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филологические науки -языкознание
Гусейнова Саба Рафаель кызы КОНТЕКСТНОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ...
УДК 81-42
DOI: 10.26140/bgz3-2020-0904-0061
CONTEXTUAL MEANING AS A MEANS OF UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
© 2020
ORCID: 0000-0001-5514-9643X
Huseynova Saba Rafael, candidate for PhD in Philology Ganja State University (AZ2001, Azerbaijan, Ganja, H.Aliyev ave. 425, e-mail: [email protected])
Abstract. The article studies the role of the contextual meaning of the sentence in the process of comprehension of the text. As textual linguistics has been formed as a new field in recent years, so the research in this field is distinguished by its actuality. It is argued that the contextual meaning of a sentence as a whole serves as the main basis for the comprehension of the text as a whole. Although we know the language and its rules, we do not use these known rules and laws in the same situation, in the process of speech, in the creation of the text. In other words, the process of speech, communication, as well as textual creativity should be considered as a product of each individual's personal creativity. That is, the rules and laws of any language are used by the speaker in a unique way, by the means and methods he chooses, using his favorite expressions and stereotypes. The study of the origin and research of the text provides a basis for a deeper understanding of the theoretical foundations of linguistics, its structural units, as well as a number of cognitive and mental issues. The sentence at the beginning of the text also affects the meaning formation of the sentences after it. The contextual study of the text is a scientific innovation of the research. The whole text is formed within the framework of a basic semantic meaning, which becomes an important tool for its perception. In order to analyze the mentioned features, the descriptive-comparative method of linguistics is used in the article. The researches conducted within the framework of scenario-frame theory also plays an important role in the process of understanding the text. As it is known, the lexical fund of a language consists of a set of many lexical spheres. These lexical spheres provide a deeper understanding of many of the words and terms we encounter in the communication process. The materials presented in the article can be used as a source for future research in this area.
Keywords: sentense, text, context, text unit, contextual meaning, the comprehension of text.
КОНТЕКСТНОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ КАК СРЕДСТВО ПОНИМАНИЯ ТЕКСТА
© 2020
Гусейнова Саба Рафаель кызы, соискатель на ученую степень кандидата филологических наук Гянджинский государственный университет (AZ2001, Азербайджан, Гянджа, пр. Г.Алиева 425, e-mail: [email protected])
Аннотация. В статье исследуется роль контекстуального значения предложения в процессе понимания текста. Поскольку лингвистика текста в последние годы появилась как новая сфера в лингвистике, исследования в этой области отличаются своей актуальностью. Утверждается, что контекстуальное значение предложения в целом служит основной для понимания текста в целом. Хотя человек владеет языком и его правилами, он не использует все эти общеизвестные правила и законы в схожих речевых ситуациях, в процессе самой речи, или при формировании текста. Другими словами, процесс речи, общения, а также текстового творчества следует рассматривать как продукт личного творчества каждого человека. То есть правила и законы любого языка используются говорящим уникальным образом, средствами и методами, которые он выбирает, используя свои любимые выражения и стереотипы. Изучение происхождения текста и его исследования обеспечивает основу для более глубокого понимания теоретических основ языкознания, его структурных единиц, а также ряда когнитивных и психических проблем. Предложение в начале текста также влияет на формирование смысла предложений после него. Контекстное изучение текста является научным новшеством исследования. Весь текст формируется в рамках базового смыслового значения, которое становится важным инструментом его восприятия. Для анализа указанных особенностей в статье используется описательно-сравнительный метод лингвистики. Исследования, проводимые в рамках теории сценарной структуры, также играют важную роль в процессе понимания текста. Как известно, лексический фонд языка состоит из множества лексических ярусов. Эти лексические ярусы обеспечивают более глубокое понимание многих слов и терминов, с которыми мы сталкиваемся в процессе общения. Материалы, представленные в статье, могут быть использованы в качестве источника для будущих исследований в этой области.
Ключевые слова: предложение, текст, текст, текстовая единица, контекстуальное значение, понимание текста.
Inroduction
In the process of understanding the text, the contextual meaning within the text in the sentences that make up the text is of great importance. Let's look a step-by-step view at the role that the contextual meaning of a sentence plays in the full understanding of the text. It should be noted that the full comprehension of the text is a complex process. This process has the logical, psychological, philosophical, linguistic, cognitive, cultural and other aspects. The study will not discuss all these aspects, but only the contextual meaning that the sentence acquires within the text, and the role of that meaning in the comprehension of the text. This issue has attracted the attention of many linguists dealing with syntax and textual linguistics, and various aspects of comprehension have been reflected to some extent in various research works.
The text creation and research issues
The study of the origin and research of the text provides a basis for a deeper understanding of the theoretical foundations of linguistics, its structural units, as well as a number of cognitive and mental issues.
There is another point of great interest here. The text is formed by the internal rules and laws of the language, and to some extent reflects the style, worldview, level of literacy, and emotional state of the language bearer who is its creator. That is why it is necessary to approach the process of its interpretation and understanding as a complex, taking into account many linguistic and extralinguistic factors. In the process of communication, the speaker (writer), the speaker chooses one of the meanings of any word, which is reflected (or not reflected) in explanatory dictionaries, uses it in accordance with the meaning and context of the idea he wants to convey.
Consider the following example: Casur partizanlar on cabhani yararaq bir dil gatirdilar - The brave partisans broke through the front and brought a tongue.
At first glance, the sentence is not understood. The «Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language» contains many meanings of the word "tongue": an organ that is in the oral cavity in humans and vertebrates, serves to chew and absorb food and express its taste, and in addition it participates in the formation of speech sounds in humans;
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CONTEXTUAL MEANING ... linguistics
It was a means of communication between people, a system of sounds, words and grammatical means that allowed them to understand each other and exchange ideas with each other [2, p. 624].
However, the word "tongue" in the example we have given does not correspond to any of these meanings and cannot be explained. The ninth figurative meaning of the word "tongue" in the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani language" corresponds to the contextual meaning of our example: Müharibada dü§manin vaziyyati haqqinda malumat alina bilacak asir — a prisoner who can be informed about the situation of the enemy in war [2, p. 624].
Thus, explanatory dictionaries can show dozens of meanings of a word. The speaker, informer uses one of these meanings by choosing the one that fits the context. In fact, this example, used in the beginning of the text, defines the semantics of the whole text with its contextual meaning area. If we are talking about brave partisans, then it is a war time. The country is occupied by a foreign enemy. Volunteer patriots, who do not want to submit to the enemy, hide in the mountains and forests and resist it, and bring a tongue to learn about the strategic plans of the enemy and his insidious intentions. All of these are ideas that come from the contextual meaning of a sentence at the beginning of a text. It is likely that the following sentences will develop this idea in one form or another. But the general idea of the text, the theme, the direction of events are already roughly determined by the semantics of the first sentence.
Let's consider these ideas in detail and thoroughly by giving another example.
The following explanation is given as the main meaning of the word shallow in the "Explanatory dictionary of the Azerbaijani language": 1) adj. Shallow, not very deep (deep contradiction); 2) n. Shallow place of the water in rivers, seas, lakes, etc .; The figurative meaning of this word, which is used as an adjective, means "not deep, superficial, insignificant, not reaching the essence of the work, narrow-minded, small-minded" [2, p. 555].
It should be noted that this meaning is used more in relation to people: O, dayaz, heg nayi darindan tahlil etmak iqtidarinda olmayan bir adam idi — He was a narrow-minded man, unable to analyze anything in detail.
The use of such a sentence at the beginning of the text somehow determines the future «fate» of the text. After this sentence, all the opinions and actions of the person will be considered insignificant and unkustified by the reader and listener. The semantic direction of the text will be predetermined.
As we know, any text is not created blindly. The text contains certain information about the world around us and what is happening there. The preparation, formation, transmission, as well as the reception and comprehension of this information take place in a certain socio-cultural, linguistic and cultural context. The comprehension models are cognitive manifestations of these types of models: when a person is a participant or observer of a situation, hears about the event and the circumstances that give rise to it, or receives information about it from certain sources, certain changes and adaptations occur in his mind. That is, the comprehension model also includes personal knowledge. A man acquires this knowledge in such specific situations, and the acquired knowledge, in turn, is the result of previous experiences [1, p. 130].
The comprehension of the text
Prof. A. Abdullayev who has made great contributions in the understanding of the text and constructed various comprehension models, analyzed the above-mentioned issues, came to the conclusion that the creation and understanding of the text is not a matter to be solved only within one science. The researches show that the text is not created only by language and its laws, and, of course, its understanding and comprehension can not be explained only by linguistics. In this process, the mental, cognitive, emotional, social and so on. factors must be taken into account. When we say so on 242
we mean such sciences as logic, philosophy, ethnoculturol-ogy, which are involved in the creation and understanding of the text. Each field of science taken separately covers a certain aspect of the text. The text as a whole can be characterized as an integrated product of all these sciences, whether we list them or not. Thus, for the analysis of the text, different information from different fields of science must be summarized and be brought to a single system. This is not an easy task. The problem is that not only different approaches, but also different procedures are used in the analysis of such phenomena as the creation and comprehension of the text. Methods of comprehension of the text, which are considered acceptable from the point of view of psycholinguistics, are based more on experiments. In procedural models, however, great importance is attached to the formal aspect [1, p. 76].
It should be noted that the linguists often look at the text only as an object of linguistics and try to explain it only in terms of language theory and methods. It should also be noted that such an approach necessitates the renewal of linguistics itself, the use of new methods and techniques. The new fields such as the textual linguistics, cognitive linguistics, actual division have opened a new stage of development of linguistics. As a result, many rules and laws of traditional linguistics need to be looked at from a new perspective [7, pp. 101-113].
The objective comprehension of the text is based on the comparison of the basic model of such events with the version of its meaning in the human memory. For example, when we hear the news that a strong wind has uprooted a tree and blown off the roof of a house, it creates a model of such events in our distant memory and compares that model with what happened, trying to understand it. If there is no model, no information about the event we are talking about in our distant memory, if there is an event that we have never heard or seen, we cannot understand it. For example, it is impossible for a person who has never boarded a plane, who has never flown a plane, or who has never seen it, to understand a plane crash. In order to understand the idea expressed in a contextual sentence, the listener must have certain information, knowledge and experience in order to understand the text and its semantics. Let's return to the last example.
A person who never see shallow river, lake, sea, etc. (imagine that there is such a person) will not understand the expression "dayaz, heg nayi tahlil etmak iqtidarinda olmayan adam" — "a person who is narrow-minded and unable to analyze anything". Firstly, the listener must know the true meaning of any word or phrase so that he can understand its figurative meaning. Speaking about the cognitive basis of such issues, prof. A. Abdullayev writes: "Imagine a situation where someone witnessed a traffic accident. In this case, the linguists act on the basis that a person has a mental image of this event, and his understanding of the observed events is expressed in the construction of the scene (imagination) and its memorable consequences. Suppose another person is listening to a story. The scholars believe that understanding the story also requires the construction of a mental imagination" [1, p. 107].
In fact, the comprehension of contextual meaning cannot be the same by different people. The understanding of meaning also depends on the subject's worldview, level of knowledge, linguocultural views. This is also important in terms of developing the ability to feel the semantics of the text as a whole. Sometimes the contextual meaning of the first sentence may be enough to understand the whole text.
The role of models in text comprehension
The models also play an important role in the process of understanding the text. Many difficulties arise when you do not use the models to understand the text. As mentioned above, it is difficult to provide information about and understand extraordinary complex events because it is impossible to create a model that fits them. For example, in a high-tech country, it is difficult to explain what is happening in societies that have no idea about such technologies. This difficulty is twofold: neither the sender nor the receiver can establish a Baltic Humanitarian Journal. 2020. T. 9. № 4(33)
филологические науки - Гусейнова Саба Рафаель кызы
языкознание КОНТЕКСТНОЕ ЗНАЧЕНИЕ ...
model for exchanging information.
Of course, no model can completely replace text information. A model is an attempt to reflect the general nature of textual information. This general model should serve as a tool to understand the specific situation.
Thus, the model creates a background and conditions for understanding the text. It should be borne in mind that general scenarios can have an effect on the actualization of episodic models. In this case, the actualized fragments of the scenarios are better remembered than the unactualized models. Such models can be created not only on the basis of textual information, but also on the basis of real events and information. By comparing this information (born from the text and real) have been came to a mental conclusion [1, p. 155].
The researches conducted within the framework of scenario-frame theory also plays an important role in the process of understanding the text. As it is known, the lexical fund of a language consists of a set of many lexical spheres. These lexical spheres provide a deeper understanding of many of the words and terms we encounter in the communication process. The linguists create groups of words that reflect semantic areas in the lexical fund of the language. The examples of such semantic word groups are color, taste, movement, kinship, and so on. In order to understand more deeply any word we come across in the sentences that make up the text, we must first compare that word with the semantic word groups and try to clarify its meaning in comparison with the other words around it. From the point of view of text linguistics, the scenario corresponds approximately to the concept of lexical field. But the scenario is a broader concept. It cannot be limited only in word frame. In order to understand events, actions and information, the scenario compares them with the corresponding scenarios in the human mind, with similar events and information that happened in the past, that we witnessed and did not. As a result of this comparison, a person is able to understand the essence of the event. If the speaker cannot compare any word he hears with other words, if he cannot determine its place in the group of semantic words to which it belongs, then, of course, that word will remain incomprehensible to him. Similarly, if the human brain does not have information about this or that event, a suitable scenario or understanding of the action, it will be impossible to comprehend it. Fifty or sixty years ago, no one could have imagined the scope and possibilities of mobile phones today. Understanding the information about the achievements of modern technology in those years was, of course, difficult, if not impossible.
The reason could be explained by the lack of concepts and appropriate scenarios in the human mind. It is possible to say the opposite of this issue. The modern youth, the younger generation can not understand many of the events that took place long ago. These events, which they do not encounter or witness in their daily lives, do not exist in their imagination in the form of scenarios or concepts. Since it is impossible to compare these events with other similar ones, understanding cannot give the expected effect. In connection with this issue prof. Abdullayev's views are interesting. According to the researcher, lexical field theory differs in its interpretation of lexical-semantic fields as specific linguistic phenomena. The semantics of frames make it possible for speakers to fully understand a word that belongs to a particular area of the lexicon, even if they do not know words other than this area, or only know some of them. The semantics of scenarios sees a set of language-defined interpretive scenarios as alternative methods of "considering things" [1, p. 207].
So, the scenario is actually like a search for ways to understand the event, the information given, the idea expressed. The scenario helps us to understand the text correctly, it helps in this work. The comprehension scenario theory is the formation of their perception by establishing a connection between language texts and the semantic scope of those texts. So, from this point of view, the comprehension scenarios can be characterized as an empirical tool. In recent Балтийский гуманитарный журнал. 2020. Т. 9. № 4(33)
years, the comprehension scenarios have been increasingly associated with artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology. It should be noted that there are great prospects for the use of comprehension scenarios in cognitive processes - in the perception, memory and comprehension of the text [1, p. 211].
Let's pay attention to an excerpt from Jalil Mammadguluzadeh's «Gurbanali bey»: Xanimlar bir-bir stakanlarini uzadib vurdular bayin stakanina. Qurbanali bay §adligindan az qaldi ozundan getsin. Qonaqlarin hamisi bayin sagligina igandan sonra bay stakanini yuxari qalxizib dedi:- Agalar va xanimlar! Siz ki, manim sagligima igdiniz, qurban olsun siza manim canim. Man olana kimi bu gunu yadimdan gixarmanam. Amma, agalar, manim sizdan bir xahi§im var. Man olum, manim sozumu yera salmayin. Man sizin haminizi sabah evima qonaq taklif elayiram. Vallah, billah, atamin goru haqqi, man bilmiram neca sizin xacala-tinizdan gixim?! Man lap ariyib yera giriram ki, bu qadar xanim manim sagligima igsin. Man nayam ki, bu qadar xanim manim sagligima igsin? Man bu xanimlarin ayaginin torpagi da ola bilmanam. Vallah, billah, atamin goru haqqi sabah biza qonaq galmasaniz., man ozumu olduraram. Man istay-iram siza qulluq elayim. Man istayiram siza nokargilik elayim. Sabah biza galmasaniz, bu xancari soxaram qarnima — The ladies stretched their glasses one by one and hit the bey's glass. Gurbanali bey became happy. After all the guests had drunk, he raised his glass and said: — Let's pay attention to an excerpt from Jalil Mammadguluzadeh's «Gurbanali bey»: The ladies stretched their glasses one by one and hit the bey's glass. Gurbanali bey became very happy about it. After all the guests had drunk, he raised his glass and said: — Ladies and gentlemen! You drank for my health, may my soul be sacrificed for you. I will never forget this day until I die. But, gentlemen, I have a request of you. Please, do me a favour. I invite all of you to my house tomorrow. Oh my God, I don't know how to get out of your embarrassment ?! I melt into the ground so that so many women can drink to my health. Why should so many women drink to my health? I can't be the soil of these ladies' feet. My God, if you don't come to visit me tomorrow, I will kill myself. I want to serve you. I want to be your slave. If you don't come to us tomorrow, I'll put this dagger in my heart (Jalil Mammadguluzadeh).
What happened in this piece of text is one of the events that took place in a typical Azerbaijani environment, during the establishment of the beylik-khanate system. The reader has enough knowledge and scenarios about similar events. Of course, none of these scenarios can reflect the story of Gurbanali bey in the same way. But these scenarios can help to understand Gurbanali bey's "speech". The bey's flattery towards the high-ranking Russian officials is reflected in his lexicon: neca sizin xacalatinizdan gixim, man nayam ki, bu qadar xanim manim sagligima igsin, man bu xanimlarin ayaginin torpagi da ola bilmaram, man istayiram siza qulluq elayim, man istayiram siza nokargilik elayim va s. — I don't know how to get out of your embarrassment?! I melt into the ground so that so many women can drink to my health. Why should so many women drink to my health? I can't be the soil of these ladies' feet and so on.
The expressions used by Gurbanali bey in his conversations with his servant Karbalai Qasim, who communicated with his masters in this way, allow us to fully characterize an illiterate, rude, flattering, uneducated, unsatisfied Azerbaijani provincial bey: Axmaq oglu axmaq, ba san niya yalli get-mirsan?— Yapi§, heyvan balasi, heyvan! Yoxsa vallah doya-doya sani olduraram!(Calil Mammadquluzada) -Stupid son, you idiot, why don't you dance yalli? Cling, you animal? Or I will beat you to death! (Jalil Mammadguluzadeh)
Gurbanali bey is characterized as a typical provincial bey of his time understood in the Azerbaijani environment. It is not necessary to have a special model or scenario to fully understand it. However, in order to explain the psychology, lifestyle and behavior of Gurbanali bey to the modern youth, as well as to foreign readers, who are unaware of the bey-khan relations established in the Azerbaijani environment at
Huseynova Saba Rafael CONTEXTUAL MEANING ..
philological sciences -linguistics
that time, it will be necessary to give many additional explanations. In their minds, there is no ready-made scenario and necessary insights with similar events.
Conclusion
Understanding the text as a whole is a very complex and contradictory process. Many linguistic and extralinguistic factors are involved in understanding the text.
The role and functions of contextual meaning also play an important role in the process of perceiving, understanding and transmitting a text.
One of the important conditions is the correct definition of the contextual meaning of the sentence in relation to the construction of scenarios of relevant events, modeling of frame and language events.
REFERENCES:
1. Abdullayev A. Text comprehension models. Baku: Sada, 1999, 344p.
2. Explanatory dictionary of the Azerbaijani language. In four volumes. Volume I. Baku: East-West, 2006. 744 p.
3. Hajiyev B. Semantic-semiotic analysis of the text. Baku: Elm, 2005, 208 p.
4. Huseynova M.A. The syntax of the text. Semantic and cognitive interpretation. PhD diss. abstract. Baku, 2004. 33p.
5. Chomsky N. Language and thinking. Translation from English and author of the introductory article - prof. A. Y. Mammadov. Baku: «Book World» Publishing and Printing Center, 2006. 152 p.
6. Mahmudov M. System of formal analysis of the text. Baku: Elm, 2002, 244p.
7. MahmudovM. Non-traditional approach to traditional linguistics // News of ANAS. Humanities Series. 2006, № 2, p. 101-113
8. Mammadov A.Y. The system of formal means of communication in the creation of text. Dr. abstract. Baku, 2003. 54 p.
9. Mammadguluzadeh J., Hagverdiyev A. Selected works of art. Baku: Youth, 1982. 372p.
Статья поступила в редакцию 30.06.2020
Статья принята к публикации 27.11.2020
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