Vol. 3 No. 1 (3) (2007)

The article examines English voiceworks and syllable-forming opportunities from functional-communicative perspective with special reference to the role of the syllable in encoding and decoding of speech.
The observations made in the article acquire special significance in the context of the expansion of the “global English” phonetic environment.
The analysis of the factual material reveals the role of the British-American syllable stereotypes in the interpretation of literary communication.

The article attempts to reveal the influence of English on the lexical composition of 16 modern European languages. Being a co-author of the Usage Dictionary of Anglicisms in European languages, the author points out that the 4000 anglicisms that have found their place in the dictionary do not constitute a large number in the vocabulary of the given languages. She goes on to conclude that the impact of English is not so huge as expected by some linguists and hence, there is no need to worry.

The article analyses the communicative characteristics of virtual discourse in on-line newspapers.
Virtual reality has created a number of advantages for online news media – on-line newspapers enjoy a continuous and constant contact with their readers. The content of any article can be easily changed, added or edited parallel to the current developments or to the remarks and observations of the readers.
On-line newspapers make it possible to realize simultaneous and consecutive communication. As a result, an article in an on-line newspaper turns into a kind of an interactive dialogue between the author and the readers.

The fact that extralinguistic reality sets its own rules, has been confirmed in computer discourse. This phenomenon has been viewed as a new functional application. The modern style of mass communication is the subject matter of computer linguistics. The examination of the linguostylistic features, the changes recorded in the given sphere as well as the impact of the computer language on modern English acquire special significance.

The article attempts to describe the inner world of the characters in Jane Austen’s works from the perspective of the acts of persuasion. The detailed investigation reveals that the characters who, according to the authorial comments, have a low level of consciousness and moral values, often try to make their speech as persuasive as possible. They make use of their appearance, experience and the trust they enjoy. Very often the efficiency or failure of a certain act of persuasion depends on the expense the speaker is subjected to the character or opposes him. Those with a higher level of consciousness and morality hardly ever attempt to impose their opinion on others. Endowed with self-awareness they manage to preserve their own way of thinking and the ability to judge correctly.

Based on the general conceptual content and the speaker’s intention, signs can acquire an additional communicative function. Their inherent semantic applications can be interpreted only at the metasemiotic level. Metaphoric means of expression are of special significance in terms of pragmatic analysis which makes it possible to penetrate into the imaginary world of the author and perceive the metaphoric meaning of the speech. The article attempts to disclose the inherent semantic shades which are expressed through an unusual combination of speech signs and study the mechanisms and principles contributing to the perception and interpretation of their metaphoric meaning.

The interrelation between color terms and the meanings they denote is quite controversial. Despite the fact that color terms are linguistic universalities and possess a certain universal value in the language thinking of all ethnic groups, they differ in terms of the ethno-linguistic evaluation. The psycholinguistic value of color terms immensely depends on the professional occupation and the individual preference of language bearers.

The analysis of the syntagmatic relations of collocations allows clarifying the regulated constant semantic structures which are typical of the given language unit, in this case of the noun. The functional motivation of the whole structure in noun collocations in English is conditioned by the other constituents of the collocation, rather than of the noun itself. They help perceive the general semantic nuances, as well as the metaphoric meaning and different degrees of directness of the given language unit.

The article attempts to examine the inter-penetration of certain lexical syntagms and their role in political discourse, i.e. to observe how they are applied to demonstrate political reality. The detailed investigation reveals that the lexical syntagms under observation have acquired the value of political terms due to a high frequency of use. Otherwise stated, they have become politicized and in combination with other lexical units, they tend to create reproducible or patterned political expressions.

The article examines the use of syntactic stylistic devices in scientific prose. Sentences with emphatic do have been singled out among the great number of syntactic stylistic devices. The numerous examples with the emphatic do in English scientific prose confirm the hypotheses put forward by R. Budagov, S.S. Gusev, N.M. Razinkina, S.K. Gasparyan that a great number of stylistic devices are used in the language of science. The emphatic do in English scientific prose is not confined to the emphatic function only. The individuality of the author can often be easily traced in these examples. Through the use of the constructions with the emphatic do, the author expresses his opinion towards the idea stated. These structures often turn into an integral part of the language of science. Combined with other stylistic devices and expressive means they help the author to exert certain influence on the reader.

The article attempts to define scientific discourse and clarify which variant of English can serve as a means of international scientific communication.

The article illustrates the interaction of the language and social behavior which has acquired special significance in the 21^st century, conditioned by the development of various cultural links. Underlining the obstacles connected with the differences in the cultures and mentality of different nations in understanding the language, the author attaches importance to the investigation of the core values and ethics of the given nation. In case of England, the relevance of politeness in various forms of request and command becomes a priority.
The article aims to introduce some of the mechanisms of polite command and request to Russian students of English. However, the focus of the investigation is on euphemism as an important element of polite speech.

The article discusses the permissible boundary of pronunciation-related errors in business English. It goes on to present and analyze the findings of the three-year-long investigations. It follows from the research that the vast majority of the pronunciation mistakes of students are conditioned by the pronunciation and phonetic system of the Armenian language.

The English vocabulary has increased greatly in more than 1500 years of development. It is more extensive than that of any other language in the world. Certain processes have led to the creation of many new words as well as to the establishment of patterns for further expansion. Among these processes are affixation, compounding and conversion, which are the three main types of word-formation characteristic of the English language.
Since there are few practical rules of compounding and conversion, it would be reasonable to focus on affixation, derivative word-building patterns in particular. Derivative word-building patterns are likely to develop the learners’ receptive and reproductive skills. With the receptive skills the learners make informed guesses about the meaning of unknown items, thus enriching their potential vocabulary. In terms of reproductive skills knowledge of some productive word-building patterns serve to widen the learners’ creative abilities. This can also be viewed as a communicative strategy.

Modern linguistics knows a great number of semiotic researches which focus on a literary text both as a subject matter of literary semiotic and linguosemiotic study. While literary semiotics deals with controversial issues of the style of literary works, linguistic semiotics investigates literary texts paying special attention to the significance of the language unit which reflects the real phenomena, relations and actions turning into a linguistic fact as soon as strong and historically, culturally correlated ties appear in between the linguistic unit as a sign and its referent.

The author believes that two basic linguostylistic notions – metaphor and metonymy are super stylistic devices which are applicable in diverse discourses. This importance is expressed not only in the art of speech, but also applied forms of art like cinema and theatre. Inherent to the human language as such, metaphor, first of all, is the result of human thought, hence, the metaphoric nature of speech lies in the basis of language and cognition.

The direct meanings of various tropes, similies, metaphors and exaggerations are restored in the context of fairy tales. This phenomenon can be regarded as neutralization of the mentioned tropes. Metamorphosis – the trope most characteristic of a fairy tale, emerges as a result of the restoration of direct meanings.

Along with the development of cognitive sciences, the study of a literary text aims at broader goals than merely philological. It is connected with the revelation of individual cognitive models through traditional philological interpretation of the text. On the one hand, the basis of the interpretation of a literary text is the so-called picture of the world, which the author creates with the help of his speech, style, knowledge of historical-cultural reality, evaluations and images. On the other hand, it also includes the cognitive, ethical, aesthetic models of the perceiver which the latter applies towards the perception of the discourse, thereby ensuring the understanding of the text.
The subject matter of the article is the symbol in the works of Virginia Woolf. The use of various symbols is closely connected with the aesthetic views, life experience, unique way of thinking, world vision, psychological characteristics and the literary direction of the time.
Thus, the symbol is an integral part of verbal art.

The article examines the symbolic images in D. H. Lawrence’s novels. Here they are designed to generalize and complete the ideology lying in the basis of his works. Special attention is paid to the symbolic images of natural phenomena that are based on legends – an infinite source of symbolic images. Symbols and legends are irrevocably merged to become a most powerful means of realistic images. Legends receive a new breath through symbolic images, becoming larger than philosophy.

Unlike the functional manifestations of literary language, which do not go beyond the norms of the literary standard, the language of verbal art ensures its uniqueness through the features typical of one’s individual style and in this case, with the use of bawdy language. However, this freedom which is quite characteristic of a literary text and is widely used by Shakespeare, is by no means absolute and pointless. The abundant use of vulgar and obscene words and expressions is conditioned by the specificities of the English language, the national-aesthetic mentality of the language speakers and the development of historical and cultural characteristics. Each character speaks a language which matches his/her way of thinking, his world view, public image and environment. This makes Shakespearean characters alive and bright.

The article aims to withdraw the works of women writers from years of oblivion and neglect. These are the writers who depicted the dire consequence of war and its impact on women. The article draws parallels between the dedication, commitment of female factory workers, their readiness to sacrifice their own health for the common sacred cause and the heroic deeds of the soldiers fighting in the battlefield. The article also includes a number of works by women writers together with their interpretations which come to confirm the creative skills of the latter.

The self-translations of Joseph Brodsky are of unique linguistic value, though critics have sounded more contradictory in this regard.

The Armenian church was quite intolerant towards any expression of pagan faith in the early periods of Christianity. Pagan gods and spirits (fairies) were either rejected or labeled as “evil” or were simply “Christianized” acquiring the necessary features to be able to survive in the realm of the new religion. This phenomenon can be observed in various folklore narrations, namely in national tales. The article draws parallels between similar phenomena in other cultures.

The Key of Truth by the 18^th century Armenian clergyman Hovhannes Yerets Khnusesti, which was written in the province of Taron, in 1782, is dedicated to the ritual order of the Paulikians’ religious-heretical movement of the Armenian Church. The original work was translated and published by Frederic Conybear. While working in Echmiadzin library in 1891, the latter had a chance to get acquainted with the work. He was quick to realize the importance of the work and soon published not only the original version of the work in Grabar but also its English translation. It was through this translation that the European Theology got introduced to the religious-heretical movement of the Paulikians