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Scientific Journal “Modern Linguistic and Methodical-and-Didactic Researches” Issue 2 (25), 2019 ISSN 2587-8093

UDC 81.42.

DISCURSIVE REQUEST MESSAGE EVENT

IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

A.P. Avramenko

____________________________________________________________________________

Lomonosov Moscow State University,

PhD in Pedagogics, associate professor of the Department of Applied linguistics. Anna Petrovna Avramenko

e-mail: avram4ik@gmail.com

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Statement of the problem. The paper focuses on the experimental research conducted on the basis of the dialogues retrieved from the Russian language corpus. The dialogues are analyzed through the medium of the frame scenario method. The article explores the degree of categoricity of the request speech acts in accordance with the politeness strategies on the basis of such parameters as context, the recipient and sender of a message, their status and personal characteristics. These categories determine the essence of role-play communication that occurs between the individuals with different social roles, which influences the choice of discursive strategies when transmitting messages.

Results. The specificity of discursive markers characteristic of messages with different degrees of categoricity is considered. These pertain to order, neutral request, positive and negative forms of politeness. Linguistic features of the request speech acts in terms of the politeness forms used and ways of expressing categories are also identified and described.

Conclusion. The use of discursive markers is determined by the politeness strategies and the degree of request, categoricity, which in turn are dependent upon the frame of the dialogue. Native speakers employ unconsciously certain strategies pertinent to request speech acts when producing statements, which distinguishes their verbal behavior from that of non-native speakers. Thus, the conducted study is of interest to foreign language learners at the B2-C1 level, since the main concern regarding this level of language expertise is centered around the correct use of synonymous language means in accordance with the situation. Last, but not least, of paramount importance is the description of the pilot study itself. Special focus is placed on the experimental study, because it enables to analyze the transmission of any message. The research can lay foundations for conducting similar studies exploring the characteristics of discursive messages, whose examples can be integrated into compiling textbooks.

Key words: discourse, discursive competence, discursive communication, locus, role-play, role-play communication, frame, frame scenario.

For citation: Avramenko A.P. Discursive request message event in interpersonal communication / A.P. Avramenko // Scientific Journal “Modern Linguistic and Methodical-and-didactic Researches”. – 2019. - № 2 (25). – P. 94-101.

Introduction

Being an interdisciplinary field of study, the term discourse is considered in the framework of such disciplines of the Humanities as Linguistics, Literature Studies, Semiotics, Sociology, Philosophy, Ethnic Studies, Anthropology, Psychology, Pedagogy, etc. This complex notion is analyzed in the papers of both Russian and foreign researchers [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6]. Teun van Dijk, a Dutch scholar, made a significant contribution to the study of the particular features of discourse by identifying several types of the meaning of the term discourse:

a) Discourse in a broad sense (as a complex communicative event): discourse is a communicative event happening between the speaker, the listener (the observer, etc.) in the process of a communication act in a particular time, space, and other contexts. This communicative act (CA) may be a speech one or a written one and may include verbal and non-verbal elements. Typical examples are a regular conversation with a friend, a dialogue between a doctor and a patient, or reading a newspaper.

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© Avramenko A.P., 2019

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b)Discourse in a narrow sense (as a text or a conversation): we usually only identify the verbal aspect of the CA and talk about it as a ‘text’ or a ‘conversation’. In this sense, the term discourse refers to a completed or continuing ‘product’ of a CA, its written or speech result interpreted by the recipients. So, in a more general sense, a discourse is a written or oral verbal product of a communicative act.

c)Discourse as a particular conversation: both the broader and the narrower understanding of discourse include the fact that using the term discourse always refers to particular objects in a particular environment and a specific context: ‘this discourse’, ‘his discourse’, ‘these discourses’. Where is the end of a discourse and the beginning of another one? Let us say a particular discourse is a coherent set of meanings (even though in reality there is an issue with such coherence since a human conversation is often a mix of different topics).

d)Discourse as a kind of a conversation: the notion of discourse is used in this sense and may not refer to given CAs, but rather to types of verbal production.

e)Discourse as a genre: here is a more complex interpretation. The notion of discourse is used to refer to a certain genre, for example: ‘news discourse’, ‘political discourse’, ‘scientific discourse’.

f)Discourse as a social formation: finally, the most abstract sense of the term discourse, when it refers to a specific historic period, a social community, or an entire culture. In this case, we usually use such terms as ‘a communist discourse’, ‘bourgeois discourse’, or ‘organizational discourse’. In such cases, similar to sociological concepts of ‘social formation’ or ‘social order’, we talk about ‘a discourse formation’ or ‘discourse order’. It is in this sense that we can talk about an ideological discourse [7].

The concept of linguistic politeness is generally used to describe various language means of expressing social relations between the speaker, the listener, and the people mentioned in the conversation. These social relations can be diverse and are not limited to politeness in a common sense of the word.

Politeness strategies are extremely important for this paper because the communicative act under consideration, the request, belongs to the so-called FTAs (Face Threatening Acts), i.e. a request is a communicative act of a somewhat increased threat to the interlocutor’s face.

This can be explained by the presence of a discourse message requiring an answer and corresponding actions in a request. The degree of face threat is influenced by numerous factors of overlapping politeness systems: they are cross-cultural and context-conditioned systems. They determine the relationship between the two provisions of the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee: the distance (i.e. the degree of an acquaintance) and the status (interlocutors’ social situation as related to each other).

This article’s research object is the discourse (particularly a speech act of transmitting a discourse message of request expressed in a more or less categorical way), whereas its subject is the discourse message of request.

The objective of this research is to identify certain patterns of use of different language means to express similar messages, with the consideration of their particular features.

The research material is a speech act of request that transmits the same discourse message: this is the location. In order to understand the discourse, we need to take into account the illocutionary and perlocutionary acts, i.e. the situation and the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee. Dialogues used as examples have been taken from an oral sub-corps of an electronic Russian language corps according to the set parameters [8; 9]. Example dialogues are cited below in the sequence according to the politeness strategies: from an order and least polite forms, through neutral ones, to the politest ones (explanations and reasons for such sequence are provided in the dialogue analysis).

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A role play means a reproduction of actions and relations of other people and characters of a story, a real or an imaginary one. A role communication is the communication between people as holders of certain social roles (a mother and a child, a boss and a subordinate, a student and a teacher, a couple in love). This communication is built upon certain norms defined by the society and used to simplify communication, to make each participant of role communication reach their goals easier. The term role play in psychology and pedagogy refers to teaching methods for this or that behavior in a given situation with the use of a defined set of verbal and non-verbal means of expressing feelings, thoughts, etc., of the participants. In this paper, a role play keeps its meaning in the sense that it refers to a planned situation. However, this is done mainly not for teaching purposes but rather to research the language phenomenon of using different means of expressing a more or less similar message. At the same time, the result of this study might be this experiment laying a basis for an approach to foreign language learning at higher levels, when the goal is to correctly use language means in a given situation.

Research methodology

For the purposes of this study, a frame scenario is a method to create a role play situation. A frame is a static description of an object, a phenomenon, or a situation that the representatives of a given cultural and language group are acquainted with [11; 12]. A frame scenario is a typical structure for a certain action, a concept, an event, etc. Thus, in this paper, a frame is the basis for approaching the role play as a practical experience to identify expression patterns for the message of request in the Russian language.

Research results

The parameters of given situations can relate to the context and to the interlocutors. We also take into account the categoricity of requests in different examples. We use the same parameters to analyze dialogues in order to identify reasons for the use of various discourse markers and other language means to express the message of request.

Situation parameters for selecting example dialogues:

a)Context (place, time, and the circumstances of the dialogue) => how the set of features of a given discourse system and culture influence the situation

b)Established scenario (the text necessary to convey the message) => frame scenario

c)Meaning of verbal and non-verbal expression of the message on three stages of the cognitive triangle: speaker – picture of the world – addressee => i.e. we talk about how the meaning of discourse is interpreted differently at the stages of the speaker’s and the addressee’s interpretation of the reality (principles of pragmatics).

Parameters of the communicative competence of interlocutors => politeness strategies as

related to the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee:

a)Social relationships of the interlocutors (distance)

b)Interlocutors’ social status:

-Gender

-Age

-Profession or a social role in a given situation

a)Cultural characteristics

b)Psychological characteristics of interlocutors (with or without taking the context into consideration) are reduced to a minimum for the integrity of the experiment.

Example N1

‘The Master of Taiga’ (‘Khozyain taygi’), film by Vladimir Nazarov and Boris Mozhaev.

(1968)

[Character: Nazarych, played by Leonid Kmit, male, 60] Here you are again! .. / We have to go a long way tomorrow! [the horse goes away / then the door scrapes open again] Hey I’ve told you!.. / If you dare come again / I’ll punch you in your face!

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[Character: Noskov, played by Dmitry Masanov, male, 49] [ entering] What a surprise!.. / Here is the deal…

Description:

-Context: taiga forest, a rural area, night or late evening

-The speaker: male, 60 years old, the master of a horse

-Addressee: the horse

The context of this situation implies a simple and quite rude conversation because the action is unfolding in the night in a remote village (from here on: conclusions drawn from these examples and their contexts refer to the statistic norm for a given situation, but there may be exceptions). The speaker’s personality is defined by his age superiority, whereas his social role in this situation is the key factor explaining the tone of the request and the use of these discourse markers. The phrase ‘Hey, I’ve told you’ can be considered as a discourse marker since it does not introduce any new information but points out the repetition of a request in a more categorical way. Thus, this example includes two requests of different levels of categoricity, which is important for this research.

The first request is limited to a verb in the imperative form (“go”) which is explained by the objective parameters of the dialogue (village and nighttime can explain the brief and simple way of expression; social relations in the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee define the superiority of the 60-year-old speaker in this case). It is worth noting that the tone of the first request is a friendly one: the speaker complains about the wrong behavior of the addressee (‘here you are again’) and explains the reason for his request (‘we have a long way to go tomorrow’). Thus, the first request of this dialogue is an example of an order in a friendly-patronizing form. As for the so-called positive politeness strategy, here the author keeps his superiority and expresses empathy and solidarity.

The second request of this dialogue highlights the repetition (‘Hey, I’ve told you’) and a threat (‘I’ll punch you in the face’). These are signs of the order’s categoricity: using his position the speaker is being disrespectful and initiates a conflict (negative politeness strategy) because the addressee has to comply with the order.

Example N2

‘Eralash-160’ (humorous TV series for teenagers), a film by Aleksey Scheglov and Vladimir Zaykin (2003)

[Character: Prison warden, played by: Aleksander Piatkov, male, 53] They’re bringing another cool guy!

[Character: Prisoner1, played by: Vladislav Galkin, male, 32] Another cool one? [Character: Prison warden, played by: Aleksander Piatkov, male, 53] I don’t envy you / folks … Attention!

[Character: a boy, played by: Sasha Golovin, male, 14] [entering] Hey suckers / did you crap your pants, eh? / C’mon, don’t get too shaky/I’m not gonna slap you.

Description:

-Context: a prison

-Speaker:

1.Prison warden, male, 53 years old

2.A ‘mafia boss’, male, 14 years old (the age, in this case, is not considered as an objective parameter since it helps create a comic effect. In its turn, the humorous introduction of the young-aged character indicates that in reality, a speaker of the same social status should presumably be, at least, not too young)

- Addressee: a prisoner (prisoners)

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Such a context (prison) both implies the use of slang which defines the language register and indicates the highlighted superiority of some interlocutors over the others. In this case, it means the dominance of speakers over the addressee.

The first order, Attention, is typical in structure and is different from the second one due to its official tone. The second one (‘don’t get too shaky’) is expressed by a verb in the imperative mood in a colloquial form, stressing the speaker’s disrespect for the addressee. The first order takes subordination into account, but the official element of such subordination reduces the face threat to the minimum. In the second order, the speaker’s superiority is based solely on an unofficial level; the positive politeness in this contextual environment is completely neglected, i.e. the face threat comes to its maximum. On the whole, regardless of positive politeness strategies, the hierarchical strategy of negative politeness implies an almost unconditional fulfillment of an order, i.e. indicates the absolute categoricity of the request message: only an order given to an animal can be more unconditional (see the example above). This conclusion is not made in order to humiliate the human dignity of these interlocutors, but to build a relevant scientific hierarchy.

The orders from the first two examples reflect the nuances of the relations in the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee: in the situation of a full superiority of the speaker and, respectively, categoricity of the order in the example N1 we can observe a friendly attitude of the speaker towards the addressee; in the first order of the example N2 it is an official neutral tone, and in the second order of the example N2 it is a humiliating for the addressee disregard (the latter being expressed through the usage of slang).

Example N3

‘Checkpoint’, a film by Aleksandr Rogozhkin. (1999)

[Character: General, played by: Aleksey Buldakov, male, 48] So where are these lazybones?

[Character: Sergeant Boing, played by: Aleksandr Ivanov, male, 29] Comrade Major General!

[Character: General, played by Aleksey Buldakov, male, 48] Cancel!

Description:

-Context: a military unit

-Speaker: male, 48 years old, a General

-Addressee: male, 29 years old, a Major

This frame including the set context and the dichotomy speaker vs. addressee implies the request message in a form of a military order. The particular characteristics of a military order are its shortness and the use of the imperative. On the one hand, a military order reflects the official hierarchy and is thus on the same level as the first order from the example N2, being opposed to the second order from the same example; on the other hand, this order is almost unconditional, but still represents a somewhat lower degree of categoricity than the previous example. This can be explained by the fact that the context of the example N2 has to do with the criminal world where orders are fulfilled out of fear of the criminal liability or of a shoot-out. At the same time, in the example N3 we talk about military submission which should in no way be humiliating for the subordinates. Means of expression of orders in these two examples are similar (the main characteristics: shortness and the use of imperative), which indicates the utmost importance of categoricity in the choice of verbal means of expressing the request message in case of an order.

Example N4

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‘Brigade, a film by Aleksey Sidorov and Igor Porublev (2002)

[Character: ‘Bee’/Pchela, played by: Pavel Maykov, male, 27] All right, then no…/It’s strange Cosmos is not coming.

[Character: Sasha Beliy, played by Sergey Bezrukov, male, 29] …/Yeah.

[Character: Special forces soldier, male] [talking in the loudspeaker] I order you all to stand still! / The house is surrounded! Mr. Belov! I am looking at you through my gun’s scope!

Description:

-Context: a house is surrounded in order to conduct an arrest

-Speaker: Special forces soldier

-Addressee: a criminal

The request message in this case is defined by the context and the interlocutors’ roles. At the same time, the phrase ‘I order you’ is used as a discourse marker to reinforce the order. The fact that criminals are being chased not just by the police, but by the special forces means an increased danger. In this case the characteristics of an order in this case are its shortness, the imperative mood, and its categoricity.

Example N5

Radio Day, a film by Dmitry Diachenko. (2008)

[Character: Program director, played by Mikhail Kozyrev, male, 41] Dima! So…/ let me remind you once again. Please.. / don’t forget about Makhov. Hmm…multiple times as you are on-air.

[Character: Dima, played by Dmitry Marianov, male, 39] …Yeah.

Description:

-context: the radio station staff preparing to go live

-speaker: the boss

-Addressee: a subordinate

This context implies mostly professional relationships, i.e. this communication is not purely official, but a little emotionally loaded. The request is coming from the boss, which in itself defines its categoricity. However, it is not an order anymore, since an order in this context would be too rude of a form (compared to the previous contexts that oblige to use orders). Thus, in this case, we deal with the most categorical form of request out of the considered examples: it is expressed through the phrase ‘let me remind you once again’. In this example we can consider this phrase a discourse marker, even though it introduces new information (compare with the example N1 where the dialogue includes a repetition of the request). The phrase also helps understand that the speaker is not making such a request to the addressee for the first time. Furthermore, we can suppose that the addressee did not fulfill the request previously because the speaker is stressing that the addressee should not forget about Makhov ‘multiple times when on-air’ (which helps create a comic effect). Nevertheless, ‘let me remind you once again’ plays the role of a discourse marker indicating the discontent of the speaker with the addressee and, as a consequence, the categoricity of the request. But despite such categoricity, the speaker respects both the principles of positive and negative politeness: due to the comic effect he reduces the face threat to the minimum, and at the same time shows his solidarity with the addressee.

<…> Example N18

Wedding, film by Pavel Lungin and Aleksandr Galin (2000)

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[Character: Mishka’s Father, played by Vladimir Salnikov, male, 60, 1940]. Didn’t you just…just drink for health of the new…newlyweds? How so?

[Character: Tania, played by Maria Mironova, female, 27] Please.../let him go. / I beg you.

[Character: Borzov, played by: Aleksandr Semchev, male, 31] I told you,/ get out! [Character: Tania, played by Maria Mironova, female, 27] Let him go..

[Character: Borzov, played by: Aleksandr Semchev, male, 31] Get out of here / I told you.

Description:

-Context: a situation where one of the interlocutors keeps the other one in captivity, and the third one is asking to liberate him

-Speaker: the young woman asking to let the hostage go

-Addressee: the person who keeps the hostage

The context is defined by an informal and nervous tone of the conversation. The role of the addressee implies his absolute superiority over the speaker. In this example, such superiority is reinforced by the age and gender supremacy of the addressee. The fact that the speaker is not pleading for herself is not relevant for us. In any case, this situation seems the least categorical out of the listed examples. It is the one-but-last example in this hierarchy from an order to a request because in this case a request becomes a supplication.

The experience of analyzing 20 dialogues shows patterns in the use of various language means to convey the discourse message. We mainly talk about the use of various discourse markers, which depends on the choice of certain politeness strategies correlating with some discourse parameters. The key parameters include the situation context and the interlocutors’ status in general and in a particular dialogue (i.e. relationship between them). Interlocutor’s personal characteristics and emotional state, etc., also influence the tone and style (and, respectively, the use of certain phrases and pauses between them). Key parameters in the experience are considered as a frame creating the situation. At the same time, we keep the other abovementioned criteria in mind during the analysis.

Conclusion

The use of discourse markers as the brightest example of language means, as mentioned before, depends on politeness strategies and the categoricity of the request, which are influenced by the dialogue’s frame. The order will typically use the imperative mood and other imperative forms, swear words, threats, and a repetition of the request. To reinforce the order a speaker can sometimes use the expression ‘I order’ that, in this case, can be considered as a discourse marker.

A neutral request typically contains the word ‘please’ which attenuates both orders and pleas in some cases. So, the verb ‘ask’ indicates the neutral request.

The smallest nuance, changing ‘I ask’ for ‘I ask you very much’/’I urge you’ makes a request closer to a supplication, decreasing its categoricity. To express and reinforce supplication such words as ‘I beg you’, ‘for God’s sake’, repetitive addresses, etc. can be used. For the least categorical requests, the presence of pauses and explanations of the reasons for a request is typical. Thus, the longer a request is, the less categorical it is.

A special attention should be paid to discourse markers expressing positive and negative politeness. Positive politeness markers include phrases like ‘listen’, ‘be a good soul’, ‘be human’, i.e. devices that indicate the interlocutors’ solidarity. This is why tender addresses can be considered as devices of both positive and negative strategies. Negative politeness as a term refers to the scale of the face threat, which means that such discourse markers as, for example, ‘if possible’, tend to diminish the conflict situation which arises on a bigger or smaller scale in the situation of a request.

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Therefore, as a result of experimental work we can distinguish certain ways of expressing requests of different degrees of categoricity in different situations according to the politeness strategies. Native speakers of a language use these necessary means unconsciously. We should take these usage characteristics into account on advanced levels of foreign language learning. In order to identify them, we need to conduct researches similar to this one, whose examples may be used in study books. Furthermore, this experience described in detail can induce students to find examples of their own with the similar parameters for a different discourse communication object. This can help students identify the patterns independently or under the teacher’s supervision and use the right forms more knowingly.

References

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[2]Sedov, K.F. Stanovlenie struktury ustnogo diskursa kak vyrazhenie evolyucii yazykovoj lichnosti: dis. … d-ra filol. nauk: 13.00.01 / Sedov Konstantin Fedorovich. – Saratov, 1999. – 436 s.

[3]Stepanov, YU.S. Al'ternativnoj mir, Diskurs, Fakt i principy Prichinnosti [Tekst] / YU.S. Stepanov // YAzyk i nauka konca XX veka. Sb. statej. - M.: RGGU, 1995. - S. 35 – 73.

[4]Fillips, L. Diskurs-analiz. Teoriya i metod / L. Filips, M.V. Jorgensen. – Har'kov: Gumanitarnyj centr, 2004. - 336s.

[5]Fuko, M. Arheologiya znaniya / M. Fuko. – SPb.: Gumanitarnaya akademiya, 2004. .- 416

s.

[6]Harris, Z. S. Discourse analysis / Z. S. Harris // Language. – 1952. – Vol. 28. - P. 1—30. [7]Tën A. van De k. Diskurs i vlast': Reprezentaciya dominirovaniya v yazyke i

kommunikacii. Per. s angl. — M.: Knizhny dom «LIBROKOM», 2013. — 344 s. [8]Grebenshchikova T.A., Pavlova N.D. Diskurs i ego psihologicheskoe vozdejstvie:

podhody k issledovaniyu. // Psihologicheskij zhurnal. 2017. T. 38. № 3. S. 18-31. [9]Dobrosklonskaya T.G. Massmedijnyj diskurs v sisteme medialingvistiki. //

Medialingvistika. 2015. № 1 (6). S. 45-57.

[10]Bergel'son M. B. Diskursivnyj analiz mini-narrativov v kontekste strukturirovannogo interv'yu. // Rodnoj yazyk: lingvisticheskij zhurnal. 2017. T. 2. № 7. S. 7498.

[11]Kibrik A.A. Russkij mul'tikanal'nyj diskurs. CHast' I. Postanovka problemy. // Psihologicheskij zhurnal. 2018. T. 39. № 1. S. 70-80.

[12]Kibrik A. A. Russkij mul'tikanal'nyj diskurs. CHast' II. Razrabotka korpusa i napravleniya issledovanij. // Psihologicheskij zhurnal. 2018. T. 39. № 2. S. 79-90.

[13]Krushina N.I. Diskurs-analiz i stilistika: integrativnye metody issledovaniya media kommunikacii. // Vestnik RUDN. Seriya: Lingvistika. 2016. T. 20. № 4. S. 78-90.

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THEORY AND PRACTICE OF TRANSLATION

UDC 81'25

THE THEORY OF SYNTACTIC CONCEPTS IN THE PRACTICE OF

TRANSLATION

V.A. Fedorov

____________________________________________________________________________

Voronezh State Technical University, PhD, Assistant Professor

Head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Technology of Translation Valery Arkadievich Fedorov

e-mail: russia.fedorov@mail.ru

____________________________________________________________________________

Statement of the problem. On the basis of French language constructions, containing the pronoun «il», the article analyzes the possibilities of using the theory of syntactic concepts, proposed and developed by the founder of Voronezh theoretical-linguistic school, Z.D. Popova, and her disciples, with reference to translation of specific syntactic structures. The task is to identify the set of French constructions that serve to translate the structural schemes of Russian syntactic concepts. The application of this theory in practice will help a translator take a new approach to identifying the meaning (typical proposition) of a sentence, and fulfill the most high-quality and adequate translation. The study is of interest to contemporary theory and practice of translation.

Results. The article presents the translation of a number of structural schemes of syntactic concepts of the Russian language, using the specific set of French constructions, which, as it appears, are essentially existential modus and dictum syntactic structures. The paper shows the potential perspective of applying the theory of syntactic concepts in the practice of translation.

Conclusion. At present, with the development of cognitive linguistics, enabling the emergence and evolution of the theory of syntactic concepts, a difficult stage is observed in the rise and recognition of this theory. Despite a number of works on syntactic concepts, their existence is disputed by some linguists. Further study of syntactic concepts and the practical application of achieved results will promote further formation and development of the theory of syntactic concepts.

Key words: syntactic concept, theory of syntactic concepts, construction, structural scheme, syntactic structures, existential constructions, dictum construction, modus construction, lexical units, practice of translation.

For citation: Fedorov V.A. The theory of syntactic concepts in the practice of translation / V.A. Fedorov // Scientific Journal “Modern Linguistic and Methodical-and-didactic Researches”. – 2019. - № 2 (25). – P. 102-110.

Introduction

Cognitive linguistics, based on the fundamental idea of a concept, i.e. a certain constant of meaning, reflected in the language system using various linguistic means, marked the emergence of a new trend in scientific research. It consists in consideration of the structural scheme of a sentence as a sign, having its own form and content, which are nationally specific in every particular language.

Over the past many decades, there have been numerous studies on national specificity of lexical and phraseological concepts, i.e. those expressed either by vocabulary, or by phraseology. As for the concepts, represented by the syntactic structure, this trend has emerged in recent years. This is explained by the fact that the category of syntactic concepts itself was developed only at the end of the twentieth century and has not become widely known so far. Our studies have shown that every language unit (including the morphological one) is able to verbalize its own concept. As for the study of syntactic concepts in the Russian and English languages, this

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© Fedorov V.A., 2019

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subject was covered by the works of V.I. Kazarina, M.M. Bulynina, O.A. Selemeneva and I.N. Ochirova [for more detail, see 1, pp.4-8]. In the French language, a number of syntactic concepts of constructions, containing the pronoun il [Fedorov, 2], have also been revealed.

Despite the disputable character of the emergence of syntactic concepts, linguists have studied those concepts which are related to existence of an object in space, namely, the description of characteristic features of an object, manifested by it; the location of an object and a person in space, and their movement; the influence of other people on the object; the mental activity of a person; various physical and mental states to which a person is exposed, etc. Prof. Z.D. Popova presents a classification of seven syntactic concepts in the Russian language [3].

Working with French texts, we have found that the French structural schemes, beginning with the pronoun il, have no structural analogues in the Russian language. This does not mean that the corresponding concept is not rendered in Russian; it is, however, by means of vocabulary and word combinations. As a rule, these words and phrases occupy the position of introductory units in a Russian sentence. In other words, this does not mean that, in Russian, we do not understand that это необходимо, это нужно, это очевидно, however, this is conveyed not by the structural scheme, but by vocabulary and phraseology.

Against the background of all these studies, there are no works concerning the use of knowledge about syntactic concepts in translation practice. Since each syntactic concept is served by specific structural schemes, the question arises, which French syntactic structures correlate with Russian structural schemes, and how they correlate with them, and, consequently, with Russian syntactic concepts. We are inclined to call Russian structural schemes, synonymic to French ones in nature, as constructions, because of the strictly formal word order in a French sentence, with traditional, mandatory presence of a subject, preceding the predicate. The constructions, containing the pronoun il, have been selected by us as a consequence of their wide distribution in the French syntax, and special attention, paid to them by French [4,5,6,7] and Russian linguists [8, 9,10,11].

In the proposed article, the object of research are constructions of the French language with verbal predicates commencer, devenir, seoir, aller, être with an adverb, se passer, se faire, se trouver, arriver, rester, advenir, suffire, manquer, etc. The relationship between the Russian structural schemes and the French constructions is studied against the background of syntactic concepts of the Russian language in terms of translation.

The objective of the research is to identify the role of syntactic concepts, determined by syntactic structures serving them and used in translation. Can the knowledge of syntactic concepts help a translator?

The article analyzes the French syntactic structures, containing the pronoun il, and, due to their specificity, partly concerns the personal structures with the verb manquer, used to translate the Russian syntactic structures from the classical work «Idiot» by the Russian writer F.M. Dostoevsky.

The research employs the comparative and contrastive methods, semantic-cognitive and contextual analysis of the content of a structural scheme.

The results of the research

In our understanding, the syntactic concept is meaning, enclosed within the framework of a certain syntactic structure, representing the knowledge of the world by various linguistic means. The idea of syntactic concept, to some extent, corresponds to the concept of standard proposition, i.e. the main meaning of the structural scheme. It must be noted, that the discourse of any language has its own characteristics, manifested as a result of the impact of linguistic and pragmatic factors.

The syntactic concept of being in the Russian language (served by the structural scheme кто/что есть где) is expressed by existential structures, for which it is essential, to what extent a person or an object exists or is present in reality. Based on this, a translator needs to select the corresponding existential verbal lexemes. There are cases of using a verb, having exis-

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