Colour epithets in the collection of novellas “if it bleeds” by Stephen King
https://doi.org/10.26907/2658-3321.2022.5.1.65-71
Keywords:
language, linguistics, epithets, figure of speech, colour, functions of epithetsAbstract
The color epithet is often considered as a characteristic of the author's individual style, studied in the context of the writer's or poet's worldview. Many linguists analyze epithets in various areas of linguistics: in translation studies, philology, comparative linguistics. The relevance of the analysis of the functioning of this figure of speech is confirmed by the interest of the scientific community in its further study. The purpose of this paper is to study the functions of the color epithet in the collection of short stories written by Stephen King "If It Bleeds". To achieve the goal, a mathematical calculation of color epithets and an analysis of their functioning in the text were made. 234 phrases with color epithets (12 color epithets) are identified, of which 4 are the main color epithets that carry extended functions, and 8 epithets function as means of determining the characteristics of an object. If we talk about the main epithets – black, white, red, blue, their additional functions are genre-forming and culturological functions. The genre-forming function is understood as the creation of an atmosphere of horror and fear; under culturological – emphatization of the social stratification of American society. In the future, this study can be continued by considering other figures of speech used in the collection, analyzing their translation into Russian and other European languages.
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