Language and communication stereotypes: interjections in english and russian

Historically, the word «��ereo�ype» is derived from the Greek words στερεός, which means «solid» and τύπος with the meaning of «fingerprint». It was first used by the French printmaker F. Didot in 1796 as a printing term for the press stamp for template to impress mark. Later, the word came into use, mostly as an adjective to describe the repetitive actions or situations that lack originality or spontaneity.

In the scientific use the concept of stereotype was introduced by the American writer Walter Lippmann in his book «Public Opinion» in 1922, where he used it as a means to describe the way by which society «stamps» people by a number of characteristics. He understood stereotypes as a «simplified image, standardized view of the world,» pictures in our heads.» «Stereotypes cannot complete the picture of the world, but can be a picture of a possible world, which we have adapted to,» he wrote. Since then the word has become the subject of study of linguistics, sociology, cultural studies, psychology and ethnology.

In linguistics there are two different understanding of the word. The first one (linguistic meaning) implies the stereotype as a standard, fixed, reproducible unit of language, that is used as readymade blocks in a particular speech situation. According to the second meaning (semantic meaning), stereotypes are seen as sustained content of the human image, object or event, i.e. semantic connotations of language units, which refer to the main primary importance. Both definitions have one characteristic: stability. The difference is what kind of stability we mean: the form or content. In this article, we consider the word «stereotype» mostly in the language more than semantic meaning.

Linguists have repeatedly noted that stereotype broadly characterizes all levels of the language system since the language is chiefly the conventional sphere. Firstly, human speech activity is based mainly on the use of phrases and sentences that implement structural models and schemes. Stereotyping, modeling of verbal behavior provides communication between members of the language community, and hence, contributes to the communicative function of language.

Secondly, talking one constantly uses ready communication units of different types, ready-made formulas, and clichйs. This phenomenon has deep psycholinguistic background. Our dictionary crammed with various clichйs, ranging from the usual personal expressions and elementary linguistic clichйs and up to set of personal rules and common codes of morality, and from the most familiar words and collocations to large familiar texts such as folklore, literary and special character. The utterance units constitute a huge reservoir in the language life of the modern linguocultural community. However, since a certain dose of stereotype is virtually contained in any speech act, here come up significant difficulties in its study.

Linguistic units include: speech clichйs, aphorisms, idioms and colloquial formula. As a unit of speech stereotype, they have all the properties of stereotyped expressions, such as constant, static and reproducibility in a fixed form. Linguocultural stereotypes as tradition, which is recorded in the mentality of the people and reflected in linguistic terms, have a significant role in the choice of a language means. Linguistic stereotypes can be considered not only as a judgment or several judgments, but also as any sustained expression consisting of several words, for example, «per�on of Ca�ca��an na��onal��y», «�o�er a� a gla��», «new R����an» [1, 11].

The whole structure of the language and its main characteristics are the national cultural foundation, which is especially evident in the functional reorientation of linguistic units. Functional changes that are observed in the language can be described as the appearance of unusual but potentially possible function in the investigated unit. Thus, a functional reorientation is understood as the special derivation process that allows individual units of language in the immutability of their forms to implement new, uncharacteristic for them earlier categorical, syntactic and pragmatic characteristics.

Most clear linguocultural aspect of functional reorientation of linguistic units is shown by the example of certain functional classes, particularly, interjections. Newly formed interjections acquire some quality that is similar to symbolic units. The process of decoding a message, which consists of interjections, can only be adequate in view of all the speech context, as well as social and linguocultural aspects of native speakers [2, 5].

Despite the approximate correspondence of conceptual picture of the world people who speak different languages have significant differences in the linguistic world that are fully recorded in the example of the functional reoriented interjections: Russian. Открыл Америку! and English. Q�een Ann �� dead!, or Russian. Дудки! and English. Ra����!

Since interjections are present in linguistic competence and linguistic consciousness of native speakers, they are used in a variety of speech situations for the expression of:

Продолжение талицы

The vast number of listed reoriented unit refers to the substandard stylistic tone, marking confidential, conversational familiarity style of communication. Speech patterns are studied in relation to specific national and socio – psychological manifestations or in connection with the general problem of the stereotype and the problem of reproduction of verbal communication in fixed form. In simple situations of verbal behavior there are observed the behavioral stereotypes with minimal consciousness. Speech patterns, as well as gestures, are related to the area of socio-cultural unconscious stereotypes [3, 21].

Stereotyped phrases contain communicative meaningful information that is present in every utterance and all through communicative interaction. Their form and function are stable and regular, so that they are predictable within certain communicative situations. Speech stereotypes are commonly associated with the process of the correct choice of means in accordance with the purpose statement. This choice depends on the tradition and history of the people and implies mastery of use of the rules.

Thus, as well as in communication in general, and in situations of intercultural contacts stereotypes play a very important role. Stereotypes firmly are embedded in our value system, they are its integral part and provide a kind of defense of our position in society. For this reason, the use of stereotypes occurs in each intercultural situation. Using of these very common, culturally specific schemes of estimation as well as their own group and other cultural groups are indispensable.

References

1. Levitskiy A.E. Kommunikativnye stereotipy v mezhkul’turnoy kommunikatsii // Uchenye zapiski Tavricheskogo natsional’nogo universiteta. Seriya filologiya. – Tavriya. – №2. – 2011.
2. Korol’kova I.A. Rechevye stereotipy v yazykovom etikete angliyskogo i russkogo yazykov. Molodoy uchenyj. – Moskva. – №5. – 2012.
3. Ambrazheychik A. 2000 russkih 2000 angliyskih idiom, frazeologizmov i ustoychivyh slovosochetaniy. – Minsk: Popurri, 2003.