Russian and English folk riddles with a zero denotation

The article is devoted to the study of peculiarities in the construction of Russian and English folk riddles containing unique linguistic and cultural components in the descriptive part. The aim of the research is to determine how the prototypical model of the genre of folk riddles, where a proper name, a nonce word functions as the subject of action, or the subject of action is not named, is implemented. This type of subject is referred to in the article as a zero denotation. The research is novel in that it is the first to determine and substantiate that the structure of Russian and English riddles depends on the type of anti-denotation in the descriptive part, including a zero anti-denotation. As a result of the research, it was proved that the use of a zero denotation is associated with the logical emphasis not only on the main action of the referent object, but also the features of its implementation (the place and time of the action). Moreover, it was found that in Russian and English folk riddles, there are elements of conditional speech, realized through nonce words or inclusion of proper names, obscuring the definition of the denotation. When analyzing the research material, it was revealed that for a Russian folk riddle with a zero denotation, an indication of the place and time of the distinctive action is typical, whereas for an English riddle with a zero denotation, an indication of the unnaturalness of the observed features is characteristic.