Axiological orientations in the linguistic personality of a firefighter: a case study of M. M. Zoshchenko's works

The article examines the axiological values inherent in the linguistic personality of a firefighter as represented in M. M. Zoshchenko's stories "Anxiety", "Bachelor Firemen Dance", "An Incident", "The Fire", "The Fire" (alternative titles: "Mysterious Crime", "Criminal Case"), "Golden Words", and "Zlatogorskaya, Pump!". The scholarly novelty of this research lies in its exploration of M. M. Zoshchenko's work through the lens of individual value orientations within the context of professional activity (specifically, it establishes for the first time a connection between the axiological focus of firefighter characters in the writer's works and their professional engagement); furthermore, the speech behavior of firefighters, reflecting their value hierarchy, has not been previously studied in literature from the first half of the 20th century. Consequently, the objective of this study is to identify axiological orientations within the structure of the firefighter's linguistic personality and to elucidate their content. The findings reveal that the value-semantic sphere of the firefighter's linguistic personality in Zoshchenko's works encompasses both orientations related to the categories of "heroism" and "the heroic act", and those determined by everyday needs and circumstances. Moreover, the professional component of their identity serves to highlight the potential for expressing certain values; for example, the orientation towards saving the lives of others is intrinsically linked to the firefighter's profession. Other axiological orientations exhibited by Zoshchenko's firefighter characters include a focus on bravery and decisiveness, a striving for strength and endurance; the value of professional achievements and statuses, medalism, and conformism; and a drive for social affiliation and the acquisition of knowledge about the world and their place within it.