Филологические науки / 9. Этно-, социо- и
психолингвистика
Morel Morel D.A., candidate of philology
Melnkova O.V.
National Research University “BelSU”, Russia
Drinks in
the senior pupils’ picture of the world: towards problem statement
The present paper is within the scope of the research the authors have
been carrying out to reveal national peculiarities of the universal concept
“Drinks” (see for example [3]).
Here we are to specialize our subject confining ourselves to the study
of this concept featuring in the Russian teenagers’ picture of the world.
This group picture existing within the national one is somewhat
distinguishing due to the specificity of this age when many stereotypes including
gender ones, that will impact social behavior at a mature age, are forming and consolidating
(for details see [2]). The latter circumstance makes for dramatic movements in
the teenagers’ picture of the world within this age limits.
Studying senior pupils’ age group has a special social significance
because of this period’s importance in virtue of its borderline—and somewhat
existential—character. This short period usually indicated by the transition from
high school to higher one serves as an edge symbolically separating childhood from
adulthood. Therefore it is very important to know the features of consciousness
matured by that time.
We have elaborated the research program of complex studying the whole
system of verbal means representing the concept “Drinks” in the contemporary
Russians’ linguistic picture of the world (see [1]). Such a study involves
collection, processing, analyze, clusterization of materials, interpretation
and modeling of derived results concerning the following aspects of the concept
in question and of its representation means:
– nominative field;
– interpretational field [4: 63-64] (including any kinds of utterances—proverbs,
sayings, aphorisms, precedential phrases, etc.—or even their discoursive series—parables,
anecdotes, written texts [ibid.:
130]);
– associative field;
– ways of categorization;
– ways of defining descriptor;
– prototypes and stereotypes (national, age, and gender specific ones);
– axiological concept constituent (representing personal systems of
values, likes and dislikes);
– praxiological concept constituent (representing personal
practical experience);
– regulative concept constituent (representing personal and
national behavior regulations and social prescriptions, “unwritten law”).
The “pilot” survey of two groups of Russian senior pupils—14-15 and 16-17
years old (the 9th and 11th graduation classes,
respectively)—lets us reveal several important points for the further, more
thorough examination:
1) formation of gender specifics in the age groups’ systems of
verbal means representing the concept;
2) considerable share of references to alcoholic drinks in the linguistic
picture of the world regardless the age nor gender;
3) tendency to drift away from traditional regulations, to mock
them with age;
4) stable attitude to vodka as the national stereotype regardless
the age nor gender.
Thus if we are concerning manifestations of gender specifics in the
fragment in question of the senior pupils’ picture of the world we have to
state the following. The models of nominative and interpretational fields
established for the younger group of respondents (see Fig. 1) are quasi gender
balanced, slightly gender differentiated meanwhile the senior group’s system of
verbal means representing the concept “Drinks” becomes gender asymmetric at
different tiers.
Fig. 1.
Models of the nominative (left) and interpretational (right) fields of the
concept “Drinks”: the younger group of respondents (14-15 years old)
In the diagrams above light sectors refer to female gender specific
verbal reactions, dark sectors refer to male ones, horizontal hatching denotes common,
gender undifferentiated reactions, vertical hatching marks verbal means related
to alcoholic drinks.
If we try to reveal the role of alcoholic drinks in the senior pupils’
picture of the world it turns out that they are of considerable importance.
Thus alcoholic drinks denominations (types)
are quite numerous and frequent (tokens)
in all gender subgroups’ systems of drinks denominations (see Table 1) but it
is hard to draw up any trend in the age depending dynamics (cf. Table 2) by virtue
of minor sample.
Table 1
Percentage
of alcoholic drinks denominations
|
|
14-15 years old |
16-17 years old |
||||||
|
fem. |
masc. |
fem. |
masc. |
|||||
|
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
|
|
Strong liquors |
10,4 |
9,8 |
15,6 |
14,3 |
15,1 |
11,8 |
23,7 |
23,4 |
|
Wines |
7,3 |
9,8 |
4,4 |
6,6 |
8,1 |
8,3 |
7,9 |
7,8 |
|
Beers |
4,2 |
5,9 |
12,2 |
8,7 |
1,2 |
3,9 |
2,6 |
4,7 |
|
Cocktails |
5,2 |
5,9 |
6,7 |
4,6 |
2,3 |
3,1 |
2,6 |
1,6 |
|
Misc. |
4,2 |
3,5 |
3,3 |
1,5 |
2,3 |
1,2 |
2,6 |
1,6 |
|
Total: |
31,3 |
34,9 |
42,2 |
35,7 |
29,1 |
28,3 |
39,5 |
39,1 |
Table 2
Percentage
of alcoholic drinks denominations
(19-20 years
old respondents)
|
|
fem. |
masc. |
||
|
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
|
|
Strong liquors |
13,1 |
17,1 |
15,3 |
21,1 |
|
Wines |
7,8 |
12,1 |
5,6 |
9,1 |
|
Beers |
1,3 |
3,2 |
11,9 |
8,1 |
|
Cocktails |
3,9 |
1,9 |
6,2 |
2,5 |
|
Misc. |
2,0 |
1,2 |
6,2 |
3,5 |
|
Total: |
28,1 |
35,4 |
45,2 |
44,3 |
The most frequent alcoholic drinks denominations are—
– 14-15, fem.: ‘водка’, ‘пиво’ (4,31% each; II), ‘шампанское’ (3,53%; IV), ‘вино’ (3,14%; V);
– 14-15, masc.: ‘водка’, ‘пиво’ (3,57% each; IV), ‘вино’ (2,55%; VI);
– 16-17, fem.: ‘пиво’ (3,94%; V), ‘вино’ (3,15%; VII), ‘шампанское’ (2,76%; VIII);
– 16-17, masc.: ‘водка’, ‘пиво’, ‘вино’, ‘коньяк’ (4,69% each; II), ‘виски’, ‘ликер’ (3,13% each; III).
Figures above in Arabic numerals stand for a share in the gender
subgroups’ answers; figures in Roman numerals refer to the frequency range of
the denomination in the given field.
The situation turns out to be quite similar while considering senior
pupils’ associative fields (see Table 3). There we can find out two kinds of
associations referring to the concept “Drinks”: denominations of alcoholic
drinks and their classes (see Denominations) and associations referring to
different aspects of alcohol consumption (see References):
psychophysiological states attending alcohol consumption (‘опьянение’, ‘головная
боль’, ‘похмелье’ etc.), establishments providing alcoholic drinks (‘бар’, ‘винный супермаркет’, ‘дьюти-фри’ etc.), social drinking and concomitant (‘драка’). All the representatives of the latter group
of associations are single, thereby having the minimal frequency (1).
Table 3
Percentage
of references to alcoholic drinks in the associative fields
|
|
14-15 years old |
16-17 years old |
||||||
|
fem. |
masc. |
fem. |
masc. |
|||||
|
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
|
|
Denominations |
22,2 |
16,9 |
17,6 |
15,2 |
10,3 |
12,6 |
21,6 |
20,8 |
|
References |
1,4 |
0,7 |
8,1 |
5,4 |
3,4 |
2,3 |
16,2 |
12,5 |
|
Total: |
23,6 |
17,6 |
25,7 |
20,6 |
13,7 |
14,9 |
37,8 |
33,3 |
We can see that the total shares of references to alcoholic drinks are
rather considerable in all subgroups’ associative fields but not as big as in
the corresponding nominative ones. As in the latter case it is hard to draw up
any trend in the age depending dynamics (cf. Table 4) by virtue of minor sample
but it is evident that in any age the share of alcohol mentioning is noticeably
bigger in male respondent answers than in female ones.
Table 4
Percentage
of references to alcoholic drinks in the associative field
(19-20 years
old respondents)
|
|
fem. |
masc. |
||
|
types |
tokens |
types |
tokens |
|
|
Denominations |
15,2 |
14,5 |
13,7 |
19,5 |
|
References |
5,8 |
2,8 |
12,6 |
7,6 |
|
Total: |
21 |
17,3 |
26,3 |
27,1 |
The most frequent associations referring to alcoholic drinks are quite
similar—
– 14-15, fem.: ‘алкоголь’ (3,38%; IV);
– 14-15, masc.: ‘алкоголь’ (2,68%; IV);
– 16-17, fem.: ‘алкоголь’, ‘алкогольные’ (2,29% each; IV);
– 16-17, masc.: ‘алкоголь’, ‘пиво’ (4,17% each; II).
Compare with—
– 19-20, fem.: ‘алкоголь’ (2,1%; IX);
– 19-20, masc.: ‘пиво’(3,81%; IV), ‘водка’ (3,14%; V);
Figures above in Arabic numerals stand for a share in the gender
subgroups’ answers; figures in Roman numerals refer to the frequency range of
the denomination in the given field.
Another important way to objectivize the concept “Drink” to be
considered here is its representational field consisting of sayings with
different structure, nature and origin. Like in the associative field there are
two kinds of sayings referring to the concept “Drinks”: the ones including denominations
of alcoholic drinks and the others referring to different aspects of alcohol
consumption.
The first group representatives are—
– proverbs: «истина в вине» («in vino veritas»); «без чашки бражки гость гложи кость»;
– antiproverbs: «сколько водки не бери, всё равно два раза бегать»; «100 грамм водки убивают лошадь»;
– precedential sayings (quotations from different sources): «и я там был, мёд-пиво пил, по усам текло, в рот не попало»; «губит людей не пиво, губит людей вода»; «лучше водки хуже нет»;
– respondent’s private opinion:
«Ягуар – делает дырки в животе».
The second group is represented by the following types of sayings:
– proverbs: «пей – не упивайся, ешь – не объедайся»;
– antiproverbs: «между первой и второй перерывчик (промежуток) небольшой»; «после первой не закусывают»;
– antiproverbial-like transforms: «Не надо печалиться, вся жизнь впереди! Вся жизнь впереди!.. Напейся и жги!»;
– toasts: «второй <тост> за родителей»; «третий тост за любовь»; «Во все года, во все века четвертый тост за мужика. И хоть ты царь, и хоть ты бог, ты все равно у наших ног»; «пятый тост за тех, кого с нами нет»; «пей до дна!»;
– idioms: «на посошок».
The percentage of both groups representatives in the age
interpretational fields (to compare with seniors’ rates) are adduced in Table
5.
Table 5
Percentage
of references to alcoholic drinks in the interpretational fields
|
|
14-15 |
16-17 |
19-20 |
|||
|
sayings |
tokens |
sayings |
tokens |
sayings |
tokens |
|
|
Denominations |
15,8 |
23,7 |
14,3 |
30 |
26,8 |
32,4 |
|
References |
11,7 |
25 |
21,4 |
20 |
35,1 |
31,2 |
|
Total: |
27,5 |
48,7 |
35,7 |
50 |
61,9 |
63,6 |
The most frequent representatives of the interpretational field in
question that refer to alcohol drink(ing) are «между первой и второй перерывчик небольшой» (the
2nd rate in 14-15
years old respondents’ answers; 10% of tokens), and «истина в
вине» (the 1st
rate in 16-17 years old respondents’ answers;
25% of tokens).
In conclusion it should be noted that the problem points revealed above
are relevant not only to linguistics but also to psychology, sociology,
anthropology as well as to their crossovers, and demand further advanced,
interdisciplinary study.
References
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