Äîêóìåíò âçÿò èç êýøà ïîèñêîâîé ìàøèíû. Àäðåñ îðèãèíàëüíîãî äîêóìåíòà : http://www.philol.msu.ru/~smu/work/science-day/2010/24-9.pdf Äàòà èçìåíåíèÿ: Wed Mar 31 01:01:36 2010 Äàòà èíäåêñèðîâàíèÿ: Fri Jun 25 23:36:43 2010 Êîäèðîâêà: Ïîèñêîâûå ñëîâà: millennium

. W.B.Yeats as a symbolist . . . . ( ) . . - : ? . . Idol or Ideal? . . ( ) . . Parodies on politically correct terminology . . . . ( ) . . "" ( . "A suitable boy") . . Peculiarities of Contextual Hyperbole in Sherwood Anderson's Short Stories . . The Speech Act of Request in English and Russian . . Philological reading: a student's view . . - . . . . Russian variant of English and it's differences from British English . . The pragmaphonostylistics of colour-terms in modern English literature . . ( ) .. . . .. . . . . . ( « » 2005 ) . . emigrant/ . « » . . . . .. ( " " "") . . Space representation of archaic picture of the world in the English version of Welsh text of Culhwch ac Olwen


W.B. Yeats as a symbolist .. , , Yeats' early work is usually seen as a late development of Romant icism: it would be quite surprising if it were not. He was born in 1865, only thirt y-eight years after the death of William Blake. Yeats' view of Blake was condit ioned by the late nineteenth-century emphasis on lyric intensit y and on the poetic characteristics required to achieve it: symbo lis m and musicalit y. It should be ment ioned here that Verlaine's recommendation in his «Art poetique» o f suggest ive musicalit y, and Mallarme's in «Crise de vers» of a technique of symbo lic suggestion, influenced great ly on Yeats' most truly symbo list vo lume The Wind among the Reeds (1899). This book, perhaps the one symbo list masterpiece in the English language, for quite a long t ime was overshadowed by the ant i-Ro mant ic battles of Anglo-American modernism. The Wind among the Reeds reveals a ruthless concentration of purpose and means, and a unique richness and co mplexit y o f effect. One o f the finest poems in this vo lume is «The Song of Wandering Aengus». The poem has more precisio n and is less vague in it s effect that all the other poems in this vo lume. The poem's meter is similar to the one used in ballads, double-ballad. The rhyme scheme of the poem is the fo llowing ABABCDCD. The anaphoric repet ition of the conjunctio n and in the middle o f the first and the third stanzas creates a melodious sounding o f the who le poem. On the semantic level o f our analysis we may single out some inherent ly connotative attributive word combinat ions (expressive-emot ional-evaluat ive connotations): the hazel wood, hazel wand, brightening air, dappled grass. Adjectives in such word combinat ions funct ion as intensifiers. The inherent ly connotative word combinat ions also funct ion as means of foregrounding: they create an abstract narrative plane. The concept of love in this poem is described both: by means of metaphors and symbo ls. Yeats uses the metaphors of a «little silver trout» and «the fire aflame» to represents physical lo ve, and «glimmering girl», «silver apples» and «golden apples» for ephemeral, spiritual love, that the speaker desires. We may even claim that in the given adherent ly connotative word combinat ions the extensio n of the meaning of the words from literal to figurative is the one usually associated with symbo lism. The words here, init ially used in their transferred meaning by way of analogy, have reached their ult imate abstraction, thus beco ming symbo ls. The setting for the init ial event is beside a stream in the twilight of dawn. Aengus is thus posit ioned both at a physical and a temporal boundary, and traditionally, both in Celt ic and other fo lklores, boundaries could funct ion like cracks or openings through which the supernatural could intervene. Since Aengus is fishing wit h «a hazel wand», and hazel is a magical wood in Celt ic tradit ion, he could be said to be asking for so mething magical to occur ­ something which will answer to the «fire» of desire in his head. The fairy woman who then appears is that answer, the ideal wo man o f his dreams. When he finds her, in a land beyo nd time, he will bring together the alienated polarit ies of feminine and masculine, lunar and so lar, plucking «The silver apples of the moon, | The golden apples of the sun». These are the cosmic polarit ies around which the who le universe is structured, the Night and Day o f the world of time. The poem also offers an evocative picture of the uncertaint y o f twilight by bringing together in one impressio nist image the flickering of the stars and the flickering of moths: «when white moths were on the wing, | And moth-like stars were flickering out». It picks up the word «flickering» and makes music by echo ing it with «glimmering» and «brightening». Sounds, too, could be said to flicker: «something rust led on the floor». The final stanza picks up the idea of flickering in the image of «dappled grass», intensifying it musically by an internal rhyme with «apples».


The noun «wand» (cut and peeled a hazel wand) in the above analyzed poem beco mes the symbo l o f so mething mysterious and enigmat ic. Both in magical ritual and in poetry symbo ls allow us to evoke the «great mind and great memory». Yeats, then, was a magician, and it is not misleading to claim that his poems are magical. Much of Yeats' early poetry displays a co mparable co mplexit y. The poet did not see any essential difference between the symbo ls of poetry and those used in magical rituals: this is made abso lutely clear in his essays on «Magic» and on «The Symbo lism o f Poetry». Being a symbo list by his nature, Yeats lived with symbo ls; his imaginat ion was, in truth, the second-sight of his mind. At that point, we should understand that a symbo list stands in some danger here: he lives with symbo ls as the nature lives wit h facts. At some point a poet might stop seeing symbo ls in facts, and confuse facts with symbo ls, thus complicating the understanding of the who le image. Yeats does not always sing of things of beaut y and mystery as the things of beauty and mystery are best sung, so that people may understand; but rather beaut iful, bewitching, inco mprehensible formulae. Most of his works are added, however, wit h notes, that in a way decipher the meaning of so me of his poems. We co me up wit h the conclusion that the above ment ioned vo lume contains simple, ballad st yle poems, which are, however, far from the style of his first poems, that he had copied mainly fro m the folk art of Ireland. Yeats continued to move farther in the direct ion of a «pure» poetry, neglect ing the fact that he was beco ming unintelligible to the young men who had been in his thought. His poetry was beco ming more and more symbo list, and sometimes completely inco mprehensible. .. , , «» . , ­ . : (semi-weak vowel) ­ , [Vassilyev: 216-217]. - , - . «-» . ­ . , . , , , - . , , , ­ , «performance of high acceptabilit y». .. , , « , » [: 79].


, , (prominence-based rhyt hm ­ . ). « » (syllable-stressed rhythm ­ . ), , , , . , , . .. , « «» . , » [: 228]. , . , . . . , , . , . , , «» , , : « ? !». ­ , . .. , . , . . , .. , « , , , , , » [: 260]. [: 228]. , , . , , , . , , , . , , . , ( ­ 21312), , . () -. .. . ., 1958. .. . . ... . . . ., 1983. .. . . ., 2004. Vassilyev V.A. English phonet ics: A theoretical course. Moscow, 1970.


( ) , , , .. , . . , ­ « , , , , , - » [: 185]. -. ­ «» «». «» . «» . « , , . , » [: 103]. , ( ), , ( ) . , (, , , , ) (, , ). . , , , . . , . , ­ . . «brrr», «bzzzz» .. , - . , «meow», «boom», «bang» . , . , (), , (, , ). [a] / [i]. , , , «mini», «sweety», «petite». , , - , («tall», «large», «grand»). , («big», «small»). [a] / [i] / , , «this»-«that». , , , . , .


() . , -ash «slash», «clash», «crash», «dash», «flash» . « » [Cuypere: 107-117]. , , . : «», ( ); «», (/ , /); «» ( ) [Cuypere: 115]. , . , , . . . ., 2000. .. // , 1997. 6. . 103­ 119. De Cuypere L.. Limit ing the Iconic. Amsterdam, 2008. - : ? . .. , , ­ , V+Adv, .. , V Adv . ( 200 ) . - , . , , : go aground ­ ( ); go father / further ­ ; go abroad ­ ; go without ­ -., . , , : go in: 1) , , 2) , 3) ( , ), 4) , 5) . 6) . , 7) not fml. ; go far: 1) , 2) not fml. , 3) ( ), ( ) , 4) , -. (. ); go about: 1) , 2) , , 3) ( , ), 4) , 5) ( -.), 6) . ( ) , .


, , go. . ­

Idol or Ideal? .. , , This work represents the research on the evo lut ion of the image of an English gent leman in the English language and culture. The basis is literary sources, original English novels and their sequels which range fro m adaptations to new works of art and literature. General facts o f history, socio linguist ic theories, vertical context, linguostylist ic and linguopoetic analys is of literary texts and detailed study of main characters and their prototypes give an opportunit y to recreate the image of a gent leman and to trace back its development. The present research has to do with literary crit icism, linguocultural studies, sociolinguist ics and psycho linguist ics. Gent leman's image and the peculiarit ies of its perception in and by the modern culture is the main subject of this research. The subject of the research beco mes topical nowadays as the main tendency - which prevails in modern linguist ics ­ considers the man to be the centre of linguist ic studies. Anthropocentrism dominates in the modern scientific paradigm. Modern linguist ic studies apply to the man and his posit ion in the language and culture. And as a result of it on the borderline o f the millennium a new scient ific paradigm of modern linguist ics is formed ­ anthropocentric paradigm which represents « , . . » [: 65]. A man is seen as a linguist ic personalit y. This prevailing idea runs through all aspects of linguist ic studies and destroys the borders between academic disciplines as it is impossible to study man without taking into considerat ion his language ­ « , , » [: 3]. Linguist ic personalit y is a variant of person's representation. Psycho logical, social, ethic and other components seen through the prism o f person's speech and language should be taken into account. The notion of a gent leman, on the one hand, is a litt le bit old-fashioned as in modern language it is used mainly as a polite form of addressing and, on the other, it implies being kind and polite, behaving well and having enough money, avo iding earning the living. According to the dict ionaries the most important trait of gentleman's character is his nobilit y in all respects. But being a true English gentleman is not, of course, simply a matter of behaviour. Born in the XIIIth century, beco ming part and parcel o f the XVIIIth century and possibly reaching his apotheosis in the early XXth century, the English Gent leman now seems to be a dying breed. The chart below shows different stages of the evo lution of the notion `gent leman'. XIIth century no need to work hard to earn his living XIIIth century noble by birth, noble by deeds XIVth century «ne dooth his diligence and bis ynesse, to kepen his good name» [Chaucer: 130] XVth century son of a noble by birth XVIth -XVIIth noble by birth, well-educated centuries NOBILITY = VIRTUE


Personal traits XVIIIth century XIXth century social origins + moral component + good education XXth century form of po liteness In the XXIst century being a gent leman means to have a number of qualit ies, the most important of which are to be noble, honest and generous. It is difficult to find any other concept that has spread so widely not only in the societ y where it was born but also beyo nd it. Socio logists, for example, describe seven areas of masculinit y in general culture: 1. Physical ­ virile, athlet ic, strong, brave (unconcerned about appearance and aging); 2) Funct iona l ­ provider for family, defender of family fro m physical threat; 3) Sexual ­ sexually aggressive, experienced, single status acceptable; 4) Emotional ­ unemotional, stoic, never crying; 5) Intellectual ­ logical, intellectual, rational, objective, practical; 6) Interpersonal ­ leader, dominat ing; disciplinarian; independent, free, individualist ic; demanding; 7) Other Personal Characteristics ­ success-oriented, ambit ious, aggressive, compet it ive, proud, egotistical, moral, trustworthy; decis ive, uninhibited, adventurous. None of these personalit y traits have been supported by scient ific research but unconsciously people ascribe these traits to the ideal they've created in their minds. These traits can and should be applied to a gentleman but as all people have imperfect ions and shortcomings all these qualit ies at the same t ime can be realized only in fict ion characters and an Englis h literary gent leman is a good example of the embodiment of the characteristics mentioned above. .. . ., 2004. .. . ., 2010. Chaucer G. Canterbury Tales. London, 2008. ( ) , , .. « » [: 9]. , , , , , . . « , , , , » [: 94]. . .. : , , , , . . , . , , . to have a stake in ­ -.: «These nations do not have the same resources to combat climate change as countries like the United States or China do, but they have the most immediate stake in a solution» [NY Times: Obama's Speech on Climate Change].


. , , . the most immediate . dark cast a shadow over smth - -., -. . . , : «And this casts a dark shadow over an entire region» [The Guardian: Bush's speech on Israel and a Palest inian state]. new to build bridges - , . : «No w is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic» [NY Times: Obama's Speech in Berlin]. - , , , . near one's heart ­ -. : «But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts, for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments...» [Speeches That Changed the World: 70]. near . . I , . this take up a cause - , : «I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last» [NYTimes:Obama's Healt h Care Speech]. . Play the game ­ ; , : «The stakes are too high and the challenges too great to play the same Washington game with the same Washington players and somehow expect a different result» [NYTimes: Obama's Feb. 12 Speech]. . , . play the game , , , .. . , . , , . fall to smb's lot - ; : «Now it falls to us - for this institution will be what we make of it» [NYTimes: Obama's Speech to the United Nations General Assembly]. , . . . , .


to lose one's head ­ , : «Consequently, the newly crowned Queen Deborah lost not only her title, but figuratively her head as well» [NYTimes: June, 04, 2002]. . , , , , , . . . . .,1996. . . . . . . ., 1960. Speeches That Changed the World. Quercus, London, 2005. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/ The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/ Parodies on politically correct terminology .. , , Polit ical correctness is a strong cultural and linguist ic trend, which has developed in the English-speaking world. It requires that all the linguist ic units which affect the feelings and dignit y o f the individual should be removed from the language or replaced by the corresponding neutral or posit ive euphemis ms [-: 215]. The trend has influenced the English language greatly. It has introduced a considerable number of euphemist ic words and expressio ns practically into every sphere of the language. We may co me across polit ically correct termino logy when speaking about people of different races and nat ionalit ies, or those with physical or mental disabilit ies, or when addressing wo men or people of senior age. Polit ically correct words and expressio ns come to the fore when we touch upon such subjects as a person's appearance or income. Apart fro m being a linguist ic tool o f achieving social and cultural aims, po lit ically correct termino logy o ften beco mes an object of literary experiments in the form of various jokes and parodies. The reason is obvious: so met imes po lit ical correctness runs to extremes in changing the language, with newly invented terms being exaggerated and even bizarre. As a result, nat ive speakers invent polit ically correct words and expressio ns, which are too euphemist ic and polit e to be serious ­ the comic effect is achieved here quite successfully. We can co me across numerous jokes and parodies on the polit ically correct language in the Internet, which is quite representative as a lot of people nowadays have a possibilit y to connect to it, find any informat ion they are interested in and express their attitude towards everyt hing that happens in the world. For example, Premek Brada wrote «A Po lit ically Correct Proposal» [http://wwwkiv.zcu.cz/~brada/] to facilitate happy universit y studies for students, who still achieve a deficiency in their needs assessment (fail their exams). Obviously it is mainly students themselves who can correct the problem if they are not differently logical (stupid). Some of them just happen to be motivationally deficient (are lazy) and write suboptimal (lousy) projects, for which they get bad marks. Others are substance abuse survivors (winos), get chemically inconvenienced (stoned) on evenings and come temporally challenged (late) ­ what can the y expect then? Still others are rather nontraditionally ordered (disorganised) and don't manage to learn all they need, especially when using specially organised (sloppy) lecture notes which eve n their significant others (boyfriends or girlfriends) would not read. Their teachers can help by creating a friendly atmosphere so that the needs assessments (exams) do not look like aversion therapy (torture). Young staff can for example read a


processed tree carcass (newspaper) during the assessment (test) while the senior persons (elderly) and/or tired ones might want to relax by being in a reduced state of awareness (asleep). Also, please don't mind if so meone takes his or her animal companion (pet) to the room. Especially wo men can go any further and decorate the room using botanical companions (houseplants). This way, even differently interesting (boring) subjects like his'n'herstory (history) or ethnocentric white patriarchal restructuring of language (grammar) may beco me enjo yable. The results of this might be twofo ld. Students with good marks will have better chances not to become involuntarily leisured (unemplo yed) or even underhoused (ho meless) during periods of negative economic growth (recessio n). Their teachers will be awarded by better wages, lose fear of tax base broadening (tax increases) and live happily. In the Internet we may co me across various amusing stories and examples. For instance, Matt Leonard in his art icle «Has Polit ical Correctness Gone Too Far?» [http://maine. maine.edu/~mleona51/] tells a story about two comedians fro m Vancouver, who opened their act by asking the audience to stand and sing the Canadian nat ional anthem. The two then explained that «O Canada» is the only phrase in the song that doesn't offend anyo ne. «Our ho me and nat ive land» is offensive to immigrants. «In all thy sons command» angers women. «From far and wide» offends people o f size. And so on until «O Canada» is the only nonoffensive phrase left. Somet imes the requirements of po lit ically correct language beco me exaggerated and even onerous. In such cases people react to changes brought about by polit ical correctness wit h humour, making jokes and writing parodies on the subject. They invent new polit ically correct words and expressio ns which are really amusing and are not part of actual polit ically correct termino logy which is used in modern press and literature. The comic effect is achieved by exaggerating the politeness and euphemist ic nature of these words and expressio ns or even taking them to the extreme. It can be said that people perceive the polit ically correct trend creatively: they not only use already exist ing words and expressio ns, but also invent new ones, doing that with a lot of humour and ingenuit y. - .. . ., 2000. Brada P. A Polit ically Correct Proposal: http://www-kiv.zcu.cz/~brada. Leonard M. Has Polit ical Correctness Gone Too Far? http://maine. maine.edu/ ~mleona51. , , , , - . , , , , «» . , , . ­ , . , , , « ». . : «... '' - , ,


, ''» [: 231-291]. « » . , «» «niebeski», , ­ . «» : «, , , '': ( - ), ( - ), ( - ), ( - ), ( - -), ( - )» [ ]. , , . «», , . , , red, blue, yellow, white I - yellowing, II ­ reddened . : black, grey, brown, ­ blackness . , , white - black, , , «, » : clear, bright , dark, dim - . , . ... , : , , : «High in the blue air Mount Mindolluin lifted its white helm and snowy cloak». : «Already the closing hour was drawing nigh, and the red sun had gone behind Mindolluin. Shadow came down on the City. Pippin looked up, and it seemed to him that the sky had grown ashen-grey, as if a vast dust and smoke hung above them, and light came dully through it. But in the West the dying sun had set all the fume on fire, and now Mindolluin stood black against a burning smoulder flecked with embers. `So ends a fair day in wrath!' he said forgetful of the lad at his side». « » : -, ­ . « », . , . , ­ , «». , , , - , . . , , . , . . . , - , « » . . . . . ., 1996.


( ) . , , . : , . ­ , - . , . , . , . , , . - : . ( ) , . ­ . , .. , ­ , hapax legomena­ , [Plag: 67]. , , . . , . .. , , , , . . , , ; . 100 , , , , . , (The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph,


The Mirror, The Sun, The Washington Post, The Newsweek) . ­ 0,37(/1). ­ , N+N. 0,28, 0,14; 0,08, 0,06 0,05. re-, un-, ­ness, -ing, -ist. V-N, NV, A-N. , . Plag I. Word Format ion in English. Cambridge, 2002. «» ( . «A suitable boy») .. , , XX . , , . , « », , , , , . «A suitable bo y». , «» . .. , « » [: 25]. , , , , , « », . ., , , , , . , « », , 1813 . « » «domecticating vs. foreignizing methods» [Venut i: 20]. « », . ., , « «» » [: 20]. «» , . , , , , , , , . , 1) ; 2) 3) . «» .. ,


« , » [: 123]. , «» , , . , ( ) . « » « » «domest icat ion» « , « , , » [ ­ .] » [: 78]. , . «» , . , «A suitable bo y» . , , , . .. // . , 1999. . 25­27. .. : ­ ­ ­ . ., 1999. .. - // . , 1999. . 78­ 79. .. : , , . ., 1988. Venuti L. The translator's invis ibilit y: A history of translat ion. London; New York, 1995. Peculiarities of Contextual Hyperbole in Sherwood Anderson's Short Stories , , This article is devoted to the study of hyperbo le in the context of Sherwood Anderson's short stories. The cho ice o f hyperbo le for this study is not accidental: hyperbo le is a ver y powerful st ylist ic device which favors the format ion and development of the writer's individual style, at the same time emphasizing its peculiarit ies. Through hyperbo le literary personages are created. Due to it the reader can penetrate into the hidden meaning that the author creates, understand the characters and their personalit ies fully. Of course, the cho ice o f Sherwood Anderson's short stories for evaluat ing hyperbo le is not accidental either: his literary prose abounds in different stylist ic means, among which hyperbo le has its peculiar place. His prose is also full o f instances of biblical allusive hyperbole, and as the language of the alluded and alluding texts is the same ­ English, the study of Anderson's literary prose beco mes attractive and interest ing in this sense too. The aim of this work is to reveal the st ylist ic value of contextual hyperbole and its t ypes, and in the case of allusive hyperbo le ­ the cognit ive and aesthetic significance of the pheno menon, by applying the notions of `background knowledge' and `vert ical context'. We should also define the following steps in carrying out the present invest igat ion: first of all we should study hyperbo le as a st ylist ic device ­ one amo ng the many in the system o f


tropes and figures of speech, then we should consider the possible co mbination of hyperbo le with other stylist ic devices, with a special focus on hyperbo le based on allusio n, and for the latter case, we must evaluate the role of `background knowledge' in the due appreciat ion of the imagery and language of the author, and finally we shall classify the examined linguist ic materia l according to the inclusio n of other stylist ic devices. Observing instances, when hyperbo le can be combined wit h other stylist ic devices in the context of Anderson's short stories, the fo llo wing types of it are distinguished: `mixed hyperbo le' ­ combined with other stylist ic means, shaped as instances of simile, pun, antonomasia, irony, etc; `non-mixed hyperbole' ­ not combined with other stylist ic devices; and `biblical allusive hyperbo le'. Anderson Sh. Selected Short Stories. M., 1981. The speech act of request in English and Russian . , , The main purpose of this scient ific research is to investigate the speech act of request in the total combinat ion of its linguist ic and nonlinguist ic features. The following research questions address the issues ident ified in the purpose of the study: 1. The essence of pragmat ic study, the main problems it deals with 2. The funct ion and peculiarit ies of the speech act of request; its dependence on politeness strategies and social factors 3. The classificat ions o f the speech act of request 4. Characterist ics of the speech act of request in English and Russian, differences in its structure, stylist ic meaning and grammat ical forms Pragmatics represents the study o f human communicat ion and deals wit h speech acts, investigat ing the relat ionship between the meaning of an utterance and linguist ic forms used to convey this meaning in different communicat ive situations, i.e. the context of an utterance. Request is one of the basic speech acts, which are studied in pragmat ics. A request act is a direct ive, i.e. the speech act that speakers use to get someone else to do something. The funct ion of a request is usually defined as "asking for something formally and politely" [Hornby: 1129]. The variet y of linguist ic structures used to accomplish this basic funct ion is explained by the dependence of the speech act of request on different factors of communicat ion (the relat ionship between the addresser and the addressee; the addresser's and the addressee's socia l status; social distance; size of the request; necessity o f the request, etc.). The request act is great ly influenced by po liteness strategies. To overview politeness strategies in requests, it is necessary to reveal the concept of po liteness, which can be determined as "the awareness of another person's face" [Yule: 60]. Face is the public self-image, thus, a person's negat ive face is the need not to be imposed by the others, and a person's posit ive face is the need to be accepted by the others. Negative and posit ive politeness strategies are chosen in dependence on the co mmunicat ive situat ion, which is condit io ned by the above-ment ioned socia l factors. According to politeness strategies used in them, requests are categorized into "bald-onrecord" requests/ demands; "on-record posit ive politeness-oriented" and "on-record negative politeness-oriented" requests; and "off-record" hints [Brown and Levinson: 56]. Each type of request has the linguist ic means of its expression. Requests are characterized by their facethreatening nature, because asking so mebody to do something implies "an imposit ion by the speaker on the hearer" [Yule: 57]. Thus, requests are usually negat ive po liteness-oriented, the y emphasize the addressee's right to freedo m of act ions. Requests often represent indirect speech acts, as indirect speech acts are considered more polite than direct speech acts. Blum-Kulka, House and Casper [52-57] classify requests into "indirect nonconventional hints", partially referring to the object in dependence on contextual


clues (Must you really leave? The night is young), "conventionally indirect" (I'd like to have you show me sights) and "direct" (Come on and join the party). The classificat ion according to the request structure is very popular. The request act is divided into the head act, which performs the funct ion of request ing: Give me a beer; and its peripheral elements, which make a request more or less po lite/ direct/ imposing: Couldn't you please give me a beer? The most important of peripheral mit igat ion devices are modal verbs (can, could, may, might, etc.). As a matter of fact, it is crucial to combine several classificat ions for the thorough investigat ion of the speech act of request as a who le system o f specific linguist ic forms that dist inguish it from other speech acts. The next purpose of the research is the comparison between the request acts in Englis h and Russian. " ­ , . , , " [: 71]. English and Russian requests have the same underlying performat ive structure: ... - I hereby ask you... ( . = I hereby ask you to come with me as far as to my summer house). Russian requests are influenced by a number o f politeness strategies and socia