Introduction

The language that a person uses in everyday communication is not only a historically established form of culture that unites human society, but also a complex sign system. Understanding the sign properties of a language is necessary in order to better understand the structure of the language and the rules for its use.

The topic of the proposed work is “The evolution of ideas about the symbolic nature of language.”

The relevance of the work is related to increased interest to the chosen topic, and also with the fact that language remains a central theme throughout its history.

Purpose this study is the image of a sign as a sign system.

The objectives of the study are to determine language sign, its representation in language, as well as the image of a sign as a sign system of language.

The object of research is the linguistic system of the language.

The subject of research is the sign in the language system.

The novelty of the work lies in the research and presentation of the sign in language system language.

The theoretical and methodological basis consists of research on the theory of the issue: J. Grima, L. Hjelmslev, F. Saussure.

The structure of the work consists of an introduction, three sections, conclusions and a list of references. The first section provides a definition of a linguistic sign. The second section of the work examines the essence of sign representation in language. The third section considers the image of a sign as a sign system of language.

The list of used literature consists of eight items. The volume of work is eighteen pages.

Definition of a linguistic sign

The iconic nature of human language is one of its universal features and main features. They inexpressively proceeded from the concept of a sign in their scientific disputes about the essence of things and their names, the ancient Hellenes, nominalists and realists - followers of two diametrically opposed philosophical movements of the Middle Ages, the classics of comparative and typological linguistics. Since the times of Baudouin de Courtenay and F. de Saussure, all any significant theories of language in modern times have rested on the concept of sign. linguistic science.

Language is one of the functions human body in the broadest sense of the word" (I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay).

What is considered symbolic in a language? The sign aspect of natural language is usually understood as the correlation of linguistic elements (morphemes, words, phrases, sentences, etc.). The sign function of linguistic units further includes their ability to generally express the results of a person’s cognitive activity, to consolidate and store the results of his socio-historical experience.

The sign aspect of language includes the ability of linguistic elements to carry certain information and perform various communicative and expressive tasks in the process of communication. Consequently, the term “sign”, as well as the synonymous term “semiotic”, are polysemantic, they contain different contents and, in relation to natural language, they can be attributed to four different functions of linguistic elements: designation function (representative), generalizing (epistemological), communicative and pragmatic. The direct connection of language with thinking, with the mechanism and logic of cognition, the unique property of human language to serve universal system designations of the entire diversity of the objective world - all this made the sign aspect of language the subject of study different sciences(philosophy, semiotics, logic, psychology, linguistics, etc.), due to the commonality of the object, are not always clearly demarcated from each other.

Formulated at logical analysis language, semiotic concepts, having been applied for various research purposes in linguistics, have somewhat advanced the study of the sign aspect of language, giving rise to new linguistic directions, starting with the creation of the “algebraic” theory of language by L. Hjelmslev, where language is reduced to a formal logical structure, and ending with the generative grammar of N. Chomsky, theoretical justifications which in a certain sense go back to the same source.

The concepts of “sign system” and “sign” in relation to natural language have a certain meaning only in the case when they are defined purely linguistically and when the presumption about the sign character of the language as a whole or its individual level is holistic theory language, built on the results of the study of these properties and formulated as a result of clear implications of the concept of a linguistic sign. Where these terms are used without a system attached to them linguistic definitions, they remain empty labels. It is this fact that often creates a situation of mutual misunderstanding in linguistics: the less justifiably and definitely some terms “sign”, “sign”, “sign system” are used without studying their specifics, the more categorically others reject the very idea of sign representation - the main property of natural language, - also without referring to the study of this property of language.

The division of the signifier and the signified sign into components, the opposition of signs and non-signs (figures) occupies a significant place in the development of the problem of the sign nature of language. Besides great circle issues that are associated with the name of F. de Saussure, in the development of the theory of the sign essence of natural language in our time, the following problems are discussed: the difference between linguistic signs and “natural signs”, the typology of signs, types of meanings, the creation of the foundations of linguistic semiotics and much more. The linguistic development of the problem of the sign nature of language, begun by F. de Saussure, is represented today by a wide variety of points of view, which will be touched upon to one degree or another during the discussion of individual problems.

The evolution of ideas about the symbolic nature of language

Section I. Definition of a linguistic sign

The iconic nature of human language is one of its universal features and main features. The ancient Hellenes, nominalists and realists - followers of two diametrically opposed philosophical movements of the Middle Ages, the classics of comparative and typological linguistics - inexpressively proceeded from the concept of a sign in their scientific disputes about the essence of things and their names. Since the times of Baudouin de Courtenay and F. de Saussure, all any significant theories of language in modern linguistic science have rested on the concept of sign.

Language is one of the functions of the human body in the broadest sense of the word” (I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay).

The sign aspect of language includes the ability of linguistic elements to carry certain information and perform various communicative and expressive tasks in the process of communication. Consequently, the term “sign”, as well as the synonymous term “semiotic”, are polysemantic, they contain different contents and, in relation to natural language, they can be attributed to four different functions of linguistic elements: designation function (representative), generalizing (epistemological), communicative and pragmatic. The direct connection of language with thinking, with the mechanism and logic of cognition, the unique property of human language to serve as a universal system for designating the entire diversity of the objective world - all this has made the sign aspect of language the subject of study of various sciences (philosophy, semiotics, logic, psychology, linguistics, etc.), due to the generality of the object, they are not always clearly demarcated from each other.

The semiotic concepts formulated during the logical analysis of language, being applied for various research purposes in linguistics, have somewhat advanced the study of the sign aspect of language, giving rise to new linguistic directions, starting with the creation of the “algebraic” theory of language by L. Hjelmslev, where language is reduced to formal logical construction, and ending with the generative grammar of N. Chomsky, the theoretical justifications of which, in a certain sense, go back to the same source.

The concepts of “sign system”, “sign” in relation to natural language have a certain meaning only in the case when they are defined purely linguistically and when behind the presumption about the sign character of the language as a whole or its individual level there is a holistic theory of language, built on the results of the study of these its properties and formulated due to clear implications of the concept of a linguistic sign. Where these terms are used without a system of linguistic definitions attached to them, they remain empty labels. It is this fact that often creates a situation of mutual misunderstanding in linguistics: the less justifiably and definitely some terms “sign”, “sign”, “sign system” are used without studying their specifics, the more categorically others reject the very idea of sign representation - the main property of natural language, - also without referring to the study of this property of language.

The division of the signifier and the signified sign into components, the opposition of signs and non-signs (figures) occupies a significant place in the development of the problem of the sign nature of language. In addition to the wide range of issues associated with the name of F. de Saussure, in the development of the theory of the sign essence of natural language in our time the following problems are discussed: the difference between linguistic signs and “natural signs”, the typology of signs, types of meanings, the creation of the foundations of linguistic semiotics and much more other. The linguistic development of the problem of the sign nature of language, begun by F. de Saussure, is represented today by a wide variety of points of view, which will be touched upon to one degree or another during the discussion of individual problems.

Iconic nature of the movie

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The iconic nature of language

The relationship between language and thought is an area of joint research in philosophy, psychology, sociology, semiotics, philology, logic, rhetoric, art history, pedagogy, linguistics and many other sciences. The relationship of language to thought has long been studied by these sciences, it was begun by ancient philosophy, but the complexity of the subject, the hiddenness of the subject from direct observation, the practical impossibility of experimentation leave this relationship essentially unclear. At the same time, interest in this subject of research has always been great. A positive solution to this problem could have the most beneficial consequences.

The problem of the relationship of thought to language in linguistics is considered in three aspects: 1) the problem of thought and thinking from the point of view of linguistics; 2) the problem of the linguistic form of thought; 3) the problem of reflecting reality by thought, organized by linguistic form.

Every thought contained in a statement is formed according to the laws of the sign material in which it is embodied in a given statement. Thus, in painting, dance, music, drawings, thought takes the appropriate form. Therefore, it is customary to talk about thinking in linguistic form, in the form of art or technology. The features of the linguistic form of thought are learned in comparison with the forms of thought represented in non-linguistic signs.

Signs are divided by material and purpose. There are relatively few basic sign systems, without which society cannot arise and culture develop, but on their basis new signs and sign systems develop.

According to folklore and ethnography, there are sixteen sign systems necessary for the formation and initial life of society: folk signs, folk fortune-telling, omens, body plasticity and dance, music, fine Arts, ornament, folk architecture, applied arts, costume and tattoo, measures, landmarks, commands and signals, rituals, games, language. Not even the most primitive society can do without this complex of sign systems*.

*(These data were fully confirmed when analyzing dictionaries. The dictionary of any language shows that if we single out the semantic field of “semiotics”, then the main system of classes of semiotic phenomena is reduced to the sixteen named.)

Against this background, it becomes clear special role language. The differences between language and non-linguistic systems are as follows. Language presented in speech sounds; this means that, unlike other sign systems, it can be used at any time. Language natural according to the material. Because of this, in addition to independent task by implementation special meanings, language connects all sign systems with each other. Using the tongue appointed and the content of the signs of all other systems is explained.

Sound form, universality of use and the ability to assign and explain all other types of signs require language to have special ways of forming thought. Oral language usually depends in its content on all other sign systems (directly reflecting the world and organizing the activities of people). In this sense, the content of linguistic signs is, as it were, secondary. Language is not only a “cognitive” system, but also one that explains the results of cognition, not only organizes joint actions, but also creates conditions for their organization, not so much predictive as providing a forecast and disseminating the results of a forecast made using another sign system.

Language is a means of communication between other sign systems. Thus, with the help of language, the assignment occurs folk signs, explanation of omens, establishing the objects of fortune-telling and explaining the results of fortune-telling, teaching the arts and practical classes, introducing measures, establishing the meaning of landmarks and explaining the content of commands and signals. All this means that language must have the ability to: 1) explain reality; 2) teach other signs; 3) give a command, give a guideline and serve as a measure - and all this in conditions where every member of society is both the creator of a verbal sign and its audience.

The ancients divided sign systems into virtually the same categories as ethnography and lexicography, but called them arts. The musical arts were distinguished: music, dance (and pantomime), image and ornament; practical arts: crafts, including construction; applied arts: costume, measures, guidelines, signals according to the nature of the craft; the art of divination: omens, omens, fortune telling; the art of education (pedagogy) and logical arts: rhetoric, grammar, analytics (logic), stylistics, i.e. philology as a complex of knowledge. Logical (i.e. linguistic) arts stand out due to their special role. If the illogical arts must be taught to the professional, then the logical arts must be taught to every citizen.

The development of signs and the emergence of new semiotic systems is associated with the development of language. History shows that only inventions in the field of material of linguistic signs lead to the formation of new sign complexes and systems. Therefore, linguistic signs contain both images of other signs and images of actions with these signs, and hence images of the world explained by signs. Having become a common property and being understood uniformly, the language must convey all the meanings specialized in different sign systems. Therefore, language allows abstract operations with meaning—reasoning—that are separated from reality. For this purpose, language needs signs with a common characteristic meaning. This - conceptual meaning.

Abstract the nature of linguistic signs is explained by the fact that the need to serve as an intermediary between sign systems requires the language to interpret both “eternal” (from the point of view of a person’s life span) signs (for example, images) and signs that “die” at the moment of creation and perception (for example , music), as well as signs that are renewed with each use (for example, measures). Therefore, the content of linguistic signs should not depend on the ephemerality of the sound material, but should be suitable for constant use, which means to be free from attachment to place and time.

But the mere abstractness of meaning would make the language unusable if it were not possible to link these abstract meanings with place and time. The correlation of meanings with place and time is accomplished in statements by using special words and forms with the meaning of place and time, for example, adverbs, prepositions, tense and aspectual forms of verbs and adverbial nouns.

Abstract meanings of place and time cannot be specified in a statement if it does not indicate the relationship of speech to reality, i.e. values modalities, expressed in forms of speech, questions, motives, narratives, denials and statements, indications of desirability-undesirability, possibility-impossibility, conditionality-unconditionality and other meanings (transmitted in the latter case by specialized forms and intonation). Need for modal forms It is also caused by the fact that musical, practical and prognostic signs, united by language, have different orientations towards reality.

Referring to place and time and to reality the content of a speech act requires specifying the meanings of persons, since the subjectivity of the speech act allows listeners to assess its reliability. Hence, in the act of speech the category is necessarily expressed faces through verb forms, pronouns and pronominal nouns.

Thus, character traits linguistic signs that distinguish them from all others are the following: the abstractness of the meaning of individual linguistic elements and the specification of their meanings in a statement; 2) special expression by special elements of meaning: time, place, modality, person; 3) the opportunity, thanks to this, to make differentiated judgments about the past and future in isolation from direct events and situations and from sign phenomena.

On the other hand, the subject-thematic content of signs unites language with the meanings of other sign systems. According to the subject-thematic orientation general values speeches are contrasted in two directions - poetry and prose. Prose addressed to values practical arts, and poetry- to values musical arts. The meanings of linguistic signs are close to poetry (artistic-figurative) and close to prose (object-figurative). In the content of each sign, even in the meaning grammatical forms, there are both sides - both poetic and prosaic. Thus, the meaning of the gender of nouns in figuratively indicates gender, and in conceptual terms - the class of nouns. This double orientation is valid for the values significant words. Two types of imagery are associated with the fact that language, being oriented towards practical semiotics, towards such systems as drawings, measures, signals, creates subject images, and being focused on music, body plasticity, painting, - artistic images. To create figurative meanings, language resorts to the means of onomatopoeia, sound symbolism, etymology internal forms, idioms, phraseology, figurative compositional and stylistic forms of speech. Both poetry and prose operate not only with images, but also with concepts. To create them, the language resorts to various types of determining the meanings of words (by interpretation, through a synonym, enumeration by analogy, etc.) up to the direct correlation of a word with the object that this word names.

Polysemy, synonymy and homonymy equally serve to create figurative and conceptual meanings, while being used differently in prose and poetic texts. The figurative-conceptual structure of subject-thematic meanings allows the language to develop its own means of symbolic expressiveness, which, on the one hand, form the basis of works of musical arts, and on the other, are the basis for the construction of languages of logic, mathematics and programming.

If it is necessary to describe situations, abstract and concrete ones are highlighted linguistic meanings directed at the language itself, or grammatical meanings, and lexical meanings aimed at objects of reality, signs and actions with objects of reality and signs. These are language forms thoughts inherent in language solely due to its place among sign systems and material structure. These forms of thought reveal the sign nature of language.

Language is often characterized as the main means of communication between people. This statement is absolutely true. Communication is usually understood as the process of interaction between members of human society, during which information is transmitted, as well as the impact on people’s behavior and emotions.

And, of course, language plays a vital role in such interaction. At the same time this characteristic cannot yet serve as a definition of language, since it does not include a number of its very important features.

In this and the next two paragraphs we will analyze these features in detail and thus establish what the essence of language is.

First of all, it should be noted that language consists of signs. A sign is usually understood as a material object that is deliberately used to designate some other object, sign or situation. Commenting on this definition, it should be emphasized that it contains references to the following three the most important properties sign.

1. Signs are material objects, that is, objects that can be perceived through the senses. In human society, there are widespread signs designed to be perceived by sight (for example, traffic lights, traffic signs, musical notation, mathematical symbols) or hearing (for example, sound signals, emitted by cars, a telephone ringing, meaning “another subscriber is calling you”, a buzzer sounding after picking up the telephone handset and signaling that the connection to the telephone exchange has been made and the number can be dialed, an intermittent signal meaning “the called subscriber is busy”). A more peripheral position is occupied by signs intended for perception through touch. Here, as an example, we can cite the Braille alphabet - a raised dot font for writing and reading the blind, invented by the French teacher Louis Braille.

2. Signs must necessarily denote other objects, signs or situations, that is, entities that are not identical to these signs themselves. So, under normal circumstances, a pot of flowers standing on the windowsill is not a sign. However, when, as was the case in the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring,” there is an agreement between the inhabitants of the apartment and its potential visitors that the flower will be placed on the windowsill if the safe house does not fail, the flower pot certainly becomes a sign.

3. Signs are used to designate objects, signs or situations intentionally. Not all scientists agree with this statement. However, if you do not take into account this sign, we have to admit that clouds in the sky are a sign of approaching rain (or maybe a sign of a change in weather, the onset of autumn, the need to take an umbrella with you, the cancellation of a planned walk, etc. - the list of possible “meanings” of clouds in this case is easy to continue ), the end of the paste in a fountain pen is a sign that its owner wrote a lot (or that he needs to rest, or maybe, on the contrary, go to the store, buy a new refill and continue working), the pallor of our interlocutor is a sign of his illness ( or maybe fatigue, strong excitement or the fact that it is better to postpone the conversation), etc. The fact is that, observing certain objects or phenomena, people are able to draw a variety of and often very numerous conclusions about the causes and possible consequences the presence of these objects, and therefore the qualification of such objects and phenomena as signs can lead to an exorbitant expansion of the scope of the concept “sign”. Considering the above, it is more convenient to call signs only those objects that are deliberately used to designate something.

any other objects, and in other cases talk not about signs, but about signs or symptoms.

It is easy to see that the sign is a two-sided unit: it consists of material object and the content transmitted using this object. In this case, the material side of the sign is usually called the plan of expression (or, otherwise, the form, or the signifier) of the sign, and the content expressed by this sign is the plan of content (or the content, or the signified) of the sign.

Now, to prove that language really consists of signs, let’s imagine the following situation: your interlocutor uttered the sentence I caught a cold in Russian.

Obviously, this sentence is nothing more than a sequence of sounds perceived by the organs of hearing, and this sequence is important not in itself, but because with its help the person deliberately makes you imagine a situation that can be described something like this: ' The speaker is currently ill because at some point prior to communication his body was exposed to hypothermia.' It is quite obvious that this, like any other sentence of language, is a sign.

It should be added to the above that signs, which, in turn, are composed of smaller signs, are usually called complex signs, and those signs whose components are not signs are called simple signs. It is easy to notice that sentences, as a rule, are complex signs, since they consist of simpler signs - words. In the proposal we are considering there are two more simple sign- words: the sequence of sounds, denoted by the letter I, denotes the speaker, and the sequence of sounds corresponding to the chain of letters caught a cold - being in an illness resulting from hypothermia.

However, the word is, as a rule, complex sign, since it, in turn, consists of the shortest meaningful units - morphemes. Thus, as part of the word caught a cold (pro-stud-i-l-0-sya), one can distinguish the prefix pro-, expressing the idea of penetration through, the root -stud-, expressing the idea of cold, the suffix -i-, indicating that this form belongs to past tense or infinitive, the suffix -l-, expressing the meaning of the past tense, the significant absence of endings -a or -o (or, as they say, null ending), expressing the meaning male(otherwise it would be catching a cold or catching a cold), and, finally, the reflexive suffix -sya, expressing the idea of directing the action towards its producer himself.

A morpheme is no longer a complex, but a simple sign. Of course, any morpheme can be decomposed into its constituent sounds, but each of these sounds (for example, sounds denoted by the letters s, t, y, d in the root -stud) does not convey any content by itself. Thus, sounds are no longer signs, but those elements from which the plan for expressing linguistic signs is built.

Speaking about signs in general, we have already noted that different signs can be designed for perception with the help of different senses, and above all with the help of hearing, vision or touch. As for the signs of human language, they are all intended for perception through hearing, that is, they are sound signs.

What has just been said may be objectionable. After all, as you know, language communication perhaps in written form, and in this case letters are used, i.e., not audible, but graphic signs, which are not designed for the auditory, but for visual perception. In answering this objection, it should first of all be emphasized that the original form of existence of any language is sound. Human language arose about 500 thousand years ago, while writing began to emerge only about 5 thousand years ago. Any language can and could have existed before the creation of writing for it, and proficiency in any language does not necessarily imply the ability to read and write in this language (this is how small children or illiterate people speak their native language).

That's not even the main thing. Written signs are not identical to the signs of natural human language: writing is a completely separate, artificial sign system, invented by people, which is designed to graphically record sound speech in order to preserve it over time or transmit it over a considerable distance. It was shown above that sound is not a linguistic sign, since separate sounds no content is assigned. However, the situation is completely different with the minimum unit of writing - the letter. Letters are signs, since each of them serves to designate sound units language.

If we talk not about writing, but directly about language, then the main conclusion we came to in this paragraph
fe, is that language is not just a means of communication between people, but a means that consists of sound signs.

LANGUAGE AS A SIGN SYSTEM

1. The iconic nature of the language

The words of human language are signs of objects and concepts. Words are the most numerous and main signs in a language. Other units of language are also signs.

A sign is a substitute for an object for the purpose of communication; a sign allows the speaker to evoke an image of an object or concept in the mind of the interlocutor.

· The sign has the following properties:

o the sign must be material, accessible to perception;

o the sign is directed towards the meaning;

o a sign is always a member of the system, and its content largely depends on the place of the given sign in the system.

· The above properties of the sign determine a number of requirements for speech culture.

o Firstly, the speaker (writer) must take care that the signs of his speech ( sounding words or writing signs) were convenient for perception: quite clearly audible and visible.

o Secondly, it is necessary that the signs of speech express some content, convey meaning, and in such a way that the form of speech makes it easier to understand the content of speech.

o Thirdly, it is necessary to keep in mind that the interlocutor may be less knowledgeable about the subject of the conversation, which means that it is necessary to provide him with the missing information, which only in the opinion of the speaker is already contained in the spoken words.

o Fourthly, it is important to ensure that sounds oral speech and the letters of the letter were quite clearly distinguished from each other.

o Fifthly, it is important to remember system connections words with other words, take into account polysemy, use synonymy, keep in mind the associative connections of words.

Thus, knowledge from the field of semiotics (the science of signs) helps to increase speech culture.

· A language sign can be a code sign and a text sign.

o Code signs exist in the form of a system of units opposed in the language, connected by relationship significance, which determines the content of signs specific to each language.

o Text characters exist in the form of a formally and meaningfully related sequence of units. Speech culture presupposes the speaker’s attentive attitude to the coherence of the spoken or written text.

Meaning is the content of a linguistic sign, formed as a result of the reflection of extra-linguistic reality in the minds of people. Meaning linguistic unit in the language system virtually, i.e. determined by what the unit can stand for. In a specific statement, the meaning of a linguistic unit becomes relevant, since the unit correlates with a specific object, with what it actually means in the statement. From the point of view of speech culture, it is important for the speaker to clearly direct the interlocutor’s attention to updating the meaning of the statement, to help him correlate the statement with the situation, and for the listener it is important to show maximum attention to the communicative intentions of the speaker.

· Distinguish between subject and conceptual meaning.

o Subject meaning consists in the correlation of a word with an object, in the designation of an object.

o Conceptual meaning serves to express a concept that reflects an object, to specify the class of objects denoted by a sign.

2. Natural and artificial languages

The signs that are part of languages as means of communication in society are called signs of communication. Signs of communication are divided into signs of natural languages and signs of artificial sign systems (artificial languages).

Signs of natural languages consist of both sound signs and corresponding writing signs (handwritten, typographical, typewritten, printer, screen).

In natural languages of communication - national languages - in more or less explicit form There are rules of grammar, and rules of meaning and use are implicit. For written form speech, there are also spelling and punctuation rules enshrined in codes and reference books.

In artificial languages, both the rules of grammar and the rules of meaning and use are specified explicitly in the corresponding descriptions of these languages.

Artificial languages arose in connection with the development of science and technology; they are used in professional activity specialists. Artificial languages include systems of mathematical and chemical symbols. They serve as a means not only of communication, but also of generating new knowledge.

Among artificial sign systems, we can distinguish code systems designed for encoding ordinary speech. These include Morse code, maritime flag signaling of letters of the alphabet, and various codes.

A special group consists of artificial languages designed to control the operation of computer systems - programming languages. They have a strict system structure and formalized rules for correlating code signs and meaning, providing for the implementation computer system exactly the operations that are required.

Signs of artificial languages can themselves constitute texts or be included in written texts in a natural language. Many artificial languages have international use and are included in texts in different natural national languages. Of course, it is appropriate to include signs of artificial languages only in texts addressed to specialists familiar with these languages.

The natural sound language of people is the most complete and perfect of all communication systems. Other sign systems created by man embody only some of the properties of natural language. These systems can significantly strengthen the language and surpass it in one or more respects, but at the same time inferior to it in others (Yu. S. Stepanov. Language and method. - M.: 1998. P. 52).

So, for example, the system mathematical symbols surpasses natural language in the brevity of recording information and the minimum number of code characters. Programming languages are characterized by clear rules and an unambiguous correspondence between meaning and form.

In turn, natural language is much more flexible, open and dynamic.

Natural language applicable to describe any situations, including those that have not yet been the object of description using this language.

Natural language allows the speaker to generate new signs that are understandable to the interlocutor, and also to use existing signs in new meanings, which is impossible in artificial languages.

Natural language is known throughout the entire national society, and not just to a narrow circle of specialists.

Natural language quickly adapts to the diverse needs of interpersonal interaction between people and therefore is the main and generally irreplaceable means of human communication.

3. Basic functions of the language

"Being the most important means communication, language unites people, regulates their interpersonal and social interaction, coordinates them practical activities, participates in the formation of worldview systems and national images world, ensures the accumulation and storage of information, including those related to history and historical experience people and personal experience individual, dismembers, classifies and consolidates concepts, forms human consciousness and self-awareness, serves as material and form artistic creativity"(N.D. Arutyunova. Functions of language. // Russian language. Encyclopedia. - M.: 1997. P. 609).

· The main functions of the language are:

o Communicative (communication function);

o Thought-forming (function of embodiment and expression of thoughts);

o Expressive (function of expression internal state speaker);

o Aesthetic (the function of creating beauty through language).

The communicative function lies in the ability of language to serve as a means of communication between people. Language has the units necessary to construct messages, the rules for their organization, and ensures the emergence of similar images in the minds of participants in communication.

The tongue also has by special means establishing and maintaining contact between communication participants.

From the point of view of the culture of speech, the communicative function presupposes the orientation of the participants in speech communication towards the fruitfulness and mutual usefulness of communication, as well as a general focus on the adequacy of speech understanding.

Achieving functional communication efficiency is impossible without knowledge and compliance with the norms of the literary language.

The thought-forming function is that language serves as a means of designing and expressing thoughts. The structure of language is organically connected with the categories of thinking.

"The word that alone is capable of making a concept independent unit in the world of thoughts, adds to it a lot from himself,” wrote the founder of linguistics W. von Humboldt (W. Humboldt. Selected works on linguistics. M.: 1984. P. 318).

This means that the word highlights and formalizes the concept, and at the same time a relationship is established between units of thinking and signed units language. That is why W. Humboldt believed that “language must accompany thought. Thought must, keeping up with language, follow from one of its elements to another and find in language a designation for everything that makes it coherent” (ibid., p. 345) . According to Humboldt, “in order to correspond to thinking, language, as far as possible, in its structure must correspond internal organization thinking" (ibid.).

Speech educated person is distinguished by the clarity of presentation of one’s own thoughts, the accuracy of retelling other people’s thoughts, consistency and information content.

The expressive function allows language to serve as a means of expressing the internal state of the speaker, not only to convey some information, but also to express the speaker’s attitude to the content of the message, to the interlocutor, to the communication situation. Language expresses not only thoughts, but also human emotions.

The expressive function presupposes the emotional brightness of speech within the framework of socially accepted etiquette.

Artificial languages do not have an expressive function.

The aesthetic function is to ensure that the message, in its form in unity with the content, satisfies the aesthetic sense of the addressee. The aesthetic function is primarily characteristic of poetic speech(folklore, fiction), but not only for her - both journalistic and scientific speech, and everyday colloquial speech.

The aesthetic function presupposes the richness and expressiveness of speech, its correspondence aesthetic tastes educated part of society.

4. Russian as a world language

· Russian language and electronic written speech in computer technologies

At the beginning of the 21st century, over 250 million people in the world speak Russian to one degree or another. The bulk of Russian speakers live in Russia (143.7 million according to the 1989 All-Union Population Census) and in other states (88.8 million) that were part of the USSR.

Representatives speak Russian different nations world, communicating not only with Russians, but also with each other.

Just like English and some other languages, Russian is widely used outside of Russia. It is used in various fields international communication: at negotiations between CIS member countries, at forums international organizations, including the UN, in global communication systems (on television, on the Internet), in international aviation and space communications. Russian is the language of international scientific communication and is used in many international scientific conferences in humanities and natural sciences.

Russian language by absolute number speakers of it rank fifth in the world (after Chinese, Hindi and Urdu together, English and Spanish), but this is not the main feature in determining the world language. What is important for a “world language” is not the sheer number of people who speak it, especially as native speakers, but the global distribution of native speakers, its coverage of different, maximum number of countries, as well as the most influential social strata of the population in different countries Oh. Great importance has universal significance of fiction, of all culture created on given language(Kostomarov V.G. Russian language in international communication.//Russian language. Encyclopedia. M.: 1997. P. 445).

Russian is studied as a foreign language in many countries around the world. Russian language and literature are studied at leading universities in the USA, Germany, France, China and other countries.

The Russian language, like other “world languages,” is highly informative, i.e. wide possibilities of expression and transmission of thoughts. The information value of a language depends on the quality and quantity of information presented in a given language in original and translated publications.

The traditional sphere of use of the Russian language outside Russian Federation there were republics within Soviet Union; it has been studied in countries of Eastern Europe(Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany), as well as students from around the world who studied in the USSR.

After the start of reforms in Russia, the country became more open to international contacts. Russian citizens began to travel abroad more often, and foreigners began to visit Russia more often. The Russian language has begun to attract more attention in some foreign countries. It is being studied in Europe and the USA, India and China.

Interest in the Russian language abroad largely depends on both political factors (the stability of the social situation in Russia, the development of democratic institutions, readiness for dialogue with foreign partners) and cultural factors (interest in foreign languages and cultures in Russia, improvement of forms and methods teaching Russian language).

In the context of expanding international communication in Russian, the quality of speech of people for whom Russian is their native language is becoming a significant factor in its further development, because speech errors native native speakers are perceived by people learning Russian as a language interethnic communication or as foreign language as correct speech samples, as the norm of Russian speech.

The integration processes taking place in the modern world contribute to increasing the role of “world languages” and deepening interaction between them. The international fund of scientific, technical and cultural vocabulary, common to many languages. Computer terms and vocabulary related to sports, tourism, goods and services are becoming widespread worldwide.

In the process of interaction of languages, the Russian language is replenished with international vocabulary, and itself is a source lexical borrowings for languages of neighboring countries.

Russian language and electronic written speech in computer technologies

The globalization of processes of communicative cooperation in the modern world as a result of the spread of computer networks leads to an expansion in the number of people using “world” languages in communication. This leads, on the one hand, to the universalization and standardization of means of communication and language use skills, and on the other hand, to the rapid spread of individual and regional characteristics of speech as a result of the lack of editorial and proofreading in electronic environment communication. The inconsistency of these trends, caused by new conditions of communication, leads to the emergence of new factors affecting the development of the language, contributing to both its enrichment and the decline of speech culture. In these new conditions, it becomes especially important to take care of the correctness of electronic writing, adherence to the traditions of written communication, attention to the functional and stylistic differentiation of speech genres.

New conditions of communication increase the responsibility of each person for the fate of his native language and other languages that he uses in communication, the correctness of their use, and technical capabilities computer technology help to modern man check the spelling and accuracy of the use of words, edit and beautifully format the text. However, no technology will help fill the text with the necessary content, make a person’s speech spiritual, beautiful not only in form, but also in essence.

Freedom of speech is necessary, but not sufficient condition so that the word improves people's lives. Therefore, in the new conditions of oral (public, television, interactive) and written (electronic) communication, the role of speech culture should increase and, above all, thanks to the deep internal awareness of the participants in the information exchange of their personal role and responsibility for how it will develop. native language and other languages that people use.

5. Russian language as the state language

· The connection of the Russian language with the history and culture of the people

In accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993), Russian is the state language of the Russian Federation throughout its territory. At the same time, Russian is the state or official language of a number of republics that are part of the Russian Federation, along with the language of the indigenous population of these republics.

Knowledge of the state language is mandatory for officials government agencies, it is on it that all official documentation is compiled.

As the state Russian language actively functions in all spheres public life, having all-Russian significance. Central and local institutions at the federal level operate in Russian, and communication between the subjects of the federation is carried out. The Russian language is used in the army, the central and local press, on television, in education and science, in culture and sports.

Russian language is the second state language in Belarus, official language In Kazakhstan.

The connection of the Russian language with the history and culture of the people

Language is not only a system of signs, but also a historically established form of culture of a people. According to W. Humboldt, “language is not a dead clockwork, but living creation emanating from oneself" (W. Humboldt. Selected works on linguistics. M.: 1984. P. 275). Natural language does not arise as a result of a mathematical calculation of a group of "linguists", but as a result of centuries-old efforts of people belonging to the same national community, to make one’s speech generally understandable within the national community.

The Russian language has evolved over many centuries. His vocabulary and grammatical structure were not formed immediately. The dictionary gradually included new lexical units, the emergence of which was dictated by the new needs of social development. Grammatical structure gradually adapted to a more accurate and subtle transmission of thought following the development of national social and scientific thinking. Thus, the needs of cultural development became the engine of language development, and the language reflected and preserved history cultural life nation, including those stages that are already a thing of the past.

Thanks to this, language is for the people a unique means of preserving national identity, the largest historical and cultural value.

As W. Humboldt wrote, “language, no matter what form it takes, is always a spiritual embodiment individual life nation" (W. Humboldt. Selected works on linguistics. M.: 1984. P. 72) and moreover, “language is the breath, the very soul of the nation” (ibid., P. 303). Thus, the culture of speech is an important part national culture as a whole.