Moscow University Bulletin. Series 19. Linguistics and Intercultural Communication. 2025. 1.

Humanity has always strived to save energy of speech eff orts. According to the ancient Language Economy Principle, human speech has to be short and laconic, it has to insert the fragments of individual and collective experience into one or a few words to attain effective communication or adequate understanding. Syntactical compression and depth of sense, compact and striking phrases demand now the accelerated tempo. And for this certain linguistic rules, means and techniques are required. There appears a new integral graphic product — phrase epithet — the merging into one new word or word combinations. This new word acquires one new meaning that differs from the previous meanings of the epithet constructions.

In modern linguistics, many disciplines offer their methodologies for comprehending meanings in the process of communication, but none of them provides more or less clear parameters for their identification and assessment of the interaction levels between the elements within a completed work. 

The aim of this paper is to develop a hierarchy of semantic-syntactical bonds that can be applied in timbral analysis of a text, minimizing the degree of subjectivity in the study of a work. Using the term ‘text energy’, the authors aim to describe the dynamic relationship of text units to each other in the reading process. 

Within the framework of this study, the authors propose a scale of text element cohesion for analyzing written works of speech, consisting of three levels — explicit grammatical-syntactic, anaphoric, and implicit bonds. The effectiveness of applying this scale is demonstrated on the example of analyzing the text belonging to artistic styles — the most complicated in terms of semantics. 

In order to objectively determine the degree of cohesion of elements within the text, the authors propose a list of cohesion levels correlated with the universal scale of cohesion, which can be applied to texts belonging to any functional styles of speech.

The focus of the present paper is on “Metis futurism” as a conceptual framework that allows writers to actualize, construct and reimagine personal, cultural and other types of identity in and through fiction. Characteristics of “Metis futurism” as postulated by Ch. Vowell, a Canadian Metis writer, are examined through a study of her short story collection “Buffalo Is the New Buffalo” (2022) accompanied by the writer’s commentaries. The aim is to outline the key extralinguistic and linguistic aspects of Metis futurism as exemplified by Ch. Vowell’s fiction, as well as to analyze the function of the metaconcept in question within the author’s idioconceptual subsystem. 

The results obtained show that given the hybridity of genres, postcolonial speculative rhetoric, a set of culture-specific concepts relevant for the Metis people and other Indigenous cultures, alongside the extensive use of the speech strategy of discredit and non-English language means that the target audience is supposed to decode on its own, “Metis futurism” allows the writer to personalize and customize the format and the content of their fiction in accordance with their goal of inviting the audience to participate in the (re)construction of all kinds of identity in and through text, thereby performing its interpretive function.

The article discusses cognitive metaphors as one of the ways to verbalize human emotions. The relevance of the study of the emotive component is due to its multidimensionality and the immanent presence of emotions in the structure of language, consciousness and thinking. Emotions underlie human activity and are closely related to cognitive processes. Th e vocabulary of emotions is a reflection and way of expressing various emotional states, forming a person’s individual lexicon. Since emotive vocabulary does not have clear semantic boundaries, almost all lexemes can become emotives in a certain communicative situation. The blurring of the boundaries of the emotive field results in the appearance of many secondary nominations of emotions formed with the help of metaphorical transfers. Cognitive metaphor, conveying human emotions and combining sensory and rational components, creates a special layer of means of expressing emotional states in a language. In the process of metaphorization, concepts from various conceptual spheres interact, because of a categorical shift, new images and meanings are created with the effect of emotional tension. In order to study cognitive metaphor in the context of emotiveness, the article examines the interaction of various conceptual spheres of the French language, drawing on the material from political articles, interviews, advertising products and fiction. It is established that because of the integration of different concepts, not only an emotional assessment of the facts of reality is formed, but also an impact on public consciousness is exerted through the stylistics of language and emotive vocabulary, characterized by a wide verbal representation and semantic diversity.

The article addresses the issue of developing foreign language teachers in the field of artificial intelligence integration. Artificial intelligence is part of the IT tradition and has significant potential to change the educational process, for example doing routine activities or giving feedback to students. Artificial intelligence technologies such as speech and text generation, machine translation, linguistic corpora, etc. are used in foreign language teaching. However, some studies show that only a small part of teachers are ready and willing to use artificial intelligence in their teaching practices. 

To raise awareness about the didactic potential of artificial intelligence, a special teacher training course was developed at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies of Moscow State University in 2023. The main goal of the course “Pre-trained generative neural networks in foreign language teaching” is to develop professional methodological competence and practical skills for working with intelligent learning systems. During the course, currently used artificial intelligence technologies are analyzed. 

151 teachers from different regions of Russia took part in the course, after which some of them took a survey about their attitude towards educational material. Respondents appreciated the theoretical foundation and practical skills for giving presentations, evaluating student work, and more.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into education has allowed students to use selected AI tools in research work. However, along with its obvious advantages, the ability of generative AI to hallucinate raises questions regarding the effectiveness of its use for a variety of research tasks. In this paper, the authors a) review the regulatory and legal basis for the use of generative AI tools in research work in the preparation of texts of conference presentations, academic articles, term papers and qualification works; b) review pedagogical studies dedicated to describing the experience of using generative AI tools in solving research problems; c) propose the distribution of functions between a research supervisor, artificial intelligence and a student/researcher in the triad “teacher — artificial intelligence — student”. Generative AI tools can take over many functions that have traditionally been performed by teachers and research supervisors, as well as by young researchers. These include developing a research work plan, searching for research sources, conducting a literature review, writing an abstract, etc. At the same time, the authors claim that at the present stage it is reasonable to talk about a joint solution of a number of the above-mentioned research tasks by supervisors and researchers, using generative AI tools as an assistant, the feedback from which should be subjected to critical reflection and verification. By transferring some of the functions to generative AI, the teacher/ research supervisor is not excluded from the educational process and management of the student’s research work. Their functions are modified and supplemented with new ones to teach students how to interact with AI tools, correctly formulate prompts, critically evaluate the received feedback and take full responsibility for the process and the result of work with generative AI.

The article presents the analysis of the research in the field of implementation of translanguaging models into professional training of students majoring in linguodidactics. The authors analyze various models within the framework of the opposition of academic and spontaneous translanguaging, as well as enhancing metalinguistic awareness model, model of using whole linguistic repertoire, integrated language curriculum model and model of translanguaging shift s from the perspectives of using two foreign languages simultaneously for the organization of bilingual training. Each of the presented models differs in type, intentions of using translanguaging, the subject who makes the choice of the languages, as well as in the ratio between the languages. Considering the theoretical foundations, the authors note the potential of each model in the linguodidactic process. In conclusion, the most effective and suitable, from the authors’ point of view, practices of transinguaging are presented. They allow flexible use of two foreign languages simultaneously for organizing classes and, accordingly, provide bilingual professional training that meets the requirements and challenges of the modern educational environment.

The article aims to review briefly the sociolinguistic history of the language contact between Chinese languages and English, presents an overview of basic English language education in the Chinese education system during different periods of Chinese history. The study traces the emergence and development of English as a variety in China, in the form of China English, Chinese English, and Chinglish. This study could be of important scholarly significance for World Englishes researchers in the context of considering the English speech of native Chinese speakers. Attention is paid to English education in the country, focused on the rules of the functioning of this language as a native language for representatives of the Anglo-Saxon culture, and to the situation in which, from the middle of the last century, an exonomative model of language teaching was formed in the PRC and has been actively operating until recently. The paper highlights the increased attention of researchers to the issues of revising the policy of foreign language education in the PRC, which is explained by the ideological need that dictates the attempts of Chinese scholars to secure for China English the status of one of the varieties of World Englishes.

The paper analyzes the ways and means of constructing the country and national image in the public speeches of the Spanish King Felipe VI, which represent an example of the discourse of power. The study was carried out taking into account the theoretical developments of V. Demyankov, S. Zolyan, A. Chudinov, N. Klushina, E. Malysheva, J. Austin, J. Searle and D. Vanderveken and is based on the discourse analysis of the speeches from 2014 to 2024. Its main aim is to systematize ideas about ideologemes and metaphors as linguistic means of translating national identity in relation to the communicative intention of the speaker. It was revealed that ideologemes play a decisive role while constructing the image of Spain as a country and a nation. The authors also described the most productive metaphor sphere-sources needed to create this image. Moreover, it was concluded that in the discourse of the modern Spanish monarch the image of Spain is mainly transmitted by declarative and directive statements.

The article studies ethno-specific characteristics of Italian cultural landscapes nominated for the UNESCO World Heritage List as representatives of national cultural identity and as symbols of the proxemic communicative code in international cultural diplomacy. The author examines the evolution of the concept of “cultural landscape” in scientific discourse and UNESCO documents, as well as the classifications of cultural landscapes developed by Russian scientists F.N. Milkov, Y.A. Vedenin, and V.N. Kalutskov. Based on the ethnological-geographical approach, the author hypothesizes that the cultural landscapes nominated by Italy can serve as symbolic topoi of national culture, transmitting concepts of national identity through the proxemic communicative code. The article contributes to the study of the role of cultural landscapes in the formation and representation of national identity. The author analyzes landscape descriptions, classifies them according to N.F. Milkov’s typology, and identifies two main topoi of national culture: mountain-sea and mountain landscapes. The study shows that the transformative method of interaction with nature is leading for the Italian national community, while associativity and the presence of signssymbols of the national cultural code determine the significance of landscapes in the global cultural context. The article contributes to the understanding of the role of cultural landscapes in the formation and transmission of national identity.

The article focuses on the phenomenology of jew’s harp music art in traditional and modern cultural practices. The theoretical framework for the research were the works in the field of philosophy of culture, the concept of a symbol as a cognitive memory of culture, musical and psychological anthropology and a comparative approach to the study of cultures. On the basis of the cultural model of ethnomusicological codes, the authors have identified, typologized and analyzed intonation symbols of jew’s harp practices. The intonation-sound level of jew’s harp music art is revealed through the following elements of the symbolic field: the overtone scale as a natural sound invariant; the symbol of support; the symbol of the spiritual vertical; the symbol of prayer. At the visual and plastic level of jew’s harp music art, the following components of meaning formation are revealed: the symbol of the “external vocal cords” as a transcending voice; the symbol of the sound life of nature; the symbol of circularity. Special attention is paid to the understanding of the overtone scale as a comprehensive original musical sphere, concentrated in the sound of the jew’s harp and allowing performers to return to the lost integral connection with culture and nature. The revealed intonation symbols allow us to consider the jew’s harp as a “bridge” between nature and culture, and traditional and modern jew’s harp practices — as forms of transmission and actualization of the intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of Eurasia.

One of the cultural and geographical problems of literary landscape research is the definition of the very concept of landscape, which some authors reduce to a description of nature, “not noticing” the importance of its cultural component. 

Another theoretical problem stems from the first and is related to the understanding of the national landscape as a typically generalized image of native nature. At the same time, significant natural and cultural contrasts of a large country are not taken into account: it is not clear how to “generalize” forest and steppe, urban and rural, sea and river landscapes. 

One of the ways to solve the problem of the national landscape in literature is for the researcher to choose one of the regional landscapes of the geniuses of the place (Pushkin’s Mikhailovsky, Lermontov’s Tarkhans, Turgenevsky’s Spassky- Lutovinov or Meshchera Paustovsky) as a national landscape; but in this case, an important role is played not so much by the nature of the landscape as by the individual literary preferences of the researcher. 

Another objectified solution to the problem justifies the choice of a birch grove as a Russian national landscape.

The paper examines historical narrative in a diachronic aspect, to which historians and philosophers of the 20th century have been ambivalent. Historical narrative as one of the ways of presenting and interpreting historical events, characterised by the consistency of the presentation of material, consideration of the causes and consequences of specific events, can take many forms due to the wide variety of purposes faced by historians, including both printed material and visual material embodied in documentaries and feature films. The importance of historical narrative in historical discourse is considerable. Historical narrative is not limited to the description of facts and events, it contributes to the formation of the perception of history from the position of the historian who created it, since the world view of the historian is conditioned by his or her milieu. The aims and objectives of this article are to analyse the arguments put forward by supporters and opponents of historical narrative; to identify the scale and type of events that allow their representation in the form of historical narrative. The results of the research show that historical narrative plays a key role in the perception and understanding of the world of the past. The research methods consist of analysis and synthesis of the studied narratives, coding, inductive and deductive methods, necessary to identify the patterns of the narratives’ themes. As a result of the research conducted, it was established that historical narrative plays an important role not only in the understanding and perception of historical events by the recipient, but also in the formation of his/her historical memory.

The article discusses the main trends in the development of systematized repositories of human knowledge. From antiquity to the present day, both information carriers and ideological foundations associated with the tasks assigned to such storages have changed. Of course, the preservation of historical memory has always remained an unchanged guideline for the creators of archives and libraries. But the very ideas about the future, assumed by various projects of systematization of knowledge, were very different depending on the epoch. Of particular interest from this point of view is the concept of the archive put forward by N. Fedorov as part of his doctrine of mankind role in the universe. The article emphasizes that archives and libraries were called upon in different ways to perform a social function inseparable from their very existence. The prospects for the development of modern archives are directly connected with the processes of digitalization. Both document processing technologies and the way researchers communicate with the archive are being improved. The possibilities of scientific analysis of archival data are significantly increased. Currently, the objects of informatization of the archive should include: its acquisition and examination of the value of documents; acquisition, storage and search of documents on machine-readable information carriers; creation of an insurance fund and a fund for the use of documents. Obviously, the prospects for the development of archives in our country are closely related to their digitalization and, therefore, accessibility for an increasingly wide range of researchers. In turn, this circumstance should have a positive effect on the overall course of interdisciplinary research. It can be predicted that the change in the form of archival materials will serve as one of the factors in the transformation of the structure of scientific knowledge.