LINGUISTIC AND NARRATIVE STRATEGY “GAME” AND ITS CONCEPTUALIZATION IN THE 18TH CENTURY FRENCH FICTIONAL TEXT FORMATION

Abstract

In the present research paper we have revealed the mechanisms of the textual organization of the concept GAME as a dominant mental image in the 18th century French literary creation which reflects all the specificity of the word understanding and world perception by the French at the given time. We took into account the fact that the styles of the epoch, its aesthetics and its philosophy obligatory have repercussions on the authors’ individual lingual creative means choice. The methodological basis of this scientific research is the combination of the traditional study of the narrative through textual linguistics, linguistic and literary stylistics but also through the methodological principles of linguistic narratology, cognitive linguistics and linguistic semiotics. The initial point in this paper is the idea that the author’s creative activity takes place in the narrative via the conscious choice made by the writer to use certain narrative means, techniques and tactics when creating the narrative reality of a certain type. We have identified and analyzed the most notorious linguistic and cognitive narrative mechanisms in the creation of the mirror narrative reality in the 18th century French narrative. We have come to the conclusion that the cognitive linguistic narrative strategy “game” is conceptualized in the 18th century narrative by the invariant means of the grammatical and lexical levels. The latter fully represent the peculiarities of the creation of the mirror narrative reality which appeared following the author’s play with the characters or narrator temporal and spatial locations as well as by the presence of such semantic oppositions as mine / belonging to the other, interior / exterior, real / imaginary. Among the most exemplary variant means of the conceptualization of the narrative strategy “game” while the creation of the mirror narrative reality we have revealed the metonymy which narrows the characters or narrator space by emphasizing certain elements or details and, thus, form the spatial narrative network very particular and rather unusual.