Pseudo-identification in the Russian language (human beings descriptions in Russian literary texts)

Abstract

There is no way to identify an animate object other than to describe its specific characteristics which necessarily look like deviations from the normal “average” pattern, named here paragon, in which the Axiological Standard of a human group is fixed. Of particular heuristic interest is, in this regard, the logical pattern, often used in Russian for describing such a deviation: (he/she is) not A, but B, in which a human creature is being denied the property of being human, but is assimilated to fire, flint, rag, chump, mouse, dough, etc. The variety of descriptions (pseudo-identifications) is explained by his or her need to focus attention on some remarkable feature of person’s character, incompatible with the paragon of accepted traits included in it as a result of the evaluation responses of his or her fellow countrymen. Although they have a greater illocutionary force than a simple statement of a deviant property, these identifications cannot be checked for “truth”, in particular, for compliance with the “real” state of things. They are pseudo-identifications which can only be verified for compliance with some kind of attitude, defining what properties should be used to qualify a person and what should be the ideal sample selected as an auxiliary object in an ideal scenario.

Key-words: Russian language, identification, pseudo-identification, re-identification, axiology, opinion, conceptual metaphor, paragon, evaluation.