Образы пространства в калмыцкой прозе: лингвокультурологический аспект

Goals. The paper attempts an analysis into the images of space in combinations with spatial adjectives from a linguocultural perspective. Results. Images of space in the texts are conveyed by constructs with spatial adjectives denoting spatial dimensions, such as length, width, height, depth, volume and shape of objects. The celestial space is most expressively reflected in the texts through the images of cosmonyms — the sun (Kalm. нарн) and the moon (сар), which are specified by the adjective төгрг ‘round’, indicating the shape of the objects in stable combinations, e.g., төгрг шар нарн ‘round yellow sun’, төгрг сар ‘round moon’. When it comes to describe terrestrial space, the writers pay special attention to the image of steppe (тег), which is most accurately conveyed in stable constructs in combination with the spatial adjective өргн ‘wide’ characterizing boundless areas, and its synonym y ‘wide’ (өргн тег ‘wide steppe’, өргн көк тег ‘wide green steppe’, у тег ‘wide steppe’). In the texts, the adjective ик ‘large’ is used to specify this characteristic of the steppe image (ик өргн тег ‘large, wide steppe’). The authors inextricably link the image of steppe with the image of road, creating multifaceted artistic meanings. Road symbolizes movement, while steppe appears as endless, free space closely associated with nomadic life. When it comes to characterize water space, the dominant role is assigned to the images of river, lake, characterized by the spatial adjectives өргн ‘wide’, төгрг ‘round’ (өргн һол ‘wide river’, төгрг нур ‘round lake’). The images of space in the works of A. Badmaev, K. Erendzhenov, M. Khoninov and others are conveyed in comparisons, in stable formulaic expressions, metaphors, hyperbolas, etc. Conclusions. Through the description of spatial images, the prose-writers convey some key values, archetypes, and ideas about the world that are central to the ethnos and are used in literary texts to create certain atmosphere, characterize a locale, or convey the author’s vision of the world. The extensive use of rich folklore heritage in Kalmyk prose serves to create a holistic ethnic picture of the world.