RESEARCH ON THE PHENOMENON OF LACUNARITY IN MODERN LINGUISTICS

Abstract

The study of lacunarity helps to establish a special form of relationship between language and culture and to understand the cultural connotation in the target language. Relevant research in modern linguistics can be divided into two types: horizontal and vertical, in the first case, the course of research time is analyzed, and in the second, similar academic points of view are compared. This article is devoted to the history of research on the concept of “lacuna”, including the definition of this concept and the classification of types of lacunae in European and American countries, Russian-speaking countries and China. The author compares the concepts of researchers from different countries, such as the outstanding American scientist in the field of semantics A. Lehrer, the Russian psycholinguist Yu. A. Sorokin, the founders of the Chinese cultural translation Wang Bingqin and Yang Shizhang. The time span of research is from the 1950’s to the present. This article not only summarizes the views of the named scholars on “linguistic gaps”, but also includes criticism from other scholars regarding their academic opinions, and also identifies by analyzing their advantages and disadvantages. During the study, it was found that the situation with the study of lacunas in the translation process in different countries reveals both features of similarity (at the level of the subject and object of research; at the level of research forms; at the level of research results in respect of which a consensus has been established) and differences (associated with different times of the beginning of research and the influence of national linguistic traditions). At the same time, this article indicates further ways to study the lacunae. It includes two aspects: in a broader sense – to define the disciplinary direction of the science of lacunae (lacunology), and in a narrower sense – to unify definitions, terms, classifications of lacunae and formulate a strategy of equivalent translation for them. Thus, the novelty of the article lies in the fact that it systematizes the points of view of modern scientists on the phenomenon of a lacuna, analyzes the common features and differences in research, and indicates subsequent research tasks. This helps others to understand the general direction of research in the field and to see new topics related to the concept of “lacuna”.