they capture the way of seeing the world, which determines and shapes the character. In our opinion V.V. Krasnikh introduced quite an accurate definition, according to which the culture code is a grid, which "culture throws on the world around, divides it, categorizes, structures and evaluates it" [4: 232].
As V.N. Telia notes, cultural codes are those realities that are already endowed with a cultural meaning and which are the initial material for the cultural interpretation of the image of phraseology. Cultural codes can be grouped into
several different categories, including those pertaining to actions, the natural
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world, things that are manmade, and the spiritual world. Signs of realities correlated with culture codes, identified in the images of idioms, are their functions, size, boundaries, shape, color, etc. Cultural codes usually perform the role of symbols, standards, and stereotypes in the "language" of culture and act as signs of the "language" of culture [1].
The phraseological view of the world is a part of the general linguistic view of the world. The idioms of any language are an invaluable repository of information about the culture and history of the people, where people's views about the objective world are preserved.
The analysis of cultural codes was conducted using the linguocultural approach to the study of the idiomatic sources proposed by V.N. Telia in the book "Russian phraseology. Semantic, pragmatic and linguocultural aspects" [9]. Under this approach the correlation of idioms with cultural codes in a language's view of the world are considered.
A practical application of this theoretical analysis was found in the fundamental work "A Large Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language. Meaning. Use. Culturological commentary" [1], where the cultural commentary is represented by three "zones": an etymological reference, a regional geographic reference and a culturological commentary itself. This feature makes the dictionary unique at the moment.
As for the concepts of the "language" of culture, expressed by idioms, they express characteristic traits of the worldview more transparently [8: 9].
Statement of the problem
In this article, we will consider similarities and differences in the images included in idioms that contain the concept of "fire" in English, «огонь» Russian and «гал» in Mongolian. The word "fire" is included in a series of idioms in each language.
Methods
To achieve this goal, we will analyze interrelationships among the concepts that are expressed in idioms and cultural codes. Thus, on the basis of our analysis
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the coding of the studied languages is carried out. The analysis has been conducted on the basis of linguistic and cultural approach to the study of the phraseological material formulated by V.N. Telia [8, 9].
Discussion
Our analysis allows us to represent a correlation of idioms with cultural codes in the language worldviews mentioned above. The distribution of idioms in accordance with one or another cultural code appears as follows:
Cultural codes similar in English, Mongolian and Russian languages:
1. Natural+active:
Eng: breathe fire; be playing with fire; be/come under fire; build a fire under (someone or something); catch fire; come under fire; draw (someone's) fire; go through fire; light (one's) fire;
Rus: вызывать огонь на себя (to cause fire on oneself); oткрыть огонь (to open fire); работать с огоньком (to work with fire); рвать с ог^м (to tear with fire - work very fast); гореть в огне (to burn in the fire); играть / шутить с огнем (play with fire); как на огне горит (as it burns on fire); дать огня (give fire); предать огню (surrender to fire);
Mon: гал авах (take a fire- 'get the smell by the blowing wind'); гал алдах (loss offire- 'get without the firewood'); гал долоох (lick the fire- 'to fight for the first time'); галд орохоос буцахгYЙ (ready to get into fire- 'to become determined, persistent, firm to do smt);
2. Natural + artefact:
Eng: a ball of fire;fire hose; fire on all cylinders;
Rus: огнем и мечом (with fire and sword);
Mon: галын хайч (fire scissors-'be a servant'); галын шилээвэр (fireglass -'be a servant').
Cultural codes similar in two languages:
1. Natural:
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Eng: a fire under (someone or something); fire away; fire back; fire off; fire on; fire into; fire over; fire under; fire up;
Rus: на огонек (on fire);
2. natural + religious:
Eng: a baptism offire; fire from the Gods;
Rus: крестить огнем (baptize with fire); крещение огнем (baptism of fire-battle test); в геенну огненную (into hell fire);
3. Natural + numerical:
Eng: between two fires;
Rus: между двух огней (between two fires);
4. Natural + anthropic:
Eng: fire (one) with (an emotion); fire insults at (one); fire with anger; not set the world on fire; ordeal by fire;
Rus: антонов огонь (Antonov fire (gangrene)); прометеев огонь / огонь Прометея (fire Prometheus-the desire to achieve lofty goals); греческий огонь (Greekfire-incendiary mixture);
5. Natural + natural:
Eng: fire and brimstone; iron in the fire; no smoke without fire;
Rus: нет дыма без огня (no smoke without fire); oгненная вода (fire water-vodka);
6. Natural + qualitative:
Eng: hot as fire;
Rus: беглый огонь (quick fire); прицельный огонь (aimed fire);
7. Natural + natural + active:
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Eng: add fuel to the fire; fat hit the fire; fight fire with fire; go through fire and water; heap coals of fire on (one's) head; pour fuel on the fire; pour gas/gasoline on the fire; pull (one's) chestnuts out of the fire; set the woods on
fire;
Rus: попасть из огня да в полымя (to get out of fire into the flame); восстать из пепла и огня (rise from ashes and fire); вертеться как береста на огне (spin like birch bark on fire); идти / кидаться в огонь и в воду (go / throw in fire and water);
8. Natural + active + gastronomic:
Rus: подливать масла в огонь (pour oil on the flame);
Mon: галд тос нэмэх (pour oil on the flame);
9. Natural + natural + artefact:
Eng: fire (one's) pistol in the air;
Rus: предать огню и мечу (surrender to fire and sword);
10. Natural + artefact + qualitative:
Eng: great balls offire; out of the frying pan (and) into the fire;
Rus: огонь, мерцающий в сосуде (fire flickering in a vessel);
11. Natural + natural + numerical:
Eng: have a lot of irons in the fire; have several irons in the fire;
Mon: гал ус хоер шиг (like both fire and water- 'opposite, not compatible, not suitable);
12. Natural + active + floral:
Eng: set the heather on fire;
Rus: таскать каштаны из огня (carry chestnuts from the fire);
Cultural codes existing only in one of three languages:
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In English:
1. Natural + special: fire blanks;
2. Natural + zoomorphic: fire bug;
3. Natural + somatic: fire from the hip; fire in (one's)/the belly;
4. Natural + gastronomic: pull (someone's) bacon out of the fire;
5. Natural + artefact + active: drink from a fire hose; fire a shot across the
bow;
6. Natural + artefact + numerical: fire on all four cylinders;
7. Natural + active + architectural: get on like a house on fire;
8. Natural + active + somatic: hold (one's) feet to the fire;
9. Natural + active + numerical: last burst of fire;
10. Natural + natural + active + somatic: heap coals offire on someone's
head;
11. Natural + active + anthropic + qualitative: keep the home fires burning;
12. Natural + active + numeric + somatic + natural: carry fire in one hand and water in the other.
In Russian
1. Natural + temporal: вечный огонь (eternal fire);
2. Natural + active + religious: да проглотит геенна огненная (may hell fire swallow smb.);
3. Natural + active + anthropic: сгореть в огне страсти (burn in the fire of passion);
4. Natural + active + temporal: днем с огнем не найдешь (you will not find smt in the afternoon with fire);
5. Natural + active + color: гори синим огнем (burn with blue fire, or dis-sappear);
6. Natural + active + natural + active: в огне не горит, в воде не тонет (does not burn in fire, does not sink in water);
7. Natural + natural + natural + artifact + active: пройти огонь, воду и медные трубы (pass fire, water and copper pipes).
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In Mongolian:
1. Natural + anthropic + color: eanbrn xyy? ynauw dauxad (while the fire boy was getting Red - 'in the very beginning of the world');
2. Natural + natural + qualitative + anthropic: sax ycnu sawyyu 306R0n (the bitter grief of the fire- 'bitter and hard trials'^.
Results of the analysis of cultural codes and correlation of cultural codes can be represented as follows:
English cultural codes: Russian cultural codes: Mongolian cultural codes:
natural natural natural
active active active
active active active
numerical numerical numerical
anthropic anthropic anthropic
qualitative qualitative qualitative
gastronomic gastronomic gastronomic
floral floral -
somatic - -
special - -
zoomorphic - -
architectural - -
color color -
- temporal -
Conclusion
On the grounds of our analysis of the correlation of the somatic idioms with the component fire and the codes of culture, we can make the following conclusions:
Universal codes of the culture for the appropriate three language worldviews include 2 common sets out of the 35 sets of cultural codes: natural + active and natural + artefact codes. For the Russian and English languages, 11 sets of cultural codes are common: natural, natural + religious, natural + anthropic, natu-
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ral + numerical, natural + natural, natural +qualitative, natural + natural + active, natural + active + gastronomic, natural + natural + artefact, natural + artifact + qualitative, natural + active + floral codes. For the Mongolian and English languages, the first set of cultural codes is quite common: natural + natural + numerical code. The presence of common sets of cultural codes indicates universal fragments of the worldviews of the three nations.
Along with these similarities, there are also some differences in the world outlook presented in each language. In the Mongolian language, floral, zoomor-phic, special, architectural, temporal and somatic codes are absent; in English -temporal and color codes are absent; and in Russian - somatic, special, zoomor-phic and architectural codes are missing. Some of the codes of culture are present only in one of the compared languages: in English language, the following 12 sets of codes are unique: natural + special, natural + zoomorphic, natural + somatic, natural + gastronomic, natural + artifact + active, natural + artifact + numerical, natural + active + architectural, natural + active + somatic, natural + active + numerical, natural + natural + active + somatic, natural + active + anthropic + qualitative, natural + active + numeric + somatic + natural codes. We can see natural + anthropic + color and natural + natural + qualitative + anthropic codes only in Mongolian language. 7 sets of codes such as natural + temporal, natural + active + religious, natural + active + anthropic, natural + active + temporal, natural + active + color, natural + active + natural+ active and natural + natural + natural + artifact + active codes are noticed only in the Russian language.
Thus, we can say that specific differences allow us to judge the peculiarities of worldview, determined by cultural, historical, religious and mythological, geographical and climatic factors. Sociolinguistic theory proceeds from the thesis that language, therefore, and its idioms, are the keepers of the cultural code of the speakers of the language. The identification of this code is only possible through a specific linguistic and cultural analysis of the phraseological view of the world, which reveals the connection between language and worldview and demonstrates all kinds of correspondences of idiomatic and conceptual units.
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© Batsuren Renchin
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