This main role allows him to perform semantic(semantic) structure, including the meaning and meaning of a word.

The fundamental role in the study of the features of the semantic aspect of a word belongs to L.S. Vygotsky and other domestic psychologists: A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, O.S. Vinogradova, A.A. Leontiev et al. (136, 147–149).

In modern psychology, the meaning of a word is defined as a generalized and stable reflection of the subject content included in the social and practical activity of a person (136, 148, 149, etc.).

Meaning of the word - This is a category that was objectively formed in the process of historical development of society. According to the definition of A.N. Leontieva, meaning of the word“is what is revealed in an object or phenomenon objectively - in a system of objective connections, relationships, interactions. The meaning is reflected, fixed in language and thanks to this acquires stability” (136, p. 387).

The semantic structure of the word is complex. Thus, its main component – the meaning of a word – includes two aspects, two “levels” that are closely related to the functions of the word. Also L.S. Vygotsky drew attention to the fact that a word always points to an object (action, quality), replaces it, or “serves as its representation” (45). This function of the meaning of a word, according to the proposal of L. S. Vygotsky, was called the “objective attribution of a word.” Another function of the word is an objective and generalized reflection of the designated object or “the actual meaning of the word,” according to L.S. Vygotsky.

In turn, the actual meaning of a word is also a multidimensional, “polymorphic” phenomenon, including three interrelated components; Accordingly, the word as a sign of language performs three main semantic functions.

Firstly, the word-name is not only calls item, indicates at him, but at the same time points to him properties, functions, highlighting and summarizing their. Thus, the word “breadbox” contains not only a direct indication of the corresponding item, but also at the same time an indication that this item is related to a specific food product, that it is a container, like other items of similar purpose: sugar bowl, candy bowl, ashtray(“grammatical” meaning of the suffixes – n-, -its-). Finally, this word means that only one, and not several identical objects are displayed in speech (45).

Secondly, a word, based on a generalization of the main features and properties of an object, relates it to one or another subject category. Each word, as it were, generalizes things, their signs (or actions), classifies them into a certain category. For example, “book” is any book (fiction, scientific, children’s); “watch” – any watch (wristwatch, alarm clock, striking clock, etc.).

Thus, even a word with a “specific meaning” always designates and displays not only this specific object, but also at the same time an entire category of objects. This component of the meaning of a word can be defined as its categorical meaning.

Based on what has been said, it follows that the word not only indicates an object, but also “does” the most complex analysis of this object (sign, action), analysis formed in language codes in the process of socio-historical practice (45, 148).

Finally, thirdly, as A.R. points out. Luria (148), the word “introduces” the designated object (action, quality) into a certain system of semantic connections and relationships. For example, the word “student” inevitably evokes in a person’s mind such semantic connections (concepts) as “school”, “teachers”, “lessons”, “school supplies”, and sometimes correlates with a more abstract system of categories such as “process teaching", "methods of teaching and education", etc. With this function of the word as a sign of language, which is legitimately defined as conceptual meaning words, is inextricably linked with such a unique phenomenon of the semantic side of speech as "semantic field" words. It is formed by a complex multidimensional system of semantic connections of a given word with other lexical units of the language (words, phrases); the very “semantic field” of a word includes all words and phrases that can be associated with a given word by various types of semantic connections (semantic connections of related cognate words, associative connections, semantic connections within intersubject relations - connection “by situation”, “by functional purpose”, “by affiliation” (attributive connections), etc.

The figurative and at the same time very precise concept of “semantic field”, which has the most important epistemological and methodological significance for the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics, was introduced into science by A.R. Luria and O.S. Vinogradova (149, 38). The semantic field is an objectively existing side, a property of the “semantics” of a word, which determines its main characteristics as a sign of a language. The “semantic field” of a word really and in most cases objectively reflects the system of connections and relationships that exists in the object designated by the word (object, phenomenon, event, etc.) with other objects, phenomena or events of the surrounding reality. The phenomenon of the “semantic field” is that its multi-dimensional and multi-aspect subject content is contained, as it were, in one word, and at the same time it covers a whole, very voluminous “layer of language”. It is the “semantic field” that provides best option use in speech activity lexical subsystem language And speech skills, since simultaneously with the act of updating a word (retrieving from memory or recognizing a heard word), the entire system of semantic connections “assigned” to a given word (or a significant part of it) is also updated. This determines the enormous “functional” capabilities of the word as a sign of language in human speech and mental activity, since the word acts here as a universal “semantic matrix”, significantly expanding the possibilities of intellectual operation with verbal signs.

Along with objective properties, the “semantic field” has a subjective nature, since its structure and “filling” are largely determined by the individual speech practice of each person, and more broadly by his entire life, cognitive experience. Based on this, the formation of the semantic field of each word is a fairly long-term, “continuous” process, inextricably linked with human cognitive activity. The leading role in the formation and development of “semantic fields” of words is played by targeted pedagogical influence within the framework of appropriately organized “speech”, primarily “dictionary work”. Vocabulary work, specifically aimed at forming the “semantic field” of each word newly acquired by the child, is of particular importance in working with children who have systemic speech disorders. As special experimental studies have shown, the formation of this aspect of the lexical structure of speech in children with speech pathology proceeds slowly and often defectively (39, 133, 236, 242, etc.).

Modern psychology considers a word as a sign, the main function of which is objective and generalized reflection of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. From the above, it is obvious that generalization (with a word = sign) is possible only if it has a meaning. Thanks to this ability of words to generalize, it becomes possible communication people in the process of communication, since any communication requires that a sign - a word - not only indicate a certain object, but also generalize information about this object, generalize a visual situation; It is thanks to this that the transmission of any thought becomes possible and its adequate understanding is ensured (95, 243). Thus, the meaning of the word, as defined by L.S. Vygotsky, reflects “the unity of communication and generalization” (45).

In the process of forming a child’s speech, the word becomes "the basis of generalization(and thereby an instrument of thinking) and means of communication - a tool of speech communication" (148, p. 57). At the same time, during ontogenesis, the process of liberating the word from the sympractical context occurs (i.e., the conditioning of the meaning of the word by the situation, the practical activity of the child, his practical experience) and “the transformation of the word into an element of independent codes that ensures the child’s communication with others, communication that does not depend on a given situation, a given activity” (42, p. 36).

Meaning of the word as the main component of the internal content side of this universal sign of language cannot be considered in isolation from its external “material carrier”. The external apparatus or material carrier of meaning is the sound-syllable structure of words, i.e. a word as stable sound complex(84, 123). “The meaning of a word cannot be separated from its sound side; sounds are material carriers of the intangible meaning of the word” (136, p. 129). As A.A. pointed out. Potebnya, “every word as a sound sign of meaning is based on a combination of sound and meaning” (176, p. 203).

In linguistics, its morphemic structure is also considered as a material carrier of the meaning of a word - with its roots, suffixes, inflections, thanks to which the categoricality of the objects denoted by the word is indicated (59, 231, 236, etc.).

In addition to the material, the meaning of the word also has ideal carrier, which in psycholinguistics is defined as the main one. The ideal carrier of the meaning of the word is a sensual (mostly visual) image. This is the image-representation of an object in the surrounding reality (object, phenomenon, etc.) in the human mind, denoted by a word. Therefore, mastering the meaning of a word largely depends on the “quality” of the image-representation of an object that a person has. Many famous teachers and psychologists of the 19th and 20th centuries especially emphasized the importance of the formation of clear, differentiated images-representations of objects when conducting speech and vocabulary work (23, 68, etc.). I would like to draw the attention of practicing speech therapists to the fact that in practical speech therapy in the works of leading domestic methodologists (T.E. Filicheva, 2001; S.A. Mironova, 1991; L.F. Spirova, 1980, etc.) for quite a long time the methodological approach of active and broad inclusion of the subject, denoted by the word newly acquired by the child, is promoted, in different kinds subject and practical activities of children (drawing, applique, design, etc.), various options for “playing out” the subject in educational and extracurricular activities are recommended. A practical way out of the implementation of this option for organizing pedagogical work with children is the formation of “stable”, full-fledged images-representations of those objects that are designated by words of “new” vocabulary for the child.

As for the material carrier, in an adult it “seems to fade away” and is almost not realized, and the content of the word, the carrier of which is a sensory image, always comes to the fore (A.R. Luria, I.A. Zimnyaya). The material carrier of the word begins to be realized when the word becomes the subject of conscious action and analysis (for example, by a child at the beginning of school, by an adult when learning a foreign language). Taking into account the fact that it is the material carrier of the meaning of the word that is the external, material shell of the word as a sign of language and acts as the only means of transmission values In the process of speech communication, the correct reproduction (production) of the external sound-syllable structure of a word is extremely important. In this regard, I would like to emphasize once again that the main purpose of speech therapy work on correcting pronunciation in children with speech disorders is not only psychological aspect achieving a “level of compliance” with the phonetic norms of the native language (it is important to teach the child to speak correctly, to pronounce all sounds correctly, so that he does not differ from other, normally speaking children). The main purpose of forming correct pronunciation is to ensure the possibility of full speech communication, full social communication of a child, teenager with people around him on the basis of “problem-free”, full transfer of information (the key to which is adequate reproduction in speech material carrier of the intangible meaning of words).

A word taken separately (outside the corresponding linguistic context, but in the “context” of a particular objective-event situation) has no more than one meaning, but potentially it contains many meanings. The latter are realized and clarified in a person’s living speech. The actual use of a word is therefore always a process of selecting the desired meaning from a whole system of emerging alternatives, “with the highlighting of some and inhibition of other connections” (146, p. 58). This is especially clearly seen in the example of polysemantic words, for example, such as “key”, “handle”, “braid”, etc. (13, 148). “The real meaning of a word is not constant,” pointed out L. S. Vygotsky. “In one operation the word appears with one meaning, in another it acquires a different meaning” (43, p. 369).

The second component of the semantics of a word is its meaning. Under meaning in contrast to meaning (as a phenomenon objective), its (words) individuality is understood, subjective meaning – the meaning that a word acquires for a person in each specific situation of speech activity. “In a word, along with the meaning, which includes subject reference and meaning itself, i.e. generalization, the assignment of an object to known categories, there is always an individual meaning, which is based on the transformation of meanings, the selection from among all the connections behind the word, that a system of connections that is relevant at the moment” (148, p. 62). Thus, meaning of the word initially (by its “origin”) it is part of the meaning of a word, necessary for a person in a certain situation of verbal communication. This definition of the second component of the semantics of a word can be illustrated by the example of an analysis of the “semantic” content of a word. Let’s take the ancient Iranian word for “dog” as an example.

Let's give possible options for using this word in various situations of verbal communication between people: “Wow, they live outside the city, in the village, but don’t keep a dog”; “And the dog was in the yard, but everything was the same, they took everything out of the house clean”; “This time the hunters took a dog with them to hunt”; “So are you going on vacation alone? - No, why not, I’ll take my dog with me. It’s more fun together” (replicas from the dialogue); “No, they don’t have cats, they have a dog, a shepherd dog.” And finally, so common and relevant: “Watch out: there is an angry dog in the yard!” It is obvious that in these speech utterances (or replicas-utterances) this word appears in a wide variety of senses and meanings.

At the same time, being an integral part, a “particle” of the general meaning, meaning of the word acts as a sufficiently “autonomous”, independent phenomenon.

The distinction between the concepts of “meaning” and “meaning” was first introduced into the psychology of speech by L.S. Vygotsky (42, 45). The meaning of a word, according to the definition given to it, is a stable and identical system of (semantic) connections behind the word for all people. Meaning is the “individual meaning of a word”, isolated from an objective system of connections; it consists of those semantic connections that are relevant for a person at a given moment.

The meaning of a word depends on the totality of a person’s knowledge, his life, including emotional, experience, on his personal qualities. Therefore, the meaning of a word is more “mobile than meaning, it is dynamic and, ultimately, inexhaustible” (45). “The meaning of a word is a complex, mobile phenomenon, constantly changing in accordance with individual consciousnesses and for the same consciousness in accordance with circumstances. In this regard, the meaning of the word is inexhaustible. A word acquires its meaning only in a phrase, but the phrase itself acquires meaning only in the context of a paragraph, and a paragraph in the context of a book” (43, p. 347).

Meaning, as a component of the “semantics” of a word, is thus initially social and acts as a kind of “fixer” of human social experience. A.N. Leontyev emphasized, in this regard, that “meaning cannot be taught, meaning is taught”; it is generated not only by the meaning of the word, but also by life itself (136, p. 292). Since professional experience is also a stable social experience, it is not surprising that people of different professions often use the same words in different senses. The meaning of the same word can be different for different people and in various situations of speech communication. So, for a child the word “grapes” means, first of all, delicacy, for the artist, in addition, it is an object of image and aesthetic pleasure, for the manufacturer of juice and wine - raw materials for processing, for the biologist - an object of study, breeding and selection (146).

Thus, meaning words we can consider it as an individual, each time “unique” mental content that one person seeks to convey to another in a given specific situation of their social interaction.

It is also important to note one more property meaning of the word, which L.S. pointed out. Vygotsky: meaning is associated with the entire word (as a single sound complex) as a whole, but not with each of its sounds or sound combinations (morpheme), just as the meaning of a phrase is associated with the entire phrase as a whole, and not with its individual words.

Meaning and sense of the word are closely related to each other. Meaning can only be expressed through meaning, since a person each time chooses the meaning of the word necessary for each specific situation. Mastery of the meaning of a word in ontogenesis also occurs through meaning, specific to a given situation. The child, encountering different meanings of words in different situations of verbal communication, thus learns the meaning of the word. At the same time, the prerequisite for mutual understanding between people in the process of verbal communication is precisely meaning words, since it is precisely this that is a generalized and objective reflection of the objective content of phenomena, it is precisely this that is fixed in the system of language and thanks to this it acquires “stability”.

It is noteworthy that the objective meaning of a word does not always coincide with its meaning. Vivid examples of this phenomenon are given by L.S. Vygotsky in the book “Thinking and Speech” (45). This, for example, is the title of the great work of N.V. Gogol "Dead Souls". Officially, “dead souls” are recently deceased serfs, the documents on which (“Revision Tales”) the landowner had to submit to local government bodies. In this work of art (for the author and his readers) - this, according to L.S. Vygotsky, all the main “characters” of the poem, who from a “biological point of view” are living people, but they are spiritually dead.

As L.S. points out. Tsvetkova (242), the meaning of a word (including its diverse semantic content) in the act of nominating an object exists only in the form of an “individually developing speech-thought process.” The meaning of a word in the act of naming is “equivalent” to the operation with the help of which one or another object is thought (mentally displayed in consciousness). We find a similar understanding of intellectual operations with the meanings of words (for example, choosing the right word from a number of synonymous words, choosing the right meaning of a given word from several variants of meaning, etc.) in A.N. Leontyev. Here are some of his category definitions values:“a kind of “unit” of consciousness,” “a category of consciousness corresponding to mental operations.” The meaning of the word, in the interpretation of A.N. Leontiev, is “an act of thinking in the proper sense of the word” (136, p. 223). This functional purpose of the “semantics” of a word (its meaning and meaning) in human speech activity, in our opinion, is another basis for interpreting this activity as an activity speech-thinking, since it is carried out on the basis of intellectual actions and operations with language signs, operations with the main components of the semantic structure of a word.

Category meaning of the word in speech psychology and psycholinguistics it is customary to distinguish it from the term “concept”. Meanings are an integral part of the words themselves, which, as a means of communication, are part of the structure of language. Concepts are formed in the minds of people as a result of the use of words in the process of communication in different combinations and in different meanings (148, 195, 242).

The concept can be defined as the most generalized idea (of a subject, object), expressed through the signs of language. The concept reflects (“absorbs”) the basic, most important properties and qualities of an object, as well as its functional purpose. The main difference between a concept and other generalized representations is the sign (linguistic) external form of expression. The linguistic form of expression of the concept is offer or text. There are incomparably more concepts than words; Moreover, on the basis of the same words, always known in advance to the listener (reader), many completely different and previously unknown concepts can be expressed and, accordingly, learned (243). Correlation and Relationship concepts And word meaning(as well as the object it displays) can be schematically represented as follows:

The objective nature of the relationship between meaning and concept, displayed in this simple diagram, is easily confirmed by the structure of the “document”, which presents the basic concepts that reflect our knowledge of the surrounding reality. This is an encyclopedic dictionary. It is enough to open any page of its contents to find the above diagram there (in its specific embodiment).

It is worth pointing out another important difference between the concept and the meaning of the word, which is often emphasized in psychology. If meaning is an integral component of the word as a sign of language and, therefore, is directly related to the phenomena of language, then concept is considered in psychology as a categorical apparatus of thinking processes (in particular, as the main means of categorical conceptual thinking). In this aspect concept as a “tool”, a “category” of speech thinking, which has a verbal form of expression, represents the very connecting link that (along with the meaning of the word) unites the processes of thinking and speech. “All higher mental functions,” pointed out L.S. Vygotsky, - are united by the common feature that they are mediated processes, that is, they include in their structure, as the central and main part of the entire process as a whole, the use of a sign - the main means of directing and mastering mental processes. In the problem of concept formation, such a sign is the word, which acts as a means of concept formation and later becomes their symbol” (43, p. 126).

The patterns of concept formation in the “ontogenesis of speech” were the subject of a special study by L. S. Vygotsky, L. S. Sakharova, A.R. Luria, A.A. Leontyeva et al. Scientific concept of the formation of concepts in ontogenesis, developed by L.S. Vygotsky (45) and developed in the works of his followers (117, 133, 195), has not undergone significant changes to date and is used in Russian science as the “basic” model for the formation of this component of the “semantic side of speech.”

In conclusion, it should be noted that knowledge and correct understanding of the semantic nature of the word (as the main and universal sign of the language) and its components such as meaning And meaning, correct interpretation of the category concept are an important tool and an effective tool in the hands of a correctional teacher (both when conducting examinations of children and adults with speech disorders, and when organizing correctional pedagogical work).

The maximum degree of generalization of what is designated as a distinctive feature of language signs can be illustrated on the basis of a comparison of linguistic signs with other signs-symbols of a “high degree of generalization.” For example, regulation signs traffic or signs that regulate and guide the activities and behavior of people on the streets, in public transport, and various institutions, at first glance, have a higher degree of generalization than the signs of language. Actually this is not true. A high degree of generalization of what is denoted by these signs is “created” by the signs of the language. Without “explanation” of their meaning by language signs, non-linguistic signs are uninformative (their substantive meaning is completely different). Of course, when a person perceives the above non-linguistic signs and symbols, most often there is no need to reproduce their “sense-meaning” in a full and expanded linguistic form; it is enough to have such an “explanation” in the baggage of his memory and organize his behavior accordingly. However, this in no way diminishes the role of language signs in the formation of the “meaning” of non-linguistic signs and, more broadly, in the provision and organization of symbolic intellectual activity of a person.

Versatility language signs are manifested according to the following basic parameters:

Interchangeability of language signs. (First of all, this applies to “semantic” signs of a language.) Thus, a word can act as a sentence (take, for example, the syntactic category of “one-word sentences”), not to mention the fact that it can “replace” an intermediate unit of language – phrase; a sentence in some cases of verbal communication performs the function of an entire text. And vice versa, in other situations of speech communication there is a need to replace a word with a whole sentence, and instead of the latter use a detailed statement - a text. A word is also in some variants actually “equal” to one morpheme (the so-called “monosyllabic words”), and in exceptional cases it can be replaced by one phoneme (one of the variants of “speech-exclamations”), although in speech communication this replacement option is not "typical".

The subject of speech (the same thought, the same mental content) can be expressed using various means, i.e. different signs of language, which under unfavorable, “problematic” conditions for the implementation of speech communication is of significant importance. This property of linguistic signs plays a very important role in educational activities, for example, when explaining to students some scientific provisions that are quite complex in their content, or in relation to certain aspects of correctional pedagogical work (for example, in cases where the level of formation of listening activity, as well as the level cognitive development of students determine the need for the teacher to “adapt” the cognitive material being studied, primarily the “linguistic form” of its presentation).

With the help of the same signs of language (the same set of signs) the most diverse mental content can be expressed in speech activity.

The indicated “properties” of language signs provide the subject of speech activity (speaking or writing) with broad, almost unlimited possibilities for “free”, creative manipulation of language signs when forming and formulating their thoughts.

As an illustration, we can give a fairly “expressive” example of the use of the simplest unit of language - the phoneme in its sign function. Let’s choose the sound-phoneme “U” for this purpose.

– In the words “uh” (in comparison with the words “ah”, “eh”), “bough”, “hand” (cf. “river”, etc.) this sign appears in its main – semantic-distinguishing function.

– In an isolated (outside the word) pronunciation of this sound in combination with another common sign of RD - intonation (i.e. in various “intonation design”) this sign is used quite often by a collective subject of speech activity, for example, during various social - cultural - mass and sports events to express various emotional states of people: with its help a wide range of feelings can be conveyed - feelings of surprise, admiration, indignation, disappointment, etc.

– In the variant when this sign is used as a function word - a preposition (i.e. in the function of another language sign), it can denote various intersubject connections and relationships, for example “the location of one object in close proximity to another” ( The dog kennel was right next to the house; Spreading willows grew by the river etc.), attributive relations (The boy has a ball in his hands; This house has five windows) and so on.

– We find an interesting example of the use of this sign as a “proper name” in the works of the famous and very popular Russian writer I.V. Mozheiko, known to children's readers as Kir Bulychev. In his fantasy series about a girl “from the future” Alice, one of the main characters is a “space pirate” named “Veselchak U”. The main methodological conclusion that follows from the theoretical material in this section is as follows. The assimilation of a language system based on the formation of linguistic representations and generalizations clearly presupposes that students acquire the basic language units as “universal” signs, familiarization with their main sign functions and the formation of appropriate skills for adequately operating them in one’s own speech activity. The ensuing task of correctional “speech” work, of course, is far from simple (from the point of view of its practical implementation). At the same time, correctional teachers (primarily practicing speech therapists) cannot fail to take into account the main trends in the development of domestic speech therapy, one of which is the improvement of its methodology based on the use of the “arsenal” of scientific knowledge of psycholinguistics.

Part 3. Semantic structure of the word as a sign of language

This main role allows him to perform semantic(semantic) structure, including the meaning and meaning of a word.

In modern psychology, the meaning of a word is defined as a generalized and stable reflection of the subject content included in the social and practical activity of a person (136, 148, 149, etc.).

Phoneme - is the sound of speech appearing in his meaningful function that allows you to distinguish one word (as a stable sound complex and, accordingly, material carrier of meaning) from other words. Semantic (phonemic) the function of speech sounds manifests itself only when the sound is found in a word, and only in a certain, so-called. "strong" (or "phonemic") position. For all vowel sounds, this is the position in the stressed syllable; for individual vowels (vowels a, ы) - also in the first pre-stressed syllable. For consonant sounds, a common "strong position" is the position before the vowel in straight syllables; position before a consonant of the same type (voiced before voiced, soft before soft, etc.); for sonorants and voiceless sounds, another "phonemic" position is the final position in the word.

The most vividly meaningful function of phonemes is manifested in monosyllabic paronymic words that differ in one sound (phoneme), for example: onion - bough - juice - sleep etc. However, in all cases, phonemes (no matter how many there are in a word and no matter what combinations they appear in) always perform their main function as part of a word. It consists of the following: the correct pronunciation of sounds-phonemes at the external phase of the implementation of speech activity ensures the possibility of its full perception by the listener and, accordingly, adequate transmission of mental content. Moreover, the phoneme itself is neither a semantic nor a meaning-forming unit. Once again I would like to draw the attention of practicing speech therapists to the fact that the main task of working on the formation of correct sound pronunciation is the development of skills correct production of phonemes native language as part of a word. The correct pronunciation of phonemes is condition for the full implementation of the communicative function of speech.

Morpheme is a combination of sounds (phonemes) that has a certain, so-called. "grammatical" meaning. This “meaning” of the morpheme also appears only in the composition of the word, and it received this name because it is inextricably linked with the basic grammatical functions of morphemes. In linguistics, morphemes are classified in different ways. So, according to the place in “ linear structure words" stand out prefixes(prefixes) and postfixes(as morphemes preceding and following root morpheme); from among the postfixes stand out suffixes And inflections (endings); the root morpheme itself was named for its meaning-forming (in this case, “lexical-forming”) function. Morphemes that form the stem of a word are called affixes;“grammatical opposition” to them is inflections.

Morphemes perform a number of important functions in language (when used in speech activity):

With the help of morphemes, processes of inflection (changing words according to grammatical forms) are carried out in a language. Basically, this function is performed by inflections, and also, in some cases, by suffixes and prefixes;

Word formation processes take place in language through morphemes. The morphemic method of word formation (suffixal, suffixal-prefixal, etc.) is the main way of forming new words in the developed languages of the world, since the homonymous method of word formation has a rather limited scope of use in the language system;

With the help of morphemes, connections between words in phrases are formed (the grammatical function of inflections, as well as suffixes);

Finally, a certain combination of morphemes creates the main lexical meaning of a word, which is, as it were, a “summation” of the grammatical meaning of the morphemes included in a given word.

Based on these most important linguistic functions of morphemes, as well as from the fact that, in their diversity and quantitative composition, morphemes form a fairly extensive layer of language, we can draw the following methodological conclusion in relation to the theory and methodology of correctional “speech” work: complete language acquisition by students impossible without mastering its morphological structure. It is no coincidence that in the best methodological systems domestic specialists in the field of preschool and school speech therapy pay such great attention to the formation of students' linguistic knowledge, ideas and generalizations associated with the acquisition of the system of morphemes in their native language, as well as the formation of appropriate language operations with these language units (T.B. Filicheva and G.V. Chirkina, 1990, 1998; R.I. Lalaeva and N.V. Serebryakova, 2002, 2003; L.F. Spirova, 1980; S.N. Shakhovskaya, 1971; G.V. Babina, 2005, etc.) .

The basic and universal unit of language is word. This unit of language can be defined both as a stable sound complex with meaning, and as a “fixed”, “closed” combination of morphemes. The word as a unit of language appears in several of its qualities or manifestations. The main ones are the following.

A word as a unit of language is a lexical unit (lexeme) with a certain number of meanings. This can be represented as a "mathematical" expression:

Lex. units = 1 + n (values), for example, for the Russian language this numerical formula looks like 1 + n (2–3).

The word includes at least two components: on the one hand, it denotes an object, replacing it, highlighting essential features in it, and on the other hand, it analyzes the object, introduces it into a system of connections, into the corresponding category of objects based on a generalization of its content. This word structure suggests the complexity of the process nominations(name of the object). For this, two main conditions are necessary: 1) the presence of a clear differentiated image of the object, 2) the presence of a lexical meaning for the word.

The word as a unit of language acts as grammatical unit. This is manifested in the fact that each lexeme word belongs to a specific grammatical category of words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, numerals, etc.). Belonging to one or another grammatical class, a word has a set of certain grammatical features (or, as is usually defined in linguistics, - categories). For example, for nouns these are the categories of gender, number, case (declension), for verbs - the categories of aspect and tense, etc. These categories correspond to various grammatical forms of words (word forms). Word forms “formed” by morphemes provide the widest possibilities for various combinability of words when constructing speech utterances; they are also used to convey in speech (SD) various semantic (attributive, spatial, qualitative, etc.) connections and relationships.

Finally, the word as a linguistic unit acts as a “building” element of syntax, since syntactic units (phrase, sentence, text) are formed from words, based on one or another variant of their combined use. The “syntactically formative” function of a word manifests itself in the corresponding function of the word in the “context” of a sentence, when it appears in the function subject, predicate, object or circumstances.

The specified functions of the word as the basic and universal unit of language should be subject analysis for students correctional classes, and in general developmental classes.

Offer represents a combination of words that conveys (expresses) a thought in its complete form. Distinctive features offers are semantic and intonation completeness, as well as structure(presence of grammatical structure). In linguistics offer refers to the number of “strictly normative” linguistic units: any deviations from the linguistic norms of sentence construction associated with non-compliance with its above-mentioned basic properties are considered from the point of view of “practical grammar” as an error or (using the terminology of speech therapy) as “agrammatism” (140, 271, etc.). This is especially true for the written form of speech activity, although for oral speech agrammatism (especially “structural” or “syntactic”) is a negative phenomenon.

Offer just like the word, it is defined in psycholinguistics as the basic and universal unit of language (133, 150, 236, etc.). If the word is universal remedy displaying in the human mind the objects of the surrounding reality, their properties and qualities, then the sentence acts as the main means of displaying the subject of speech-mental activity - thoughts and at the same time as the main (along with text) means of communication.

The unit of implementation of speech activity (in speech psychology - a unit of speech) is a speech utterance. In typical (linguistic) In the RD implementation variant, the speech utterance is “embodied” in the form of a sentence. Based on this, it is completely legitimate and methodologically sound from a psycholinguistic point of view to separate educational work “on the word” and “on the sentence” into separate, independent sections of “speech work”.

Text defined in linguistics as macrounit of language. The text represents a combination of several sentences in a relatively expanded form revealing a particular topic1. Unlike a sentence, the subject of speech (a fragment of the surrounding reality) is displayed in the text not from any one aspect of it, not on the basis of any one of its properties or qualities, but “globally,” taking into account its main distinctive features. If the subject of speech is any phenomenon or event, then in a typical version it is displayed in the text, taking into account the main cause-and-effect (as well as temporal, spatial) connections and relationships (9, 69, 81, etc.).

Distinctive features text as units of language are: thematic unity, semantic and structural unity, compositional structure And grammatical coherence. The text (as a linguistic “form of expression” of a detailed statement) is “extended” by the basic features the latter: compliance with the semantic and grammatical connection between fragments of a speech message (paragraphs and semantic-syntactic units), the logical sequence of displaying the main properties of the subject of speech, the logical and semantic organization of the message. Various means play an important role in the syntactic organization of a detailed speech utterance. interphrase connection(lexical and synonymous repetition, pronouns, words with adverbial meaning, etc.).

Thus, text(in “semantic terms”) is a detailed speech message transmitted by means of language. With its help, the subject of speech (phenomenon, event) is displayed in speech activity in the most complete and complete form. In global speech communication in human society, text as macro unit language plays a decisive role; It is precisely this that serves as the main means of “recording” information (regardless of its volume and even the conditions of speech communication) and transmitting information from one subject of RD to another. Taking into account the above, it is quite reasonable to define text as well as the basic and universal unit of language.

According to another linguistic classification language units include all linguistic structures that have meaning: morphemes, words, phrases, sentences (phrases), texts as expanded coherent statements.

Structures that have no meaning, but only significance(i.e., a certain role in establishing the structure of linguistic units: sounds (phonemes), letters (graphemes), expressive movements (kinemas) in kinetic speech are defined as elements of language(166, 197, etc.).

The basic units of a language form the corresponding subsystems or levels in its general system, which form the so-called level or “vertical” structure of the language system (23, 58, 197, etc.). It is presented in the diagram below.

The above diagram of the level (“vertical”) structure of language reflects its “hierarchical” structural organization, as well as the sequence and stages of “speech work” for the formation of linguistic ideas and generalizations in a child or adolescent. (It should be noted that this sequence does not have a strictly “linear” character; in particular, the assimilation of a language system does not imply an option in which the assimilation of each subsequent (“superior”) subsystem of the language occurs only after the previous one has been completely assimilated) . The assimilation of different components of language can take place simultaneously during certain periods of “speech ontogenesis”, the formation of “higher” structures of the language can begin before the “basic” structures are fully formed, etc. At the same time, the general “order” of the formation of the main subsystems language, of course, is maintained in the ontogenesis of speech, and the same general sequence in work on the various components (subsystems) of language must be observed in the structure of “speech work” on the acquisition of the language system. This is due to the “structural “hierarchy” of linguistic units, the fact that each unit of a higher level is created, formed on the basis of a certain combination of units of a lower level, just as the higher level itself is created by lower (or “basic”) levels.

Language “knowledge” and ideas formed during the study of linguistic units of the “basic” levels of language constitute the basis and prerequisite for the assimilation of linguistic ideas about other, more complex subsystems of language (in particular about categorically grammatical and syntactic sublevels). From the analysis above scheme a methodological conclusion follows: Full assimilation of a language is possible only on the basis of the complete and lasting assimilation of “linguistic knowledge” in relation to all its structural components, on the basis of the formation of appropriate linguistic operations with the basic units of language. This is of fundamental importance in terms of continuity in the work of correctional teachers (primarily speech therapists) in preschool and school educational institutions.

§ 3. Paradigmatic and syntagmatic systems of language

In addition to the level (“vertical”) structure, the language system is also characterized by an internal (“horizontal”) structure, which is determined by the complex interaction of the units that make up the language system. Features of the internal structure of language in modern linguistics and psycholinguistics are determined by the categories “paradigmatic” and “syntagmatic” systems (13, 95, 146, 148, etc.).

Paradigmatic system is a system of relationships (primarily oppositions), into which homogeneous elements of language enter, units of the same order, of the same level. These elements of language form the so-called. language paradigms(a set of homogeneous linguistic units contrasted according to one or two characteristics). A feature of the internal structure of language is that it consists entirely of various linguistic paradigms, according to which any linguistic unit is part of one or another paradigm. Examples of language paradigms at the phonological level are common (“full-component”) paradigms of vowels and consonants. Within the first one, one can distinguish “subparadigms” (“small paradigms”) of vowels of the first and second rows; within the general paradigm of consonants - paradigmatic series of consonants, paired in hardness-softness, sonorous And voiceless sounds, plosives and fricatives etc. At the morphological level, general paradigms are distinguished by the main types of morphemes. In addition to the above, in linguistics there are also productive And unproductive morphemes (suffixes), mono- and polysonic morphemes etc. Paradigms are established at the lexical level cognates(For example: house – home – brownie etc.; forest – forester – forest – goblin and etc.); paradigmatic series synonym words, antonym words, homonym words etc.

A. R. Luria, in his studies of the semantic side of speech, identified the lexical paradigm of words, united on the basis of their compatibility in the context of a speech utterance (sentence). The grammatical level of a language consists of numerous and diverse grammatical paradigms. An example of the simplest of them are grammatical forms of words, distinguished by their grammatical features, for example, paradigm case endings nouns An example of fairly complex, multinomial paradigms is the paradigm complex sentences.

Units of language in our memory are also grouped into certain “classes” of elements (the same paradigms, or rather, their figurative “projections” in consciousness). This applies to phonemes, morphemes, words, syntactic structures, etc. In accordance with the goals of speech and non-speech activities performed by the individual in a certain situation, and in accordance with the laws of language, the speaker (perceiving speech) chooses one or another linguistic unit (element). For example, in one case he says: “move”, in another - “drop in”; in some cases he uses the address “Hello!”, in others – “Hello!”; in one situation he strictly points at the door with his eyes, in another he uses a “soft” pointing gesture with his hand.

Examples include so-called clauses, for example: “Give me the dress, it’s in buffet", followed: “in the closet”; or: “Maybe they have from two to three day off", next: "break")

Such a complex internal structure of the language system (the paradigmatic system of interconnection of units, elements of the language system) determines the need for an appropriate methodological approach to the organization of “speech” (including speech therapy) work.

One of the patterns of the formation of speech activity in ontogenesis is that that the assimilation of a language system proceeds through the assimilation of language paradigms. Accordingly, “speech” and speech therapy work should be structured in a similar way: through the consistent assimilation of language paradigms, which is determined by the patterns of their assimilation during speech ontogenesis.

The transition to the assimilation of each subsequent (“superstructure” or “derivative” in relation to the previous) language paradigm should be carried out only after the previous paradigm has been mastered by students completely or at least “two-thirds”. This ensures the formation of fairly complete and clear language representations and, most importantly, language generalizations, without which the formation of strong language knowledge is impossible. Let us recall once again that a language paradigm is a set of (sometimes numerous) homogeneous elements, the general linguistic features of which are much better acquired on the basis of a particular opposition of units based on any one (maximum two) features. Violation of this principle of organizing “speech work,” as pedagogical practice shows, can lead to the formation in the student’s mind of fragmentary and rather “chaotic,” “fragmentary” knowledge and ideas about the system of the native language, which negatively affects the formation of the individual’s speech ability.

In the speech process, the units and elements of language are necessarily arranged in a linear sequence, where various (semantic and grammatical) connections are established between them. Syntagmatic system(as it is defined in psycholinguistics) reflects the patterns of compatibility of language signs in the construction of speech utterances. It “shows” how a word is created from a combination of sounds or morphemes, how sentences are formed from words, and from a combination of sentences - the macrounit of language - text. Thus, the syntagmatic system is this is a system of rules, norms for the compatibility of language elements (both homogeneous and heterogeneous), on the basis of which the formation and formulation of speech utterances is carried out (in accordance with the norms of a given language).

In addition, the syntagmatic system displays patterns, “rules” for the formation of some language units (units of a “higher order”) from others, based on certain options combinations the latter.

Syntagmatic connections of the basic elements of language - words - have been studied quite well in linguistics (linguistics), in particular in structural linguistics (146, 147, 196, 248). In linguistics, it is defined as a unit that reflects the syntagmatic connections of words. syntagma - a phrase or group of words in a sentence, united by a syntactic connection and functioning as a single whole. Depending on the type of connections, syntagmas are classified into predicative(relationships between objects like actions, interactions, function implementations and etc.), attributive(relationship accessories, juxtapositions), adjectival(attitude defining To determined) etc. In a different meaning syntagma is defined in linguistics as a complex linguistic sign consisting of words or morphemes that are in relation to each other as a determiner to a determiner. In relation to a detailed speech utterance (text) in linguistics as syntagmatic a unit such as the STS is highlighted - a complex syntactic whole, which is a combination of sentences that are interconnected in semantic and grammatical terms).

Factual material on the problem of the syntagmatic system of language is contained in linguistics (mainly in the “syntax” section) and should be used by speech therapists when carrying out “speech work” on the formation of language concepts and generalizations.

Consideration of the issue of the internal structure of language allows us to draw a general methodological conclusion: in order to form full-fledged linguistic ideas about language signs, for students to successfully master the entire system of their native language, it is necessary for them to acquire knowledge of both paradigmatic so and syntagmatic language system. This is determined by the fact that intellectual actions with language signs (actions of selection, classification, combination, transformation, etc.) are based precisely on knowledge of the paradigmatic and syntagmatic relationships of the elements of the language system. It is this knowledge and the skills based on it that provide such a component of language as the language process (the process of using language in speech activity).

Part 2. The concept of language signs and their main functions

In structural linguistics and psycholinguistics, the generally accepted concept is that language is considered as one of sign systems. Units of language (phonemes, morphemes, words, sentences, text) and rules, norms of their compatibility are considered in accordance with this concept in the aspect of their sign nature, i.e. as signs of language (95, 236, 243).

To master the surrounding reality, a person uses a large set of material, ideal and material-ideal means, including various sign systems (“languages”), for example sign systems of mathematics, geometry, chemistry, road signs, languages of electronic machines and many others. These include the so-called ordinary (idioethnic, “conventional”) language, i.e., intended for the implementation of not only and not so much “special” as “ordinary” mental activity (socio-psychic) activity and verbal communication.

A sign is defined in psychology (sign theory) as a material, sensory object (phenomenon, action), which acts as a “substitute”, representative of another object, property or relationship (81, 93, 148).

In the psychological theory of signs (128, 147, etc.), a distinction is made between signs of natural (natural) origin (natural phenomena, seasonal changes in nature, climatic and “weather” phenomena in the geosphere, etc.) and signs of artificial origin. The latter are divided into signs created by animals (traces, marks, etc.) and “signs of human culture.” The second include: language signs, derivatives from them "written signs"(punctuation marks,!?, etc.), as well as drawings, numbers, symbols, diagrams and other “non-linguistic” signs that are not identical to language signs and are not a means of speech activity. Among the signs of human culture in psycholinguistics, it is customary to distinguish, in addition, “metalinguistic” non-verbal signs, which are used in the process of communication, in verbal communication, and therefore in speech activity, but are “not identical” to the signs of language, since they are different from them in nature . These include: gestures, facial expressions, pantomime(“body language”), semantic pausing And voice intonation. In interpretation intonation As a sign used in speech communication, there is no single, generally accepted approach in psycholinguistics. Some experts (67, 218) classify intonation as a sign of language, taking into account its “semantic function” (the function of clarifying or adjusting the semantic content of a speech utterance). Most researchers identify intonation as a separate, independent sign of speech activity or classify it as a “metalinguistic” sign. The second point of view, in our opinion, is more justified, since the intonational design of speech does not quite fit into the system of a language formed by similar elements. The intonation design of speech utterances is, as it were, superimposed on the already “ready-made” structure of the speech utterance, “attaching” to each semantic linguistic element (word or phrase) that composes it. In this regard, it is advisable to consider speech intonation as a general, “universal” sign of speech activity, without which full-fledged speech communication is impossible.

In oral speech - prosody(rhythmic-melodic and intonation-expressive design of speech utterances), and in writing, punctuation marks and many other graphic means play a dual role: on the one hand, they serve to combine or separate units and elements of language, on the other hand, they are used to express those or other meanings. Tempo, rhythm, amplitude and other characteristics of expressive movements in kinetic speech perform the same dual role.

The main functions of any sign are the substitution and representation functions (“signal”) that form general function designations. In the signs of language, these functions are represented as fully as possible, due to the fact that they not only designate objects and phenomena, but also perform a generalization function; they include generalized information about the designated object. The basic signs of language - the word, sentence and text, in addition to the function of designation, also perform the function of a generalized and objective reflection of the objective content of the reality around us. This is due to the presence of the word and its derivatives of more complex linguistic signs, categories meanings.

The basic and universal sign of the language is word. IN word, Like any other sign, its external form and internal content are distinguished. The internal content of the word as a sign of language (its meaning and meaning) will be discussed below; concerning outside words, then it may be different. This is a certain combination of speech sounds (in oral audible speech), and a combination of sequential speech movements and corresponding motor images (in spoken spoken speech), and finally, it can be a combination of graphic signs - letters (in written speech).

According to the psychological theory of the sign, the external form (“form of expression”) of the sign must be completely correspond its internal content. The external form of a word (in particular, the sound-syllable structure in phonemic or letter expression) acts as a “material carrier” of its meaning; at the same time, it is closely connected with the “ideal carrier” of meaning – the corresponding image-representation. Based on this, the following methodological proposition can be put forward: the assimilation of a word as a sign of a language is possible only on the basis of assimilation everyone external forms of its expression, since mastery of them provides the opportunity to adequately and effectively operate the sign during the individual’s speech activity. First of all, this provision relates to the assimilation of the graphic form of signs and the rules for their use when carrying out speech activities in writing. Taking into account this situation is important from the point of view of “continuity” in the work of speech therapists in preschool and school institutions, due to the fact that the preparation of children with speech impediments for learning to read and write, including mastering the graphic form of the word, begins already during their stay in preschool institutions (163, 230, etc.).

Language signs (as well as some “metalinguistic” signs, in particular intonation)– these are special, in many ways unique, signs of human culture. Their main distinguishing features properties are: unification, maximum degree generalizations designated And versatility.

The first of these properties of language signs follows from the fact that the “basic” level of the language system (the system of phonemes and corresponding graphemes) is formed from a fairly limited number homogeneous, elements with similar characteristics. Thus, the phonetic system of the Russian language includes a little more than 40 phonemes, and the corresponding grapheme system includes 33 characters. These elements of the same type were created (in the process of socio-historical development of any language) taking into account their most convenient and accessible compatibility in the “production of speech”. Thanks to this quality of language signs - a high degree of unification (similarity and compatibility) - a person as a “native speaker” has the opportunity, based on the combined use of a small number of “original” language units, to create in speech and convey in the course of speech communication any mental content, any ( by volume and nature) meaningful information.

The maximum degree of generalization of what is designated as a distinctive feature of language signs can be illustrated on the basis of a comparison of linguistic signs with other signs-symbols of a “high degree of generalization.” For example, traffic control signs or signs that regulate and guide the activities and behavior of people on the streets, in public transport, and various institutions, at first glance, have a higher degree of generalization than the signs of language. Actually this is not true. A high degree of generalization of what is denoted by these signs is “created” by the signs of the language. Without “explanation” of their meaning by language signs, non-linguistic signs are uninformative (their substantive meaning is completely different). Of course, when a person perceives the above non-linguistic signs and symbols, most often there is no need to reproduce their “sense-meaning” in a full and expanded linguistic form; it is enough to have such an “explanation” in the baggage of his memory and organize his behavior accordingly. However, this in no way diminishes the role of language signs in the formation of the “meaning” of non-linguistic signs and, more broadly, in the provision and organization of symbolic intellectual activity of a person.

Versatility language signs are manifested according to the following basic parameters:

With the help of the same signs of language (the same set of signs) the most diverse mental content can be expressed in speech activity.

– In the words “uh” (in comparison with the words “ah”, “eh”), “bough”, “hand” (cf. “river”, etc.) this sign appears in its main – semantic-distinguishing function.

Part 3. Semantic structure of the word as a sign of language

This main role allows him to perform semantic(semantic) structure, including the meaning and meaning of a word.

In modern psychology, the meaning of a word is defined as a generalized and stable reflection of the subject content included in the social and practical activity of a person (136, 148, 149, etc.).

The figurative and at the same time very precise concept of “semantic field”, which has the most important epistemological and methodological significance for the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics, was introduced into science by A.R. Luria and O.S. Vinogradova (149, 38). The semantic field is an objectively existing side, a property of the “semantics” of a word, which determines its main characteristics as a sign of a language. The “semantic field” of a word really and in most cases objectively reflects the system of connections and relationships that exists in the object designated by the word (object, phenomenon, event, etc.) with other objects, phenomena or events of the surrounding reality. The phenomenon of the “semantic field” is that its multi-dimensional and multi-aspect subject content is contained, as it were, in one word, and at the same time it covers a whole, very voluminous “layer of language”. It is the “semantic field” that provides the optimal use of the lexical subsystem in speech activity language And speech skills, since simultaneously with the act of updating a word (retrieving from memory or recognizing a heard word), the entire system of semantic connections “assigned” to a given word (or a significant part of it) is also updated. This determines the enormous “functional” capabilities of the word as a sign of language in human speech and mental activity, since the word acts here as a universal “semantic matrix”, significantly expanding the possibilities of intellectual operation with verbal signs.

Modern psychology considers a word as a sign, the main function of which is objective and generalized reflection of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. From the above, it is obvious that generalization (with a word = sign) is possible only if it has a meaning. Thanks to this ability of words to generalize, it becomes possible for people to communicate in the process of communication, since any communication requires that a sign - a word - not only indicate a specific object, but also generalize information about this object, generalize a visual situation; It is thanks to this that the transmission of any thought becomes possible and its adequate understanding is ensured (95, 243). Thus, the meaning of the word, as defined by L.S. Vygotsky, reflects “the unity of communication and generalization” (45).

In addition to the material, the meaning of the word also has ideal carrier, which in psycholinguistics is defined as the main one. The ideal carrier of the meaning of the word is a sensual (mostly visual) image. This is the image-representation of an object in the surrounding reality (object, phenomenon, etc.) in the human mind, denoted by a word. Therefore, mastering the meaning of a word largely depends on the “quality” of the image-representation of an object that a person has. Many famous teachers and psychologists of the 19th and 20th centuries especially emphasized the importance of the formation of clear, differentiated images-representations of objects when conducting speech and vocabulary work (23, 68, etc.). I would like to draw the attention of practicing speech therapists to the fact that in practical speech therapy in the works of leading domestic methodologists (T.E. Filicheva, 2001; S.A. Mironova, 1991; L.F. Spirova, 1980, etc.) for quite a long time the methodological approach of actively and widely including the subject, denoted by the word newly acquired by the child, in various types of subject-related practical activities of children (drawing, appliqué, design, etc.) is promoted; various options for “playing out” the subject in educational and extracurricular activities are recommended. A practical way out of the implementation of this option for organizing pedagogical work with children is the formation of “stable”, full-fledged images-representations of those objects that are designated by words of “new” vocabulary for the child.

At the same time, being an integral part, a “particle” of the general meaning, meaning of the word acts as a sufficiently “autonomous”, independent phenomenon.

The meaning of a word depends on the totality of a person’s knowledge, his life, including emotional, experience, and his personal qualities. Therefore, the meaning of a word is more “mobile than meaning, it is dynamic and, ultimately, inexhaustible” (45). “The meaning of a word is a complex, mobile phenomenon, constantly changing in accordance with individual consciousnesses and for the same consciousness in accordance with circumstances. In this regard, the meaning of the word is inexhaustible. A word acquires its meaning only in a phrase, but the phrase itself acquires meaning only in the context of a paragraph, and a paragraph in the context of a book” (43, p. 347).

Meaning, as a component of the “semantics” of a word, is thus initially social and acts as a kind of “fixer” of human social experience. A.N. Leontyev emphasized, in this regard, that “meaning cannot be taught, meaning is taught”; it is generated not only by the meaning of the word, but also by life itself (136, p. 292). Since professional experience is also a stable social experience, it is not surprising that people of different professions often use the same words in different senses. The meaning of the same word can be different for different people and in different situations of speech communication. So, for a child the word “grapes” means, first of all, delicacy, for the artist, in addition, it is an object of image and aesthetic pleasure, for the manufacturer of juice and wine - raw materials for processing, for the biologist - an object of study, breeding and selection (146).

Part 4. Psycholinguistic characteristics of the text as a universal sign of language and a means of speech communication

The text as a complex semantic-syntactic formation has a number of psycholinguistic characteristics. These include integrity (semantic, structural and compositional integrity), as well as semantic and grammatical coherence of speech. In addition, the text, considered as a product of speech activity, shows traces of nonverbal behavior of the participants in communication, and it has a high degree of “interpretability” (options for interpreting the semantic content by the listener or reader).

When analyzing speech activity (SA) as a process of speech communication, the subject of analysis in psycholinguistics is most often statement, which, being a unit of speech communication, in RD is always correlated with the displayed situation and is “socially” and psychologically (“emotionally” and “expressively”) oriented towards the participants in speech communication. Speech communication in most cases is carried out on the basis of the use of not individual words or phrases; The main unit of communication is detailed utterances, the linguistic form of expression of which is text. Linguistic signs (words, phrases) used in speech manifest their basic properties only when they are “text-related”; they can only have meaning as units connected into a single speech message, i.e. when they form texts and convey them content (64, 69, 165, etc.). In other words, if we want to understand exactly what meaning a given word has and how it relates to what is displayed in speech denotation, it is necessary to take into account that words in verbal communication are included in sentences (and through them - in texts) and that, in addition, they are included in the “context” of the displayed situation. Wherein semantics words in the text (their meaning and meaning) can differ significantly from the semantics of isolated words, since only in an expanded statement does the word receive its “real” meaning and understanding.

In this regard, the appeal of psycholinguistics to semantics text when analyzing the process of speech communication, it is objective and natural, since speech communication is based on “multi-channel” communication and complex interaction of linguistic units in the process of their functioning in speech activity (4, 86, 165, etc.). Therefore, when determining the meaning and content of linguistic units of one level, it is necessary to turn to units of a higher level. In this case, the text acts as the ultimate (highest) unit of communication at the sign level. All this makes it necessary to always analyze its “text continuum” when determining the semantics (semantic, content side) of speech.

In addition, behind the special interest shown by psycholinguistic scientists in the text, there is certainly an interest in the problems linguistic consciousness. Linguistic consciousness is understood in Russian psycholinguistics as “the internal process of planning and regulating external activity with the help of linguistic signs” (18, p. 109; 60, etc.). Behind the interest in linguistic signs, and primarily in the text, there is an interest in the linguistic personality and image of the world in the human mind, since in every text (both the author’s and in the form of retelling) a linguistic personality, an individual who masters the system of a given language, is manifested.

An important category of text is coherence. Expanded speech utterance (RRV) is coherent if it represents a complete sequence of single utterances (sentences) related to each other in meaning and grammatically within the framework of the author’s general intention.

Semantic coherence RRV(text) is a semantic connection of its constituent elements based on the common content of successive fragments of text and individual, primarily adjacent, phrases. It can be carried out without the use of externally expressed means of communication. When perceiving a text, such a connection is confidently recreated by the recipient based on the fact that what is displayed in it denotation objects(objects, phenomena, events) are located “nearby” in the spatial and time continuum (After the operation, his eyes began to see better. He stopped wearing glasses); and also due to the presence of common “presuppositions” between the producer and the recipient - knowledge about the subject of speech, etc. (18, 165, etc.).

In the linguistic and psycholinguistic literature devoted to the theory of text, the following criteria for the coherence of a detailed speech message are identified: semantic connections between parts (fragments) of the text, logical connections between consecutive sentences, semantic connections between parts of a sentence (words, phrases) and completeness of expression of the speaker’s thoughts (completeness of displaying the subject of speech, conveying the main “idea” of the text, etc.). Researchers point to such factors of coherence of the whole message as sequential disclosure Topics in successive text segments, the relationship of thematic and rhematic elements (“given” and “new”) within and in adjacent sentences, the presence of a semantic connection between all structural components of a detailed speech utterance (34, 141).

Formal coherence - This is a connection between text segments realized through language signs. It is based on the mandatory presence of coherent elements in the external linguistic structure of the text. Any properly organized text is a semantic and structural unity, the parts of which are closely interconnected both semantically and syntactically. To be convinced of this, it is enough to turn first of all to the sentences that make up the text. Even a simple analysis allows us to detect a variety of semantic and syntactic connections between them. These interphrase connections form first level text organization.

In linguistics interphrase connection is defined as a syntactic and semantic connection between sentences, STS, paragraphs, chapters and other parts of the text, organizing its semantic and structural unity (141, 206, etc.).

As stated above, there are relationships between the sentences of the text that are determined by the tasks of speech communication, i.e. semantic connection. This connection is provided by appropriate lexical and grammatical means. Just as not all words can be combined into one sentence, so not all sentences can be combined into one coherent text. For example, sentences Vitya went for a swim. Silicate glue glues sheets of paper very firmly. Names proper nouns written with a capital letter cannot be combined into text. They are so heterogeneous in their semantics that they cannot be united by semantic relations (L.I. Loseva).

In a coherent, expanded statement, not only neighboring sentences are combined with each other, but also those separated by others. The connection between adjacent (nearby) sentences is called contact, and between non-adjacent ones - distant. The first type of connection “creates” a text with a sequential, “chain” connection of sentences, the second is mandatory for texts with a parallel connection of its segments (sentences and STS). In texts of a “mixed” type, both types of connections are always present. Let's give an example.

Cab Jonah Potapov all white as a ghost. He is bent over, as far as it is possible for a living body to bend, sits on a box and doesn't move. Fall down on him a whole snowdrift, then even then, it seems, He I didn’t find it necessary to shake off the snow... His little horse Same Bela And motionless. my immobility, angularity of shape and stick-like straightness of the legs she even up close it looks like a penny gingerbread horse.(A.P. Chekhov)

This fragment of text contains five sentences connected by contact and distance connections using personal and possessive pronouns, synonyms, and lexical repetitions. The second sentence is closely related to the first (Iona Potapov is he, the third is in contact with the second (he – on him) and distantly with the first (Iona Potapov – he); the fourth sentence is connected with the third (He - his little horse) and remotely with the second (he doesn't move - his little horse too motionless), this fourth sentence is distantly connected with the first (Iona Potapov white - his little horse too white).

When analyzing a text, contact interphrase connections are detected and identified (by type of connection) relatively easily; This type of analysis, as a rule, does not cause serious difficulties for students. Distant communication is perceived much more difficult, therefore, when analyzing the text, it requires a special explanation from the teacher.

An interphrase connection carried out through the repetition of words is called a “chain connection”, expressed by lexical or synonymous repetition. The type of expanded speech utterance is defined as “a text with a chain, sequential connection of predicates” (81, 236). If the repeated word acts as the subject in both sentences, then the connection has the form “subject – subject”; if in one sentence it is the subject and in the other an object, then this is a connection “subject – object”; connections are also possible: “object – object”, “object – subject” and others (141, 199, etc.).

Contact and distant connections play an important role in the organization of the text; they combine all its parts into one semantic and structural whole. The structural and semantic integrity of the text is largely ensured (“created”) by the semantic and grammatical connection between the individual utterances and sentences that form the text. Depending on the type of connection between sentences, there are three main types of text organization: texts with consistent(or “chain”) connection of sentences, texts with parallel connection between individual statements and texts "mixed" type, built on the basis of the simultaneous use of both parallel and sequential communication of sentences.

The essence and nature of distant communication is fully revealed only when analyzing the entire text. Compared to contact communication, it is more complex and the means of its expression are more diverse. Distant communication connects the most informative parts of the text, creating its semantic and structural basis, forming its integrity. In texts taken from works of art, distant interphrase connections deserve special attention. Usually those fragments in which we're talking about about the same person, phenomenon, etc., are connected by a distant connection and begin with a paragraph. Let us give an example of a text in which the distal connection appears quite clearly.

Bell he jingled something to the bells, and the bells answered him affectionately. Tarantas squealed, started moving, the bell cried, the bells laughed. The driver, standing up, lashed the restless harness twice, and troika clattered dully on the dusty road. The little town was sleeping. On both sides of the wide street houses and trees were black, and not a single light was visible. Across the sky studded with stars here and there there were narrow clouds, and where dawn was soon to begin, there was a narrow crescent moon; but neither the stars, of which there were many, nor the crescent moon, which seemed white, cleared the night air. It was cold, damp, and smelled like autumn...

Troika left the city. Now on both sides only the hedges of vegetable gardens and lonely willow trees were visible, and in front everything was obscured by darkness. Here in the open space the crescent moon seemed larger and the stars shone brighter. There was a smell of dampness; the postman went deeper into his collar, and the student felt an unpleasant cold run first around his legs, then over the bales, over his hands, over his face. Troika walked more quietly; the bell froze, as if he too was cold. The splashing of water was heard, and stars, reflected in the water, jumped under the horses’ feet and near the wheels.

And after about ten minutes it became so dark that neither the stars nor the crescent moon could be seen. This troika drove into the forest.(A.P. Chekhov.)

All facilities interphrase connection can be divided into two groups: 1) communications, are common both for connecting parts of complex sentences and for connecting independent sentences, and 2) means of communication used only for connecting sentences and called actual interphrase means of communication (141, 199).

The first group includes: conjunctions, particles and modal words; unity of types of tense forms of predicate verbs, pronominal and synonymous replacement etc. The actual interphrase means of communication include: words and phrases, not revealing their semantics within the sentence: lexical repetition, simple uncommon two-part and one-part sentences, separate interrogative and exclamatory sentences and etc.

Functional and introductory modal words as a means of interphrase communication

Separately formed sentences in the flow of speech can be connected by the same function words as parts of complex sentences, although their functions are different. Let's look at an example.

I was sure that my unauthorized absence from Orenburg was to blame. I could easily justify myself: not only was horse riding never prohibited, But it was still approved by all means. I could have been accused of being too hot-tempered, not of disobedience. But my friendly relations with Pugachev could be proven by many witnesses and should have seemed at least very suspicious...(A.S. Pushkin)

This text contains four interconnected sentences. The second and fourth use the same conjunction But. However, in the first case, it connects the predicative parts of a complex sentence, and in the second case, it connects the sentence with the entire previous part of the text. Connecting parts of a complex sentence, conjunction But contrasts the predicate of one part with the predicate of another part (was not prohibited, but was approved). Its function is, as it were, localized within the sentence. The semantic relationships it expresses are definite and concrete. By connecting independent sentences, the conjunction But expresses more complex relationships. Its functions extend beyond the sentence in which it is found. The content of the entire fourth sentence is contrasted with the content of the three previous sentences.

The general function of conjunctions as means of interphrase communication is to specify the relationships between independent sentences. Conjunction inside a compound sentence And usually indicates a temporal connection between events. This can be illustrated by the following example.

For four days the Cossacks fought and fought, fighting back with bricks and stones. But reserves and strength were exhausted, And Taras decided to break through the ranks. And the Cossacks had already made their way, and perhaps once again the fast horses would have served them faithfully, when suddenly Taras stopped in the middle of the run and cried out: “Stop! the cradle with tobacco fell out; I don’t want the cradle to go to the enemy Poles!” And the old chieftain bent down and began to look in the grass for his cradle with tobacco, an inseparable companion on the seas, and on land, and on campaigns, and at home. Meanwhile, a gang suddenly ran up and grabbed him under his powerful shoulders.(N.V. Gogol)

The use of various conjunctions as means of interphrase communication in this text gives the narrative a pronounced expressive and emotional character. Particles and modal words like after all, here, here and, so, therefore, in this way, firstly, secondly, finally etc. are also used as means of communicating sentences. They connect the sentence they open to either one of the previous ones or to a group of sentences. The most common particles among them are after all And Here. The use of particles and introductory modal words as means of interphrase communication depends on the style of speech and its type (monologue, dialogue), as well as on the theme and idea of the work. Scientific style particle Here used mainly to introduce illustrations and examples. So, it is often used in sentences like: Here is a piece of that scene Here are the illustrations etc. Sentences with this particle can be connected by cause-and-effect relationships; at the same time, it gives the semantic connection of sentences a more emotional, energetic character.

One of the most important means of interphrase communication, which determines the overall grammatical coherence of the text, is unity of types of tense forms of predicate verbs(9, 26, 199). When describing phenomena of the same semantic level (landscape, setting, characteristics of a person), predicate verbs are usually expressed in forms of the same type and tense (26, 141, etc.). At the same time, when describing the situation, landscape, human habits, signs of phenomena, long-term processes, as a rule, imperfective verbs past or present tense. As examples, we give two texts of a descriptive nature, in which all sentences use imperfective verbs (in the first text in the past, in the second - in the present tense).

The recently risen sun flooded the entire grove with a strong, although not bright, light; Dewdrops glittered everywhere, and here and there large drops suddenly lit up and glowed; everything breathed with freshness, life and that innocent solemnity of the first moments of the morning, when everything is already so light and still so silent. All that could be heard was the scattered voices of larks over the distant fields and in the grove itself two or three birds, slowly raising their little legs and as if listening later to how it turned out for them. There was a healthy, strong smell from the wet earth, and the clean, light air shimmered with cool currents. In the morning, a glorious summer morning, there was a breath of air from everything, everything looked and smiled in the morning, like the rosy, freshly washed face of an awakened child.(I.S. Turgenev.)

And an autumn, clear, slightly cold, frosty day in the morning, when the birch tree, like a fairy-tale tree, is all golden, beautiful is drawn in the pale blue sky when the low sun is already not warm, But glitters brighter than summer, a small aspen grove all sparkles through, as if it was fun and easy for her to stand naked, frost still turns white at the bottom of the valleys, and the fresh wind quietly stirs And drives fallen warped leaves - when it’s joyful along the river rushing blue waves, rhythmically lifting scattered geese and ducks; mill in the distance knocks half-hidden by willows, and, dappling in the bright air, pigeons quickly spinning above her...(K.G. Paustovsky)

Pronouns and numerals as means of interphrase communication

Among the means of communicating independent sentences, personal pronouns are the most widespread he, she, it, they and possessive his, her, theirs. In any text, if not the second, then the third, fourth sentence is necessarily connected with the previous one using these pronouns: “Elena’s facial features have not changed much since the day she left Moscow, but expressing them it became different: it it was more thoughtful and stricter, and the eyes looked bolder.”(I.S. Turgenev). Let's look at this feature using a fragment of text as an example.

Magpie's there is a nickname - white-sided. This is because there are feathers on the sides her completely white. But the head, wings and tail are black, like a crow’s. Tail The magpie's is very beautiful - long, straight, like an arrow. And feathers On him not just black, but with a greenish tint. A smart magpie bird and so dexterous and agile - it’s rare to see she sits calmly, jumps more and more, fusses.

In the above text, the second sentence is connected to the first pronoun in the genitive case with a preposition at (her) which correlates with a noun in the same case – at the magpie's(connection - “addition - addition”). The fifth sentence is associated with the fourth pronoun He in the prepositional case (On him), related to a noun in the nominative case tail(connection – “subject – object”).

Other pronouns, characterized by specific semantic and stylistic functions in the organization of speech, are also used as means of interphrase communication. Some of them connect only contact sentences, others can relate to a large part of the text and connect a number of sentences with a common meaning. Yes, demonstrative pronoun This can connect two sentences and two semantic-syntactic wholes (STS); it can apply to the entire text, especially if it begins the work: It was winter... or ends: It finally came true... etc. Pronoun This can correlate with any proper name, regardless of its gender and number.

Demonstrative pronoun such (such, such) as opposed to a pronoun This has additional evaluative value. Definitive pronoun All performs a function similar to that in which it appears within one sentence when homogeneous members. Combined with a demonstrative pronoun this ("all this") attributive pronoun All also refers to the entire previous or subsequent part of the text.

The garden, thinning out more and more, turning into a real meadow, descended to the river, overgrown with green reeds and willows; near the mill dam there was a stretch, deep and fishy, a small mill with a thatched roof was making an angry noise, frogs were croaking furiously. On the water, smooth as a mirror, circles occasionally moved and river lilies trembled, disturbed by cheerful fish. On the other side of the river was the village of Dubechnya. The quiet blue reach beckoned, promising coolness and peace. And now all this - the reach, the mill, and the cozy banks - belonged to the engineer!(A.P. Chekhov)

Of the collective numerals, numerals are most often used as means of interphrase communication both And two. Collective numbers two - seven often used in combination with a defining pronoun - all three, all six, all five etc. Any numeral used in a sentence without a noun, which it defines quantitatively, is “attracted” in meaning to this noun, as a result of which it turns out to be one of the means of interphrase communication. The same can be said about ordinal numbers.

Actually interphrase means of communication

In addition to the means of communication discussed above, which are common both to parts of a complex sentence and to independent sentences, there are also those that, although they are used to connect parts of a complex sentence, reveal themselves much more fully as means of interphrase communication. These include words with temporal, spatial, objective and procedural meaning, the semantics of which is not revealed within one sentence. Consider the following example:

That night I did not sleep and did not undress. I intended to go at dawn to the fortress gates, from where Marya Ivanovna was supposed to leave, and there to say goodbye to her for the last time. I felt a great change in myself: the excitement of my soul was much less painful to me than the despondency in which I had recently been immersed. With the sadness of separation, vague but sweet hopes, an impatient expectation of danger, and feelings of noble ambition merged in me. The night passed unnoticed.(A.S. Pushkin)

A text fragment consists of five sequentially interconnected sentences. The second is in a cause-and-effect relationship with the first; they are interconnected by pronominal repetition (I – I), a certain ratio of verb-predicate forms (didn’t sleep, didn’t undress - imperfect appearance and intended to go And say goodbye - perfect view); the third sentence is in an effectual relationship with the second and first and is connected by the same means (pronominal repetition I - I); the fourth sentence is connected to the third by resultative-causal relations, and the means of communication is also pronominal repetition (I am in me and etc.); the fifth sentence in relation to all previous ones expresses result-effect relationships (..so the night passed unnoticed), replacing the description of what happened to the narrator; it is connected primarily with the first sentence (lexical repetition this night is night). In meaning, all five sentences refer (attached) to the tense adverbial of the first sentence.

The circumstance of time most often acts as a common temporal basis for all sentences of the text. The number of sentences associated with the adverbial tense may be greater or less depending on the structural and semantic organization of the text. However, the role of the circumstances of time or place with which the sentences of the text are associated remains unchanged.

As a means of transmitting chronological sequence of the described events, usually appear adverbs of time, nouns with and without prepositions, quantitative-nominal combinations, gerunds and participial phrases, subordinate clauses of time in complex sentences, etc. In the text they serve as unique organizers of the unity of sentences, the main means of connecting sentences in these unities. Let's give an example.

Nikolay Rostov on this day received a note from Boris informing him that the Izmailovsky regiment was spending the night fifteen miles short of Olmutz and that Boris was waiting for him to give him a letter and money. Rostov especially needed money now that, having returned from the campaign, the troops stopped near Olmutz... The Pavlograd residents had feasts after feasts, celebration of awards received for the campaign Rostov recently celebrated his graduation as a cornet, bought Bedouin, Denisov’s horse, and was in debt to his comrades and sutlers. Having received Boris's note, Rostov and his comrades went to Olmutz.

Approaching the camp of the Izmailovsky regiment, he thought about how he would amaze Boris and all his fellow guardsmen with his shelled combat hussar appearance.(L.N. Tolstoy)

At the same time, of all the means of interphrase communication that convey the chronological development of the events described in the texts, the gerunds have the greatest “binding force” of both contact and distance sentences:

Usually she-wolves accustom their children to hunting by letting them play with prey; and now, watching how the wolf cubs chased the puppy along the crust and fought with it, the wolf thought: “Let them get used to it.”

Having played enough, the cubs went into the hole and went to bed. The puppy howled a little with hunger, then also stretched out in the sun. A waking up they started playing again.(A.P. Chekhov)

Words with spatial meaning and their functional-syntactic equivalents are also often used as a means of interphrase communication. Words with the meaning of space include corresponding adverbs, as well as nouns in both the nominative and indirect cases, indicating the place or direction of action. Connections using such words can permeate the text from beginning to end, connecting its parts that characterize the events described in terms of their spatial location. Such words can organize sentences into complex syntactic wholes, fragments and entire chapters of text works. For example:

In the middle of a dense forest on a narrow lawn there was a small earthen fortification, consisting of a rampart and a ditch, behind which there were several huts and dugouts.

In the courtyard, many people, who by the variety of clothes and general weapons could immediately be recognized as robbers, were having dinner, sitting without hats, near the brotherly cauldron. On the rampart next to the small cannon the guard sat with his legs tucked under him; he put a patch into some part of his clothes...

In the hut from which the old woman came out, behind the partition, the wounded Dubrovsky was lying on a camp bed. On the table in front of him his pistols lay, and his saber hung at his head...

In the organization of each text fragment given, the leading role is played by words with spatial meaning and their functional-syntactic equivalents, which act as the main means of contact and distant communication.

Words with spatial meaning act as one of the most important means of organizing the text as a whole. Often words with spatial meaning are used in descriptive texts, for example:

Ten steps away A dark, cold river flowed: it grumbled, squelched against the pitted clay bank and quickly rushed somewhere into the distant sea. U the very shore a large barge, which the carriers call a “karbas”, was darkening. Far away on that shore extinguishing and shimmering, the lights crawled like snakes: they were burning last year’s grass...(A.P. Chekhov)

The function of highlighted words with local spatial meaning in the organization of a given text is obvious.

Words with objective meaning and their functional-syntactic equivalents as a means of interphrase communication

Among words with a subject meaning, nouns are most often used as a means of communication. They act as exponents of one of the essential meanings in the organization of texts - its “subjectivity” (forming the subject-semantic organization of the text). As a means of organizing the semantic and structural unity of the text, nouns can be divided into two groups: a) concrete and abstract; b) proper and common nouns.

Specific nouns, as a means of organizing text, reveal their semantics within the framework of a sentence and even a phrase. For example: table, kitchen table, white kitchen table; tie, scout tie, silk scout tie.

Words with abstract meanings do not always reveal their semantics within a sentence. For example: There are more worries in the house. It happened during the summer holidays. On the other hand, needing an expanded context, abstract words (care, grief, melancholy, happiness, annoyance, fear, horror, conscience, beauty, caution, patience, joy, cry, groan, noise etc.) can become semantic center groups of interrelated proposals. Consider the following text.

Days passed in Tsybukin's house in worries. The sun had not yet risen, and Aksinya was already snorting, washing her face in the entryway, the samovar was boiling in the kitchen and humming, predicting something evil. The old man Grigory Petrov, dressed in a long black frock coat and cotton trousers, in high bright boots, so clean and small, walked around the rooms and tapped his heels, like a father-in-law in a famous song. They opened the shop. When it became light, a racing droshky was brought to the porch and the old man smartly sat on it, pulling his large cap down to his ears, and looking at him, no one would say that he was already 56 years old.

He was away on business; his wife, dressed in dark clothes and a black apron, cleaned the rooms or helped in the kitchen. Aksinya was selling in a shop, and you could hear in the yard... how angry the customers were, whom she had offended. They drank tea in the house six times a day; We sat down at the table to eat four times. And in the evening they counted the proceeds and wrote them down, then slept soundly.(A.P. Chekhov)

The semantics of the highlighted word is revealed by a group of interrelated sentences, united intonationally and thematically. The semantic center here is not only the word care, but the entire sentence of which it is a part. In this text, all predicates are past tense forms. (passed, did not rise, snorted, boiled, hummed, walked around, tapped in the milky glass etc.).

Repetition of words as a means of interphrase communication and actual division of a speech utterance

Repetition of words as a means of interphrase communication is called lexical repetition.“For speech to be clear and logically coherent, we cannot do without repeating words, their forms and derivatives from these words, since their use is associated with the structural organization of speech. The importance of lexical repetition lies in the fact that it is an exponent of the actual, or semantic, division of speech” (141, p. 42). Let's take a short descriptive text as an example.

This squirrel. Coat at the squirrel's red-haired, fluffy. Ears at the squirrel's sharp, with tassels. Her tail is large and fluffy. Squirrel lives in a hollow tree. She eats nuts and mushrooms.

Almost always in any sentence two structural and semantic parts can be distinguished: the first contains what is known from the previous part of the text or is easily guessed from the speech situation (“given”). The second part contains new information, the transmission of which is the main purpose of communication (“new”). For example:

We arrived in the city in the morning. At this time, sports competitions were taking place there. A column of athletes moved along Innovator Street leading to the stadium. The stadium was built quite recently. Big competitions were held there for the first time.

Here, the highlighted parts of a text fragment contain the new information for the sake of which the statement is made, and the unselected parts contain their given, already known from the previous part of the text. Each sentence of the text is divided, as a rule, into given and new; such semantic division of a sentence is called in linguistics actual division statements (9, 65, 174, etc.).

The importance of the actual division of the utterance lies in the fact that it helps to discover the communicative orientation of speech, to see what exactly new information constitutes the semantic core of the text; in addition, it allows you to trace the movement of thought from the known to the unknown, the transition from one thought to another in the process of logical and semantic organization of speech. Mastering the skills of actual division also develops the culture of coherent speech, as it helps to more correctly connect sentences with each other in the flow of speech. It is obvious that in new contains the core of the utterance, its basis, the “representation” (display) of which in the text is the goal of communication; without linguistic representation given it is impossible to construct (“organize”) the text correctly.

The simplest type of repetition of words as a means of interphrase communication and an expression of actual division is the use of the same word or phrase in adjacent phrases. It should be noted that it is impossible to compose a text about two or more persons (objects) without using the technique of distant interphrase communication. First, it talks about one subject (person), then about another, then again about the first, then about the second, etc. Parts of the text related to one person and separated by other fragments of the text are connected by a distant connection and are separated into a separate paragraph. Thus, the transformation new previous sentence in given the subsequent sentence is an indispensable condition for the organization of entire texts and serves in it as one of the methods of connecting sentences (34, 141, 206).

If you take a sentence of any type as the starting phrase of a story, then the following phrase can be connected with the first by repeating any of its significant words. The choice of this word depends on the direction in which the producer intends to continue the further development of the thought presented in the original phrase, and this, in turn, is determined communicative attitude speech.

Repetition of words as a means of interphrase communication can be stylistically neutral, or it can emphasize the significance of new information, that is, it allows you to more clearly and completely display the actual new - what will be discussed further and focus the attention of the listener or reader on it. Consequently, repetition of words performs two functions: it is a means of interphrase communication and a stylistic device that focuses the reader’s attention on semantics repeated words and content sentences in which they are found. Based on the function in the organization of texts, all types of repetition of words can be reduced to two options: simple, neutral repetition of words, used as a means of interphrase communication, and repetition of a semantic-stylistic nature.

Synonymous replacement as a means of interphrase communication

Instead of lexical repetition, synonymous replacement can be used as a means of interphrase communication. In this case, synonyms and synonymous expressions are used, for example: dog - puppy, squirrel – animal, automobile - passenger car and so on.

Each new word or figure of speech, replacing lexical repetition, adds a new feature to the characteristics of persons, phenomena or objects, thereby performing two functions: on the one hand, it is a means of connecting parts of the text, on the other, it acts as a bearer of “characteristic” features. Therefore, so that the repetition of the same words is not the only means of connecting phrases in children’s independent stories (or students’ written works), it is necessary to pay attention before composing essays or presentations. Special attention selection of synonyms that can be used to describe persons, objects, phenomena, etc. (34, 141). If a retelling or presentation is compiled based on a specific work, then “lexical work” should be carried out on the text of this work: first analyze the linguistic means used by the author himself, and then think about what other words or phrases can be used for synonymous replacement. Since proper names are most often repeated in the text, it is logical to ask students the question: what characteristic features endowed with this or that character? Then invite them to find in the text a description of these features in the author’s version. “Such preparation for presentation or composition will allow students to avoid annoying repetition of words both in their written work and in oral speech” (141, p. 51).

Functions of various types of sentences in the structural and semantic organization of the whole text

As linguistic analysis of linguistic (text) means of speech communication shows, the most common in our speech are two-part common affirmative-narrative sentences with verbal predicate and complex sentences, of which the most widespread are complex sentences with conjunctions and, a, but and complex subordinates with explanatory clauses, time and place. In some texts, simple two-part sentences predominate, in others - complex ones. Occurring sporadically between simple two-part common and complex sentences, non-common two-part sentences either begin the topic of a new narrative, or act as a summary in a complex syntactic whole, or combine both. If they complete the presentation of a micro-topic, then they contain a generalization, conclusion, author’s assessment, etc. (9, 199, etc.).

A special function in the organization of entire texts is performed by one-part sentences. In literary texts, one-part sentences are used in the character’s speech and are not only a means of interphrase communication, but also a means of linguistic characterization. One-part sentences act as a means of connecting parts of the text in the author’s speech. For example:

Noon. The restaurant is still empty. The waiters are huddled in the corner, talking. Quiet, elegant, clean. In the middle of the restaurant, only one officer drinks tea, clinking a spoon in his glass, and reads a newspaper.

The cashier, a plump woman in a shaggy green sweatshirt, with a smoky shawl on her shoulders, folds money into piles and fastens them with paper ribbons. She blocked the window in the milky glass partition with abacus.

The window nearby was also blocked with abacus. Perspiration appears on her porcelain-white face. Head unwell. She, shivering, throws a squirrel board with sewn tails over her shoulders and reluctantly chews sandwiches.

Quiet. Empty. And suddenly there is a rustling...(I.A. Lavrov)

In the above text, all one-part impersonal sentences perform the same function. On the one hand, they provide a semantic generalization of what was said and an addition to it, on the other hand, they indicate the topic for the next statement. As a result, impersonal and other one-part sentences act as a means of organizing the semantic and structural unity of the text.

Nominative sentences differ in that, being at the end of the STS or superphrasal unity expressed by several STS, they contain in a generalized form a complete micro theme, minimal semantic fragment of text. Thus, simple two-part unextended and one-part sentences as a means of interphrase communication can perform similar functions: they begin to present a micro-topic and, being supplemented by a group of independently formed sentences, combine them into one semantic and structural whole.

Interrogative and exclamation sentences can also connect parts of the text, performing various stylistic functions.

And these people, and the shadows around the fire, and the dark bales, and the distant lightning that flashed in the distance every minute - everything now seemed unsociable and terrible to him. He was horrified and asked himself in despair, how and why did he end up in an unknown land, in a company of scary men? Where is uncle now, oh. Christopher and Deniska? Why don't they travel for so long? Have they forgotten about him? The thought that he was forgotten and left to the mercy of fate made him feel cold and so terrified that several times he tried to jump off the bale and headlong, without looking back, run back along the road, but the memory of the dark, gloomy crosses that would certainly meet him on paths, and lightning flashing in the distance stopped him... And only when he whispered: “Mom! Mother!" – he seemed to feel better...(A.P. Chekhov)

The connection of these interrogative sentences with the previous “context” is obvious. Last interrogative sentence (Have they forgotten about him?) with logical emphasis on the predicate, as it were, attracts the semantics of the subsequent sentence (The thought that he was forgotten and left to the mercy of fate made him feel Cold...). Thus, being in the middle of a text fragment (STS), interrogative sentences can be a means of interphrase communication, connecting the subsequent part of the text with the previous one.

Exclamatory sentences can also act as a means of connecting sentences commenting on its content. This stylistic device is used in both prose and poetry.

And here it is September!
Slowing down your rise,
The sun shines with a cold radiance,
And its ray in the mirror of choppy waters
Unfaithful gold trembles.

(E.A. Baratynsky)

Masterpieces! Masterpieces of brush and chisel, thought and imagination! Masterpieces of poetry! Among them, Lermontov's “Testament” seems to be a modest, but undeniable masterpiece in its simplicity and completeness. In terms of intense grief, in terms of courage, and finally, in terms of the brilliance and power of language, these poems by Lermontov are the purest irrefutable masterpiece.(K.G. Paustovsky)

In text fragments, exclamatory sentences can act as a linguistic “organizer” of subsequent sentences:

What a night! How clean the air is
Like a silver leaf slumbering,
Like the shadow of the coastal willows,
How serenely the bay sleeps,
How a wave will not breathe anywhere,
How the chest is filled with silence.

The semantic meaning of the nominative-exclamatory sentence is revealed here by a chain of sentences commenting on it.

Thus, the main semantic-syntactic functions of narrative, interrogative and exclamatory sentences as means of interphrase communication can be reduced to the following.

Starting a paragraph or STS, they conclude micro theme a narrative revealed by a chain of interconnected phrases, often constituting a super-phrase unity (or STS). In such cases, the analyzed sentences turn out to be the grammatical and semantic center of the semantic-syntactic whole.

Finishing with STS, narrative or interrogative sentences, as a rule, have an effectual or cause-and-effect meaning and at the same time create conditions for a smooth transition to the presentation of a new micro-topic and, therefore, are a means of connecting parts of the text.

Interpositive (located inside a text fragment) interrogative and exclamatory sentences are in certain semantic relationships (resultative, cause-and-effect, etc.) with the previous part of the text, and at the same time they “open” the topic of the subsequent narration.

In “speech work” to develop the skills of coherent, detailed statements, the correctional teacher must rely on knowledge of the basic laws of text construction, such fundamental qualities as structural-semantic integrity and coherence. In the learning process (when independently compiling or selecting “educational” texts for retelling), it is necessary to take into account the basic semantic and linguistic requirements for the construction of the “correct”, normative text. The better the educational text is “structured” in semantic, structural and linguistic terms, the more it itself facilitates the perception and understanding of the content of speech. If certain rules for combining sentences and paragraphs into a single whole are followed, if the paragraphs are clearly formatted, if the producer uses appropriate means of communication that organize the text, then such a text is more convenient for perception than a text that is not well organized (65, 252). A clear and adequate display of the subject of speech (“overtext”) in a detailed statement and an understanding of its deep semantic subtext ensures adequate perception And understanding content of the text (24, 30, 65, etc.).

The process of understanding a speech utterance always includes semantic and linguistic analysis of the text, evaluation and comparison. The psychological mood of the recipient, his desires and previous knowledge organize and direct the processes of memorization and reproduction. In this regard, when analyzing the retelling compiled by the subject, it is important to highlight in its content what corresponds to the real-life subject situation displayed in the text, and what is its creative interpretation (64, 86, etc.). When understanding a text, the recipient needs to combine several separate statements into one semantic whole. An important role in understanding the logical and semantic organization of the text is played by the analysis of the means of interphrase communication described above. At the same time, the so-called “step-by-step perception” of language material involves both sequential processing of incoming information and integration of the meaning of the text.

Let us give a corresponding example taken from the research of N.I. Zhinkina (73):

Black, lively eyes looked at her intently.

It seemed as if the lips would part and a cheerful joke, already playing on the open and friendly face, would fall from them.

A plaque attached to a gilded frame stated that the portrait of Cinginnato Baruzzi was painted by Karl Bryullov.

As N.I. points out. Zhinkin, “in this text there are such deep “wells” between the first three sentences that it is not so easy to connect them in meaning. And only the fourth sentence contains everything necessary to link all four sentences together. But the fourth sentence, taken separately, is also unclear” (73, p. 127). At the same time, according to the researcher, this text is one of the fairly understandable and complete texts. According to the theory of text construction by N.I. Zhinkin, “textual meaning is the integration of the lexical meanings of two adjacent sentences of the text. If integration does not occur, the next adjacent sentence is taken, and so on until the moment when a semantic connection between these sentences arises” (81, p. 58). Based on this, the meaning of the text, as defined by N.I. Zhinkin, is born only at the intersection of at least two separate statements (sentences). Accordingly, the text itself appears at the “junction” of two sentences that are juxtaposed in semantic and linguistic (grammatical) terms. A good knowledge of the topic of the text allows the listener to understand (relate with reality) those pieces of information that were expressed in fairly general words.

Over the past three decades, a number of experimental studies have been carried out in domestic psycholinguistics on the problem retelling(playback) text(18, 86, etc.).

It turns out that when reproducing a read text, reproducers almost always subject the source text not only to linguistic (which is quite natural), but also to semantic transformation. It should be noted that some types of changes occur consistently in all retellings, these include word substitutions, omissions, and additions of information. The “verb group” most often undergoes linguistic transformation, in which omissions of mainly adverbs, adjectives and prepositional constructions are noted. In the retellings of children of senior preschool and primary school age, quite often (at least 50% of all cases of semantic transformation) omit information indicating “where,” “when,” or “how” this or that action took place (18). Additions to the source text concern explanations of the reasons for the characters’ actions, addition of information about the results of their actions, and the achievement of the intended goal; judgments are also added about the internal psychological reaction of the characters to the events taking place, etc. In this case, in 50% of cases the linguistic modality of the message changes: the passive voice is replaced with an active one or the sentences are rearranged so that the internal reaction of the subject of the activity (the character in the story) turns into his active action ( 65, 87). Analysis of the retelling helps to discover the emotionally charged, personally significant knowledge of the individual - often it manifests itself in a detailed description of the motives and actions of the characters in the retold text. Adequate reproduction of texts, close to the original, largely depends on the recipient’s acceptance of the author’s point of view, on its compliance with his own personal attitudes (17, 74, 236, etc.).

Knowledge of the laws of text construction is especially important for a correctional teacher in speech therapy work with children with speech disorders. In the process of training these children’s skills coherent, detailed statements great attention should be paid to preparatory work (preparation for perception and preliminary analysis of the content of the text - highlighting important semantic links, sequence of events, etc.; special language analysis of the text for retelling or speech sample; speech - lexical and grammatical exercises using special gaming techniques, activating attention, visual and verbal perception, memory and imagination of the child). Special attention should be paid to the mastery of learning skills planning extended statements. At the same time, children form ideas about the basic principles of constructing a coherent message: adequacy of content, consistency of presentation, reflection of the cause-and-effect relationship of events, etc.

Significant attention should be given to developing children’s skills semantic text analysis(isolating the main semantic links - subtopics, micro-topics, which are fragments of a speech message complete in meaning, definition and analysis denotations - significant structural and semantic elements of a speech utterance that serve to designate objects displayed in speech, and predicates - actions with objects, relationships between them, events and phenomena that make up the substantive content of one or another fragment of the surrounding reality). Accordingly, the skills of semantic analysis of a clearly presented subject or plot-event situation are also formed (using visual picture material). Following this analysis, a plan-program for the future detailed speech utterance is drawn up, its main content blocks (text fragments) and the sequence of their display in the story-message are determined.

A necessary type of work on a text is analysis (in retelling) or targeted selection (in a self-composed story) of linguistic means of displaying the subject of speech. This type of speech work is carried out during language analysis of the text of a retold work or a speech sample given by a teacher, during special exercises to develop skills in selecting linguistic means of forming and formulating thoughts.

The classes include exercises on inflection, on selecting the right words and word forms when reading and parsing text for retelling, when children reproduce a sample story based on a picture, etc. Completing such tasks contributes to children’s mastery of by various means constructing coherent, detailed statements in the process of conscious speech actions with them.

Great attention should be paid to the selection of works for retelling - it is recommended to select with a clear division into fragments-episodes and a clear logical sequence of events. This makes it easier to compose a retelling and promotes the acquisition of certain language means. Attention is also paid to the cognition of the content, the accessibility of the language - lexical and grammatical - material of the text, taking into account the group of children being taught. The use of highly artistic texts of children's literature makes it possible to effectively work on the development of a “sense of language” - attention to the lexical, grammatical and syntactic aspects of speech, the ability to evaluate the correctness of statements in terms of compliance with their language norm. This is especially important in correctional work with children who have systemic speech underdevelopment.

Kalmyk State University named after. B.B. Gorodovikov, RF Elista

Abstract: This article analyzes the terms and their content related to the semantic structure of the word, and updates the linguistic interpretation of a certain range of concepts used in relation to homonymy in the language.
Key words: terms, homonymy, lexical composition of the language

Semantic structure of a word. Terminology in use

Golubeva Evgenia Vladimirovna
Kalmyk state university named after B.B. Gorodovikova, RF, Elista

Abstract: The present article analyzes the terms and their content related to the semantic structure of a word, analyzes linguistic interpretation of specific group of concepts used in homonymy in language.
Keywords: terms, homonymy, lexical structure of language

Word in a language in general (outside the national forms of the language) it is a unit that performs a nominative function, i.e. any word names something that forms the concept “designated.”

Designated- this is an existing concept (in linguistics, this is what the communicator is talking about) with which the designator is associated. The relationships that exist between the signified and the signifier are arbitrary and inexplicable, but inherent in any sign. A sign in linguistics is the basic concept of semiotics, an observable object that refers to something else that is inaccessible to direct observation.

Words of any language have one, two or more meanings interconnected by certain connections. Despite the polysemy, the word represents a semantic unity (the set of meanings of the word), which is called semantic structure of the word. At the moment of its occurrence, the word is always unambiguous. The reasons that appear in the process of using a word in a figurative meaning are considered to be the identity of phenomena or their contiguity, therefore all meanings of a polysemantic word are more or less interconnected.

Words systematize human experience, designate persons, objects, signs, actions, states, processes, etc.

The meaning of a word is formed in the process of functioning of a linguistic sign. According to the definition of A.N. Leontieva, meaning of the word“is what is revealed in an object or phenomenon objectively - in a system of objective connections, relationships, interactions. The meaning is reflected, fixed in language and thanks to this acquires stability” [Leontyev 2003: 387].

The meaning of a word is flexible; it is a value that can expand due to the internal or external resources of the language. In the case when several meanings of a word form the semantic structure of a word, polysemy arises. Polysemy– this is polysemy (these two terms are used interchangeably), the presence of a word (unit of language) of two or more interrelated and historically determined meanings. In modern linguistics, grammatical and lexical polysemy are distinguished.

The definition of the term is associated with the concepts of polysemy sema. Semes (minimal, ultimate, further indivisible component of the lexical meaning (seme). For example: the words good and bad are distinguished by the seme of negation.

Sema– a term denoting the minimum unit of language content (elementary lexical or grammatical meaning). Sememe- this is a set of semes, including differentiating characteristics of the family. In linguistics, there is a correlative and sometimes interchangeable unit associated with the term sememe, a unit called semanteme(a structural unit of the semantics of a word, denoting a specific concept).

Language is a constantly developing and changing system that allows qualitative and quantitative transformations at all its levels, including vocabulary. A significant discrepancy in the meanings of one word allows us to divide it into homonymous forms. Homonymy– these are existing connections between lexemes of the same form. The complete absence of any matching elements in the semantic structure of a word is the main feature characterizing the phenomenon of homonymy.

One of the earliest definitions of homonyms belongs to S. Bally, who calls homonyms “two signs that have identical signifiers and different signifieds.” In school grammar the following definition of the term is generally accepted: homonyms- This words that sound the same but have different meanings.

Depending on the belonging of each homonym to any part of speech, homonyms are differentiated lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical. Lexical homonyms have the same grammatical form, but differ in lexical content. Grammatical homonyms belong to different parts of speech, but exhibit semantic commonality. Lexico-grammatical homonyms coincide in form, but have differences in semantic content and grammatical relevance.

In this work, a differentiation of definitions is adopted: complete homonyms- these are words of one part of speech that match in sound and spelling in all their forms, for example:Russian. key « metal rod with a special combination of cutouts for unlocking and locking the lock »; key « natural release of groundwater to the surface of the earth; source, spring ». Incomplete homonyms(partial)– these are words of one part of speech that do not have the same sound and spelling in all forms, for example: Russian. mouth"P cavity between the upper and lower jaws, closed externally by the lips »; mouth(genitive plural of the word company) " military unit, usually part of a battalion " The concept of incomplete homonyms in the grammar of the Russian language is associated with the term homoform, which characterizes the stylistic aspect of homonymy.

Omoform– this is a coincidence of the sound and spelling of one or more forms of words, for example: roads O th– Nominative case masculine adjective and roads O th– genitive, dative case of feminine adjective.

Co stylistic design text related terms homophones and homographs used to create artistic expression V colloquial speech, in jokes and puns. Homophones- these are words that sound the same, but are spelled differently, for example: Russian. mushroom - flu; cat - code; god - side, etc. Homographs- these are words that are identical in spelling, but different in pronunciation, differing in the placement of stress, for example: Russian. cut – cut; arrows – arrows; Iris - iris, etc.

The characteristic features of homonyms, as manifestations of the asymmetry of a linguistic sign, are most clearly manifested when the corresponding lexemes are combined into groups, i.e. several homonyms form homonymous series. Homonymous series is a multicomponent group of words interconnected by homonymic relations.

Based on the number of components in the homonymous series, homopara and homogroup are distinguished. Omopara is a homonymous series consisting of two components. Opogroup is a homonymous series consisting of three or more components.

Homonemes are distinguished according to their morphological relationship. Homonemes is a homonymous series, the components of which are nouns. In this direction, there are no scientifically based terms for denoting verbal homonyms and homonyms-adjectives. Homonymous series whose components denote a characteristic are called adjectival homonyms.

Thus, a review of terms related to the issues being developed in the research project of the Russian Humanitarian Foundation showed that in modern linguistics there are no uniform, generally accepted and generally accepted designations for a number of concepts. This, firstly, indicates the complexity theoretical justification the semantic structure of words and linguistic homonymy, as well as the multidimensionality of terms. Secondly, the lack of consensus among linguist scientists may indicate an insufficient understanding of certain aspects, and therefore requires further search and elimination of variability.

In the research work on the creation of a dictionary of homonyms using materials from the Russian, Kalmyk, English languages (Russian Foundation for Humanities project No. 16-04-00304), which is being worked on by a team of performers at the Kalmyk State University named after. B.B. Gorodovikov, it is very difficult to determine the range of terms used based on homonymy and polysemy of these languages. An adequate translation of terms into the Kalmyk language simply does not exist, so this becomes an urgent task that requires theoretical justification and a suitable solution. This is understandable from the point of view of the development of this problem in Kalmyk studies. In Kalmyk linguistics on modern stage there is no dictionary of homonyms, and this is a significant gap in the structural description of the language system as a whole.

Bibliography

1. Alefirenko N.F. Controversial problems of semantics. M.: Gnosis, 2005. 326 p.
2. Evseeva I.V., Luzgina T.A., Slavkina I.A., Stepanova F.V. Modern Russian language: Course of lectures / I.V. Evseeva, T.A. Luzgina, I.A. Slavkina, F.V. Stepanova; Ed. I.A. Slavkina; Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, 2007. 642 p.

§ 2. Basic provisions of psycholinguistic theory

§ 3. Main branches of psycholinguistics

Section II. Fundamentals of the theory of speech activity Chapter 1. Speech activity as a specific type of human activity § 1. Definition of the concept “speech activity”

§ 2. General (phase) structure of speech activity

§ 3. Psychological mechanisms of speech activity

§ 4. Types of speech activity

§ 5. Subject (psychological) content of speech activity

Chapter 2. Operational structure of speech activity

Chapter 3. Functions of language and speech in speech activity

Chapter 4. Specific features of speech activity

§ 2. Basic units of language and their functions in speech activity

§ 3. Paradigmatic and syntagmatic systems of language

Chapter 2. The concept of language signs and their main functions

Chapter 3. Semantic structure of the word as a sign of language

Chapter 4. Psycholinguistic characteristics of the text as a universal sign of language and a means of speech communication

Section IV. Psycholinguistic analysis of the processes of speech generation and perception Chapter 1. Psycholinguistic theories of the process of speech generation

§ 1. Stochastic models of speech production

§ 2. Models of direct components (ns)

§ 3. Models of speech generation based on transformational grammar

§ 4. Cognitive models of speech production

§ 5. Psycholinguistic theory of speech production in the concept of the Moscow psycholinguistic school

§ 6. Model of the mechanism for generating a speech utterance according to a. A. Leontiev

Chapter 2. Psycholinguistic theories of speech perception § 1. Theoretical concepts of the processes of perception and understanding of speech

§ 2. The mechanism of semantic perception of speech utterances

§ 3. General psycholinguistic model of the process of perception and understanding of a speech utterance

Section V. Basic ways of implementing speech activity Chapter 1. Types and forms of speech

§ 1. Forms of external oral speech

§ 2. Written speech as a special type of speech activity

§ 3. Psychological and psycholinguistic characteristics of writing and reading as types of speech activity

Chapter 2. Inner speech as a special type of speech activity

§ 1. Specific features of inner speech in the interpretation of the school of l. S. Vygotsky. Features of the formation of inner speech in ontogenesis

§ 2. Features of the structure and semantics of inner speech

§ 3. The role of inner speech in human cognitive intellectual activity

§ 4. Code units of internal speech. Theory n. I. Zhinkina about special codes of internal speech

Chapter 3. Units of speech § 1. Units of the process of generation and perception of speech utterances

§ 2. Psycholinguistic units - structural units of speech activity, identified on the basis of psycholinguistic analysis

§ 2. Critical period for a child to master speech activity

Chapter 3. Patterns of mastery of various components of the speech (language) system in ontogenesis § 1. Patterns of the formation of the lexical structure of speech in the ontogenesis of speech activity

§ 2. Psychological patterns of mastering the meaning of a word in ontogenesis

§ 3. Children's word creation during the period of mastering the system of their native language

§ 4. Formation of the grammatical structure of speech during ontogenesis

4.1 Mastery of the morphological structure of the language

4. 2. Patterns of mastery of syntax in ontogenesis

§ 5. Typical grammatical errors in children’s speech as a reflection of the specific features of mastering the native language system in ontogenesis

§ 6. Theoretical concepts of the formation of linguistic consciousness in ontogenesis

§ 7. Speech of adults addressed to a child as the most important factor in the formation of speech activity in ontogenesis

Section VII. Experimental research in psycholinguistics § 1. Definition of a psycholinguistic experiment as a research method

§ 2. Theoretical concept of linguistic experiment and its use in psycholinguistic research

§ 3. Associative experiment

§ 4. Semantic differential method

§ 5. Method of completing a linguistic sign (completion / restoration / speech utterance)

§ 6. Method of direct interpretation of a word

§ 7. Classification method

§ 8. Automatic text analysis

Table of contents

Chapter 3. Semantic structure of the word as a sign of language

The word is the main element and at the same time a sign of language. It designates objects, highlights their characteristics, denotes actions, relationships between objects, i.e. it encodes our experience. This main role is allowed to be performed by its semantic (notional) structure, including the meaning and meaning of the word.

The fundamental role in the study of the features of the semantic aspect of a word belongs to L. S. Vygotsky and other domestic psychologists: A. N. Leontiev, A. R. Luria, O. S. Vinogradova, A. A. Leontiev and others (138, 142, 154 -156).

In modern psychology, the meaning of a word is defined as a generalized and stable reflection of the subject content included in the social and practical activity of a person (142, 155, 156, etc.).

The meaning of a word is a category that was objectively formed in the process of historical development of society. According to the definition of A. N. Leontyev, the meaning of the word “is what is revealed in an object or phenomenon objectively - in a system of objective connections, relationships, interactions. The meaning is reflected, fixed in language and thanks to this acquires stability” (142, p. 387).

The semantic structure of the word is complex. Thus, its main component - the meaning of the word - includes two aspects, two “levels” that are closely related to the functions of the word. Even L. S. Vygotsky drew attention to the fact that a word always indicates an object (action, quality), replaces it, or “serves as its representation” (50). This function of the meaning of a word, according to the proposal of L. S. Vygotsky, was called the “objective attribution of a word.” Another function of the word is an objective and generalized reflection of the designated object or “the actual meaning of the word,” according to L. S. Vygotsky. In turn, the actual meaning of a word is also a multidimensional, “polymorphic” phenomenon, including three interrelated components; Accordingly, the word as a sign of language performs three main semantic functions.

Firstly, a word-name not only names an object and points to it, at the same time it indicates its properties and functions, highlighting and generalizing them. Thus, the word “breadbox” contains not only a direct indication of the corresponding item, but also, at the same time, an indication that this item is related to a specific food product, that it is a container, like other items of similar purpose: a sugar bowl, a candy bowl, ashtray (“grammatical” meaning of the suffixes -n-, -its-). Finally, this word means that only one, and not several identical objects are displayed in speech (50).

Secondly, the word, based on a generalization of the main features and properties of an object, refers it to one or another subject category. Each word, as it were, generalizes things, their signs (or actions), classifies them into a certain category. For example, “book” is any book (fiction, scientific, children's); “watch” - any watch (wristwatch, alarm clock, striking clock, etc.).

Thus, even a word with a “specific meaning” always designates and displays not only this specific object, but also, at the same time, an entire category of objects. This component of the meaning of a word can be defined as its categorical meaning.

Based on the above, it follows that a word not only indicates an object, but also “performs” a very complex analysis of this object (sign, action), an analysis formed in the codes of language in the process of socio-historical practice (50, 155).

Finally, thirdly, as A. R. Luria points out (155), the word “introduces” the designated object (action, quality) into a certain system of semantic connections and relationships. For example, the word “student” inevitably evokes in a person’s mind such semantic connections (concepts) as “school”, “teachers”, “lessons”, “school supplies”, and sometimes correlates with a more abstract system of categories such as “ the learning process”, “methods of teaching and education”, etc. This function of the word as a sign of language, which is rightfully defined as the conceptual meaning of the word, is inextricably linked with such a unique phenomenon of the semantic side of speech as the “semantic field” of the word. It is formed by a complex multidimensional system of semantic connections of a given word with other lexical units of the language (words, phrases); the very “semantic field” of a word includes all words and phrases that can be associated with a given word by various types of semantic connections (semantic connections of related cognate words, associative connections, semantic connections within the framework of intersubject relations - connection “by situation”, “by functional purpose”, “by affiliation” (attributive connections), etc.

The figurative and at the same time very precise concept of the “semantic field”, which has the most important epistemological and methodological significance for the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics, was introduced into science by A. R. Luria and O. S. Vinogradova (155, 44). The “semantic field” is an objectively existing side, a property of the “semantics” of a word, which determines its main characteristics as a sign of a language. The “semantic field” of a word really and in most cases objectively reflects the system of connections and relationships that exists in the object designated by the word (object, phenomenon, event, etc.) with other objects, phenomena or events of the surrounding reality. The phenomenon of the “semantic field” is that its multi-dimensional and multi-aspect subject content is contained, as it were, in one word, and at the same time it covers a whole, very voluminous “layer of language”. It is the “semantic field” that provides the optimal option for using the lexical subsystem of language and speech skills in speech activity, since simultaneously with the act of updating a word (retrieving from memory or recognizing a heard word), the entire system of semantic connections “assigned” to a given word (or a significant part of it). This determines the enormous “functional” capabilities of the word as a sign of language in human speech and mental activity, since the word acts here as a universal “semantic matrix”, significantly expanding the possibilities of intellectual operation with verbal signs.

Along with objective properties, the “semantic field” has a subjective nature, since its structure and “filling” are largely determined by the individual “speech practice” of each person, and more broadly by his entire life, cognitive experience. Based on this, the formation of the “semantic field” of each word is a fairly long-term, “continuous” process, inextricably linked with human cognitive activity. The leading role in the formation and development of “semantic fields” of words is played by targeted pedagogical influence within the framework of appropriately organized “speech”, primarily “dictionary work”. Vocabulary work, specifically aimed at forming the “semantic field” of each word newly acquired by the child, is of particular importance in working with children who have systemic speech disorders. As shown by special experimental studies of the formation of this aspect of the lexical structure of speech in children with speech pathology, the process of formation and development of “semantic fields” of words in them proceeds slowly, and often defectively (45, 139, 252, etc.).

Modern psychology considers a word as a sign, the main function of which is an objective and generalized reflection of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. From the above, it is obvious that generalization (with a word = sign) is possible only if it has a meaning. Thanks to this ability of words to generalize, it becomes possible for people to communicate in the process of communication, since any communication requires that a sign-word not only point to a specific object, but also generalize information about this object, generalize a visual situation; It is thanks to this that the transmission of any thought becomes possible and its adequate understanding is ensured (98, 246, 253). Thus, the meaning of the word, according to L. S. Vygotsky’s definition, reflects “the unity of communication and generalization” (50).

In the process of forming a child’s speech, the word becomes “the basis of generalization (and thereby an instrument of thinking) and a means of communication - an instrument of verbal communication” (155, p. 57).

At the same time, during ontogenesis, the process of liberating the word from the sympractical context occurs (i.e., the conditioning of the meaning of the word by the situation, the practical activity of the child, his practical experience) and “the transformation of the word into an element of independent codes that ensures the child’s communication with others, communication that does not depend on a given situation, a given activity” (47, p. 36).

The meaning of a word, as the main component of the internal content side of this universal sign of language, cannot be considered in isolation from its external “material carrier”. The external apparatus or material carrier of meaning is the sound-syllable structure of words, i.e. the word as a stable sound complex (87, 128). “The meaning of a word cannot be separated from its sound side; sounds are material carriers of the intangible meaning of the word” (142, p. 129). As A. A. Potebnya pointed out, “every word as a sound sign of meaning is based on a combination of sound and meaning” (184, p. 203).

In linguistics, its morphemic structure is also considered as a material carrier of the meaning of a word - with its roots, suffixes, inflections, thanks to which the categoricality of objects denoted by the word is indicated (62, 241, 246, etc.).

In addition to the material, the meaning of a word also has an ideal carrier, which is defined as the main one in speech psychology and psycholinguistics. The ideal carrier of the meaning of a word is a sensual (mostly visual) image. This is the image-representation of an object in the surrounding reality (object, phenomenon, etc.) in the human mind, denoted by a word. Therefore, mastering the meaning of a word largely depends on the “quality” of the image-representation of an object that a person has. Many famous teachers and psychologists of the 19th and 20th centuries especially emphasized the importance of the formation of clear, differentiated images-representations of objects when conducting speech and vocabulary work (27, 71, 144, etc.). I would like to draw the attention of practicing speech therapists to the fact that in practical speech therapy in the works of leading domestic methodologists (T. B. Filicheva, 2001; S. A. Mironova, 1991; L. F. Spirova, 1980, etc.) for quite a long time the methodological approach of actively and widely including the subject, denoted by the word newly acquired by the child, in various types of subject-related practical activities of children (drawing, appliqué, design, etc.) is promoted; various options for “playing out” the subject in educational and extracurricular activities are recommended. A practical way out of the implementation of this option for organizing pedagogical work with children is the formation of “stable”, full-fledged images-representations of those objects that are designated by words of “new” vocabulary for the child.

As for the material carrier, in an adult it “seems to fade away” and is almost not realized, and the content of the word, the carrier of which is a sensory image, always comes to the fore (A. R. Luria, I. A. Zimnyaya). The material carrier of the word begins to be realized when the word becomes the subject of conscious action and analysis (for example, by a child at the beginning of school, by an adult when learning a foreign language). Taking into account the fact that it is the material carrier of the meaning of a word that is the external, material shell of the word as a sign of language and acts as the only means of transmitting meaning in the process of speech communication, the correct reproduction (production) of the external sound-syllable structure of the word is extremely important. In this regard, I would like to emphasize once again that the main purpose of speech therapy work on correcting pronunciation in children with speech disorders is not only the psychological aspect of achieving a “level of compliance” with the phonetic norms of their native language (it is important to teach the child to speak correctly, to pronounce all sounds correctly, so that he did not differ from other normally speaking children). The main purpose of forming correct pronunciation is to ensure the possibility of full-fledged speech communication, full-fledged social communication of a child, a teenager with people around him on the basis of “problem-free”, full transmission of information (the key to which is adequate reproduction of the intangible meaning of words in the speech of a material carrier).

A word taken separately (outside the corresponding linguistic context, but in the “context” of a particular objective-event situation) has no more than one meaning, but potentially it contains many meanings. The latter are realized and clarified in a person’s living speech. The actual use of a word is therefore always a process of selecting the desired meaning from a whole system of emerging alternatives, “with the highlighting of some and inhibition of other connections” (153, p. 58). This is especially clearly seen in the example of polysemantic words, for example, such as “key”, “handle”, “braid”, etc. (14, 155). “The real meaning of a word is not constant,” pointed out L. S. Vygotsky. “In one operation a word appears with one meaning, in another it takes on a different meaning” (48, p. 369).

The second component of the semantics of a word is its meaning*. Meaning, in contrast to meaning (as an objective phenomenon), is understood as its (word’s) individual, subjective meaning - the meaning that a word acquires for a person in each specific situation of speech activity. “In a word, along with the meaning, which includes subject reference and meaning itself, i.e. generalization, the assignment of an object to known categories, there is always an individual meaning, which is based on the transformation of meanings, the selection from among all the connections behind the word, that a system of connections that is relevant at the moment” (155, p. 62).

Thus, the meaning of a word initially (by its “origin”) is part of the meaning of the word necessary for a person in a certain situation of verbal communication. This definition of the second component of the semantics of a word can be illustrated by the example of an analysis of the “semantic” content of a word. Let’s take the ancient Iranian word for “dog” as an example.

Here are possible uses of this word in various situations of verbal communication between people:

- “Wow, they live outside the city, in the village, but don’t keep a dog”; “And the dog was in the yard, but everything was the same, they took everything out of the house “cleaned up”; “This time the hunters took a dog with them “to hunt”; “So are you going on vacation alone? - No, why not, I’ll take my dog with me. It’s more fun together” (replicas from the dialogue); “No, they don’t have cats, they have a dog, a shepherd dog.” And finally, so common and relevant: “Watch out: there’s an angry dog in the yard!” It is obvious that in these speech utterances (or replicas-utterances) this word appears in a wide variety of senses and meanings.

At the same time, being an integral part, a “particle” of the general meaning, the meaning of the word acts as a sufficiently “autonomous”, independent phenomenon.

The distinction between the concepts of “meaning” and “meaning” was first introduced into the psychology of speech by L. S. Vygotsky (47, 50). The meaning of a word, according to the definition given to it, is a stable and identical system of (semantic) connections behind the word for all people. Meaning is the “individual meaning of a word”, isolated from an objective system of connections; it consists of those semantic connections that are relevant for a person at a given moment.

The meaning of a word depends on the totality of a person’s knowledge, his life, including emotional, experience, and his personal qualities. Therefore, the meaning of a word is more “mobile than meaning, it is dynamic, and, ultimately, inexhaustible” (50). “The meaning of a word... is a complex, moving, constantly changing phenomenon... in accordance with individual consciousnesses and for the same consciousness in accordance with circumstances. In this regard, the meaning of the word is inexhaustible. A word acquires its meaning only in a phrase, but the phrase itself acquires meaning only in the context of a paragraph, a paragraph in the context of a book...” (50, p. 347).

Meaning, as a component of the “semantics” of a word, is thus initially social and acts as a kind of “fixer” of human social experience. A. N. Leontyev emphasized, in this regard, that “meaning cannot be taught, meaning is taught”; it is generated not only by the meaning of the word, but also by life itself (142, p. 292). Since professional experience is also a stable social experience, it is not surprising that people of different professions often use the same words in different senses. The meaning of the same word can be different for different people and in different situations of speech communication. So, for a child, the word “grapes” means, first of all, a delicacy; for an artist, in addition, it is an object of image and aesthetic pleasure; for a manufacturer of juice and wine, it is a raw material for processing; for a biologist, it is an object of study, breeding and selection. (153).

Thus, we can consider the meaning of a word as an individual, each time “unique” mental content that one person seeks to convey to another in a given specific situation of their social interaction.

It is also important to note one more property of the meaning of a word, which L. S. Vygotsky pointed out: the meaning is associated with the entire word (as a single sound complex) as a whole, but not with each of its sounds, just as the meaning of a phrase is associated with the entire phrase in as a whole, and not with its individual words.

The meaning and meaning of a word are closely related. Meaning can only be expressed through meaning, since a person each time chooses the meaning of the word necessary for each specific situation. Mastery of the meaning of a word in ontogenesis also occurs through the meaning specific to a given situation. The child, encountering different meanings of words in different situations of verbal communication, thus learns the meaning of the word. At the same time, the prerequisite for mutual understanding between people in the process of verbal communication is precisely the meaning of the word, since it is precisely this that is a generalized and objective reflection of the objective content of phenomena, it is precisely this that is recorded in the language system* and thanks to this it acquires “stability.”

It is noteworthy that the objective meaning of a word does not always coincide with its meaning. Vivid examples of this phenomenon are given by L. S. Vygotsky in the book “Thinking and Speech” (50, p. 350). This, for example, is the title of N. V. Gogol’s great work “Dead Souls”**. Officially, “dead souls” are recently deceased serfs, the documents on which (“Revision Tales”) the landowner had to submit to local government bodies. In this work of art (for the author and his readers), these are, as L. S. Vygotsky noted, all the main “heroes” of the poem, who from a biological point of view are living people, but they are spiritually dead.

As L. S. Tsvetkova points out (252), the meaning of a word (including its diverse semantic content) in the act of nominating an object exists only in the form of an “individually developing speech-thought process.” The meaning of a word in the act of naming is “equivalent,” therefore, to the operation with the help of which this or that object is thought (mentally displayed in consciousness). We find a similar understanding of intellectual operations with the meanings of words (for example, choosing the right word from a number of synonymous words, choosing the right meaning of a given word from several variants of meaning, etc.) in A. N. Leontyev. Here are some of his definitions of the category of meaning: “a peculiar “unit” of consciousness,” “a category of consciousness corresponding to mental operations.” The meaning of a word, in the interpretation of A. N. Leontyev, is “an act of thinking in the proper sense of the word” (142, p. 223). This functional purpose of the “semantics” of a word (its meaning and meaning) in human speech activity, in our opinion, is another basis for interpreting this activity as a speech-thinking activity, since it, as it clearly follows from all of the above, is carried out on the basis of intellectual actions and operations with language signs, operations with the main components of the semantic structure of a word.

The category of word meaning in speech psychology and psycholinguistics is usually distinguished from the term “concept”. Meanings are an integral part of the words themselves, which, as a means of communication, are part of the structure of language. Concepts are formed in the minds of people as a result of the use of words in the process of communication in different combinations and different meanings (155, 205, 252).

A concept can be defined as the most generalized idea (of a subject, an object), expressed through language signs. The concept reflects (“absorbs”) the basic, most important properties and qualities of an object, as well as its functional purpose. The main difference between a concept and other generalized representations is the sign (linguistic) external form of expression. The linguistic form of expression of a concept is a sentence or text. There are incomparably more concepts than words; Moreover, on the basis of the same words, always known in advance to the listener (reader), many completely different and previously unknown concepts can be expressed and, accordingly, learned (253).

The relationship and relationship between the concept and the meaning of a word (as well as the object it represents) can be schematically presented as follows.

It is worth pointing out another important difference between the concept and the meaning of the word, which is often emphasized in psychology. If meaning is an integral component of the word as a sign of language and, therefore, is directly related to the phenomena of language, then the concept is considered in psychology as a categorical apparatus of thinking processes (in particular, as the main means of categorical conceptual thinking). In this aspect, the concept as a “tool”, a “category” of speech thinking, which has a verbal form of expression, represents the very connecting link that (along with the meaning of the word) unites the processes of thinking and speech. “All higher mental functions,” pointed out L. S. Vygotsky, “are united by the common feature that they are mediated processes, that is, they include in their structure, as the central and main part of the entire process as a whole, the use of a sign, the main means of direction.” and mastery of mental processes. In the problem of concept formation, such a sign is the word, which acts as a means of concept formation and later becomes their symbol” (48, p. 126).

The patterns of concept formation in the “ontogenesis of speech” were the subject of special research by L. S. Vygotsky (1931, 1934), A. R. Luria (1975, 1979), A. A. Leontiev (1974, 1998), L. S. Tsvetkova (1989), etc. The scientific concept of the formation of concepts in ontogenesis, developed by L. S. Vygotsky (50) and developed in the works of his followers (128, 139, 205), has not undergone significant changes to date and is used in domestic science as “basic” model of the formation of this component of the “semantic side of speech”*.

In conclusion of the consideration of this topic, it should be specially noted that knowledge and correct understanding of the semantic nature of the word (as the main and universal sign of the language) and its components such as meaning and meaning, the correct interpretation of the concept category are an important means and an effective tool in the hands of a correctional teacher ( both when conducting examinations of children and adults with speech disorders, and when organizing correctional and pedagogical work).