Analysis of derivational relations of a word in the framework of the study of the linguistic picture of the world (based on the material of the Quebec version of the French language)

Afonina Mariya Mikhailovna Postgraduate student, Educator, the department of Lexicology and Stylistics of French Language, Moscow State Linguistic University 119034, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Ostozhenka, 38, str.1 afonina6991@mail.ru Other publications by this author

To date, one of the most pressing problems of linguistics is the study of the linguistic picture of the world (hereinafter referred to as YAKM). YAKM is a historically established system of knowledge and ideas about the surrounding world, peculiar to a certain ethnic group and fixed by means of the language of this ethnic group, ^[5] thus combining cognitive (due to the peculiarities of thinking) and linguistic (due to the peculiarities of language) essence. The study of this mental-linguistic education ^{[3, p. 400-401]} makes it possible to identify the relationship between the structures of thinking and the linguistic units and linguistic means reflecting them, to describe the mechanisms of conceptualization and categorization of the surrounding reality in language, which is one of the priorities of modern cognitive linguistics. ^[8] In addition, the study of the YAKM contributes to the development of linguoculturology, since the YAKM contains information about the cultural specifics of the ethnic group to which it belongs.

The analysis of the YAKM is also an effective means of studying territorial variants of one language, since it reveals the mechanisms underlying the formation of language units that differ from the language units of the standard (central) version of the language and, as a consequence, lead to the fact that idioms originally included in the same system begin to develop in different directions.

At the moment, in this way, variants of languages that play an active role in the international arena, such as, for example, English, French, Spanish, are increasingly being studied. Our work will be devoted to the consideration of a fragment of the YAKM based on the material of the Canadian (Quebec) version of the French language, since this idiom is characterized by a large number of specific linguistic units (Quebecisms), the appearance of which is largely due to the socio-political conditions of the development of the Franco-Canadian ethnic group, ^{[7, p. 61]} in connection with which Quebec French occupies a significant place in the system of national variants of the French language.

The analysis of the fragment of the YAKM contains the following steps:

1) identification of linguistic units containing information about the peculiarities of perception of reality by representatives of an ethnic group;

2) linguistic analysis of these units in order to establish a connection between their conceptual and linguistic components;

3) interpretation of the results obtained, determination of the patterns of formation of the ethnolinguistic content of the studied units.

Elements of the YAKM expressing ethnos-specific content can be observed at various levels of the language system, ^{[4, p.5]} however, in our opinion, within the framework of the analysis of the territorial variant of the language, it is most appropriate to consider the lexical and phraseological level, since:

a) territorial variants (and, accordingly, their constituent units with ethnolinguistic content) arise as a result of changes in the conditions of existence of some native speakers (i.e., the influence of extralinguistic reasons). ^[9] It is the lexical level that is most affected by external factors compared to other levels of the language ^{[1, p.40]};

b) phraseological expressions in the "collapsed" form reflect the process of development of the most stable cultural ideas and attitudes existing in this language collective ^{[11, p. 209]}.

In our opinion, the analysis of the derivational relations of the word is essential for the study of the characteristics of the YAKM of the territorial variant of the language. The derivational relations of a word are understood as a system of relations of a lexical unit with lexical units derived from it within the framework of a given language system.

Analysis of derivational relationships allows

a) consider the main ways of word formation characteristic of this variant of the language;

b) to identify the cognitive structures underlying the word formation of the studied idiom and reflecting the most significant realities for this ethnic group, the high significance of which is confirmed by the fact that they are further spread, being transferred from one lexical unit to another in the process of derivation; 

c) to assess the development potential of the lexical system of the idiom in question, since it reflects the process of formation of new units with ethnolinguistic content from other units that also have this content (i.e. belonging directly to this variant of the language, differentiating it from other variants of this language, and therefore characterizing the ability of the studied variant to develop with the help of their own language resources and evaluating prospects of its existence as an independent idiom).

In our article we will analyze the derivational connections of the Quebecism patate (potato), from which a large number of other Quebecisms were formed, in order to identify the features of the fragment of the YAKM of French-speaking Canada.

Patate (n, f) (pomme de terre — potatoes). The word came from the word batata from the language of the Taino group of peoples (refers to the Arawak languages) ^[2]; later the word passed into Spanish and received the form patata.^[13]

The structure of the meaning of the word contains one component: the name of the plant / fruit of the plant.

The analogue of this word in the French language of France is the phrase pomme de terre (potato). The phrase was formed in a semantic-syntactic way (new expressions are made up of words of the French language, which have the meaning of another lexical unit that takes place in the central version of the language) ^[6]; the internal form of the phrase is "ground apple". Thus, metaphorical transfer of meaning plays an important role in the formation of the phrase pomme de terre (the nomination is probably based on the external similarity of potatoes and apples).

The structure of the inner form of the word:

Name of the fruit of the plant + characteristics of the fruit of the plant

The structure of the meaning completely coincides with the structure of the meaning of the Canadian word.

In the French language of France, the word patate is also present directly. The origin is the same as that of the Canadian token, but the meanings differ. However, it should be noted that in the meaning of "potato" the word patate is also used in the central version of the French language, but only in the informal register ^[13].

Patate (n, f) (sweet potato — "sweet potato" (this meaning is metaphorical, in fact sweet potato is not a kind of potato, because it does not belong to the solanaceae family, like potatoes, but to the bindweed family ^{[10, p.18]}; the crops in question are distant relatives; the expression "sweet potato" it arose because of the similarity of the tubers of these plants. Thus, the meaning of the Canadian word patate was formed as a result of a metaphorical transfer of meaning (the nomination is based on the feature "appearance of the tubers of the plant")).

The structure of the meaning of the word contains one component: the name of the plant / fruit of the plant.

The structure of metaphorical meaning:

Name of the plant / fruit of the plant + taste characteristics of the fruit of the plant

Thus, the ethno-linguistic characteristic of the Canadian word patate can be considered its stylistic coloring (the possibility of using the word in the middle register).

In the French language of Canada, there are also several phrases formed using the word patate, which are hyponyms in relation to this word.

1) Patate brune (pommes de terre cuites dans le suc de la viande — baked potatoes in meat juice). ^[12] The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method. The inner form of the phrase is "brown potato". Thus, the structure of the internal form of the phrase looks like this:

The name of the fruit of the plant + the color of the fruit of the plant

Thus, the nomination is probably based on the change in the color of potatoes after baking.

The structure of the meaning of the phrase:

The name of the fruit of the plant + features of the preparation of the fruit of the plant for consumption + one of the ingredients of the dish

There is no lexeme in the French language of France, the meaning of which would directly correspond to the meaning of the expression patate brune, therefore, the French phrase pomme de terre (potato), which acts as a hyperonym in relation to the Canadian expression, can be considered an analogue of this phrase.

Thus, the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the phrase patate brune can be considered:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. the inner form of the phrase

3. origin (features of the nomination)

4. meaning (components "features of preparing the fruit of the plant for consumption", "ingredient of the dish").

2) Patate pil?e (pomme de terre en pur?e — mashed potatoes) ^[12]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form of the phrase is "folded/ bent potato".

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

The name of the fruit of the plant + the shape of the fruit of the plant

Thus, probably, the nomination is based on the peculiarities of mashed potatoes preparation, during which the potatoes need to be kneaded.

The structure of the meaning of the phrase:

The name of the dish + the name of the fruit of the plant from which the dish is prepared

The analogue of this phrase in the central version of the French language is the expression pur?e de pommes de terre (synonym).

Pur?e de pomme de terre (mashed potatoes). The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method. The internal form of the phrase is "mashed potatoes" (i.e. it actually coincides with the meaning).

The structure of the meaning of the phrase completely coincides with the structure of the meaning of its Canadian counterpart.

Thus, the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the phrase patate pli?e include:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. the inner form of the phrase

3. origin (features of the nomination)

4. the combination of the external form of the expression and its meaning (but not the meaning itself directly, since in the central version of the language there is already a separate lexical unit that conveys this meaning — the phrase pur?e de pomme de terre, so there is no need to convey this meaning explicatively)

3) Patate frite (French fries) ^[12]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method. The internal form of the phrase and its meaning coincide.

The structure of the meaning of the phrase:

Name of the fruit of the plant + features of the preparation of the fruit of the plant

An analogue of the phrase in the French language of France is the word frite (n, f) (French fries), which is part of the phrase in the Canadian version. The structure of the meaning of the word completely coincides with the structure of the meaning of the Quebec phrase.

Thus, the ethnolinguistic features of the phrase patate frite are:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. origin (method of lexeme formation)

4) Patate sucr?e (patate douce — sweet potato, sweet potato) ^[12]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form of the phrase is "sweet potato".

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

The name of the fruit of the plant + the taste characteristics of the fruit of the plant

The structure of the meaning of the phrase contains one component: the name of the plant / fruit of the plant

Thus, it turns out that the phrase patate sucr?e illustrates the original meaning of the word patate (sweet potato) using a form that conveys a metaphorical meaning. As a result, it turns out that the metaphorical expression "sweet potato", which characterizes the plant "sweet potato", is a link between the original meaning of the lexeme patate and its modern meaning in Quebec French.

The analogue of the phrase in question in the French language of France is the word patate (for a more detailed consideration, see the analysis of the word patate), as well as the phrase patate douce. Both lexical units are synonymous with the phrase patate sucr?e.

Patate douce (sweet potato, "sweet potato") ^[13]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form is "soft sweet potato".

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

The name of the fruit of the plant + the texture of the fruit of the plant

Comparing the internal form of the Quebec and French phrases, it can be noted that the Quebec phrase is somewhat closer to the metaphorical meaning of the word patate ("sweet potato").

Thus, it can be concluded that the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the phrase patate sucr?e are:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. the inner form of the phrase

3. origin

4. the combination of the external form of the phrase with its meaning

Also, some phraseological units were formed from the word patate in Quebec French.

5) Faire patate (?chouer — to fail, to fail). The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form of the phrase is "to make potatoes" ^[12].

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

Action + Action object

Thus, it can be assumed that there is a certain cognitive model in which for Canadians there are certain associations between the potato plant and failure. At the same time, we note that this expression is also present in the Belgian version of the French language, in which it has the opposite meaning — "to succeed in something" ^[12], as a result of which it can be assumed that a similar cognitive model is characteristic of Belgians, but unlike Canadians, they have associations between the plant "potato"and success.

The analogue of this phrase in the French language of France is the word ?chouer (to fail). The verb was presumably originally a variant of the verb ?choir (to get, to fall to the share), also the formation of the lexeme was influenced by the verbs choir, tomber, chuter (to fall).

The structure of the meaning of a word includes one component: action

Thus, the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the Canadian phrase faire patate are:

1. the external form of the phrase (partially, because on the one hand, the phrase with this form is absent in the French language of France, but, on the other hand, it is present in the French language of Belgium)

2. the origin and internal form of the phrase (the same remarks as in the case of the external form)

3. the combination of the external form of the phrase with a meaning bearing negative connotations. Nevertheless, the meaning of this phrase in Canada and its meaning in Belgium have one common aspect: the emphasis on performing any actions. The difference lies in the final outcome of actions: the Canadian phrase suggests a negative outcome, and the Belgian one - a positive one.

6) L?cher pas la patate (tenir bon, ne pas abandonner qch — hold on, don't give up, don't throw anything) ^[12]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form of the phrase is "do not release potatoes".

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

Action + Action object

The structure of the meaning of a phrase has one component: action. At the same time, the meaning carries positive connotations.

Thus, this phrase confirms the assumption that there is a cognitive scheme in the minds of Canadians, within which native speakers of Quebec French have associations between the potato plant and the result of some important activity for a person.

In the French language of France, this phrase corresponds to the phrase tenir bon (hold on); the internal form of the phrase is "keep well", which corresponds in content to the construction l?cher pas (do not release).

The structure of the internal form of the French phrase:

Action + quality of action execution

The structure of the meaning of the French phrase completely coincides with the structure of the meaning of the Quebec phrase.

Thus, the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the Quebec expression l?cher pas la patate are:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. the inner form of the phrase

3. the origin of the phrase

4. the combination of the external form of the phrase and its meaning.

7) ?tre dans les patate (?tre dans l'erreur, se tromper — to be mistaken) ^[12]. The phrase was formed using a semantic-syntactic method; the internal form of the phrase is "to be in potatoes".

The structure of the internal form of the phrase:

State + Object

The structure of the meaning of a phrase has one component: action. At the same time, there are negative connotations in the meaning.

As in the case of the previous expression, this phrase confirms the existence of a cognitive model in which in the minds of Canadians there is a connection between the potato plant and the result of an important activity. In addition, this expression, as well as the expression faire patate, indicate the connection of potatoes in this model with a negative result of activity, failure, error.

The analogue of this phrase in the French language of France is the verb se tromper.

Se tromper (v, pr.) (to be mistaken). The word goes back to the word tromper, when it meant "to play the trumpet" (XIV century.) When the verb became reflexive, it acquired the meaning of "to hold someone", then - "to mock someone" ^[13], i.e. in the course of development, the lexeme acquired negative connotations, which, probably, and served as the basis for the final (modern) meaning of the word.

The structure of the meaning of the word completely coincides with the structure of the meaning of the Quebec expression.

Thus, the following ethnolinguistic characteristics of the phrase ?tre dans les patate can be distinguished:

1. the external form of the phrase

2. the inner form of the phrase

3. origin

4. the combination of the external form of the phrase with its meaning

Also quite often in Quebec French the word patate is used in the meaning of "heart". For example:

— Je suis assez stress?, j'ai la patate qui bat ? 210 ? la minute (I'm under quite a lot of stress: my heart is beating at 210 beats per minute).

— J'arr?te de courir, la patate va m'exploser (I'll stop and I won't be able to run anymore, my heart jumps out of my chest) ^[12].

In this case, the word patate has completely different connotations: there is a metaphorical transfer of meaning, probably based on the sign "an important part of something" (the heart is one of the most vital organs of the human body, and potatoes play one of the most important roles among agricultural crops).

The combination of the word patate with the meaning "heart" is also one of the ethnolinguistic features of the word patate.

Thus, the word patate occupies a significant place in the lexical system of the Quebec French language: a large number of other Quebecisms originated from this Quebecism, and the following trends are characteristic of the system of lexical units derived from the word patate: 1) formation of hyponyms 2) formation of phraseological units

Also note that the word patate in the composition of the YAKM of Canada denotes various realities. Let 's list the main ones:

1. the potato plant

2. the result of an important activity

3. failure

4. an important part of something.

Based on the data obtained , the following conclusions can be drawn:

1. The importance of potatoes as an agricultural crop is great for Canada

2. The second, third and fourth values can be linked together. Since potatoes are considered as an important part of something, the second meaning follows from the fourth (i.e. there is a metaphorical transfer of the meaning "an important part in the whole" - "the result of an important activity"; the transfer is based on the sign "importance, significance".

3. Perhaps (since the importance of potatoes for the agricultural sector of Canada is quite high and this fact clearly has a positive, not a negative meaning), the third meaning does not mean a direct connection in the minds of Canadians between the plant "potato" and failure, but is the result of a partial transfer of the meaning "result of important activity" — "failure" (as one of the possible results). However, we note that this statement is an assumption and requires further verification.