RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

РЕЛИГИОЗНЫЙ ДИСКУРС И АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК

Мехдизаде Рахшан Рамиз

 доктор философии, кафедра иностранных языков Бакинский славянский университет,

Азербайджан, г. Баку

ABSTRACT

Discourse, as a rule, arises in the process of communication, which takes place on the basis of close (face-to-face) contact, that is, when the active and passive communicators are in visual and vocal contact distance. Discursive communication can also be defined as communication experienced visually in real life. The more important active and passive communicator factor is for this communication, the more important is the real time, circumstances and situation in which that communication takes place. Dialogue, conversation, argument, etc., occurring in natural conditions where the speaking and listening people stand face to face and have the opportunity to both see and hear each other can be considered to be the most obvious example of discourse. The expression “natural conditions” mentioned here is one of the very important factors or conditions, because dialogue, conversation, argument, etc., which do not occur naturally. It is not a discourse, but a speech.

Religious discourse is one of the kinds of discourse. It covers the religious language, religious terms, concepts, etc. Besides, religious discourse is one of the forms of religion where discussions of religion are often observed. It is noteworthy to mention that the social interaction is observed to have a distinctively religious character. There are some types of religious discourse such as rituals, religious styles of speaking, religious language outside religious settings and religion-linked public controversy.

AННОТАЦИЯ

Дискурс, как правило, возникает в процессе общения, которое происходит на основе близкого (лицом к лицу) контакта, то есть когда активный и пассивный коммуникаторы находятся на зрительной и речевой контактной дистанции. Дискурсивная коммуникация также может быть определена как коммуникация, переживаемая визуально в реальной жизни. Чем важнее для этого общения активный и пассивный фактор коммуникатора, тем важнее реальное время, обстоятельства и ситуация, в которой происходит это общение. Наиболее наглядным примером дискурса можно считать диалог, беседу, спор и т. д., происходящие в естественных условиях, когда говорящие и слушающие люди стоят лицом к лицу и имеют возможность как видеть, так и слышать друг друга. Упомянутое здесь выражение «естественные условия» является одним из очень важных факторов или условий, поскольку диалог, разговор, спор и т. д. не возникают естественным путем. Это не дискурс, а речь.

Религиозный дискурс является одним из видов дискурса. Он охватывает религиозный язык, религиозные термины, понятия и т. д. Кроме того, религиозный дискурс является одной из форм религии, где часто наблюдаются дискуссии о религии. Примечательно, что социальное взаимодействие носит ярко выраженный религиозный характер. Существуют некоторые типы религиозного дискурса, такие как ритуалы, религиозные стили речи, религиозный язык вне религиозной среды и общественные противоречия, связанные с религией.

Keywords: discourse, text, religious, communication, meaning, process

Ключевые слова: дискурс, текст, религия, коммуникация, смысл, процесс.

Introduction

Speech, as a rule, is created in such a communication process that takes place in real time, when active and passive communicators do not have any other possibility of contacting except vocal contact. The main factor important for this communication is simply the active and passive communicator. From the point of view of the emergence of speech, the real conditions and situations are no longer of such great importance as for this form of communication, visual and other contact factors go into the background. If this were not the case, the result of this communication would be a discourse, not a speech. The most obvious example of communication provided through speech is communication between an active and passive communicator without seeing each other.

Features that distinguish discourse from text are distinguished as following:

1. The idea that each of them has its own place and weight in the text-discourse encounter is emphasized. In modern linguistics, it is considered that the discourse covers the linguo-social field, and the text belongs to the purely linguistic field. Researchers have conducted further research in this area, expanding their views on the verbal perception of the text’s communication phenomenon. They write that however, it is noted that the discourse is a text in the event aspect. Also, discourse is considered to be the language that is used in active communication, which is loaded with life force.

E. Benvenist defines discourse like this: “Discourse is the language mastered by the speaker” [Benveniste 1966, p.16].

The boundary between text and discourse is difficult to define. F. Veysalli writes that it is better if the text is applied to writing. In this case, discourse can be taken as a purely conversational element. Discourse can never encompass a whole language. No text can claim this function. Both discourse and text are created basing on certain rules of the language [Veysalli 2010, p.21].

2. When discourse and text are confronted, discourse is taken as a process. In this encounter, the text is considered to be the result of this process, that is, the discourse. It is clear from here that the discourse is in motion, that is, in action. For this reason, discourse is directly related to the act of speaking. The text is meant to be a completed form. The realization of discourse occurs through the text as well as within the text. A text can contain one or more discourses. From here it is clear that the discourse is smaller than the text.

3. In linguistics, as another attempt to distinguish between text and discourse, their actual and virtual comparison is discussed. That approach suggests that discourse is a real conversational event and is a conversational text that has taken place at the moment. According to this approach, the text is not related to real, present time. The text is abstract; it becomes real thanks to the discourse. At the potentially, discourse is a semiotic space. It is a thesaurus of speech and texts, including verbal and nonverbal signs. It is a concept of speech patterns, a set of genres and speech acts, characteristic of this type of communication. Speaking about the concept of semiotic space, Y. M. Lotman gives an example of a museum and calls it a semiosphere. Y. M. Lotman specifically mentions the inhomogeneity of the semiosphere and shows that it has different languages. Along with language signs, paralinguistic means, as well as symbols, are involved in this or that discourse. For example, symbolic, emblematic, and semiotic spaces appear together in political discourse [Benveniste 1966, p. 23] same time, the text is a mental construct.

The impact of the religion on the English language

The vocabulary of modern English has also come a long and complicated way. S. Potter studied the complex and complicated way of enriching the vocabulary of the English language consistently and in detail [Yartseva 1998, p. 16]. The history of the English language is generally divided into three periods. The first period is called the “Old English period” or the same period is also called the “Anglo-Saxon” period [Yartseva 1998, p. 173].

In the fifth and ninth centuries, germanic tribes invaded Britain, and the languages of local tribes gradually disappeared [Lea et al 2008, p.173]. For this reason, a number of words in modern English have different pronunciations. Such words have kept their expression in German [Lea et al 2008, p.10]. The second period is called “Middle English period”. During this period, the French-speaking Normans invaded England, and this caused many French words in English to become part of the vocabulary of the language [David 2001, p.100]. The third period is called “New English period”. This period is considered the period that continues to this day [David 2001,  p.101].

The words that entered the vocabulary of the English language in each period have a great role in enriching the vocabulary of the language [Yartseva 1998, p. 169].

Most of the Celtic words used in Old English entered the vocabulary of the language before the Christian era. Those words can be divided into three groups:

1) Most of the borrowed words entered the English language from the ancient Celtic language in the early continental period, and these words were mainly used in the Germanic dialect;

2) Some of the words acquired by the British belong to the colonial period;

3) Near the end of the seventh century, religious terms were introduced into the language by Irish missionaries [King James Bible 2011, p.117]. It was considered to be more possible for the terms that entered the language in all three ways to pass through religion. This was especially spread through people worshiping in Catholic churches.

In 313, the official religion of the empire was Christianity. From that time, the Germans began to invade Christian churches [Albert et al 1978, p. 170]. O. Jespersen gives the following list of words belonging to that period: in Old English /mynster/, in modern English /minster/, in Latin /monasterium/, in modern English /devil/, in Latin /diabolus/, in Greek /diabolos/ ; Old English /engel/, Modern English /angel/, Latin /angelus/, Greek /aggelos/. Most of the Christian words entered the English language in this way [Verba 2012, p.37].

Many of the words that passed into English in this way were Vulgar Latin words. These words differed from those found in classical Latin. Classical Latin words were considered to be terms used mainly for scientific and religious purposes.

Conclusion

It is clear from our research that there is a very fine line between text and discourse. We have summarized these boundaries, the similarities and differences of each and shown them in this thesis. Finally, let us note that in order to determine the text and discourse in the language; it is necessary to be familiar with the syntax and semantics of the language.

Religious discourse has its special effect on the languages of the people. English is one of the languages which cover many religious terms, concepts as well as religious vocabulary.

In the translation of English words and phrases derived from religion, depending on the circumstances, it is possible to use different methods-explanation, another expression with the same semantic function, and other means.

One of the main reasons why religious words used in religious discourse in English were acquired and used a lot by people was the church. Most of the words used in religious discourse in English were related to church and church services.

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