LINGUIST List 14.218

Tue Jan 21 2003

Diss: Pragmatics: Moudraia "Functions of..."

Editor for this issue: Karolina Owczarzak <karolinalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. olgam, Pragmatics: Moudraia "Functions of Non-Verbal Components..."

New Dissertation Abstract

Institution: Russian Peoples' Friendship University
Program: Comparative, Historical and Typological Linguistics and
Theory of Translation

Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 1995

Author: Olga V. Moudraia 

Dissertation Title: 
Functions of Non-Verbal Components in the Language System (Comparison
of Russian and English)

Linguistic Field: 
Pragmatics, Philosophy of Language

Subject Language: 
Russian (code: 5388)
English (code: 1738)


Dissertation Director 1: G. P. Mel'nikov


Dissertation Abstract: 

The thesis is devoted to the relationship between verbal and nonverbal
(kinesic in particular) means of communication and reveals the
functions of the latter in the language system. It offers a new
approach to the differentiation between linguistics and
paralinguistics. The author advances and proves the idea that a
condsiderable amount of so-called 'paralinguistic' phenomena,
e.g. descriptive and symbolic gestures, which modern linguistics does
not regard as a part of the language system, nevertheless should be
included in it as its integral and organic but peripheral section. The
new notion of 'paraverbal means' (PVM) for these nonverbal codified
phenomena is introduced. O.V.Moudraia examines contemporary language
data in Russian and English and suggests semantic and functional
classifications of PVM. The author concludes that the main function of
PVM in the language system is to express the contents which cannot be
easily put into words because of the objective reasons imposed by the
internal form of a certain language and describes these types of
contents in the Russian and English languages.