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PHILOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The role of oral tradition in intercultural communications of Manden peoples
(West Africa) Zavyalova O. (Russian Federation) Роль устной традиции во внутрикультурной коммуникации народов манден
(Западная Африка) Завьялова О. Ю. (Российская Федерация)
Завьялова Ольга Юрьевна / Zavyalova Olga — кандидат филологических наук, доцент, кафедра африканистики, восточный факультет, Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет, г. Санкт-Петербург
Abstract: in the article there is examined the role of oral tradition in Manden societies (Guinea, Mali) and its influence on the personality. The traditional institute of griots is described.
Аннотация: в статье рассматривается роль устной традиции в обществах манден (Гвинея, Мали) и ее влияние на личность. Описывается традиционный институт гриотов.
Keywords: oral tradition, Manden. Ключевые слова: устная традиция, манден.
Many cultures of the Western Africa are concerned to be the traditional, so the folklore is still very important there, as through it a huge mass of information passed. The oral traditional texts give models, examples and standards of the behavior playing the educational role [1]. The folklore is one of the major means of communication especially between generations. Its role is to preserve the information and to transfer it in time. All subsequent functions follow from it: educational, socializing function and aesthetic one as auxiliary.
Folklore as a cultural mechanism influences each member of society, forming his personality. The personality itself is a complex hierarchical system of different level properties: both congenital, and acquired. The folklore can influence the last ones: first the self-concept - a collection of beliefs about oneself, which is formed, in particular, looking at heroes of the oral tradition; then the motivational sphere - set of the perceivable and unconscious factors prompting the person to perform the certain actions. The system of value orientations is included in it also; it is based on the system built by a society which is reflected in the folklore.
Many genres offer behavioral models or variants of the solution of various situations on invented examples or real stories, or in allegoric form. For example, a fairy-tale gives the model of the social behavior and the biological one (the model of living in society and the survival model). Perceiving, remembering the given behavioral models, the person at subconscious level, automatically follows them, accepting them as the first variant of his behavior.
The Manden people have the institution of professional storytellers - the griots (jeli). This workmanship (professional secrets) is transmitted in the family, the initiation into griot happens practically together with the main initiation ceremony. The griots perform epic legends and long fairy tales, also they are "voice" of the leader or the patron, and they store all the history and genealogy of the patron family and of the whole society. Griots also can perform and conduct all important events in villages from a wedding prior to a funeral. The last function can be also executed by fina - "caste" of a lower level. Griot-women tell fairy tales, sing songs and perform female feasts: ritual of giving name for a child, etc. Even the unions of hunters have their griot-hunters. They are not hereditary storytellers, but are chosen for the talent. The relation to griots in the society is rather different: on one hand they are from «a low caste», on the other, people are afraid of their power, as they own the power of a word. During a narration a griot can receive the vital force nyama1 and then to direct it to the audience. Now griots in the cities are often involved in advertising, so the people have got used to trust in them. The confidence to them is great, especially taking into account that the large percent of the population is still almost illiterate, and mass media are available only in several large cities. Griots in Guinea always have a lot of work. They lead city's meetings and feasts which even now include not only speeches in honor of the country and the government, but also a sacrifice (of rams or cows). Today griots are also the most educated part of society, many of them teach history at universities and colleges. The importance of the griots' tradition is confirmed by one of the basic oral documents The Manden Charte of Kurukan Fuga where together
1 Nyama (nyama) - according to manden beliefs is the vital force, which is inherent to all living beings and can be released during the death.
with Keita, - Manden governors, the leader of all griots Kuyate is named also [2]. Griots are keepers of traditions and values, through them information reaches people in the West Africa.
The Manden oral tradition includes fairy tales, tales-riddles, proverbs, numerous songs and so on. The Manden epos is the most interesting and the most important genre for the tradition on which norms of performance a lot of limitations are imposed. The African epic tradition includes the classical epos, epic cycles and historical songs. It can be supposed that the evolution of the epos goes from historical songs (small legends) through cycles where, historical legends on one hero or on one area are grouped together and later over time the main plots from them are packed in one text, forming the full epic legend. The epic narration is still popular; it is the source of historical knowledge in Manden society. Every family can find the origin of its jamu (clan name) in the epic about Sunjata, the great founder of the Mali Empire. The heroes of these epic stories are the descendants of the majority of Manden clans [3].
The study of the native oral tradition is going both at schools and at universities of Mali and Guinea. It should be noted that it contributes not only to strengthening of people's self-identification, but also to their tolerance also as Manden oral tradition such as fairy tales and epic stories, are based on such norms as maintenance of balance with the world of "strangers" and an interaction with the nature.
References
1. Zavyalova O. Folklore kak mehanizm obucheniya // Afrikanskiy sbornik-2007. RAN. MAE im. Petra Velikogo (Kunstkamera), Nauch. Sovet po probl. Afriki, SPbGU. SPb.: Nauka, 2008. P. 230-236.
2. [Electronic resource]: La Charte de Kurukan Fuga. URL: http://www.anpe-mali.org/news/la-charte-de-kouroukan-fouga/ (date of access: 11.11.2016).
3. Zavyalova O. Sistema I ponyatiye jamu u manden (Gvinea) po ustnym istochnikam // Vestnik Sankt-Petersburgskogo universiteta. Seria 13: Vostokovedeniye, afrikanis tika, 2016. № 3. SPb. P. 101-115.
Emotional-evaluative features of phraseological units in the works of the detective
genre (on the works by A. Christie) Tetakaeva L. (Russian Federation) Эмоционально-оценочные особенности фразеологизмов в произведениях детективного жанра (на материале произведений А. Кристи) Тетакаева Л. М. (Российская Федерация)
Тетакаева Лейла Михайловна / Tetakaeva Leila - кандидат филологических наук, доцент, кафедра английского языка, факультет иностранных языков, Дагестанский государственный университет, г. Махачкала
Аннотация: статья посвящена семантике английских фразеологических единиц, отобранных из произведений детективного жанра. Особенности семантических вариаций фразеологизмов раскрываются в ходе анализа их эмоционально-оценочной коннотации.
Abstract: the article is devoted to the semantics of English phraseological units selected from the works of the detective genre. Semantic variations of phraseologisms are revealed in the course of the analysis of their emotional-evaluative connotation.
Ключевые слова: семантические вариации, фразеология, коннотация, положительная оценка, отрицательная оценка, нейтральная оценка.
Keywords: semantic variations, phraseology, connotation, negative assessment, positive assessment, neutral assessment.
Одобрительная или неодобрительная оценка, заключенная в значении фразеологических единиц (ФЕ), является одним из компонентов коннотативного аспекта фразеологизмов из-за их социально-лингвистической природы. Члены любого социума оценивают одно и то же явление индивидуально, и в связи с этим А. В. Кунин рассматривает оценку как «объективно-субъективное отношение человека к объекту, выраженное языковыми средствами эксплицитно или имплицитно» [3, c. 35]. Оценочность обладает объективно-субъективным статусом, в какой-то мере отражает систему принятых в обществе норм и в, то же время выражает мнение индивида об обозначаемом предмете. Выделение
