Specific features of Russian coordinating conjunctions from the activity approach perspective

Abstract

The article examines the specific features of Russian coordinating conjunctions, first and foremost primary i (English and), a (English while, and), no (English but), da (English but, and). The prepositions are examined from the standpoint of the activity approach to the description of linguistic units, i. e., considering the actions of the speaker using these conjunctions, as well as the listener who, thanks to them, receives the information necessary to understand a coherent text. Particular attention is given to the primary conjunctions due to their key role in text organisation. Numerous compound conjunctions and prepositions only develop some of the subtleties of connection against the background of text organisation. Data from several foreign languages are also used to expand the picture since the system of simple coordinating conjunctions in Russian is unique and finds no exact correspondence in other languages. The conjunctions are semantically described taking into account their general meanings and functions. A new interpretation is proposed for the conjunction da. The functions of the conjunctions are associated with the communicators’ activity. During interaction, the speaker partially prompts what kind of information the listener will get. In particular, the conjunction i and its analogues in many other languages indicate that something similar to the previous message will be communicated. The conjunction no shows a violation of the addressee’s expectation, and this function is also very common in the world’s languages. In a few languages there are more subtle indications of the subsequent message content. For example, one can use the conjunction a in Russian to warn that something new, but not necessarily contradictory to the previous information, will be communicated. Finally, it remains possible to signal the addition of information suggesting its exhaustiveness, which is expressed with the conjunction da in a few of its meanings. Marking precisely such semantic relations enables one to draw a conclusion about possible connections between sentences in the text and the presupposition in it regarding the course of the narration.