Tikhonova А.V., Chibisova O.V. Semantic variation of good wishing in Russian and Chinese

УДК 811[161.1+581]

SEMANTIC VARIATION OF GOOD WISHING

IN RUSSIAN AND CHINESE

Tikhonova А.V., Chibisova O.V.

The actuality of work is determined by the place that good wishing occupies in life of any linguistic community and its influence on the effectiveness in people interaction. The article defines the culturally universal features of the construction of texts of good wishes in the Russian and Chinese languages as well as their specific national characteristics. The conclusion is made about the diversity of the forms of linguistic embodiment of good wishes in the speech of representatives of both cultures: the use of both simple and complex sentences, the resort to figurative and expressive means and set expressions.

Keywords: good wishing, Russian, Chinese, culturally universal features, specific national characteristics.

СМЫСЛОВАЯ ВАРИАТИВНОСТЬ «БЛАГОПОЖЕЛАНИЯ»

В РУССКОМ И КИТАЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКАХ

Тихонова А.В., Чибисова О.В.

Актуальность работы определяется тем местом, которое благопожелания занимают в жизни любого языкового коллектива и их влиянию на эффективность взаимодействия людей. В статье определены культурно-универсальные черты построения текстов благопожеланий в русском и китайском языках, а также их национально-специфические особенности. Сделан вывод о многообразии форм языкового воплощения благопожеланий в речи представителей обеих культур: употребление как простых, так сложных предложений, использование изобразительно-выразительных средств и устойчивых оборотов.

Ключевые слова: благопожелание, русский язык, китайский язык, культурно-универсальные черты, национально-специфические особенности.

The problems of international relations existing at the present stage require researching in the field of intercultural understanding, one of which, in our opinion, is the study of mental images and behavioral strategies [25]. As the world becomes increasingly culturally complex and pluralistic, the importance of topics related to intercultural communication also grows. The ability to communicate, regardless of cultural barriers, incessantly and ubiquitously affects our lives [14]. In the daily life of society, based on customs, morals and manners, the traditional forms of speech occupy a special place. One of the main categories among them is good wishing, since it has some universalism in the global context of communication. On the other hand, speech etiquette is generated by the national culture, and because of this good wishing, despite some universal characteristics, is distinguished by ethnocultural marking. Nevertheless, to this day the goodwill remains a little-studied genre; respectively, its consideration is an actual problem for modern linguistics. The comparison of the implementation of goodwill in Russian and Chinese, conducted on different blocks of linguistic materials, will help to identify these features. The purpose of the article is the identification of universal and differentiating signs of good wishing in the Russian and Chinese languages based on the analysis of lexicographic practice and real word usage. The research methodology is a semantic analysis of a word, presented in Chinese and Russian dictionaries, a comparative analysis of Chinese and Russian proverbs and sayings, and a content analysis of greeting cards in Russian and Chinese.

To date a certain amount of knowledge in this field has been accumulated in the humanities thanks to the works of N.A. Rannikh [16], V.V. Pleshakova [15], T.A. Agapkina [1]. Researchers O.S. Shlapakov [26], O.A. Yartseva [27], M.K. Halimbekova [22], A.S. Chaushev [24], L.A. Khisamova [23] and N.D. Mikhailova [10] conducted comparative studies of goodwill in Russian, English, French, Ukrainian, German, Spanish, Italian, Lezgi, Karachay-Balkarian, Tatar and Kalmyk languages. This study is also carried out in the context of typological and comparative linguistics, but it compares good wishing in the Russian and Chinese languages, which not only fills the gap, but also seems relevant against the background of the rapidly developing relationship between Russia and China.

In the course of the study, the interpretation of the Russian word “благопожелание” was found only in the dictionary of T.F. Efremova [21], where it is defined as the “wish of happiness, well-being”. However, the author draws attention to the fact that this word in the modern Russian language is obsolete and the “пожелание” is used instead. It is likely that the acceleration of the pace of life, an incredible increase of the speed of information transmission leads to a reduction in the language. Further in our work, we will use the words “пожелание” and “благопожелание” as synonyms, keeping in mind the positive meaning of “пожелание”, that is “wishing somebody well”.

The interpretation of the semantics of “пожелание” was studied in nine of the most authoritative dictionaries of the Russian language. The basic meaning of “пожелание” is the expressed desire of something good to happen that is present in six of the nine studied dictionaries [2; 9; 11; 19; 20; 21] and makes up 32% of all definitions presented in them. Besides, “пожелание” is someone’s suggestions, requests, requirements for improvement, change of something. These meanings are found in five dictionaries [2; 9; 19; 20; 21] and make up 26% of the total number of definitions. In the four dictionaries [4; 8; 11; 20] “пожелание” is given the following definition: an opinion on the desirability of implementing something, putting it into life that accounts for 21% of the total number of definitions. The definition of “пожелание” as a greeting to someone which expresses a desire for something good to be realized is found in two dictionaries [3; 11] and makes up 15% of the total number of definitions. Only in one dictionary “пожелание” is defined as the final etiquette phrase in the message, letter, and thus makes up 5% of the total number of definitions [20]. From the analysis of vocabulary definitions presented above, it can be concluded that Russian “пожелание” is an opinion or greeting expressing a desire of something good to happen; suggestions, requests, requirements for improvement, change of something and the final etiquette phrase in the message, letter.

The closest in semantics to the Russian word “пожелание” is “祝愿”. The analysis of the eight most authoritative dictionaries of the Chinese language allows considering that the basic definition of good wishing in Chinese is an appeal to a deity with a request to fulfill desires, as an expression of good intentions for oneself and others. This definition is present in 7 of the 8 dictionaries studied [5; 6; 7; 13; 17; 18; 28] and makes up 75% of the total number of definitions. Moreover, good wishing in Chinese is “the expression of good (wonderful) wishes”, which is found in two dictionaries [6; 12] and makes up 17% of all the definitions presented here. Only in one dictionary good wishing is interpreted as “a wish of happiness and an expression of hope for its sending, as well as the good wishes of one person to another” [7] and makes up 4% of the total number of definitions. Thus, “祝愿” is a prayer / appeal to a deity, asking for the realization of desires, hopes (for oneself and others); the expression of good (beautiful) wishes for oneself and others; wish of happiness and expression of hope for its granting / good wishes of one person to another.

Thus, the culturally universal features of the good wishing in both linguistic societies include the following. Good wishing is a verbally expressed opinion about the desirability of acquiring something (usually what serves the satisfaction of a person’s needs, gives material wealth, brings pleasure and moral satisfaction) or attaining some kind of prosperity (a calm and happy existence, a streak of luck, easy circumstances). In addition, it is a best wish of one person to another that something good will happen in the latter’s life or activity (dreams or hopes will come true, fortune will smile on her / him).

Nationally specific for the Russian language are such definitions as: “благопожелание” is an suggestion (what is brought to someone’s attention, offered for discussion, consideration or execution, this is a statement of the way to improve a production process, a mechanism, etc.), a request (the official inquiry with a demand or appeal to give some information or explanation), a requirement (a request or an order expressed in a decisive, categorical form) to change or improve something. Russian “благопожелание” is the final etiquette phrase in the message or the letter. In turn, it is nationally specific for Chinese that “祝愿” is a prayer / appeal to a deity, that is, an appeal to the outside to an indefinite addressee, a non-personified power. Although, believers can directly address their deity in all its manifestations.

In order to identify the culturally universal and nationally specific features of the semantic variation of good wishing in Russian and Chinese, there were identified 8 groups of wishes, which are characteristic of both linguistic communities.

– Wedding wishes: Совет вам да любовь! (Advice and love to you) – 永浴爱河 (Swim in the river of love forever).

– Wishes of wealth: Жить да богатеть, да спереди горбатеть! (Live and become rich, and grow a hunchback in the front) – 财源滚滚 (Shovel in heaps of money).

– Farewell wishes: Счастливого пути! (Have a nice journey) – 顺风满帆 (Let the fair wind fill the sails).

– Greetings: Мир дому сему! (Peace to this house) – 祝阖府平安 (Peace to this house).

– Ritual phrases: Вечная память! (May his (her, etc.) memory live forever) – 让他安静地长眠吧 – (May he rest in peace).

– Wishes of health: Береги платье снову, а здоровье смолоду! (Watch over your clothes while they are new, and over your health while you are young) – 加餐 (Eat more).

– Wishes of happiness, good luck: Ни пуха, ни пера! (Break a leg!) – 好运连连 (May luck always accompany you). 

– Wishes of longevity: Многая лета! (God grant you a long life!) – 枸菊延年 (Let goji berries and chrysanthemum prolong your life).

The analysis of the above groups of wishes shows that such, at first glance, different cultures, as Russian and Chinese, are very similar in building a hierarchy of life values. At the top of this hierarchy in both linguistic communities is family (wedding wishes), health (wishes for health), long life expectancy (wishes for longevity). The coincidence of these groups can be explained by the fact that these areas of life are of the greatest value to any person and serve to make people happy and satisfy their needs in some measure. It is very important for a person to have a family, good health and means of supporting the listed essential areas of human life. When forming a family, that is, for a wedding, people often wish what is necessary for a happy marriage. It is impossible to forget about people who have passed away, at the recollection of whom ritual phrases are used, thereby wishing the person the best of all in the next world, and also passing the memory of ancestors from generation to generation.

It should be noted that nationally specific characteristics can be found even within the common groups of good wishing. The analysis of wedding wishes revealed the fact that in Russia for a happy marriage it is important to make the correct choice of the bride who should be not so much beautiful as smart, hard-working, sweet: Выбирай невесту не в хороводе, а в огороде! (Choose a marriageable girl not in the round dance but in the kitchen garden); Не бери приданое, бери милую девушку! (Do not take a dowry, take a nice girl). A successful marriage in China is understood to mean marriage, where a husband is honored and glorious: 贵 荣 妻 贵 “The husband is in honor and his wife is well off; glory to the husband, dignity to his wife). Thus, the Russian community emphasizes the important role of a woman in marriage, while the Chinese assigns a similar role to a man. Even the very wish of a successful marriage, the basis of which is not love, but other motives and interests, exists only in China.

The most noticeable difference between the two linguistic communities within the same group is the wish of a child’s sex to the newlyweds. In China, it is customary to wish only the birth of boys: 宜[尔]子孙 (May you have sons and grandchildren); 多男 (many sons). In Russia there is no preference for any particular sex: Сколько в поле пеньков, столько б Вам сынков, а сколько кочек, столько б дочек! (So many stumps in the field, so many sons to you, and so many hummocks, so many daughters). It can be assumed that such preference is given to boys due to the fact that difficult economic conditions, for example, require the presence of male hands in the household. The absence of a boy in the family was considered a big life failure, since the son is the successor of the clan, the helper and support of his family. In ancient China, poor families often sold their daughters to the rich in order to get rid of useless women in the family and earn good money.

In the Chinese there were found three groups of wishes which are absent in Russian, namely “family / home wishes”, “wishes related to studies, work and career” and “wishes in a letter”. Confucianism influenced the formation and functioning of such an institution as family. In China, the state and the family are closely linked, that is, various programs are being held to rally and build families. The state pays special attention to this institution and considers it as the basis of its prosperity and stability. The family has long been considered the heart of society, so it is possible to identify certain features of the “family, homemade wishes” group. In the Chinese family there must necessarily be a place of respect, harmony, hard work and frugality. All these factors entailed the formation of expressions relating to family, home and comfort: 竹苞松茂 (lush thickets of bamboo and pine – wish for unity, prosperity and well-being of the family); 喜气盈门 (let your dwelling be filled with joy).

The presence of a group associated with studies, work and careers in Chinese can be explained by the fact that long since in China, bureaucratic careers and positions have occupied a leading place for most people in their aspirations. Successful examinations opened the way to wealth and prosperity both for the person who passed them and his/her family. The Chinese family, especially peasants and commoners, was proud to have a person who received the position of official. This situation has led to a huge competition among people in the desire to pass the exam successfully and continue to achieve heights in their careers: – 帆风顺 (let the wind always blow in your back – a wish for good luck in business and career growth); 蟾宫 折桂 (pick a branch of the cinnamon tree in the Moon Palace – successfully withstand exams for academic degrees).

The study of the wishes in the letter revealed their considerable diversity in Chinese, which indicates that the culture of China attaches great importance to these phrases in establishing long-term trust relationships between the parties in the personal and business fields. The wishes in the Chinese letter concern not only well-being and happiness, they take into account the season of the year, the addressee’s occupation, age, sex, marital status, etc: 秋祺 (I wish you autumn calm – from the final formula of the letter addressed in the autumn); 财祺 (I wish you well-being in your financial affairs – from the final form of a commercial letter); 福安 (I wish you happiness and peace – in a letter to the elders). In Russian there is only one analogue to the Chinese wishes in the letter, which is generalized, this is the phrase “with best wishes”, used at the end of a letter.

In Russian, one group “wishes for sneezing” was distinguished, which is absent in Chinese: будь здоров, расти большой (be healthy and grow big); сто рублей на мелкие расходы (one hundred rubles for minor expenses). The presence of set wishes for sneezing in Russian culture is associated with signs that state: на чих кошки здравствуй, зубы болеть не станут (say hello to a sneezing cat, you won’t have a toothache) or на чох лошади говори: "будь здоров" и обругай (say bless your heart a sneezing horse and swear. In addition, in the Russian ethnographic material there is a story telling about a devil that was going to kidnap a sneezed baby, and he can only do this if the parents of the baby do not tell on sneezing: “Be healthy, guardian angel”, thereby saving him from a terrible fate. That is, according to the signs, after sneezing, it is necessary to wish health to sneezing people, thus saving them from illness and even death.

Further, the lexico-semantic and stylistic features of texts expressing goodwill are considered. The main material used to solve the task, were greeting cards located on the Internet. It is important to note that the choice of wishes on the sites is very large; the possibility of choosing the addressee (depending on kindred, official, friendly and other relations) is provided thus enabling each user to self-represent themselves most favorably [29]. Thus, the most typical wishes and cases of their use were chosen for the analysis.

It is interesting that the found congratulatory texts not only supplemented the lists of already selected groups of wishes, but also provided new ones. Thus, in the Russian language, groups of “wishes related to studies, work and career” and “home / family wishes”, previously identified on the basis of idioms, proverbs and sayings in Chinese, were singled out. The analysis of the texts helped to identify the group of wishes “when sneezing” in the Chinese language, which is also available in the Russian language. In addition, our classification has broadened with new groups. These include the “general group” of wishes, which, as a rule, is characterized by the prevalence of all sorts of benefits at the same time without mentioning something specific. And two more groups: “wishes-congratulations”, which are characterized by a greeting that precedes the wish and “everyday” group of wishes: спокойной ночи (good night) and 祝 你 胃口 好 (enjoy your meal)). In addition, the “home / family wishes” group, already determined in two languages, was added by the “birth of a child” subgroup.

Identifying a specific structure of the sentences is difficult due to the fact that the Russian language can have both short, mononuclear sentences (Быстрого пути! – Fast journey!) and complex extended ones (Желаем вам, чтобы ваш семейный корабль оказался прочным и надежным, чтобы он не разбился о быт и неприятности, чтобы ему не были страшны никакие шторма! – We wish you to have your family ship strong and reliable so that it does not crash against everyday life and trouble, so that no storms would be terrible for it!). All parts of complex sentences usually join each other with the help of unions and particles (but, so that, and, well, let), however there is also an asyndeton (Будьте идеалом друг для друга, наслаждайтесь каждым прикосновением, вслушивайтесь в каждое слово друг друга! – Be ideal for each other, enjoy every touch, listen to each word of each other!). It is worth noting that the form of the verb in wishes corresponds grammatically to the future tense, or, the present tense in the meaning of the future.

Typical formulas of wishes are characterized by the presence of various addressees, which means that the formulas of this type are characterized by the choice of a personal pronoun: I / we. The situation is different with the addressee, because the wishes do not always require the element “to whom”. However, the role of this element in the congratulation is important, as it specifies the targeted orientation (I wish you, the newlyweds). Form “вы” is used in a formal setting, to demonstrate a distance from a person, as well as in relation to little and well-known people. In the latter case, the choice of form depends on the age and social status of the opponent. Form “ты” is used in an informal setting, in a circle of relatives and quite familiar people or people of the same social status (perhaps with the lowest status of the addressee as well): Счастья тебе, побыстрее написать диплом и отлично провести время! – Good luck to you, to write a diploma as quickly as possible and have a great time!

The wishes based on the complete logical scheme with the verb “to wish” are traced comparatively often who + to whom + wish (Желаю вам счастья и привольной богатой жизни! – I wish you happiness and a free rich life). The main component of most good wishes is the combinations of personal pronouns with the verbs “congratulate” (Поздравляю вас с новым учебным годом! – I congratulate you on a new school year!) and “wish”. They may be joined by various introductory parts pointing to a particular holiday (I congratulate you on ...) or appealing as addresses (dear, beloved newlyweds), after which the wishes themselves follow. An important part of some wishes is the addressee: I wish you, the family; I congratulate you. The wishes of the Russian language are used as in the form of long extended texts: “С днем бракосочетания. Пусть ваша семья станет примером среди других семей. Будьте идеалом друг для друга, наслаждайтесь каждым прикосновением, вслушивайтесь в каждое слово друг друга. Находите вместе на вопросы и задачи ответы и решения. Дорожите каждой минутой. И пусть символом рождения вашей семьи станут счастливые глаза здоровых детишек! – Happy Wedding Day. Let your family be an example among other families. Be ideal to each other, enjoy every touch, listen to each other's words. Find together answers and solutions to questions and problems. Value every minute. And let the happy eyes of healthy kids become the symbol of your emerging family!”, as well as fairly brief phrases: “Всегда зелёного света! – Always green light with you”.

Analysis of the wishes of the Chinese language revealed a clear preference for the use of simple sentences (祝你考上理想的大学 – I wish you to enter the university of your dreams). However, the presence of complex sentences cannot be denied: (新年的祝福, 平日的希冀, 愿你心境祥和, 充满爱意， 愿你的世界全是美满， 愿你一切称心如意，快乐无比 – in the new year and always, I wish you to live in harmony and happiness, let beauty fill your world and joy fill your days). Nevertheless, most complex sentences consist of a variety of simple, often set expressions (chengyu) that can be used separately. Therefore, one can say that in most cases the wish is realized through the use of the scheme: wish (祝) + to whom + the wish itself. The first method of constructing wishes is the most typical, but with the help of the material studied it was possible to identify additional schemes. In Chinese, as in Russian, the wish is introduced with the help of the verb “wish.” It should be noted that in expressions with the verb “to wish” it is allowed to use various verbs with similar meanings: 祝 (zhù) – to congratulate; wish; to pray, conjure; to make a toast; 愿 (yuàn) – to want, dream, desire; ask, would like; 祝愿 (zhùyuàn) – to wish, to express a wish.

Based on the selected schemes for constructing wishes, we managed to find out that the main function in the formation of texts is performed by the verb “wish”, which can be used together with 致以 (zhìyǐ) (express, tell), frequently used comparative conjunctions 比 (bǐ), 如 (rú), with the introductory part at the beginning (congratulations, adverbial modifier of manner), by simply listing the main benefits, without using certain constructions, and it can also be expressed as hope or prayer. It should be noted that in Chinese there is a temporary (早上 好 – good morning) and age factor, as in Russian, the choice of 你-form and 您-form. The polite 您-form is used in relation to people older in age and higher in status, while 你-form is used to friends and well-known people in general. In addition, the wishes are called the addressee, for example: “I wish the bridegroom and the bride”, but its use is not traced in all wishes.

Various emotional and expressive means are used for decorating wishes. The most significant group in the Russian language consists of wishes, based on metaphor. The metaphor is based on the similarity of phenomena, impressions of them, and the similarity of the reactions that they cause (Пусть ваша любовь питает и поддерживает вас! – Let your love nourish and support you). The epithets used to make the statement more expressive and emotional are not inferior in number to the metaphor (Желаю тебе кавказского долголетия, сибирского здоровья, французской романтичности, мексиканского задора, африканского загара и, главное, европейского евро! – I wish you Caucasian longevity, Siberian health, French romance, Mexican enthusiasm, African tan and, most importantly, the European Euro!). The same is true about personification (Пусть годы мчатся чередой, минуя все ненастья, я Вам желаю всей душой, любви, здоровья, счастья! – Let the years rush in a train, bypassing all the bad weather, I wish you with all my soul, love, health, happiness1), hyperbole (Желаю Вам жить и здравствовать еще сто лет! – I wish you to live and be healthy for another hundred years!), comparison (Ещё тебе я пожелаю прожить всего лишь сотню лет, да так, чтоб жизнь твоя была такая, как ясный утренний рассвет! – I also wish you to live only a hundred years, so that your life was as a clear morning dawn). The use of such a speech piece as a gradation (climax) was noted as well (Дорогие жених и невеста, пусть ваша семья будет самой счастливой, а счастье будет таким огромным, чтобы его хватило и вашим детям, и внукам, и правнукам! – Dear bride and groom, let your family be the happiest and your happiness be so huge that your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren would have enough of it).

It is worth noting in the texts of the wishes the presence of a metonymy, with the help of which the direct name is replaced by another one by adjacency (Желаю, чтобы зелень не переводилась в твоих карманах, а удача указывала дорогу к ним! – I wish that the greens would not dissipate from your pockets, and good luck would show the way to them!); zeugma, which allows omitting a word by forming syntactic combinations of the same type with other words in a sentence (Желаю чаще получать от судьбы хорошие знаки. Особенно денежные! – I wish you would receive good signs from fate more often. Especially banknotes!); paraphrases (Счастья, улыбок, чтобы было побольше белых полос и поменьше черных! – I wish you happiness, smiles, so that there should be more white stripes and fewer black ones!).

Unfortunately, in Chinese, most of the found wishes do not contain tropes, that is, we can say that all of them are used in the literal sense, listing the wishes of typical goods. Nevertheless, those wishes that use emotionally expressive means of the language are quite interesting. In Chinese, there is a widely branched system of figurative and expressive means, with the help of which colorful and pictorial speech is created. The analysis of groups of wishes allowed identifying a simple but widespread trope of the Chinese language – a comparison. It should be noted that the detection of a comparison does not present any particular difficulties due to the use in expressions of a certain set of features, namely, comparative conjunctions. In this case they are: 不如 (bùrú), 比 (bǐ), 如 (rú). For example, in the congratulation 福如东海，寿比南山 (I wish so much happiness as the East China Sea, longevity as the Nanling Mountains) laid the wish of great happiness, which is compared with the size of the sea, as well as longevity in comparison with the mountains. An interesting group of metaphorical models of wishes help characterize the object of speech based on different types of figurative analogies. Thus, the use of phytomorphic (祝你松柏常青，永沐春风 – I wish that the evergreen cypress and pine always bathed in the spring wind) and zoomorphic (祝你松柏常青，永沐春风 – I wish you to find the spirit of a dragon and a horse) metaphors. The first example presents the wish for a long life and good health, the second one – for the preservation of high energy and vitality. The zoomorphic metaphor is built on associations with animals, while the phytomorphic one is based on comparison with the world of flora. It can be concluded that the Chinese project their characteristics and morals to various creatures, thereby embodying nature.

Chinese wishes use of hyperboles, which increase the expressiveness of the statement, and mainly aim at wishing some good for a long time (祝你们百年好合 – I wish you to get along with each other for a hundred years) and in a very large number (千禄百福 – thousands of pieces of luck to you and happiness). Impersonations are also characteristic of the wishes in Chinese: 愿你今生 和幸福一起走过 – I wish you and happiness went together hand in hand all your life. There was revealed the use of epithets (祝新婚愉快，甜甜蜜蜜 – I wish happiness to the newlyweds and a very sweet life); metonymy (祝福你们白头到老，永浴爱河 – I wish you to live together until gray hair, forever swim in the river of love) and periphrasis (更上一层楼 – go up one floor higher, to achieve even more success). The following congratulation “生日快乐！愿你： 一天一天，天天快乐；一时一时， 时时微笑；一分一分，分分愉快；一秒一秒，秒秒幸运 – Happy birthday, I wish you to have fun every day, to smile every hour, to rejoice every minute, to be happy every second” reveals retardation (anticlimax), that is, a list of descending concepts (every day, hour, minute, second).

It is important to note the use of certain numbers in the Chinese wishes, for example, literally the wish 五福临门 will be translated as “five happinesses are knocking on the door (standing on the threshold)”, while the online dictionary of BCRS translates this expression as “I wish you absolute happiness”. That is the “five happinesses” mean five types of happiness, although it is often used for the generalized concept of happiness in a person’s life. Another example of using numbers: a thousand 千 and a hundred 百 in a wish “千禄百福 – thousands of lucks and happinesses” emphasize the large number and long duration of something desired. Despite the fact that the numbers are present in the wishes and carry tremendous significance, the greater symbolism of the numbers can be traced in the Chinese inscriptions and drawings for various holidays.

To sum up, the culturally universal features of the structure of the texts of wishes in both languages include the use of both simple and complex sentences; the use of the verb “wish” (together with the conjunctions); the use of congratulation succeeded by wishing; the use of constructions with adverbial modifier of manner; the use of listing individual words. The commonly used tropes that enhance the expressiveness of speech are comparison, metaphor, hyperbole, epithet, personification, metonymy, and periphrasis. The difference lies in the frequency and quantity of using the means listed above.

The main area of mandatory implementation of the wishes is a conversational and everyday style, which includes oral and written communication (greeting cards in Russian and Chines), the analysis of which was an essential part of the study. Nevertheless, based on the analysis of dictionary definitions, it can be concluded that in the Russian language wishes can be included in written business discourse as appeals to various organizations and institutions with the aim of making any suggestions or requesting necessary information, while in Chinese they may be part of a religious discourse as a request to God to bestow some benefit. In both cultures, good wishing may be the final etiquette phrase in a personal or business letter. The material of this work can be used in teaching Chinese, in conducting lectures and seminars in such disciplines as “Fundamentals of the theory of intercultural communication”, “Practice of intercultural communication” and “Lexicology”.

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Data about the authors:

Tikhonova Angelina Valerievna – master's degree student of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication Department, Komsomolsk-on-Amur State University (Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia).

Chibisova Olga Vladimirovna – Candidate of Culturology, Associate Professor of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication Department, Komsomolsk-on-Amur State University (Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia). 

Сведения об авторах:

Тихонова Ангелина Валерьевна – магистрант кафедры лингвистики и межкультурной коммуникации Комсомольского-на-Амуре государственного университета (Комсомольск-на-Амуре, Россия).

Чибисова Ольга Владимировна – кандидат культурологии, доцент кафедры лингвистики и межкультурной коммуникации Комсомольского-на-Амуре государственного университета (Комсомольск-на-Амуре, Россия).

E-mail: kit_kat-96@mail.ru. 

E-mail: olgachibisova@yandex.ru.