The article shows that the changes of an associative field in diachrony can somewhat schematically, but quite accurately reflect the dynamics of the corresponding frame over time. The undertaken comparative analysis of associative fields of stimuli ‘napitok’ (drink) and ‘pit’yo’ (drink(ing)) - as of 1988-1997 (the data of “Russian associative dictionary”) and 2013-2014 (the results of the author experiment) - helps to develop the model of the frame “drink” - to the extent of slots actualized through associative reactions - and reveals some changes in its structure. Ascertained dynamics implies variation in the relevancy of almost all slots. The revealed trends also reflect some harmonization of this frame with its Western analoguesye

Miroshnichenko, N. S.

Morel Morel, D. A.

DSpace at Belgorod State University

Proceedings of the 6rd International Academic Conference «Applied and Fundamental Studies», 2014, pp. 142-146REVEALING FRAME DYNAMICS THROUGH COMPARING ASSOCIATIVE FIELDS IN DIACHRONYMorel Morel D.A., Miroshnichenko N.S.Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod city, Belgorod region, RussiaThe article shows that the changes of an associative field in diachrony can somewhat schematically, but quite accurately reflect the dynamics of the corresponding frame over time. The undertaken comparative analysis of associative fields of stimuli ‘napitok’ (drink) and ‘pit’yo’ (drink(ing)) -  as of 1988-1997 (the data of “Russian associative dictionary”) and 2013-2014 (the results of the author experiment) -  helps to develop the model of the frame “drink” -  to the extent of slots actualized through associative reactions -  and reveals some changes in its structure. Ascertained dynamics implies variation in the relevancy of almost all slots. The revealed trends also reflect some harmonization of this frame with its Western analogues.Keywords: frame; diachrony; comparative analysis; associative field; associate; drink.Since the time of Marvin Minsky’s watershed publication [4] frames as one o f the possible patterns o f knowledge representation keep on attracting attention o f researchers in different spheres. Cognitive linguists could not stand aside by definition, considering a frame as a type o f concept (in terms o f its inner structure) (e.g. [2]). Moreover, frames can embrace several concepts (as slots) forming complex structures [8: 112-113]. Frames proved to be in an intrinsic interconnection with stereotypes [4; 7: 108] which is of great importance to our current research.Considering a concept as a frame and supposing the homomorphic relation between structures o f a concept and the associative field o f its name we suggested a hypothesis that alterations in the content and structure o f this field over time reflect the dynamics o f the corresponding concept in diachrony [5: 105].To corroborate it we decided to compare the state o f associative fields o f the same stimuli at two stages: 1988-1997 (Tg) as fixed by “Russian Associative Dictionary” (RAD) [3], and 2013-2014 (T)  as revealed during the author experiment. Thus, two samples (being o f the same age group: 17-25) represent two dif­ferent generations born and formed under two different social systems that have antipodal value systems and world outlooks thence divergent pictures o f the world.The subject of the present study is the frame “drink” in the Russian picture o f the world, whereas the scope has been limited to associative fields o f stimuli napitok (a drink) and p i t ’yo  (a drink / drinking) (on choosing stimuli see [6: 56]). The raw data acquisition was under the procedure adopted in RAD [3: 3-4], then followed morphological and semantic clusterization [6] and “comparative analysis o f the associative fields differing in the time of fixation” [1: 15].The undertaken analysis revealed the following slots and subslots (in brackets) o f the frame under question that are actualized by the associates forming the chosen fields:key slots:-  “drinks names” ^  {“non-alcoholic drinks” ^  [“sweet sodas”; “juice”; “water”; “other refreshing drinks”; “hot tonic beverages”; “milk drinks”]; “alcoholic drinks” ^  [“hard liquor”; “wine”; “beer”]; “cocktails”; “undifferentiated denominations”};1 4 2Revealing frame dynamics throughcomparing associative fields in diachrony-  “characteristics o f drinks” ^  ( “characteristics o f drinks by their psychophysiological effects”; “per­ceptual characteristics”; “modal and evaluative characteristics”; “characteristics by composition”};-  “psychophysiological states” ^  ( “consumption”; “negative states”; “positive states”; “sensations”};minor slots:“drinks provisioning places”; “interpersonal relations, behavior”; “leisure’; “weather conditions”; “vessels”; “eatables”; “liquids”; “poisons”; “medicines”.The analysis o f the associative fields o f the stimulus napitok  helps us to reveal the following manifes­tations of the dynamics o f the frame over the period under review.Basic structural changes affect minor slots (with low representativity in corresponding associates and their utterances— reactions). We witness the actualization o f such slots as “drinks provisioning places”, “liquids”, “leisure’, and the loss o f relevance o f “interpersonal relations, behavior”, “eatables”, “poisons” .Quantitative changes affecting key slots are fundamental in nature and reflect the main trends in the dynamics o f the frame under study.Thus, the representativity (both in associates and reactions) o f the slot “drinks names” has increased significantly over the period under review. It led representatives o f this slot to the first place in the T:-field. The increment rate (R  = y. / y 0 -  1) in the share o f associates is +0.97, the one in the share o f reactions is +0.72. The representation o f the slot “characteristics o f drinks” reduced proportionately, although some­what slower. The increment rates are -0.46 in the share of associates and -0.52 in the share o f reactions. The slot “psychophysiological states”—ranking third in terms o f representativity— strengthens signifi­cantly showing +0.43 and +1.95 increment rates in the shares o f associates / reactions.Interesting processes also occur at the level of subslots.The total growth o f the slot “drinks names” is ensured mainly by its first-order subslot “non-alcoholic drinks” (with +0.97 and +1.33 increment rates in the shares o f associates / reactions). Leaders in terms of increase are second-order subslots “hot tonic beverages” (+8.7), “water” (+3.27), “juice” (+1). We also witness the actualization o f the second-order subslot “milk drinks”.The dynamics o f the second-order subslot “sweet sodas” has differently directed trends: a small in­crease in the share o f associates and the reduction in the share o f reactions (+0.14 and -0.21 increment rates, respectively).A similar, but more pronounced dynamics is traced in the case o f the first-order subslot “alcoholic drinks” . Its increment rates are +2 in the share of associates and -0.27 in the share o f reactions. Such a divergence is conditioned, on the one hand, by a significant expansion o f the second-order subslot “hard liquor”, on the other hand, by the loss of relevance o f subslots “wine” and “beer” .As for the second key slot “characteristics o f drinks”, the reduction of its importance in T1 was accom­panied by the reduction in the share o f 3 its subslots out o f 4. Increment rates in their shares o f associates and reactions vary from -0.67 to -0.51. Significant growth o f the subslot “characteristics o f drinks by their psychophysiological effects”—high increment rate in the share of its associates (+3.88) and moderate one in the share reactions (+0.37)—could not compensate for this decline.There are some trends worthy of being noted: “perceptual characteristics” shrank in number of actualized senses, “modal and evaluative characteristics” lost negative evaluations, “characteristics by composition” were cut down on the range. The increasing role o f the dichotomy “alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic” should be also mentioned. The percentages o f these two characteristics mentioning in the total amount of produced reactions are, respectively, 1.0% / 2.0% in T ,  and 2.1% / 2.6% in T1 (increment rates are +1.1 / +0.3).143PHILOLOGYMorel Morel D.A., Miroshnichenko N.S.A significant increase in the relevance o f the slot “psychophysiological states” (+1.44 and +4.65 incre­ment rates in the shares o f its associates / reactions) is provided by the actualization o f 3 subslots (“con­sumption”, “negative states”, “positive states”) which recovered manyfold the consequences o f losing relevance by the originally single subslot “sensations”.The fact that the organization o f the associative field o f second words-stimulusp i t ’yo  has not presented considerable from the previously analyzed is very significant. Key slots stay the same; moreover, the set o f revealed slots is almost identical (a minor slot “medicines” is additionally actualized). This fact instan­tiates the contiguity o f napitok and p i t ’yo  in the linguistic consciousness.The main differences lie expectedly at the substantial level. Thus, the primary meaning o f the last word -  “PIT’YO 1. only sg. Action according to verb drink. 2. That is drinkable, a drink.” [9] -  could not but show up in the emergence o f a specific pattern o f associative linking: “drinking [of what?] of water, vodka, beverages” . In addition, rhymed reactions -  b i t ’yo  (spanking), b r it’yo  (shaving), b y t’yo, z h i t’yo  (life), zh ra t’yo  (gobbling), l i t ’yo  (molding), m y t’yo  (washing), n y t’yo  (nagging), s h it’yo  (sewing) -  are regular to the given stimulus.As for alterations o f this associative field in diachrony, here are found both similarities and some dif­ferences from the field o f the word-stimulus napitok.The dynamics o f two key slots is not so clearly expressed: “drinks names” show the growth o f ste­reotyped reproducibility over time (the share o f associates shrinks (increment rate is -0.08) and the one of reactions inflates (+1.01)), whereas “characteristics o f drinks” reproducibility declines (there is some increase in the number o f representatives (increment rate in the share o f associates is +0.14) with a signif­icant reduction in their frequency (increment rate in the share o f reactions is -0.3).The internal dynamics o f “drinks names” is much similar to the one in the field considered first. The re­producibility o f its representatives soars as well as the relevance of second-level subslots “water”, “juice”, “tea” (the increment rates o f the share o f reactions are +3.78, +2.6, +2.6, respectively); the subslot “beer” cluster runs out o f mentioning.Considering the dynamics of “characteristics of drinks” we should note the following tendencies and features:1) reduction of the importance o f “perceptual characteristics” (-0.23 and -0.30 increment rates in shares o f associates / reactions), mainly due to the taste characteristics;2) increase o f the representation o f “modal and evaluative characteristics” (mainly due to positive assessment representatives).It should be noted that the absence o f direct means actualizing the slot “medicines” in T: is compen­sated to some extent by representatives o f “negative states”, i.e. p i t ’yo  continues to be associated with means o f removing or soothing painful conditions (with a symptomatic action medicine, intrinsically) in the linguistic consciousness.Another important aspect in studying associative field dynamics is the comparison o f top-associates at different stages o f fixation.By the end o f the period under review the top three -  by frequency -  o f reactions to the stimulus nap­itok  has changed completely. Nonalcoholic drinks o f everyday use (sok (juice), voda  (water), chay (tea)) are put in the forefront increasing their frequency dramatically (with the highest increment rates). Origi­nally top associates (sladkiy (sweet), pivo  (beer), fa n ta  (Fanta)) lose -  in full or in part -  their relevance showing the lowest increment rates. Zhazhda (thirst) and p i t ’ (to drink) -  absent in the ^-respondents’ responses—also appear among the high-frequency associates.1 4 4Revealing frame dynamics throughcomparing associative fields in diachronyComparable figures o f frequency are retained by associates vkusnyy (tasty) and kholodnyy (cold), how­ever, they lose their leading positions in the ranking.With regard to associations to the word-stimulusp i t ’yo , voda  (water) which was originally one of the two most high-frequency associates, becomes the absolute dominant, demonstrating maximum indices both in absolute change and in increment rate. Other positive increment rate associates -  kholodnoye (cold), zhazhda  (thirst), and sok  (juice) -  lag behind.The idea o f drinking as an action loses currency significantly with time (the negative increment rate o f the associate vody (of water) frequency). Associates sladkoye (sweet), vodka, yeda  (food) demonstrate steady decline in their frequency.The undertaken study lets us come to the following conclusions.1. The suggested hypothesis has been fully confirmed. Changes o f an associative field in diachrony somewhat schematically, but quite accurately reflect the dynamics o f the corresponding frame.2. On the one hand, the frame “drink” proved to have a rather stable organization inclusive o f three complex hierarchical slots and a number o f minor slots.Both T -  and T;-respondents’ associative links represent the following structure o f the knowledge of drinks: 1) there are many different kinds of drinks (generic, specific, individual); 2) they have different characteristics; 3) they interconnect with a human psychophysiological state somehow (cause it or are caused by it); 4) they are an integral part o f the social life; 5) they are available in special places; 6) there are special vessels for their preparing, serving, consuming and storing; 7) they are consumed along with food or can involve some eatable ingredients being prepared; 8) they are related with other liquid or semi-liquid substances that are not intended to be swallowed to quench thirst, for refreshment or nour­ishment; 10) their consumption depends on weather conditions.3. On the other hand, the frame “drink” demonstrates rather obvious and lasting changes in relevancy o f slots over time.Through their associative reactions Tg- and T1-respondents actualize slightly different sets o f slots and subslots. It reflects structural alterations o f the frame. Thus, the T;-language consciousness tends to neglect the relations o f drinks with poisons and medicines, nevertheless references to other -  not drinkable -  liquids have become relevant.But more prominent changes are quantitative ones. The main trend is that drinks names gain -  whereas drinks characteristics lose -  in relevance for the language consciousness. Thus, the linguistic consciousness while building associative relations with the name o f the concept focuses on the drinks per se (on their subcategories and individual denominations), but not on their properties. Consequent­ly, the most productive model o f establishing associative links becomes rather genus-species than attributive (that is proper to the similar English associative field and, to a lesser extent, to the French one -  see: [6]).Common trends also include the inflation o f the subslot “nonalcoholic drinks” representativity (its share in the total number o f reactions is bigger and grows faster than the one in associates) along with the stable and fast growth o f “water”, “juice” and “hot tonic beverages” relevancy and the actualization of the subslot “milk drinks”. At the same time the subslot “alcoholic drinks” is prone to differently directed tendencies with “hard liquor” extension and “beer” -  as well as “wine” -  drastic lost o f relevancy. The revealed tendencies are likely to evidence some drift o f social focus o f attention from alcoholic drinks to nonalcoholic ones o f everyday consumption.We also eyewitness the reduction o f the representation o f “perceptual characteristics” (mainly taste ones) o f drinks and the increase o f the representation o f “negative psychophysiological states” which can145PHILOLOGYMorel Morel D.A., Miroshnichenko N.S.be removed by consuming drinks. In this regard we should note the fact that the investigated material is free from any “alcohol intoxication” representatives that are actively actualized in similar French and English associative fields [6].It should also be noted that for the T1-language consciousness relations o f drinks with weather con­ditions, eatables and interpersonal relations have became less relevant, whereas the link with vessels has been reinforced.4. The undertaken comparison o f the chosen associative fields can also provide us with existing stereo­type ideas about drinks.As for T0-respondents such an “ideal” drink must be non-alcoholic refreshing (juice or sweet soda) rather than (low-)alcohol, tasty and sweet, chilled.According to T1-respondents a prototypical drink is non-alcoholic (refreshing noncarbonated (juice, water) rather than carbonated (Coca-Cola) or hot (tea)), chilled rather than heated, tasty, consumed (drunk) to quench one’s thirst.Thus, notions o f prototypical napitok (drink) have not drastically changed for the quarter o f a century; according to the respondents such a drink should be non-alcoholic, tasty, chilled.5. In terms o f content a marked increase in the share o f foreign drinks loanwords (strong liquor and alcoholic cocktails) draws attention. This indicates that the appropriate realities, due to changes o f the state o f the domestic consumer market, find the sustained reflection in the Russian cognitive picture o f the world, and their verbal representatives became firmly entrenched in the Russian language picture o f the world. However, they played a peripheral role in the structure o f the concept “drinks’ (as indicated by a low frequency o f such associates), because they do not belong to the products o f everyday consumption. Exceptions, for obvious reasons, are brands o f sodas.It is obvious that the consumer behavior o f the Russians approached to the Western models under the influence o f modern marketing policy. And the relevant portion o f the naive picture of the world with a complex o f means o f representation including sets o f stereotypical associative reactions has evolved with it, hence some observed trends in the dynamics o f the frame “drink”.References1. Alimushkina, O. A. (2010). “Vozmozhnosti izucheniya stereotipov v assotsiativnykh polyakh”. A l ’mana- kh sovremennoy nauki i obrazovaniya, 2 (33), Part II, 14-15.2. Babushkin, A. P. (1996). Tipy kontseptov v leksiko-frazeologicheskoy semantike yazyka. Voronezh: VGU.3. Karaulov, Yu. N., et al. (2002). Russkiy assotsiativnyy slovar ’. M.: Astrel’ -  AST. Vol. 1.4. Minsky, M. (1975). “A framework for representing knowledge”. In P. H. Winston (Ed.), The Psychology o f  Computer Vision (pp. 211-277). N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.5. Morel Morel, D. A. (2014). “Issledovanie dinamiki kontsepta na materiale assotsiativnogo polya ego imeni”. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii ipraktiki, 1 (31), Part 1, 104-109.6. Morel Morel, D. A. (2012). “Napitki vo frantsuzskom, angliyskom i russkom assotsiativnykh slovaryakh (stimul -> reaktsiya)”. Filologicheskie nauki. Voprosy teorii ipraktiki, 3 (14), 55-59.7. Pimenova, M. V (2014). “Vozvrashchenie k voprosu o metode opisaniya kontseptual’nykh struktur (na primere kontsepta nadezhda)”. A ktua l’nye problemy filologii i pedagogicheskoy lingvistiki, 16, 101-109.8. Prikhod’ko, A. I. (2014). “Freym kak tip leksicheskogo kontsepta”. A ktua l’nye problemy filologii i peda­gogicheskoy lingvistiki, 16, 110-113.9. Tolkovyy slovar’ Ushakova onlayn, available at: http://ushakovdictionary.ru/1 4 6

Revealing frame dynamics through comparing associative fields in diachrony

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Revealing frame dynamics through comparing associative fields in diachrony

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