Vol 29, No 3 (2023)

July 21, 2023, Department of English Philology, Samara University, Social Sciences
the humanities institute and the entire linguistic world of the Samara region suffered unrecoverable
loss - a candidate of philological sciences, professor, professor of the department passed away
English philology Antonina Aleksandrovna Kharkovskaya. It was she who stood at the origins
development of English studies in Kuibyshev / Samara. She created her own scientific school and made it
known not only within the Russian Federation, but also far abroad.

The article is dedicated to the history of the study of the Penza fortress line, which accounts for more than two and a half centuries, but has not yet become the subject of historiographical analysis. There are three main stages can be distinguished in the study. The interest to the fortifications of the saddle line appeared in the last quarter of the XVIII century, when the information about them appeared in the notes of travelers and writers: P.S. Pallas, P.I. Sumarokov. Since the second half of the XIX century archivists and regional ethnographers began to collect archival documents on the Penza fortification line. Their efforts were aimed at localizing the earth ramparts, establishing the time of creation of military settlements, and publishing the texts of ancient acts. Along with documents, they used the data of legends and local legends. The beginning of the second stage refers to the middle of the XX century, when the studies of the Penza fortification line acquired a systematic character. V.I. Lebedev becomes its main researcher. Along with a wide use of the archival data, he turned to the field research, which allowed to fill the gaps in the documents, lost as the result of fires in the archives of the Prikaz Kazan Palace. Great work in search of the ancient acts was carried out by Penza archivists and local historians: G.V. Eremin, S.L. Shishlov and V.M. Sharakin in publication’s preparation: «The Fortress-City of Penza», by order of the Second Secretary of Penza Regional Committee of the CPSU G.V. Myasnikov. As a result of common efforts, the fortifications of the Penza Line were localized on the ground, the exact dates of their construction were established, and the composition of the servicemen was determined. The results of the research were summarized in the two editions of V.I. Lebedev’s monographs of 1986 and 2006. At present the studies of fortifications of serfdom are carried out mainly by archaeological methods, but their results are rather modest.

The idea of the organizational state and composition of one of the most significant parties in pre-revolutionary Russia – the party of Socialists Revolutionaries – gives a lot to understand its essence. The agreement on the creation of the party was made in the spirit of traditions of illegal conspiratorial organizations. The party appeared as an extremely amorphous formation. Until the turn of 1905–1906, its organizational principles were not formulated and were not approved by the general party forum. The competencies of the structural divisions, the criteria for membership were not clear to everyone. The party structure evolved spontaneously, in the spirit of the traditions of the revolutionary organizations in Russia in the 1970-ies and 1990-ies of the XIX century. Simultaneously existing «non-party» and «party» committees and groups characterized two dimensions: a socio-political movement and a political party. Consolidation in general terms was completed by the end of 1905. At the beginning of the XX century. the main part of the Socialist-Revolutionary organizations was located in the provinces of European Russia. Basically, the Socialist-Revolutionary organizations operated in the intellectual and industrial centers of the country, areas of concentration of the intelligentsia. A significant part of the party leadership was made up of representatives of the generation of the 40–60-ies of the XIX century of birth. The committees were dominated by young people of the 70–80-ies of the XIX century of birth. The party included representatives of various social groups, first of all the intelligentsia, then workers and peasants. Intra-party ties were weak and intermittent; the main unifying center was «Revolutionary Russia». Theoretical, tactical and organizational problems were discussed behind the scenes. In the structure of the party, the features of an illegal circle organization were clearly manifested.

The article, based on archival sources that have been under the heading of secrecy for many years, analyzes the problems of economic efficiency of Soviet farms (state farms) in the first years after the end of World War II. The huge human and material losses suff ered by agriculture predetermined the diffi culties of the restoration period. Analysis of various statistics showed the following results. The yield of feed, technical and grain crops grew weakly, it was not possible to significantly increase the number of livestock. The increase in wages on state farms was not accompanied by an increase in labor productivity. Despite the improvement in the technical equipment of state farms, it was not possible to achieve the application of the achievements of agronomic science; signifi cant losses were observed in harvesting. The existing system of pricing agricultural products gave rise to a significant difference in the planned and actual cost, which, in turn, exceeded government prices. The most important mechanism for eliminating this discrepancy was the subsidy of state farms at the expense of budgets of different levels. More than 80 % of agricultural enterprises were on state subsidies, of which about 60% of farms had losses that could not even compensate for the allocated funds. At the same time, the state received economic benefi ts from the activities of state farms. The funds allocated to finance the activities of state farms were half as much as the state gained from the sale of agricultural products. Despite certain successes in agricultural production, state farms were unable by the beginning of the 1950-ies to increase labor productivity, significantly increase yields and multiply livestock, actively implement the achievements of agronomic science and rationally use technology.

The social institution of the family as an environment for the formation and evolution of gender roles is of particular interest for the study of Soviet society. The government controlled the private sphere of public life even in the late USSR. The media were an important social institution that influenced the construction of ideas about gender and reproduced images of desired models of family relations and the gender structure of society. Gender analysis can be used to identify popular stereotypes about masculinity and femininity, as well as gender family roles in the late USSR. In this paper, the author analyzes the materials of Soviet magazines and newspapers published from the late 1960-ies to the 1970-ies: the magazine for parents and teachers «Family and School», the popular science magazine «Health», the advertising magazine «New goods», the children’s magazines «Murzilka» and «Funny Pictures». These publications are aimed at different readership. This allows us to get a more complete picture of the real and desired models of masculinity and femininity in late Soviet society. As a result of the study, conclusions are drawn about significant discrepancies between the declared equality of women and men in Soviet society and the real gender structure. The representation of stereotypical models of family relations indicates contradictions in the peculiarities of male and female gender socialization, as well as in the gender differentiation of family and household functions of men and women.

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to develop digital competence among HR specialists. Various approaches are considered to the definition of the concept of «digital competence» and the selection of the content of the professional activities of HR specialists to perform new labor functions in accordance with its specifics and features, which implies certain changes in the educational environment in the digital economy. Due to the lack of programs to build the readiness of a personnel management specialist, it is difficult to perform such a function as strategic management of the workforce. An attempt was made to resolve the contradiction between the request for these specialists and the uncertainty in the strategy for determining the totality of competencies as an integrative property of a person.

Today one of the most strategically important directions of improvement of the activity of educational institutions becomes the implementing of technology of mentoring in the educational system. The need for mentoring is due to the fact that rapid changes in the education system, transformation of organizational processes require that all participants of educational relations flexible and instant reaction. Mentoring allows to connect professional development, resistance to change, the formation of new competencies, as well as mutual social exchange in an integrated approach to each participant of the educational process. Despite discussions of scholars and practitioners concerning mentoring problems, there is no single methodological approach to the organization of mentoring system in an educational institution of higher education as a unit of innovative educational system. The article analyzes the history of development, principles and types of mentoring, reveals the content of mentoring system; presents the results of the author’s research and suggests a mechanism for organizing a mentoring system in an educational institution of higher education. As a tool for the development of the mentoring system at the university, it is proposed to create a community – a club for the development of meta-skills within the educational institution.

The article discusses the grammatical competence in the English language of future teachers in the undergraduate program as a component of effective foreign language teaching in the form of ability to correctly apply the morphological, syntactic and lexical norms of the English language in solving practical problems. Taking into account the teaching of English as a pedagogical specialty, it is necessary to take into account the communicative and pedagogical components of professional competence. Based on theoretical provisions in the form of an analysis of pedagogical conditions of the organization of education, the current study views the specifics of improving morphological grammatical skills in the form of teaching tense forms of English verbs on the material of authentic texts from classical literature. As part of the study, as part of a pedagogical experiment, according to the results in the experimental group, difficulties in mastering the tense forms of verbs were identified. Increasing the level of foreign language communicative competence will contribute to the improvement of theoretical and linguistic knowledge, to the formation of practical skills in the form of teaching the norms of the literary language.

The article deals with specific features of objectification in German related to the categories of social exclusion and social inclusion in the territorial aspect on the example of the concepts «Kaff» and «Einöde». As a result of the definitional analysis of the similar lexemes, denoting these concepts, the author establishes nuclear semantic features – the absence of appropriate social conditions, low-population density area /uninhabited area (Einöde) and its small length, aimlessness of the subject’s existence (Kaff). These notions are described as the semantic field. The study found that the core of the semantic fields of the concepts «Einöde» and «Kaff» are the linguistic units directly indicating the nuclear semantic features and the periphery – the units actualizing the processes of social exclusion and in separate (rare) cases of social inclusion. The author identifies   the units expressing spatial remoteness from the center, as well as static, absence of movement, changes as common leading language means expressing the category of social exclusion; as different – the units indicating a small spatial extent, verbs of socially determined movement with certain efforts of the subject (semantic field «Kaff»); verbs of unnoticed, aimless existence of the subject within the given object (semantic field «Einöde»).The results of the research suggest that the lexeme Kaff to a greater extent as compared to the lexeme Einöde objectifies the processes of territorial social exclusion in the context. The author notes that the language units Kaff and Einöde do not have unambiguous equivalents in Russian. As a result of the contextual analysis the author reveals additional semantic features, specifying these concepts, which are not reflected in the glossary of the German language.

The article is focused on the analysis of linguistic features of the «history-novel» by W. Ayguals de Izco «The Tiger of Maestrazgo», published in 1846–1848 and dedicated to R. Cabrera, one of the leaders of the Carlist movement in Spain in the 1830-ies. The relevance of this article is due to both the lack of scientific publications about W. Ayguals de Izco in Russian, and the relevance of «The Tiger of Maestrazgo» in the anti-Carlist political discourse in Spain in the middle of the XIX century. A brief review of recent publications on the writer’s work is offered as well as the history of the book creation. It is concluded that the publication of «The Tiger of Maestrazgo» was a reaction to the apologetic biography of R. Cabrera, written by B. de Cordoba, as well as to the uprising of the Carlists in Catalonia, which began in 1846. The anti-hero of the work is R. Cabrera, who in the novel personifies Carlism. The article analyzes the vocabulary used to create his image. 66 adjectives and 116 nouns and substantive combinations related to Cabrera and having negative connotations are registered in «The Tiger of Maestrazgo». There are 4 categories of lexemes that are used by the author to describe the anti-hero of the work: designations of social belonging; ethnonyms; names of animals; words related to the religion. W. Ayguals de Izco focuses the attention of readers on the unprofessionalism of R. Cabrera, who does not have a military education. The anti-hero is compared to «savages» from Africa and the New World and to predatory animals. W. Ayguals de Izco emphasizes that R. Cabrera has a «satanic» nature. Describing the birth of R. Cabrera, the writer parodies the gospel story about the birth of Christ. W. Ayguals de Izco not only creates a negative image of the leader R. Cabrera, but also criticizes the entire Carlist movement.

The purpose of this article is to describe the loss of the vocative case in Russian language on the material of Old and Middle Russian monuments of business writing. A study of four text corpora and quantitative analysis of the vocative forms, which has not previously been proposed, allowed us to conclude the following. The vocative case was lost in the late Old Russian period with the preservation of the forms of individual common nouns (господине ‘lord’, брате ‘brother’, княже ‘prince’, господо ‘lords’). Presumably due to the frequent use in documents of certain genres, these forms became cliched expressions. In addition, it was concluded that, for the listed lexemes, the choice of the vocative or nominative case could depend on the syntactic environment, specifically the presence of subordinate word or words. Thus, the vocative case is more often preserved for single appeals, whilst the nominative case is chosen for appeals that have an agreed attribute or an apposition. This observation has led to the assumption that a dependent part of the sentence specified the appeal and turned a formulaic expression into an appeal in the literal sense. Since the grammeme of the vocative case was already in the process of destruction, such an appeal took the form of the nominative case. Based on the studied material, it was concluded that the vocative case was lost by the end of the Middle Russian period.

The article looks at the linguocreative word-formation devices in political anthroponyms within the context of English internet memes. The research is relevant due to the existing necessity to thoroughly research linguistic creativity at the level of word formation in English internet communication. The methods used in the research include collecting and analysing empirical material, word formation analysis, definitional analysis, linguocreative analysis, discourse analysis, linguocultural analysis, semantic analysis. The results of the research show that such linguocreative word formation devices as the generation of linguocreative occasional telescopic lexemes derived from two derivational bases, linguocreative transformations of anthroponyms based on paronymic attraction and language game with abbreviations are widely spread in English memes. Telescopy is a word formation process which involves generating a linguocreative occasional lexeme derived from two anthroponyms. Linguocreative transformations of anthroponyms based on paronymic attraction entail the deformation of an anthroponym in order to show resemblance to a similar word for creating a pragmatic effect. Language game with abbreviations functions as a linguocreative ‘decoding’ of a political anthroponym, as a result of which the author provides the recipient with an original and usually humorous interpretation of the precedent name. According to the research, the derivatives, generated with the help of the above mentioned devices, have broad semantics, connotations and pragmatic underpinning. To conclude, English internet memes act as a platform for linguocreative word formation processes, furthermore, political anthroponyms have a strong linguocreative potential. The results obtained in the research can be successfully applied in the educational process on the theoretical level and in English language teaching.

The present article attempts to analyze the rhythmic and syntactic structure of the original fragments involved in creating the image of the pension in V. Nabokov’s novel «Машенька» and its English version «Mary». The relevance of the research stems from the fact that despite the abundance of works devoted to the study of artistic image and individual writers’ style, they do not cover all possible aspects of analysis. In particular, there exist practically no contrastive studies revealing specific means to create material world image on the rhythmic and syntactic level based on the works written by bilingual authors. In addition, Russian and foreign philology lack studies devoted to considering the peculiarities of rhythmic and syntactic analysis of V. Nabokov’s literary works. The aim of the present article is to analyze the rhythmic as well as syntactic structure of the original fragments, creating the image of the pension as part of the material world in V. Nabokov’s novel «Машенька» and its English version «Mary». The objectives of the study include identifying the characteristics of the rhythmic as well as syntactic structure of the fragments in question to define the extent to which the translator manages to convey the features of the original structure. The following research methods are used: the method of slicing and splicing, structural-functional method, descriptive method and comparative method. In conclusion it should be emphasized that rhythmic and syntactic structure of the analyzed fragments is characterized by both extended and non-extended sentences, compound sentences with conjunctive, subordinate and non-conjunctive links, parenthetical insertions, homogeneous sentence members and adverbial participial phrases. The rhythm of the fragments in question varies from monotonous to gradual and alternating. To conclude, the results suggest that rhythmic and syntactic features of the original are not always taken into account by the translator, which is explained by the differences in the syntactic structure of the Russian and English languages.

The article discusses the problem of multimodal perceptual image in the literary text as a language means of conveying the interaction and reciprocity of perceptual sensations obtained through several senses and manifesting an integral multimodal image. The language manifestation of the multimodality of perception is understood as a way to express in a language the results of the perception by several senses at the same time. The purpose of the article is to identify language means of manifestation of the processes of multimodal perception in a literary text. The study is carried out from the perspective of cognitive stylistics, i.e. considering stylistic devices that manifest multimodal perception as a means of knowledge representation. «The Pebble in the Sky» by A. Azimov served as an example of a literary text characterized by an abundance of perceptual vocabulary per text unit. The component analysis, lexical definition analysis, contextual analysis and linguo-stylistic analysis result in the classification of perceptual vocabulary and stylistic means manifesting multimodal perceptual image.

The review analyses the main problems reflected in the generalizing study by G.A. Shirokov. Relying on a diverse corpus of archival and published documentary sources, periodicals, statistical materials, as well as scientific literature on the problem under study, the author distinguishes two stages in the development of the Kuibyshev region. He presents a reconstruction of the mobilization measures carried out during the first stage (1941–1942). The author reconstructs the process of formation of new branches of regional economy on the basis of industrial equipment of evacuated factories, shows the restructuring of industrial production, which led to the formation of diversified economic potential of the region. Factors that had a negative impact on the development of agricultural production are revealed. New materials are given about labour everyday life and adaptation of the population to the conditions of the war years. Characterizing the second stage (1943–1945), the author provides information on measures to introduce new technologies and conveyors at industrial enterprises, to provide qualified workers and employees, to develop agriculture and transport infrastructure. The monograph focuses on the development of health care, public education and higher education, shows social and political life of the population during the Great Patriotic War. The central problem of the monograph is the labour feat of the population of Kuibyshev region, which ensured the unity of the front and rear and the victory in May 1945.

The monograph by E. Evgrashkina examines the semiotic possibilities of the language of contemporary Russian- and German-language poetic texts. Instrumental tuning of the theoretical field of research requires detailed coverage of the concepts of «language games», «poetic discourse», «semiotic reality», «semiosis». Poetic discourse is identified with a semiotic process in which a special kind of semiosis is realized – «mobile semiosis», involving the reader in the game of appearances and «flickering of meanings». The development of the semiotic potential of individual lyrical texts of German- and Russian authors is traced. Their poetic texts of these authors reveal a complex composition of signs, syntax decay, rejection of rhyme, lexical «innovations», changes in conventional graphics, playing with punctuation marks etc. The main significance of the monograph by E. Evgrashkina is determined by the theoretical understanding of individual poetic practices, the study of the semiotic potential of language and the field of its functioning in modern Russian- and German poetic texts.