Three types of negation in Russian (on the example of A. V. Druzhinin’s texts)

Abstract

The study is aimed at identifying the formal, substantive, and functional characteristics of negation-ambivalence, thereby expanding the traditional concept of negation. To achieve this goal, methods of semantic and functional analysis were used: within their framework, a matrix was developed for comparing various types of negations. As a result of using this matrix on the material of A. V. Druzhinin’s texts, the following conclusions were drawn. Negationambivalence differs from standard negation and oxymoron in the way it reflects reality conveyed by semantics and the number of components involved in communication. It can be argued that there are four communicative reasons for using negation-ambivalence in texts: collisions of different points of view on one object; the multidimensionality of the object itself; the complexity of the description; and speech reasons associated with the level of linguistic competence of the speaker. Negation-ambivalence is always associated with situations of choice. It can also be assumed that it is a marker of boundary states. This research can lead to a local change in scholarly thinking and the practice of perceiving linguistic communicative forms. Using negation-ambivalence as a text analysis tool allows streamlining many cases, the status of which researchers argue to this day.