An innovative learner’s paremiological dictionary: a linguoculturological source

Abstract

The need to improve the linguoculturological interpretation of Russian proverbs and sayings in learners’ dictionaries determines the relevance of this study. Considering proverbs as signs of language and culture implies not only their cultural and historical commentary which modern lexicographers developing the ideas of paremiography classics successfully write. Also, it should reflect the functioning of proverbs (paroemias) in the modern sociocultural context. This involves providing live speech samples of native speakers, including peers of readers (i. e. schoolchildren and students) who use and interpret proverbs. The study aims to develop a concept of an innovative learner’s dictionary increasing the quantity of linguoculturological information. The data such a lexicographic resource offers to readers ought to be based on the characterisation of the origin and modern functioning of paroemias. To achieve this goal, a discursive approach was used in lexicographic modelling, which enabled us to expand the illustrative examples in dictionary entries to voluminous narrative or popular science texts. Such examples give comprehensive historical and etymological information as well as modern speech meanings of paroemias. These meanings are expressed in materials covering topics relevant to young people in educational, social, and leisure communicative space. The paremiological material which became the object of the dictionary description was selected with consideration to its cultural and communicative significance. We used linguoculturological and historical-etymological analysis to study paremiological data. The paper interprets the obtained results using the method of linguoculturological commenting. Implementing the developed lexicographic concept  in four innovative discursive dictionaries is the research and practical outcomes of the study. Two dictionaries are compiled in the travelogue dictionary genre, which made it possible to introduce even more additional country-specific information into the discursive presentation of proverbs. Thus, practicing teachers received ready-to-use linguoculturological lexicographic materials to apply in the educational process. The ideas and conclusions concerning the genre specificity of discursive dictionaries can be valuable for theoretical lexicography. The successful testing of lexicographic materials allows us to conclude that it is worth adopting the introduced model of linguoculturological re presentation of Russian proverbs in learner’s lexicography.