Теория языка | Филологический аспект №03 (119) Март 2025

Intracultural and intercultural features of interpretation of foreign cultural realities

Мартынова Наталия Анатольевна
заведующий кафедрой иностранных и русского языков, кандидат филологических наук, доцент, Орловский юридический институт Министерства внутренних дел Российской Федерации имени В.В. Лукьянова, РФ,Орел

Аннотация: Данная работа посвящена рассмотрению инокультурных реалий в языке и культуре. Рассмотрение процесса формирования понятий позволяет проанализировать восприятие картины мира. Формирование языкового знака также важный элемент при отражении окружающей реальности в языковой картине мира. Данное исследование выделяет номинацию инокультурных реалий в процессе межкультурной коммуникации как особый вид номинации, отличный от традиционно выделяемых первичной и вторичной номинации. При характеристиках, отличающих данный вид номинации от традиционных видов именования, номинация инокультурных реалий также участвует в создании языковой картины мира, отражая инокультурную внеязыковую реальность.
Ключевые слова: номинация инокультурных реалий, межкультурная коммуникация, понятие, языковой знак, языковая картина мира

Martynova Nataliya Anatolyevna.
Head of the chair of Foreign and Russian languages, Candidate of sciences (Philology), assistant professor, The Orel Law Institute of the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation named after V.V. Lukyanov, Russian Federation, Orel

Abstract: This work is devoted to consideration of the process of the nomination of foreign culture realities presented as process of reflection of the language picture of the world. Studying of the process of concept formation helps to analyze the perception of the picture of the world. Linguistic sign formation is also an important element reflecting the surrounding reality in the linguistic picture of the world. This research singles out the nomination of foreign culture realities in the process of cross-cultural communication as a special type of the nomination, distinguished from traditionally singled out primary and secondary nomination. Having the characteristics which distinguish this type of nomination from other traditional types of nomination, the nomination of foreign culture realities also takes part in creation the linguistic picture of the world reflecting the extralinguistic reality.
Keywords: nomination, nomination of foreign culture realities, cross-cultural communication, concept, linguistic sign, linguistic picture of the world

A person interacts with the environment to ensure vital activity, which contributes to the development of abstract thinking and concepts through experience and language. The practical development of the world takes place in parallel with the comprehension of objects that become not only objects of application, but also cognition, fixing their properties in consciousness.

The development of practical and cognitive activity generates abstract thinking that creates generalized images of objects reflecting their key characteristics. This forms concepts that reflect the objective world in the form of ideal entities and leads to the creation of symbols for orientation in space.

Concepts are formed as a result of cognition and speech, which makes this process continuous. With the accumulation of experience, concepts expand due to the ability to abstract. The formation of concepts goes through stages from concrete things to initial images [1, c. 9].

The worldview includes objects and their interrelationships, which leads to the creation of stable conceptual notion corresponding to the generally accepted understanding. Human existence is not limited to objects, but also includes the world of language, which is the basis of communication [2].

Linguistic consciousness combines mental and sensory knowledge, creating mutual understanding. The knowledge of the communication participants is transmitted through linguistic meanings, supported by cultural traditions. However, standards can change under the influence of inter-cultural contacts and social processes.

Nevertheless, one should not exaggerate the role of language in the perception of the world. Recognizing the dependence of perception on language would mean that human knowledge is devoid of objectivity. It is also necessary to take into account that language is not the primary source of categorization of reality. Although signs play an important role in human history, symbolization is not primordial. A person can distinguish objects from the outside world even before mastering a language, and language rather reflects sociocultural reality.

Studies of the interaction of language and thinking show that language serves as a connecting element between consciousness and surrounding reality: surrounding reality – language – thinking [3]. Language reflects the structure of consciousness, facilitates communication and reflects sociocultural reality. It connects the material world with thinking and acts as a prism through which reality is idealized and thinking is materialized.

Direct perception of the world arises through a direct understanding of the surrounding reality using the senses and abstract thinking, without "intermediaries". The concept as an ideal entity cannot be transferred from one person to another without a material intermediary, which is a sign, and most importantly, a word. The sign appears only after the formation of a concept in thinking, where the concept reflects the characteristics of objects, but the sound form does not. Both the object and the sign represent material entities with different characteristics displayed in conscious-ness.

The materiality of a sign is manifested in its sound or graphic form: "A sound form is an expression that language creates for thinking."[4] The main function of a sign is to evoke a thought or concept about an object or action. For example, road signs prompt you to take action: stop or cross the road. The sign is effectively used to produce the desired thought or concept, and its connection with the image in memory leads to the emergence of the corresponding concept. The object itself can also evoke a concept, but there is no connection between the sign and the object. The sign is purposefully used to induce a necessary thought or concept.

The sign can be reproduced by speech or graphically and perceived through hearing and sight [5]. The perception and reproduction of the sign require clarity and clarity, since a change in the quality of the sign can lead to the inactivation of the desired concept. The sign reflects the ability of the mind to identify commonalities in objects and serves as a unity created for thinking. Unlike a thought, a sign cannot exist without it.

People and objects interact to form different systems [10]. The unconscious and conscious reflection of objects forms concepts that are most often expressed in linguistic signs – words. The word affects consciousness, reflecting in the form of an acoustic or graphic image, which allows it to induce concepts. The connection between a word and its image in consciousness forms a causal system.

When a person hears a word, it evokes an acoustic image, and when pronounced it becomes a consequence element based on a dynamic stereotype. The image of the word and the concept form a local system connected by local relationships.

The idea of F. de Saussure on language as a system of signs compares the concepts of a sign and a word. He considered an ideal, not a material unit, to be a sign. This led to the perception of the sign as a two-sided unit consisting of the signifier and the signified. The word is considered as a sign that induces a concept in consciousness, and its meaning is part of an ideal unit - a lexeme, which is two-sided, consisting of the image of the word and its meaning.

In order to evoke the desired meaning, the spoken word must be associated with its signifier image. A person may know about something, but not understand the meaning of a word if it is foreign or pronounced indistinctly. A word can gain a clear meaning through the introduction of a new concept or an explanation using other words. It is a part of speech and a unit of language that carries semantic differences.

The sign itself is inaccurate, and when creating it, they do not strive for high accuracy. The layer, as a material unit, differs from the lexeme, which is ideal. There is a causal connection be-tween them, since the word is a sign of the lexeme. A word can have several meanings and explain the meaning of other signs.

Words are formed phonetically and grammatically in accordance with the peculiarities of the language and are divided into classes such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Each word expresses both individual and general concepts. Language cannot create a unique sign for each concept, but thanks to generalization and comparison, we can describe the world using the available linguistic means.

The growing interest in intercultural contacts, including their linguistic aspect, determines the importance of establishing correspondences between language codes for successful communication and translation. These contacts create a need for new names for nationally specific objects of other cultures for which there are no equivalents in the partner's language. The problems of the nomination concern not only translation studies, but also general linguistics in the context of "biculturalism", where there is a need for naming objects that do not have names.

In practice, with constant intercultural interactions, some such objects receive fixed names in a new language. This creates a constant problem of nomination in both direct and "indirect" inter-cultural communications, when native speakers of the same language communicate about another culture. In a situation where there are no formal correspondences, difficulties arise in nominating cultural realities.

The same object can have different names, which is due to the ability of human conscious-ness to give various names to an object in different contexts. The term "nomination" denotes the connection between the sound complex and the denotation, and the nomination itself consists in creating the names of objects of reality (nominees) and assigning content to them.

According to the Linguistic Encyclopedia, the nomination is divided into primary and secondary. Primary nomination processes are rare in modern languages, while the nominative inventory is mainly replenished through borrowings or secondary nomination, where the existing unit receives a new meaning. This is due to the limited linguistic means and the need to convey diverse conceptual content [12].

The primary nomination designates objects and phenomena of reality using direct verbal means, which is the main function of linguistic signs. In contrast, a secondary nomination arises as a result of interpretation and creative thinking, using already existing nominative means for new functions. Both levels of the nomination have different meanings of the same language unit and secondary names are usually motivated by associative links.

The secondary nomination plays an important role in linguistic conceptualization and makes it possible to better express various shades of attitudes to reality. She can describe complex concepts by simple means [6]. The emotional-expressive factor is a key extralinguistic element in the secondary nomination process, adding emotional perception to rational assessments.

Cognitive research shows that the secondary nomination represents not only objects, but also concepts, which makes it possible to verbalize their figurative characteristics. The imagery of the secondarily nominated concepts helps to connect different entities and makes them clearer. Linguistically, this is achieved through the "semantic ambiguity" of linguistic units, when old and new meanings are combined in one sign.

There are two ways of secondary nomination. The first one, simple and transparent, represents an indirect representation of an object using the preceding meanings of words, which changes their semantic content.

The secondary method of nomination is complicated by the connection of combinatorial-synthesizing activity of consciousness and language technology [7]. The conceptual and linguistic con-tent of such names correlates with the non-linguistic series indirectly, which manifests itself in the non-independent nominative function of indirectly derived meanings. With the second use of words, semantic continuity arises, which leads to the multiplicity of verbal signs. Nominative derivation is expressed in the motivation of secondary names and the presence of their "inner form", acting as a mediator between the new meaning and reality.

The values of the secondary nomination are subjective and based on a person's ability to compare and associate categories, which makes them nationally colored. Cognitive activity is related to language, which is the source of its existence and research [9]. Concepts are organized into a linguistic mental space – the conceptual sphere of language, represented by units of various levels: words, phrases, phraseological units and texts. The main unit capable of verbalizing a concept is the word, and more complex structures increase the completeness of the representation of the concept.

The language system has a two-level organization, including primary and secondary names, which differ in the conceptualization of reality. The secondary nomination allows you to connect the direct meaning of a linguistic unit with a complex of knowledge about the world and express an attitude towards it, creating memorable images [8]. This leads to the organization of a system of secondary names into a system of secondary conceptual reinterpretation, called the second picture of the world.

A secondary nomination is the use of the phonetic appearance of an existing unit for a new designation. It can be linguistic or verbal. In the first case, the results are fixed in the language, in the second case they represent occasional use. There is no significant difference in the processes of secondary nomination, but the most natural naming methods are fixed, filling in the missing nominative means.

The division of the nomination into primary and secondary is traditional, but in intercultural communication a new type of nomination arises, which differs from the usual ones. A nation in intercultural communication has a different structure.

There are three components involved in the primary nomination: reality, meaning and name. In the secondary nomination, four components interact: reality, conceptual-linguistic form, reinterpreted meaning and linguistic form in a new function. The nomination of foreign cultural realities includes: reality, conceptual and linguistic form, the transformation of a concept for perception by another culture and the creation of a new linguistic form.

The primary nomination idealizes the material world, and the secondary nomination materializes thinking [11]. The nomination of foreign cultural realities also works with a concept related to another culture. This is a special type of nomination, characterized by the structure and conditions of intercultural communication.

The primary nomination denotes objective reality, whereas the secondary nomination denotes abstract concepts. The nomination of foreign cultural realities refers to an objective reality perceived by the addressee, but alien to the addressee. The nomination process takes place in two stages: the first is associated with the primary nomination, and the second with the secondary one. The nomination of foreign cultural realities, like the secondary one, works with an idealized reality, but at the level of an individual who describes a foreign cultural reality by means of his own language.

The main feature of the primary nomination is the arbitrariness of the linguistic sign, while the secondary and nomination of foreign cultural realities are formed on the basis of associations with already existing signs.

The primary nomination forms the characterizing signs, and the secondary and nomination of foreign cultural realities form the individualizing signs. The former include real names, and the latter include proper names and “quasi-proper” names (for example, historical personalities and cultural phenomena).

The primary nomination is of a linguistic and customary nature, whereas the secondary and nomination of foreign cultural realities are more often of an occasional nature. The first one is usually not motivated, whereas the second and foreign cultural names are motivated and associated with more familiar names.

The main features of the naming process include:

1. The subject must have a name that does not evoke associations (relevant only for the primary nomination).

2. The naming intention helps to find the meaning of a new subject (relevant for the primary nomination).

3. A new sign is usually represented through an idea of an object, in form or function.

4. The name can be based on the feelings and emotions of the subjects, which applies to all types of nominations.

Factors contributing to the appearance of words in a language include experience, linguistic technique, psychology, the role of society and the influence of external conditions. These factors influence the development of any form of nomination.

In order to nominate foreign cultural realities, in addition to existing factors, it is necessary to take into account the need to describe a foreign language culture and name its phenomena. The classification of the types of nomination emphasizes that "the general typology should be considered as a multidimensional space with overlapping features" [9, p. 293], where the nomination of foreign cultural realities intersects with the primary and secondary nominations, without clear boundaries. It is a combination of idealization of various cultural phenomena, which makes it a unique type of name that combines the features of both denominations under specific communication conditions.

The nominative aspect of vocabulary plays an important role in shaping the linguistic picture of the world, as it directly relates to extralinguistic reality. The nomination of foreign cultural realities reflects a different cultural reality. Language cannot have the vocabulary to convey one meaning in one word, but thanks to human thinking, we can describe the world using available linguistic means.

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