LEXICAL MARKERS OF CONFLICT COMMUNICATION IN V.I. BELOV'S STORY “PRIVYCHNOYE DELO”

Abstract

This article examines V.I. Belov's story “Privychnoye delo” from the perspective of conflict linguistics. It characterizes the main oppositions presented in the writer's work: “city vs. village” and “people vs. government”. It substantiates the idea that for Belov, the village embodies harmony. A classification of conflict markers according to linguistic levels is presented. The concept of “conflict marker” is defined, and three key features of lexical conflict markers are identified: negative evaluativeness, emotional overtones, and a high cognitive-pragmatic potential for expressing aggression and hostility. Particular attention is given to the description and characteristics of verbal lexical markers found in episodes of conflictual communication between characters in “Privychnoye delo”. An attempt is made to classify these episodes according to plot features. It is noted that the use of invective vocabulary is not always an indicator of international conflict between communicants: it is important to consider the context of the story. It has been established that the text most frequently contains nouns from the category of invective and obscene vocabulary, zoosemantic metaphors, references to evil spirits, adjectives and verbs with a negative assessment and “condemnatory” semantics, which helps draw conclusions about the difficulties and contradictions faced by residents of a northern Russian village in the second half of the 20th century, as well as about the human qualities that are condemned and valued in this environment. The most frequent verbal lexical markers of conflict potential are identified, supported by quotations from the story. It is proven that lexical markers of conflict communication perform significant functions in the text of the story “Privychnoye delo”: diagnostic, emotive, and pragmatic.