Linguocultural specifics of the language of animation as text

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Linguocultural specifics of the language of animation as text

Olena Mukhanova,

Senior Lecturer at the Department of English for Humanities № 3 National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (Kyiv, Ukraine)

Olena Shepelieva,

Senior Lecturer at the Department of English for Humanities № 3 National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” (Kyiv, Ukraine)

The article focuses on the functional and semantic features of English-language animated film texts with regard to linguistic and cultural specifics. It is stated that The text of the animated film as a language genre has its distinctive features. The linguistic features of the animated text include the simplicity of language; imagery; emotionality; dynamism; use of understandable jokes. The use of intertextual inclusions and realities in the animated film in English is due to the appeal of its authors to the universal cultural images in the field of science and art. In addition, they demonstrate more specific facts and realities that are clear to members of the relevant linguistic and cultural community. The successful implementation of the linguistic and cultural component of the cartoon is possible with the simultaneous involvement of verbal, auditory and visual means. The linguocultural component of animated films is manifested in the consolidation of cultural concepts in the minds of viewers. The main linguistic features of the animated film, which are directly related to its cultural features, are analyzed and generalized. At the lexical level, cartoons are characterized by the use of clear and simple vocabulary, the absence of complex terms, professionalism, obsolete words and reasonable use of neologisms. Features at the grammatical-syntactic level include: the use of simple grammatical forms, diminutive-loving suffixes, as well as simple syntactic constructions and sentences. At the phonetic level, it should be noted the peculiarities of pronunciation used by the author to create a humorous effect. The linguocultural component of animation discourse is manifested in the consolidation in the minds of children of basic knowledge about the world, cultural concepts, in the enrichment of the intertextual vocabulary of children's audience.

Key words: animation, text, culturally marked lexical units, discourse, linguocultural component, linguistic features, intertextuality.

english animated film text

Олена МУХАНОВА,

старший викладач кафедри англійської мови гуманітарного спрямування № 3 Національного технічного університету України «Київський політехнічний інститут імені Ігоря Сікорського» (Київ, Україна)

Олена ШЕПЕЛЕВА,

старший викладач кафедри англійської мови гуманітарного спрямування № 3 Національного технічного університету України «Київський політехнічний інститут імені Ігоря Сікорського» (Київ, Україна)

ЛІНГВОКУЛЬТУРОЛОГІЧНА СПЕЦИФІКА МОВИ ТЕКСТУ МУЛЬТИПЛІКАЦІЙНОГО ФІЛЬМУ

У статті зосереджено увагу на функційно-семантичних особливостях англомовного тексту анімаційного фільму з урахуванням лінгвокультурологічної специфіки. Окреслено, що анімація як унікальний жанр кіномистецтва є різновидом жанру художнього кіно, який ставить за мету передачу веселого й оптимістичного настрою як дітям, так і дорослим, що і формує лінгвокультурологічну специфіку мови мультиплікаційного фільму. Ані- маційний текст, як і категорія кінотексту, є цілісним, зв'язаним і логічно завершеним зверненням на основі повідомлень, вираженим за допомогою анімаційних вербальних і невербальних знаків. Зазначено, що текст ані- маційного фільму як мовний жанр має певні характерні риси риси. Мова тексту анамаційного фільму визначається простотою; образністю; емоційністю; динамічністю; використанням зрозумілих для пересічних людей або/та дітей жартів. З'ясовано, що застосування інтертекстуальних включень і реалій в анімаційному фільмі англійською мовою зумовлене зверненням його авторів до універсальних культурних образів у сфері науки та мистецтва. Крім того, вони демонструють більш конкретні факти та реалії, зрозумілі представникам відповідної лінгвокультурної спільноти. Успішна реалізація мовно-культурного складника мультфільму можлива при одночасному залученні вербальних, слухових та візуальних засобів. Лінгвокультурологічна специфіка анімаційних фільмів виявляється у закріпленні культурних концептів у свідомості глядачів. Проаналізовано та узагальнено основні мовні особливості анімаційного фільму, які безпосередньо пов'язані з його соціокультурними особливостями. На лексичному рівні мультфільм характеризується використанням чіткої та простої лексики, відсутністю складних термінів, професіоналізмів, архаїзмів та адекватним уживанням неологізмів. До особливостей на граматико-синтаксичному рівні належать: вживання простих граматичних форм, зменшувально-пестливих суфіксів, а також простих синтаксичних конструкцій і речень.

Ключові слова: анімаційний фільм, текст, культурно марковані лексичні одиниці, дискурс, лінгвокультуроло- гічний складник, мовні особливості, інтертекстуальність.

Problem statement. An animated film is a communicative socio-cultural phenomenon that defines, strengthens and transforms the viewer's worldview. It is a socio-linguistic work that combines different semiotic systems. Significant scientific interest in the study of animated film in the context of the humanities is due to a number of aspects, and the intensification of interlingual, interliterary and interstate relations of Ukraine is of paramount importance. The focus of special attention of modern linguistics includes issues of interaction of the animation industry with culturology, theater studies, aesthetics, etc.

Research analysis. Theoretical analysis of the issues related to the linguocultural aspects of the animation as a text is based on the study of concepts and ideas of scholars in such areas of knowledge as: culturological interpretation of a literary text (J. Hall, J. Hardley, K. Hoerrner, S. Hosseyni, J. Fiske, J. Klerkx, M. Knapp); audiovisual translation (S. Braun, F. Chaume, D. Delabastita, M. Mateo, C. Nord, A. Remael); linguosemiotics and semiotics of cinema (P. Brandt, E. Hall,) M. Hirschman, A. Hreymas, W. Dressler, C. Kull, F. Salazar, T. Sebeok, H. Telerman).

The purpose of the article is to study the functional and semantic features of English-language animated film texts with regard to linguistic and cultural specifics.

Presentation of the main material. Animation is a unique genre of cinematography, a kind of feature film genre, which aims to convey a cheerful and optimistic mood to both children and adults, which, in its turn, forms the linguistic and cultural specifics of the language of the animated film. Compositional features and the main genre characteristics of the animation determine the selection of lexical-semantic, grammatical, syntactic and stylistic means and techniques aimed at revealing the plot and pragmatics of the work (Kendall, Lipscomb, 2013).

The text of the animated film as a language genre has its distinctive features. The language genre is a relatively stable thematic, compositional and stylistic type of coherent utterances (texts). The language of the cartoon is characterized by the basic properties, which are as follows: it is objective in relation to the individual level; historical, formed by people in a certain era and in accordance with the specific conditions of sociocultural life; characterized by a special evaluative attitude to reality; performs the function of integration of individuals into society; diverse and heterogeneous, differentiated by areas of human activity and communication; it is a certain support for creativity. In comparison with the dialogues in the text, film dialogues are characterized by brevity and dynamism of speech. In the prose text, dialogues are usually dominated by complex, common sentences, as well as numerous remarks that reveal the state of the hero (Stubbs, 2012). Furthermore, in the text of a film, dialogues consist only of replicas of the characters who take part in them. Therefore, there is no need to explain emotions or thoughts, because they can be observed on the screen and get the necessary information from facial expressions, gestures of the heroes and various situations. At the same time, film dialogues have a special dynamism, which requires from the speech of the characters liveliness, expressed in the speed of exchange of cues, which, in its tyrn, presupposes the use of mainly short constructions.

It should be borne in mind that the linguocultural specificity of the cartoon is manifested both at the verbal level and in the audio and visual signs of the semiotic system of the cartoon. As a cultural phenomenon, animation plays an important role on a global scale. While its linguocultural component determines the linguistic originality of discourse. The latter is expressed in culturally marked intertextual originality (Зернецкий, 1990: 63). Thus, in the animated film intertextuality (open or veiled) is the use of elements of the text of a work in its structure (Gasparov, 2010). Thus, the utility of both universal and national intertextual inclusions is characteristic of animated discourse. The use of the latter can be considered as components of linguistic and cultural competence. Knowledge of certain quotes, allusions and realities is an indicator of a person's involvement in the world culture (Лалетина, 2009: 143).

That is, on the one hand, precedent (known to a certain community) intertextual inclusions in cartoon discourse are addressed to global world culture. And on the other hand, national identity is expressed in the use of specific images and realities, understandable to representatives of the linguistic and cultural community in which the animated film was created. In the same way, a discursive approach to the study of the language of an animated film finds its expression, which reveals its linguistic and cultural specifics and the presence of certain cultural realities. In this regard, animation is a special communicative and social phenomenon. It is able not only to convey important information about the system of values to children and adults as well, but also to project in their mind special linguistic and cultural ideas about the world (Нешкова, Олизько, 2017: 54).

Linguistics is now actively shifting from the study of written language to the study of verbal communication. The reason for this lies in the fact that oral language communication continues to be the most important area of language functioning. According to this, linguists, psychologists, sociologists and culturologists have been studying these phenomena for decades. Recently, their active use has been observed not only in art, literature, cinema, but also in animation as one of the means of depicting a person's personality, transmitting their thoughts and feelings in various situations. As noted by N. Fairclough, the complementary ratio of verbal- iconic and audible semiotic codes of an animated work is the most successful for the child's recognition in the subconscious of the cultural concept (Fairclough, 2003:99).

It should be added that in modern animated cinema, spoken language is the richest source of English. It is based on slang, neologisms, phraseologies and idioms. Thus, a large number of works in both domestic and foreign linguistics are devoted to the problem of the use of slang units: e.g., Babe, let's, let's just be honest (HQ) / Guys, I dont mean to play doctor, but you've all got a case of the “No funsies” (BB). In addition, the source of slang can be metaphors, comparisons, folk etymology, distortion of sounds in words, generalizations and metonymy (e.g., Steve, I'm glad you opened my eyes to this fantastical world (BB)). At the same time, lexical means that color the speech of the characters in animated films and create artistic imagery, are terms, abbreviations and borrowings. However, the most frequent is still the use of slang words and expressions, as well as neologisms.

Currently, songs make up about 65-70% of the content in animated films. This is exploited to increase the emotional impact and emphasize the most important moments of the plot. The necessary mood is conveyed through the song, the individuality of the character is revealed and the details of the plot are explained (Gee, 2011: 198). It should be noted that the dominance of music in animated films is also explained by the fact that melodies are perceived by the human brain much better than a plain text. This causes the viewer to unconsciously scroll through the melody heard in his head. We can conclude that in animated films, music is not just an element of decoration. It is a means of constructing the plot as a whole, a link between the viewer and the character, as well as a tool for understanding the dramatic aspect of animation.

Nowadays, animation is also creating new forms of artistic creativity, such as computer games, multimedia products and online forms of animation. Its artistic models, language and means continue to develop, it changes itself, changing the environment in which it exists, i.e., it changes the very culture of television, and, accordingly, the language of the animated text.

There are reasons to consider the language of the animated text to be vital and narrative. It is also instructive and educational, and more often metaphorical (when one thing is shown and something else is meant). Each animated film involves information that contains: in the visual image of the characters or characters of the cartoon; in the actions of the heroes. Accordingly, information can be emotional in nature, as well as rational and cognitive. Therefore, having all the advantages of a feature film, animation provides more opportunities to express allegory, metaphors and paradoxes: e.g., That prison's harder to get into than a sheep's panties (BB) / Your package, Mr. Horrible Gelatinous Blob (FTR).

We believe that a characteristic feature of animation in comparison with a literary work is the presence of a visual series, through which the author of the film fills certain gaps in children's perception. Thus, the polysemiotics of the animation genre is fully justified by the specifics of children's perception and cognitive-linguistic development of the child. Due to the high receptivity to audiovisual media texts, children easily learn not only social but also cultural discourse.

Let us consider in more detail the available levels of the animated film in terms of linguoculturology. In particular, the visual series of an animated film may contain images of different cities, countries and continents. Thus, it gives children an idea of the geography of the world.At the same time, acquaintance with the culture and traditions of a country can occur due to the appearance on the screen of various cultural phenomena: rituals and ceremonies, national costumes, musical instruments, cuisines of the peoples of the world, manners, etiquette and fashion (e.g., Live from Batsfjord, Norway... where over 300,000 fans have travelled to the Arctic Circle. to see the legendary metal band, Dethklok, perform just one song (MAS) / He better do some Splainin 'before I mash up some face guacamole. He's Mexican, I'm Mexican (FTR)). According to T Lukyanova, such images of cultural realities can serve as a background for the key action of the cartoon, be involved in the characters of the series or act as the main link in the plot of the animated film (Лукьянова, 2011: 184).

No less important component, which reflects the elements of culture, is the level of audio accompaniment of the cartoon. Thus, the national melodies and songs of the peoples of the world, the sounds of musical instruments and the sound of a foreign language are audio components. Along with the video series, they carry additional information about the national culture (Нешкова, 2020: 55). The main thing is that the synthesis of video and audio components can be pronounced. In addition, the simultaneous combination of picture and sound can occur, for example, when the cartoon character plays a national musical instrument. Such a combination is the most successful for the child's recognition and consolidation of the cultural concept in the subconscious (Нешкова, 2020: 57).

Particular attention should be paid to the level of the text of the animated film with encrypted cultural images. The components of the text should include intertextual inclusions, which trace the cultural component. Quotations from songs and works of art, mentions of the names of artifacts and realities, allusive references to the plots of fairy tales inherent in a particular culture are culturally marked. Thus, acting in connection with the audio and video series of the cartoon, they form in the audience an idea of the world. As an example, consider the linguistic and cultural features of the language of the animated film on the material of the series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.

Note that this series is a spin-off of the American production of the animated film series “The Lion King”. Meerkat Timon and the warthog Pumbaa, favorites of viewers from the cartoon about Simba, are the main characters in the series, which tells the story of the lives of two inseparable friends. Timon and Pumbaa travel a lot around the world, visiting different countries. By the way, they not only get acquainted with the new culture, but also involve children in their adventures. The visual series of the animated series is full of images of different countries, cities and monuments. Yes, in the Russia Hour series, the heroes arrive in Russia. Timon changes into a fur coat and gloves and falls into the snow. This hero on a visual level evokes in the minds of viewers the idea of weather and geography of this country (Нешкова, Олизько, 2017: 56). In the series in question we find an example of a combination of audio and visual series. This happens when Timon and Pumbaa go to the ballet “Pig Lake” (the title is a quasi-quote from the name of the ballet “Swan Lake” by P. Tchaikovsky). The image of dances to classical music and demonstration of ballet costumes attracts children to the culture of theatrical and ballet arts (Нешкова, Олизько, 2017: 56).

The series called “The Pain in Spain” provides an example of complete synchronization of three levels of animated film: audio, video and text. Calling himself a Spanish matador, Timon puts on a bullfighter's suit, takes a red rag and, to the music of Spanish bullfighting, goes into battle with a bull, which turns out to be his best friend Pumbaa. Thus, the merger of the three above-mentioned components of the structure of the animated film is the most successful for their recognition by children in terms of linguistic and cultural studies. The absence of one level can impair the audience's understanding of the cultural context.

Conclusions

Therefore Thus, the successful implementation of the linguistic and cultural component of the cartoon is possible with the simultaneous involvement of verbal, auditory and visual means. The linguistic and cultural component of animated films is manifested in the consolidation of cultural concepts in the minds of viewers. In particular, the linguistic features of the animated text include the simplicity of language; imagery; emotionality; dynamism; use of understandable jokes. The use of intertextual inclusions and realities in the animated film in English is due to the appeal of its authors to the universal cultural images in the field of science and art. In addition, they demonstrate more specific facts and realities that are clear to members of the relevant linguistic and cultural community.

Thus, ethnolinguistic and cultural conditionality is an important characteristic of animated discourse that needs further study.

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MAS - Metalocalypse. URL: https://wiki2.org/en/List_of_Metalocalypse_episodes?s=Metalocalypse%20-%20 S01E01

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