Features of Nonverbal Means of Communication as a Way to Express Social Status in a Literary Text (on the Example of A.P. Chekhov's Short Story "Thick and Thin")

Syui Min' Postgraduate student, Department of Russian Language and Teaching Technique, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 6 xumin12171995@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Currently, the question of the content, types and functions of nonverbal means of communication is of great interest to representatives of many scientific fields: linguistics, psychology, sociology, pedagogy, social communication, etc. In linguistics, there are two main ways of implementing communication: verbal and nonverbal, interrelated and complementary. According to Ren Fei's definition, "nonverbal means help to carry out the exchange of messages between people, as well as the interpretation of these messages" ^{[6, p. 8]}.

The problem of nonverbal means of communication remains relevant and unresolved to the end. One of the reasons for this, we can call the lack of a single conceptual apparatus today, associated with a large number of terms that include the concept of "nonverbality". Note that in science, the synonym "paralinguistic means of communication" is also used instead of the term "non-verbal".

The problem of nonverbal components of communication in linguistics is addressed by such scientists as G.E. Kreidlin ^[9], G.V. Kolshansky ^[8], L.V. Dubina ^[4], Z.A. Byganova ^[2], Yu.E. Prokhorov ^[13], N.I. Gorelov ^[3], Yu.D. Apresyan ^[1], V.A. Labunskaya ^[10], etc.; in psychology and sociology: M.I. Enikeev ^[7], A.L. Zhuravlev ^[5], A.A. Leontiev^[11], V.P. Morozov ^[12], etc. The functions of nonverbal means of communication in a literary text on the example of A.P. Chekhov's prose are considered in a number of dissertations and scientific articles by Ren Fei ^[6] and Titarenko M.V.^[14].  The problem has theoretical and practical significance not only for various scientific fields, but also for modern society, which is currently experiencing a stage of rapid development and formation of the communicative sphere.

If speech is the main means of verbal communication, then speech means as such are not used in nonverbal communication. According to the definition of G.E. Kreidlin: "The instrument of nonverbal communication and nonverbal communication is the human body and the specific situation when people resort to para-linguistic or paralinguistic units when realizing their intentions" ^{[9, p. 26]}.

The conceptual content of the term "nonverbal communication" is much broader than the term "verbal communication".  When creating a communicative situation, in addition to speech, a wide range of means of nonverbal behavior characteristic of a person is used to transmit information: gestures, facial expressions, gaze, posture, gait, and others that may have both similarities and differences in meaning and use in a diverse national speech environment. It is no coincidence that the term "communicative behavior" is used for the first time in the work of Yu.E. Prokhorov "Russian communicative behavior" ^{[13, p. 42]}.

 In science, there are classifications of nonverbal means of communication that differ in their composition and scope (classifications of G.E. Kreidlin, M.I. Enikeev, V.A. Labunskaya, Z.A. Byganova). Thus, in G.E. Kreidlin's classification, nine scientific fields are included in the concept of nonverbal communication ^{[9, p. 22]}. According to the method of establishing communication in a real situation , scientists collectively distinguish the following main nonverbal forms:

1. Kinesic. The means of kinesics, that is, the external manifestation of feelings and emotions, include facial expressions, gestures, poses, gaze, gait.

There are such types of gestures as communicative (greeting, farewell, attracting attention); descriptive (in the context of speech); modal (expressing various emotions).

Facial expressions are classified as follows: aggressive-offensive (anger, anger); active-defensive (hatred, dislike, disgust); passive-defensive (submission, humiliation); masking (concealment of the truth, ambiguity).

The term "gait" is interpreted as an individual manner of movement in space. By "pose" it is customary to understand an elementary unit of human spatial behavior.  Albert Scheflen, a doctor and psychologist, was one of the first to talk about her role in nonverbal communication in his work "Body Language and Social Order". In his opinion, the semantic content of the pose consists in the conscious placement of a person's body in relation to the interlocutor to express their own personal and social status.

2. Proxemic. The means of proxemics, that is, the spatial system, refers to the distance between communicants in various types of communication. Scientists distinguish four spatial zones: intimate (up to 50 cm) – the distance characteristic for communication of close people; personal (from 50 to 120 cm) – the distance at which they communicate with familiar people; social (from 120 to 350 cm) – the distance for communication with strangers and during official communication; public (over 350 cm) – the distance when communicating with a large group of people. The choice of distance to communicate with certain people may depend not only on generally accepted rules, but also on personal relationships and psychological characteristics of the interlocutors.

3. Prosodic and extralinguistic means of nonverbal communication are associated with a voice that has a personal coloring in each person. This allows you to determine the emotional, psychological state of a person, to understand his psychological essence.

4. Such means of nonverbal communication are associated with touching: handshake, kiss, patting on the shoulder, touching the hand. Their form depends on the gender, age, status, and personality type of the communicants. They perform the functions of indicators of status-role relations. It is worth noting that improper or excessive use of tactical means in communication can lead to conflicts between interlocutors. There are the following types of touches: professional (they are impersonal in joint work); protocol or ritual (handshake, diplomatic kiss); friendly, personal (strong hug, kiss, stroking hand).

5. Dr. Alan Hirsch, an American psychiatrist, identifies, in addition to those mentioned above, intentional or unintentional nonverbal effects with the help of smells. This is how olfaction arose – the science of the language of odors and their communicative properties. In fiction, this phenomenon is the basis of the plot of Patrick Suskind's novel "The Perfumer". This phenomenon is also present in the first episode of A.P. Chekhov's story "Thick and Thin": the communication of the characters here could be interrupted immediately, before the verbal clarification of Tolstoy's social status, because they, as representatives of different social strata, smell differently.As it can be concluded, various nonverbal components of communication carry a significant information load and expand people's communication capabilities.

Nonverbal means of communication in a particular communicative situation complement speech, create psychological contact, express emotions, help regulate the flow of the communication process, and ultimately achieve the goal of communication.A special aspect of the study of nonverbal means of communication is their presence in a literary text.

In the absence of a unified classification of paralinguistic means, the interpretation of their functions and roles can be quite broad and personal, which depends on the specific communicative situation reflected in a particular text.

Early comic stories-miniatures by A.P. Chekhov, as a rule, are a vivid plot sketch, necessarily including a dialogue of characters, which is carried out both with the help of verbal and non-verbal means of speech communication. Not only laughter and humor are already present here, but also serious social, ethical and even philosophical issues. This also applies to the story "Thick and Thin" (1883). The main task of our research is to identify the role of nonverbal means of communication in creating artistic images and ideas about the social status of the main characters of the story, conventionally named in the title without a name nomination – Thick and Thin. The denomination of the title gives reason to believe that the story contains a deeper, generalizing and typologizing socio-philosophical meaning than just a comic discrepancy in the social status of schoolmates in adulthood. The idea of social status is created by both verbal and paralinguistic means, which are inextricably linked and interact.  As M.V. Titarenko notes in his article "Verbalization of social status in a literary text", social status can be revealed at different language levels: intonation, grammatical, word-formation, lexical. These possibilities are richly complemented by nonverbal techniques represented by such somatisms as gestures, facial expressions, communicatively significant conscious movements, phonation features ^[14]. With a broader understanding of non-verbal means of expressing the idea of the text, one can also name the smells and appearance of the characters. In addition to the main characters, there are two secondary ones – the wife of Thin – "nee Wenzenbach, a Lutheran" (hereafter the text of the story cit. by: Chekhov A.P. Tolstoy and thin / A.P. Chekhov. Novellas, short stories. Moscow: Moskovsky Rabochy, 1985. – pp. 15-17) and his son, a third-grade high school student Nathanael. A significant non–verbal role is played in the story by objects – knots and cartons, which are loaded with Thin, details of appearance - the "long chin" of the wife, which has the ability to become even longer in moments of delight in high ranks, the squinted eye of the son of a high school student. An important non-verbal role is assigned to the subject details: Nathanael's cap, things that the Thin One carries and which also seem to react to the changed speech situation when reporting Tolstoy's high rank. Description of the external behavior of the characters at the moment of communication in this comic miniature allows you to see and understand a lot: psychological characteristics, desires, worldview of the participants. It can be observed that the instrument of nonverbal communication is both the human body and the specific situation that caused the use of a rich set of paralinguistic units. The situation can be described as a chance meeting of two childhood friends: Tolstoy (Misha) and Thin (Porfiry).

The plot of the story, for all its simplicity and brevity, includes all the main plot-forming elements: the beginning (meeting two school friends at the station of the Mykolaiv railway); the development of the action (expressions of joy, greetings, hugs and memories); the climax (news of Tolstoy's high rank); the change in the behavior of the characters and the denouement (parting). 

In each separate moment of the plot there are non-verbal or paralinguistic communication techniques included in the author's objective narrative, complementing it and eventually creating both a psychological portrait of each character, as a real person, and a social one, as a representative of a particular stratum of society and a bearer of a particular social rank and title.

At the moment of meeting old friends, Slim and his family are not attentive enough to immediately understand that they are facing a high rank, which, according to the Russian way of life, requires appropriate honor. Among the non–speech means there is a sign - this is the smell. From the main characters comes a different smell corresponding to their social status: "he smelled of sherry and orange blossom" (Tolstoy). "He smelled of ham and coffee grounds" (Thin). The smell acts as a marker of the status of former friends: the security and high position of Tolstoy and straitened funds and the low rank of Thin. The symbolic meaning is also carried by objects of the material world: of the two heroes, only the poor and the non-official Thin one is loaded with things, and the author uses the reducing semantic verb "loaded": "loaded with suitcases, bundles and boxes". Kinesic non-speech techniques are used here, namely facial expressions: "lips, covered with oil, glistened like ripe cherries" (Thick) what gives rise to the image of a wealthy and happily settled person in life.  The mimicry of the son of a high school student: "with a squinted eye" – indicates attentiveness and at the same time some arrogance and self-confidence. The mimicry of the wife ("long chin") indicates her national origin. Kinesic non-speech means were used in the development of the action. To express the joy of the meeting and the memory of the former friendship, the friends "kissed three times" (a gesture of friendship). Their sincere feelings of affection and friendly affection are indicated by facial expressions – "they fixed their eyes full of tears on each other."

The development of the action includes a spontaneous dialogue: here are memories of childhood high school friendship, and the story of Thin about his modest earnings and low rank. At the same time, the high school student son is in no hurry to bow to his father's friend, it is not yet known about his high position, this is expressed in gestures: "I thought a little and hid behind my father's back."

The culminating moment is the recognition of Tolstoy's high rank. It is important to note that before this, Thin had already told about his low rank, but this did not change Tolstoy's attitude towards him at all. This has its own explanation: The fat one is so well-arranged that it doesn't really matter to him what rank a schoolmate has. He communicates with him in the private sphere. But this is important for a Thin person who is amazed and frightened by the message, which is why he changes his manner of behavior and tone of speech. Often in Czech studies and in the methodology of teaching literature at school, this causes unequivocal condemnation as a disgusting vice of honor. But this is not just "lackeyism", "fawning", it is so accepted in society. The little man really has grounds for fright, and they are hidden in social psychology, in the reality of the Russian Empire. Throughout the story, both the personal psychology of both friends and the social psychology of two different ranks are shown in parallel. It is characteristic that Tolstoy is very friendly in a personal aspect, not at all arrogant and does not change his attitude to a friend, knowing about his socially low status. Another thing is Subtle. His personality completely fades away in close proximity to the high-status personality of a former friend. As a person, he is no longer there, only a small rank remains, who by mistake did not immediately recognize the high rank. Tolstoy loses interest in him and quickly breaks up. In the Russian Empire, social psychology was determined by the place it occupied in society. The social status of a person depended not on his personal merits, but on awards, ranks, titles. Their bearer was surrounded by a halo of official obligatory honor. Thin follows the social rule of honoring rank and status. The Table of Ranks, which existed under the decree of Peter the Great on the order of public service in Russia, included 14 classes. During a friendly kiss, the heroes are separated by a giant difference in ranks. In real space, they gesture closer, but this does not make them closer socially. Here they can't get close to each other. Misha has the rank of privy councilor (this is the highest rank of the 3rd class). The bearers of such a rank served in the capital cities, enjoyed great rights and privileges. Porfiry has the rank of only a collegiate assessor (grade 8), which allows him to occupy low and low-paid positions of secretary, registrar. As for the awards, the Privy Councilor already has two of them – the Order of St. Stanislaus and the Order of St. Anna. These are the highest awards of high–ranking officials in Russia, which A.P. Chekhov will show in another story - "Anna on the neck". The belittled behavior of Porfiry in relation to a high rank is a behavioral norm: it was necessary to stand at a high rank. It is no accident that his son "stretched out in front and buttoned all the buttons of his uniform." A fine and public censure were imposed for non-compliance with the social distance. Porfiry was frightened when he realized that he had already committed a violation – "kissing three times" with a high rank out of ignorance.

The psychology of a Thin person who has not achieved success in the official field and is barely making ends meet is more susceptible to the influence of social psychology. Under her pressure, a sweet and complacent schoolmate instantly becomes a grassroots social unit – a low and poor official. Accustomed to trembling in front of his boss, even here he no longer feels the joy of meeting, but the fright that he violated the established chain of command with his treatment of Tolstoy. This is expressed primarily by his changed timbre of speech, confusion in words, stammering. Meaningfully, he no longer changes his words and only repeats what has already been said about himself and his family, but the tone and timbre of speech decrease. The metamorphosis is also indicated in the gestures of all three representatives of the family and even the things that belonged to them: "He himself shrank, hunched, narrowed..."; his wife's chin "stretched out even more"; "Nathanael stretched out into a frunt and buttoned all the buttons of his uniform..."; things "shrank, winced".

The author's irony is expressed in the twice-repeated: "all three were pleasantly stunned." This conveys the internal state of the characters. But if for the first time it is a joyful stupefaction from the meeting of equals and close people, then in the final the stupefaction is caused by fright and confusion from communicating with such a high rank. The subtext of the story hides the irony caused by the transformation of a person into a rank.

The denouement is a farewell. If at the beginning they kissed and looked at each other with tears in their eyes, then when parting, the Thin One falls into a stupor from fright. This is expressed in gestures and facial expressions: "suddenly he turned pale, petrified, his face twisted with the widest smile, in all directions. It seemed that sparks fell from his face and eyes." Nathanael greets the high rank after his father, stretching out in front and buttoning all the buttons of his uniform, dropping his uniform gymnasium cap from embarrassment and fright. Wife Louise smiled at the high rank. The Thin Man's face now expresses reverence for a high rank, and not friendly feelings for a childhood friend: "there was so much awe, sweetness and reverent acid written on the thin man's face that Tolstoy threw up."

The situation becomes painful for Tolstoy, which is expressed by facial expressions: he "winced", "turned away" (the desire to part as soon as possible) His parting gesture is cold and formal. He says goodbye like a high rank with a low one: he holds out his hand for a handshake, but does not shake it himself. And the Thin One does not shake an open palm (a gesture that expresses openness and goodwill), but only three fingers – a gesture with a half-closed palm, that is, not a farewell to a friend, but the grace of a high rank expressed in a handshake gesture.  It is characteristic that the position of the body in space changes – they no longer approach and do not embrace, the distance increases. Tolstoy's pose shows this: "He turned away from thin and gave him a parting hand." The thin one dares to shake only three fingers, (a gesture of reverence), bows "with his whole body" (a gesture, a movement expressing reverence), a nervous laugh: "giggled like a Chinese "hee-hee-hee".

The analysis of nonverbal means of communication in the story of A.P. Chekhov "Thick and Thin" allows us to come to the following conclusions: first, it should be noted a very complete and rich set of non-verbal means of communication, which includes: kinesic (facial expressions, gestures, posture); prosodic (change in timbre, sound of speech), extralinguistic (chi-chi-c); takesic (handshake, hug, friendly kiss); proxemic (location in space – the initial rapprochement of friends and the final distance of "ranks", that is, their location in space is restored not in connection with memories of shared childhood in the past, but the position in the Table of Ranks, where they are far away from each other). A special iconic social marker, the smell, is also used. Secondly, the use of such a diverse set of nonverbal communication techniques pursues certain goals and objectives and is associated with the ideological and thematic content of the story.  The author strives to ridicule such a social vice as reverence, fawning over people higher on the social ladder. With the help of both speech and non-speech means of communication, which enhance and complement speech, he creates a sketch of two main comic characters. Non-speech means allow you to create a vivid psychological portrait of everyone from two angles: as a person and as a unit of society, the bearer of a particular rank and title. The idea of the story is to show how, under the influence of official honor in the conditions of the Russian Empire, a person disappears and only his rank remains. The low rank of a Thin Man automatically makes him a "little man". Tolstoy's stoutness corresponds to his high position in the social space.  The question whether communication was established during the dialogue between the two characters, former childhood friends, should be answered in the negative. In the story, only social communication is established in the form of mandatory observance of the social distance of two different ranks in accordance with the Table of Ranks.

Summing up our work, we note that nonverbal communication is an important component of interpersonal and intercultural communication in the real, as well as in the artistic space. Paralinguistic means of communication, produced with the participation of different sensory systems, contain a large amount of information about a person and society. Their spontaneity and unconsciousness causes the interlocutor to have more confidence that the means of verbal communication. Also, sign language, together with natural language, can reflect a person's social status.

The ability to see, "read" nonverbal communication techniques allows you to understand the ideological meaning of a work of art on a qualitatively different level.