FUNCTIONAL FEATURES OF SOMATISMS IN SPEECH

Abstract

The article examines the functional features of somatisms – lexemes related to parts of the human body – in various types of speech. Special attention is paid to the role of somatisms in constructing the semantic structure of an utterance, their metaphorical and symbolic potential, as well as their communicative-pragmatic functions. Based on an analysis of speech acts in artistic (fictional), publicistic (media), and colloquial speech, the principal ways of using somatisms as expressive, deictic, and conceptualizing units are identified. Their participation in the formation of phraseologisms and the paremiological corpus of the language is also examined. The importance of somatisms is underscored as elements of the linguistic worldview that reflect anthropocentric thinking and universal concepts of corporeality. Linguocultural features of the usage of somatisms in Russian are presented, and their pragmatic functions in various genres of communication are noted.