Marking the edge of an object of nature in space with verbal units: functional and semantic aspect of the study

Abstract

The subject of the study is the peculiarities of the functioning of English and Russian verbs with the general meaning «lying on the ground to have a beginning/end» revealed in indicating the edges of fragments of space and natural objects filling it in local situations involving different parts of speech. The language material was obtained by continuous sampling from lexicographic sources and texts using techniques of component, contextual, comparative analysis. As a result of the conducted research, it was revealed thatthe context of a local situation acts as a necessary and sufficient environment in which the functioning of verbs with the studied semantics leads to the implementation of the «edge» component when describing a natural object. It is shown that marking the edge of a fragment of space or an object as the «beginning/end» depends on the presence of the observer’s figure within the spatial scene, the dynamics of his movement along the fragment of space, the location at the time of image creation and the direction of gaze. The subjects with a specific topology requiring special schematization of spatial relations are identified. It is noted that the location of the observer within the reference scene, the direction of his gaze provide semantic variability of the local situation with these subjects, in which verbal predicates actualize the meaning «beginning/end». The novelty of the research consists in the practical development of theoretical aspects of the semantics of spatial relations in terms of studying the means of expressing the edges of spatial fragments and objects that make up its structure. The conclusion is made about the importance of the complex use of different parts of speech with local semantics in local situations for the implementation of the meaning «beginning/end» by verbs.