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The image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the national Syrian version of the Arabic language

Safaralieva Lyubov Aleksandrovna

ORCID: 0000-0002-6960-9426

PhD in Philology

Associate Professor at the Department of General and Russian Linguistics, Faculty of Philology, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba

6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia

kuznetsova-la@rudn.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Abdullah Luai

ORCID: 0009-0000-6739-4188

Master's Degree; Department of General and Russian Linguistics; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia

1032189183@pfur.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-8698.2024.5.70779

EDN:

WQWYQI

Received:

13-05-2024


Published:

20-05-2024


Abstract: The present study is devoted to the reconstruction of the image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the national Syrian version of the Arabic language on the basis of data from a free associative experiment with a word روسيا ‘ Russia’. The purpose of the article is a semantic analysis of associative-verbal networks of the associative field روسيا ‘ Russia’ and the identification of frequency, collective characteristics of the image of Russia, as well as the analysis of individual representations of respondents based on the material of individual associates. The conducted free associative experiment made it possible not only to reconstruct a significant fragment of the Syrians' linguistic picture of the world – the image of modern Russia, but also to identify common, average representations of speakers of Syrian linguistic culture due to the following extralinguistic factors: military-political, cultural, scientific and educational contacts between Russia and Syria in the last few years. The main research method was a free associative experiment conducted using the Google Forms resource. 116 Syrian citizens, aged 18 to 60, who are receiving or have received higher education, were interviewed. The respondents were asked to write 3 first reactions to the stimulus روسيا ‘ Russia’. An analysis of the data obtained showed that, first of all, in the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture, Russia is a cold but beautiful country that is a reliable friend and ally of Syria. It should be noted that among the 319 reactions obtained, only 3 differ in a pronounced pejorative value. For Syrians, Russia is a country with a rich history, diverse culture and vibrant traditions, a country that provides an opportunity for personal development, including higher education. It was also found that for Syrians, the image of Russia is strongly associated with its capital, Moscow. In general, it can be argued that an exceptionally positive image of a strong and independent Russia has developed in the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture. The prospect of the study is to conduct an associative experiment with Russian-speaking respondents to reconstruct the image of Syria in the minds of native speakers of Russian linguistic culture and compare the results with those given in this article.


Keywords:

associative experiment, Arabic language, linguistic culture, Russia, Russian, Syria, semantics, stereotypical representations, extralinguistic factors, the linguistic picture of the world

This article is automatically translated.

Introduction

Over the past decade, political, economic and cultural relations between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic have been strengthening on an ongoing basis. Russia's presence in Syria is expanding not only in the military sphere, but also in the field of education. Russian russians are becoming more and more interested in learning the Russian language, which is due not only to the above-mentioned extralinguistic factors, but also to the increased presence of the Russian language in Syria.: "In the last decade, the Russian language has been gaining great popularity in the country. The activities of the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office are designed to strengthen its position and expand the Russian information and cultural field in Syria" [1]. In this regard, linguistic and cultural studies aimed at reconstructing the linguistic worldview of the Syrian people seem particularly relevant at the moment: "<...> linguoculturology and cognitive linguistics are aimed at human cognition of the surrounding reality through language and in language" [2, p. 120].

One of the most effective tools for studying the linguistic consciousness of speakers of a certain linguistic culture is a free associative experiment — "a technique aimed at identifying associations that have developed in an individual in his previous experience" [3, p. 82],

The result of a free associative experiment is the associative field of the stimulus word - it is "a fragment of the image of the world of a particular ethnic group reflected in the consciousness of the average bearer of a particular culture, his motives and assessments and, consequently, his cultural stereotypes" [4, p. 341]. The associative field is represented, in turn, by a set of associative-verbal networks. One of the leading experts in the field of associative linguistics, Y.N. Karaulov, wrote about the latter: "The associative-verbal network captures only that part of our consciousness that has a verbal shell, but it is this part that makes up most of our knowledge about the world" [5, p. 5]. Thus, it is the results of the associative experiment that make it possible to reconstruct the average, everyday ideas of native speakers about a particular fragment of the surrounding reality.

The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the image of Russia in the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture based on the data of a free associative experiment with the stimulus wordRussia’, conducted among citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic.

There are a number of scientific papers in Russian linguistics devoted to the study of the image of Russia: based on the material of field research in Iraq [6], in China [7, 8], in France [9, 10], in Slovakia [11], in Israel [12], in the countries of the former Yugoslavia [13] and in the modern world as a whole [14, 15, 16]

Since no work has been found on the reconstruction of the image of Russia in Syria, it can be concluded that the study below was conducted for the first time, which is the novelty of this scientific article.

The results of the study

To reconstruct the image of Russia in the minds of speakers of Arabic linguistic culture, citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic, a free associative experiment was conducted using the Google Forms application. The experiment involved 116 people with higher education, aged 18 to 60 years, of whom 68 were men and 48 were women. The respondents were asked to write the first 3 words or phrases on the stimulus of theRussia. A total of 319 reactions were obtained:

‘Russia’

Let's imagine the associative field of the stimulus. Russia’ in the form of a picture (Fig.1).

Figure 1. Associative field of the stimulusRussia’

The most frequent reactions to a stimulus are:Russia’ has become snow' (56); ‘cold' (21); ‘university' (17); ‘beauty' (16); ‘strength' (15). The analysis of these associates allows us to reconstruct the following image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the Syrian national version of the Arabic language: Russia is a cold but beautiful country where you can get an education (higher education) and which has a strong position in the world. Reactions representing the ‘cold’ are expected, because, on the one hand, winter, as a climatic phenomenon, proceeds differently in the Syrian Republic: temperature indicators are positive, there is practically no snow. Therefore, naturally, the Russian winter leaves its mark on the Syrians who visited Russia in winter. And, on the other hand, the perception of the climate of Russia by speakers of other linguistic cultures is influenced by stereotypical ideas about Russia as a cold country, most of which is covered with snow.

For a deeper analysis of the data of the associative experiment, we will distribute the associates into semantic groups (Table 1).

Table 1. Semantic groups of associates on the stimulusRussia’

¹

Semantic basis

Reactions

1

Nature and climate of Russia

'with neg’ (56); ‘cold' (21); ‘nature' (6); ‘winter’ (3); , ‘beauty of nature' (2); ‘forests' (2); ‘lakes' (1); ‘parks' (1); 'gardens' (1);

2

Culture and history of Russia

The university (17); ‘art' (3); ‘culture’ (3); ‘literature’ (3); ‘music' (3); ‘science' (3); ‘tourism' (3); ‘rich history’ (2); ‘, ‘sights’(2); ‘antiquity' (2); ‘folklore’ (2); ‘ ‘the Great Empire' (1); ‘The Soviet Union’ (1); ‘theater' (1); tsar' (1);

3

Geography of Russia

‘Red Square’ (9); ‘The Kremlin’(2); ‘metro' (2); ‘big country' (1); ‘the beauty of Moscow (1); ‘Moscow’ (1); ‘Saint Petersburg’ (1); ‘Siberia’ (1); ‘The capital of beauty’ (1); 'The capital of beauty' (1); 'the capital of beauty' (1);

4

The political structure of Russia

‘Putin’ (7); ‘the fight against Nazism’ (3); ‘military force' (2); 'ally‘ (2); 'law' (1); ‘communism' (1); ‘law' (1); ‘socialism' (1);

5

Abstract, philosophical ideas about Russia

‘beauty’ (16); ‘power’ (15); ‘love’ (10); ‘memories’ (8); ‘development’ (6); ‘civilization’ (5); ‘scale space’ (3); ‘world’ (3); ‘future’ (2); ‘feature’ (2); ‘second home’ (1); ‘friendly forces’ (2); ‘friends’ (2); ‘alienation’ (2); ‘security’ (1); ‘grandeur’ (1); ‘pride’ (1); ‘dignity’ (1); ‘friend’(1); ‘friendship’ (1); ‘intelligence’ (1); ‘masculinity’ (1); ‘hope’ (1); ‘independence’ (1); ‘new world system’ (1); ‘nostalgia’ (1); ‘help’ (1); , right’ (1); ‘homeland’ (1); ‘stability’ (1);

6

Attributes of Russia

‘ ' ' ' ' ' 'vodka' (7); bear' (3); ‘matryoshka doll'(2); ‘Christmas’ (1); ‘Russian grandmothers’ (1); flag of Russia' (1);

7

Other individual reactions

‘language’ (6); white color’ (2); ‘blonde’ (2); ‘hold’ (2); ‘to travel’ (2); those ‘work’ (2); ‘study’ (2); ‘alcohol’ (1); ambition’ (1); Those ‘volunteer work’ (1); ‘women’ (1); ‘nightmare’ (1); ‘Olympics’ (1 ); ‘weapon’ (1); bad food’ (1); ‘victory’ (1); , ‘lose money’ (1); ‘speed’ (1); ‘supporter’ (1); ‘the shape of the letters of the Russian alphabet’ (1); football’ (1); ‘energy’ (1).

 

For a large number of speakers of the Syrian linguoculture, Russia is associated with the beauty of nature, with its diversity: ‘nature’ (6); , ‘beauty of nature' (2); ‘forests' (2); ‘lakes' (1); ‘parks' (1); gardens' (1).

In the minds of Syrians, Russia is a country with a high educational and cultural potential, which is confirmed by the presence in the associative field of such reactions as: ‘university’ (17); ‘art’ (3); ‘culture’ (3); ‘literature’ (3); ‘music’ (3); ‘science' (3). For many speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture, the historical past of Russia is of interest: ‘rich history' (2); ‘ ‘the great empire' (1); ‘The Soviet Union’ (1); the King (1);

For a large number of respondents, the image of Russia is closely linked to its capital, Moscow. Reactions such as ‘Red Square’ (9); ‘The Kremlin’(2);); the beauty of Moscow (1); the beauty of MoscowMoscow’ (1); the ‘capital of beauty’ (1) reflects the idea of Moscow and its main attraction – Red Square, as the central cultural image of Russia.

The military-political interaction between Russia and Syria over the past decade has also been reflected in the data of the associative experiment. For a large number of respondents, Russia is strongly associated with the image of President Vladimir V. Putin and his policy of military support for the Syrian army: "the force" (15);: "the forcePutin’ (7); ‘the fight against Nazism’(3); ‘military force' (2); ‘victory' (1); ‘weapons' (1). Russia, first of all, is a friend and ally of Syria: (2); (1);(1); (1). The idea of Russia as a partner capable of helping Syria maintain the independence of the state is reflected in the reactions of ‘law’ (1); ‘law’ (1); ‘civilization' (5); ‘a large’scale place’ (3); ‘the world' (3); ‘the future' (2); ‘opportunities' (2); ‘friendly forces' (2); ‘hold out' (2); ‘security’ (1); ‘hope' (1); ‘independence' (1); ‘new world system' (1); ‘help' (1).

Reactions such as : ‘beauty' (16); love' (10); ‘greatness' (1); ‘pride' (1); ‘dignity' (1); ‘intelligence' (1); ‘masculinity' (1); characterize The image of Russia in the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture is on the positive side. The majority of respondents gave reactions with reclamation values. The pejorative reactions are isolated: ‘nightmare’ (1); bad food’ (1); ‘losing money' (1).

Stereotypical ideas about Russia in the world community are also reflected in the results of the associative experiment. The Syrians most often associate Russia with the following national Russian "symbols": 'vodka' (7); 'bear' (3); 'matryoshka doll'(2).

Other reactions reflect the individual ideas of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture based on personal experience. Russian Russian-language students, for example, gave reactions related to the Russian language: ‘language’ (6); ‘the shape of the letters of the Russian alphabet' (1).

Conclusion

The conducted associative experiment aimed at identifying the frequency characteristics of the image of Russia in the minds of speakers of Syrian linguistic culture showed that extralinguistic factors – the active development of relations between Russia and Syria in the military-political, cultural, educational, and social spheres - had a significant impact on the formation of Syrian citizens' ideas about Russia. Thus, there is a predominance of reclamation reactions in the responses of respondents describing Russia as a beautiful, strong country that is a reliable friend and ally. Despite the harsh climatic conditions with which Russia is associated, the nature and culture of Russia are distinguished by beauty and diversity. In the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture, Russia is a country with a rich history and wide educational opportunities, which confirms the statistical data on a significant increase in the number of Syrian students in Russian universities.

The results of the research can find practical application in lexicographic practice, in the compilation of associative dictionaries, in the practice of teaching the basics of intercultural communication.

References
1. The official website of the Russian House in Damascus. [Electronic resource] Retrieved from https://syria.rs.gov.ru/activities / (date of reference: 05/15/2024).
2. Safaralieva, L.A., Tutova, E.V., & Shevchenko, V.A. (2024). Comparative analysis of the conceptual features of the concepts of YOUTH and JUVENTUD in Russian and Spanish linguistic cultures. Litera, 2, 119-129. doi:10.25136/2409-8698.2024.2.69820 Retrieved from http://en.e-notabene.ru/fil/article_69820.html
3. Evseeva, O. V. (2009). Associative experiment as a research procedure in psycholinguistics. Vestnik YUUrGU [Bulletin of SUSU], 2(8), 82-84.
4. Ufimtseva, N. V. (2014). Associative dictionary as a model of the linguistic picture of the world. Vestnik IrGTU [Bulletin of IrSTU], 9, 340-346.
5. Karaulov, Yu.N. (2002). Russkij associativnyj slovar' [Russian associative dictionary]. Moscow: Astrel Publ.
6. Grebennikova, E. I. (2024). Some aspects of the image of Russia: results of field research in Iraq. RSM [RSM], 1(122), 221-231.
7. Sizykh, M. M., & Liu, Zhen. (2018). The image of Russia in Chinese Ergonymy. Forum molodyh uchenyh [Forum of Young Scientists], 6-3(22), 118-120.
8. Barsukova, E. A., & Zhang, Yan (2024). Proverbs and sayings as a means of forming the image of Russia in modern Chinese textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Genesis: istoricheskie issledovaniya [Genesis: Historical Research], 1, 111-118.
9. Lapina, N. Yu. (2007). The image of Russia in France. RSM [RSM], 4, 90-110.
10. Zaripov, R. I. (2017). Metaphorical images of Russia in French political discourse in the context of the war in Syria. Politicheskaya lingvistika [Political Linguistics], 6, 76-85.
11. Shvedova, N. V. (2012) The image of Russia in Slovakia. Slavyanskij al'manah [Slavic Almanac], 2011, 536-542.
12. Konik, S. V. (2010). The image of Israel and the image of Russia: a view from the outside and from the inside. Monitoring [Monitoring], 2(96), 191-199.
13. Dombrovskaya, A. Yu., & Marijana, Shundich. (2024). Representation of the image of Russia in the media of the countries of the former Yugoslavia and the consciousness of Serbs, Montenegrins and Croats in the period from 2014 to 2023. Izvestiya TulGU. Gumanitarnye nauki. [News of TulSU. Humanities], 1, 125-139.
14. Barabash, V. V., & Barabash, O. B. (2008). The modern image of Russia. Vestnik RUDN. Seriya: Literaturovedenie, zhurnalistika. [Bulletin of the RUDN. Series: Literary studies, journalism], 4, 93-97.
15. Tanshina, N. P. (2024). Slavophilism and paradoxes of perception of Russia in the West. Nauka. Obshchestvo. Oborona. [Nauka. Society. Defense], 1(38), 1-1.
16. Korablina, E. P. (2012). The image of Russia in the mirror of interdisciplinary research. Review of the collective monograph "The Image of Russia in a temporary perspective". Universum: Vestnik Gercenovskogo universiteta [Universum: Bulletin of the Herzen University], 2, 182-183.

Peer Review

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The topic of the reviewed article is new, obviously not considered in the circle of critical and scientific research. The author draws attention to the decryption / reception of the image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the national Syrian version of the Arabic language. The approach to the unfolding of the issue is methodologically justified, and the version of syncretism, which is good, is not excluded. The material is organically complex, the basic concept of the so-called argumentation has been verified, I believe that the goal has been achieved by and large. The text of the article is divided into semantic blocks, the logic between them is maintained within the framework of the coherence of the subject of analysis. At the beginning of the work, it was noted that "in the last decade, political, economic and cultural relations between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic have been strengthening on an ongoing basis. Russia's presence in Syria is expanding not only in the military sphere, but also in the field of education. Russian russians are becoming more and more interested in learning the Russian language, which is due not only to the above-mentioned extralinguistic factors, but also to the increased presence of the Russian language in Syria...". All the elements of the study have been fully concretized and clarified. In my opinion, the correct "reference" background allows the author to come to the necessary conclusions. The authority of the database is actually confirmed by the citation: "the associative field is represented, in turn, by a set of associative-verbal networks. One of the leading experts in the field of associative linguistics, Y.N. Karaulov, wrote about the latter: "The associative-verbal network captures only that part of our consciousness that has a verbal shell, but it is this part that makes up most of our knowledge about the world," etc. The results of the study are consolidated, bringing them into a single background makes it possible to objectify the paradigmatic vector of perception of the image of Russia by native speakers of the Arabic language. The article is not devoid of statistics, this is important in linguistic research: "to reconstruct the image of Russia in the minds of speakers of Arabic linguistic culture, citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic, a free associative experiment was conducted using the Google Forms application. The experiment involved 116 people with higher education, aged 18 to 60 years, of whom 68 were men and 48 were women. The respondents were asked to write the first 3 words or phrases on the stimulus of the ‘Russia’. A total of 319 reactions were received..." etc. The obtained developments in recreating the associative field associated with the image of Russia are multidimensional: in part, this is " ??? 'snow' (56);??? 'cold' (21);????? 'university' (17);???? 'beauty' (16);??? 'strength' (15). The analysis of these associates allows us to reconstruct the following image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the Syrian national version of the Arabic language: Russia is a cold but beautiful country where you can get an education (higher) and which has a strong position in the world ...". The author introduces a schematic, graphical, and visual type to confirm the data. I believe that the spectral version of the unfolding of the image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the national Syrian version of the Arabic language is fully displayed. Examples / background of the volume: "Russia, in the minds of Syrians, is a country with high educational and cultural potential, which is confirmed by the presence in the associative field of such reactions as:????? 'university' (17);?? 'art' (3); ?????????????? 'culture' (3);????? 'literature' (3); ??????? ‘music' (3); ????? ‘science' (3). For many speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture, the historical past of Russia is of interest: ????? ‘rich history' (2); ??????? ‘ ‘the great empire' (1); ??????? ????????? ‘The Soviet Union' (1); the king (1)..." etc. The work is of a practical nature, the material can be used in the study of a number of disciplines in the humanities. The conclusions of the text correspond to the main part, there are no contradictions in this case. The author notes in the final that "the active development of relations between Russia and Syria in the military-political, cultural, educational, and social spheres had a significant impact on the formation of Syrian citizens' ideas about Russia. Thus, there is a predominance of reclamation reactions in the responses of respondents describing Russia as a beautiful, strong country that is a reliable friend and ally. Despite the harsh climatic conditions with which Russia is associated, the nature and culture of Russia are distinguished by beauty and diversity. In the minds of speakers of the Syrian linguistic culture, Russia is a country with a rich history and wide educational opportunities, which confirms the statistical data on a significant increase in the number of Syrian students in Russian universities." In my opinion, the basic requirements of the publication have been taken into account, the tasks of the work have been solved, the material has an original appearance. The article "The image of Russia in the minds of native speakers of the national Syrian version of the Arabic language" can be recommended for publication in the journal "Litera".