The undersized speech of negative characters is colloquially colloquial words. Speech characteristics of heroes based on the comedy Minor (Fonvizin D.I.)

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Speechand namedcharacterization of heroescomedy

DI. Fonvizina "Minor"

Recently read comedy by D.I. Fonvizina “The Minor” made me think about the question: “Is it possible just by name and speech to recognize the character of a person, his moral foundations; and whether the name and the words uttered by her are connected at all in her personality ”. Let's do some research on this topic.

First, note that a the second quite aptly selects the names of the main characters. Unlikely given fact can be attributed exclusively to the desire of the author to give "challenges v memorable and memorable "names for the heroes. Rather, one should assume that Fonvizin is trying in this way to strengthen the impression he gets from the play.Deep connoisseur human souls, Fonvizin understands that the names of the heroes are exactly what the common man in the street most often pays attention to.. Thus, being an excellent satirist, the author initially sets the reader in a comical way.Now let's get closer to the comedy itself.

So, the names of the heroes:

Mitrofan. According to the directory of male names - name Greek origin , translated from Latin denotes "Revealed by the mother." It should be assumed that the name can be decoded, how "Sissy", those. Human, possible in everything guarded by the mother, loving and respectful her more than her father. This name is the best possibleconveys all nature hero.

What up speech features then in words Mitrofana is clearly visible exactly love for your mother.He tries in every possible way to highlight his mother inthe society in which there is, and it doesn't matter if people are close he is surrounded or strangers. Undoubtedly it is also necessary to highlight such a characteristic of the hero as a complete inability to various kinds of sciences and studies in general. Maybe that's why after the comedy was published, the name Mitrofan became a household name, denoting people who were narrow-minded and simple with their inner world.Let's see from the text:

Mitrofan. This? Adjective.

Pravdin. Why?

Mitrofan. Because it is attached to its place. Over there by the closet pole

for a week the door has not been hung yet: so that is still a noun.

Or here's another:

MITROPHAN (disheartening). So I felt sorry.

Mrs. Prostakova (annoyed). Whom, Mitrofanushka?

Mitrofan. You, mother: you are so tired, beating the father.

Ms. Prostakova. Hug me, my dear friend! Here is my son, one is mine

comfort.

Sophia. Just like Mitrofan, the name has ancient Greek roots. Indicates wisdom. We can also assume that the author gives this name to his heroine, in connection with short form name - Sonya. Among the people, such a quality as sleepiness is associated with the name Sonya. In the comedy, Sophia is a young girl who has not yet shown her nature, her character, not fully "awakened" after childhood. We do not know what it will be like in the future. Will she accept the qualities of Starodum, her uncle, or will she be the exact opposite, like Mrs. Prostakova.

Sophia's speech shows that the heroine is polite, loves and grateful to her uncle. She never allows herself to swear at a person, take offense at him or hate him. Sophia is quite sweet, in her speech the tenderness inherent in every well-bred girl breaks through. Just one phrase:

« I have now received good news. Uncle, about whom so for a long time we knew nothing, whom I love and respect, as my father, recently arrived in Moscow » ,

reveals to us the whole essence of this charming girl.

Milon. The name came from Western languages... Indicates cute, beloved. It can be argued that Fonvizin gave the name to the hero for a reason, since Sophia loves Milon, hence the "beloved". You should also not discount, though not great, but the existing probability that the author had some kind of association of Milon with a melon (Melon (English) - melon), because his speech is very sweet.

Based speech stylistics Milona, ​​it is noticeable that the hero is a kind, sympathetic, brave person.

“I will reveal to you the secret of my heart, dear friend! I am in love, and I have the happiness of being loved. For more than six months I have been apart from the one that is dearer to me than anything in the world, and, what is even more grievous, I have not heard anything about her all this time ... her, contain her in tyranny. From this one thought I'm beside myself »

O bottom is just a phrase, but how it reveals all Milon's feelings for Sophia.

Mrs. Prostakova and Mr. Prostakov are the parents of Mitrofan. Their surname speaks of a very important quality - simplicity. As for the type of this simplicity, it is obvious, first of all, we should assume the simplicity of the soul. From which the poor also flows spiritual world heroes. Can you find confirmation of these thoughts? Undoubtedly, but first let's say a few words about Mitrofan's mother. Prostakova comes from a noble family named Skotinin. Her father was ignorant, in fact, therefore, she and her brother (Skotinin) are ignorant. Prostakova is a very wayward person, everywhere she is looking for benefits for herself. Her whole essence is reflected in her surname. It can be assumed that her father or grandfather did not inherit the title of nobleman by inheritance, but by length of service or in some other way. The validity of this assumption confirms the complete absence of manners instilled from childhood, probably, she was brought up by people who were not accustomed to the nobility, who could not give her the proper noble education and upbringing.

Prostakova's speech is very original and interesting. She never allows herself to kindly and respectfully address her husband, but she treats her son so reverently and with such love that everyone can only silently envy. Often she calls the servants cattle, apparently because she herself was once Skotinina.

Ms. Prostakova (Trishke). And you, cattle, come closer. Didn’t say

I tell you, thief's mug, so that you let your caftan wider. Child, the first

growing, another, a child and without a delicate narrow caftan.

Tell me, you fool, how will you justify yourself?

Prostakov is the complete opposite of his wife. Prostakov pleases his wife in everything, has no word of his own. It is very difficult to call him a person, rather an individual.

Prostakov. Yes, I thought, mother, that you think so.

Ms. Prostakova. Are you yourself blind?

Prostakov. With your eyes, mine do not see anything.

Ms. Prostakova. This is how the Lord rewarded me with a hubby: he does not understand

to make out what is wide, what is narrow.

The following characters: Starodum, Pravdin, Skotinin, Kuteikin, Tsyfirkin and Vralman have corresponding “speaking” surnames that characterize the characters even more than their speech patterns.

Starodum is Sophia's uncle. He always speaks in aphorisms. For instance:

"Ranks begin, - sincerity ceases"

or

"Without a soul, the most enlightened clever girl is a pitiful creature."

This characterizes him as a wise man, knowing life, and saw a lot in his lifetime.

Pravdin is an official. A longtime friend of Starodum, maybe that is why he is everywhere trying to achieve the truth, speaks only the truthand at the same time believes that everyone is also doing the right thing.

Pravdin. But those worthy people who serve the state at the court ...

Skotinin. Isn't a nobleman free to beat a servant whenever he wants?

Kuteikin, Tsyfirkin, Vralman - the so-called teachers of Mitrofan... TO Uteikin is a seminarian. Teaches words for the son Prost and who ... Tsyfirkin is a retired sergeant.Without proper education, Mitrofan teaches mathematics... Vralman - German, sand that he is actually taken as a teacher Mitrofanushka. In fact, it turns out that Vralman is a simple coachman, but for that a German!

Kuteikin. What a devilry! From the very morning you will not get any sense. Here

every morning will prosper and perish.

Tsyfirkin. And our brother lives like this for a century. Do not do business, do not run away from business.

This is the trouble for our brother, how bad the food is, like today for dinner here

the provisions were gone ...

Moreover, the whole trinity(Kuteikin, Tsyfirkin, Vralman) quite densely settled in the house of the Prostakovs, although occasionally disagreements and skirmishes arise between them.

Tsyfirkin. And we will salute those. I'm boarding ...

Kuteikin. And I’m a book of hours.

Vralman. I will play pranks on the face.

Eremeevna - Mitrofan's nanny, a simple Russian woman, lovinghis pupilas her own son and always ready to defend him.

Mitrofan. Mom! shield me.

Eremeevna (shielding Mitrofan, furiously and raising her fists). I will die

on the spot, but I will not give up the child. Sunxia, ​​sir, just poke your head around. I AM

I'll scratch out those thorns.

Total, 13 heroes, 13 different names, 13 different images ... But all of them are united by the fact that DI. Fonvizin gave them names similar to their characters, what once again emphasizes author's skill... The names of the heroes become the highlight of the work. And now we come to the conclusion that name and characterheroes in the work inherently related to each other.How reasonable was the given (to give such names to the heroes)? I think that this is the right step of the author, since I personally remembered these names, and perhaps for the rest of my life, even before the end of the reading of the play.

Prostakova's husband is silent, he does not allow himself to open his mouth without the permission of his wife, but he still did not escape his fate and, according to his wife, is “an innumerable fool”. We see in him a weak-willed person who is completely controlled by his wife. Mitrofanushka also does not like to talk a lot, but he, unlike his father, is allowed to say whatever he wants. Uncle's roots can be seen in the ingenious curses of the ignoramus: "garrison rat", "old hrychovka".

Teachers and servants are characterized by the characteristics of those estates and social strata to which they belong.

In Eremeevna's speech, we hear a desire to please and constant excuses. The teacher Tsyfirkin is a retired sergeant, his speech shows his belonging to the military. His greeting sounds bravo: "We wish your honor to be well ...". In the words of farewell, he is also true to himself: "Where are we going, your honor?" Even Tsyfirkin swears, using military vocabulary: he is ready to give his ear to be cut off, if only "the parasite can be punished like a soldier!"

Kuteikin, another teacher, is a deacon from Pokrov. In his speech, one can sense belonging to church ministers... In his greeting, we hear the traditional wish: "Peace to the house of the ruler and many years ...". His farewell is rather prim: "Will you command us on our way?" Even in his curses, Kuteikin uses church obsolete words: "Vyya", which coexist with the colloquial: "nakostlyat".

The speech of these characters is emotionally colored, very colorful.

Speech composition goodies more schematic. The speech of these characters is unemotional, there are no colloquial and colloquial phrases in it. Good heroes are characterized by book speech, language educated people... Here the meaning of what has been said can be understood from the meaning of the words. The meaning of the speech of the rest of the characters can be grasped in its dynamics.

So, we practically cannot distinguish Milo's speech from Pravdin's speech. We cannot characterize the characters based on their speech. We just know that, for example, Sophia is an educated, well-behaved young lady who is sensitive to the advice and guidance of her uncle. Starodum's speech traces the moral program that the author promoted: rules, moral laws, principles that must be followed. All of Starodum's monologues are built according to a certain scheme: first Starodum tells a story from his life, and then utters morality. Such is the conversation between Starodum and the Truthful. But the conversation between the uncle and the niece is a set of rules, after studying which “the word will be engraved in the heart”.

After analyzing the speech of the heroes of Fonvizin's comedy "The Minor", we can conclude that the speech negative characters characterizes them themselves, the speech of good characters is a means of expressing the thoughts of the author.

Speech of the heroes of the play "The Minor" by D. I. Fonvizin

Comedy "Minor" by Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin -
a masterpiece of Russian drama of the 18th century, which reveals the problem of the moral decay of the nobility and the problem of education.

In the comedies of Fonvizin, a clear distinction between the language of negative and positive characters... And if in constructing the linguistic characteristics of negative characters on the traditional basis of using vernacular the writer achieved great liveliness and expressiveness, then the linguistic characteristics of positive characters remained pale, cold rhetorical, divorced from the living element of the spoken language.

Everybody's speech actors in "The Minor" differs both in lexical composition and intonation. Creating your heroes, giving them bright language peculiarities, Fonvizin makes extensive use of all the wealth of living folk speech. He introduces into the work numerous folk proverbs and sayings, widely uses common and swear words and expressions.

The replies of the negative characters - Prostakovs and Skotinin, serfs and teachers are sustained in the tones of easy vernacular, interspersed local dialectisms... At the same time, speech provincial landlords almost no different from the speech of serfs-mother Eremeevna and tailor Trishka. All speeches are distinguished by liveliness, naturalness of intonations, which have not become obsolete in many respects to this day. It is characteristic that Fonvizin consistently applies the method of rectilinear reflection in the speeches of the characters of their typical distinctive features. Skotinin speaks either about the barnyard or about his former soldier's service, Tsifirkin now and then uses arithmetic terms in his speech, as well as soldier expressions, Church Slavonic quotations from the Psalter, according to which he teaches his pupil to read and write, prevail in Kuteikin's speeches. Finally, the speech of the German Vralman is deliberately distorted in order to convey his non-Russian origin.

All of the above features are clearly illustrated by Prostakova's speech - rude and spiteful, saturated with swear words, swearing and threats, emphasizing the despotism and ignorance of the landowner, her soulless attitude towards the peasants, whom she does not consider for people from whom she rips off "three skins" and at the same time is indignant and reproaches them. “Five rubles a year and five slaps a day” receives from her Eremeevna, the faithful and devoted servant and nurse (“mother”) of Mitrofan, whom Prostakova calls “an old little man,” “a bad hare,” “a dog’s daughter,” beast "," channel ". But the main distinctive feature of Prostakova's speech - the frequent use of vernaculars (“pervoet”, “deushka”, “arichmeti-ka”, “child”, “sweat him and soothe him”) and vulgarisms (“... and you, beast, were dumbfounded, but you did not bite to my brother in a mug, but you didn’t rip his snout over the ears ... ”).

In the image of another landowner, brother of Prostakova Taras Skotinin, everything speaks of his "animal" nature, starting with the surname itself and ending with the hero's own confessions that he loves pigs more than people.

The language of Mitrofan's teachers is also bright and individualized: the soldier jargon in Tsyfirkin's speech, quotes (often inappropriate) from Holy Scripture in Kuteikin, the monstrous German accent of the former coachman Vralman. The peculiarities of their speech make it possible to unmistakably judge that social environment where these teachers came from, and the cultural level of those who were entrusted with the upbringing of Mitrofan. It is not surprising that Mitrofanushka remained a minor child, having received neither useful knowledge nor a decent upbringing in the course of training.

In contrast to this, the speech of the positive characters of the comedy, primarily Starodum, is replete with features of a high syllable, saturated with solemn Slavic phrases: “It is in vain to call a doctor to the sick is incurable”; "Here are evil worthy fruits!" Starodum often uses aphorisms ("it is in vain to call a doctor to the sick is incurable", "arrogance in a woman is a sign of vicious behavior", etc.) and archaisms. Researchers also note direct "borrowing" in Starodum's speech from prose works Fonvizin himself, and this is quite natural, because it is Starodum who expresses in the comedy author's position... For Pravdin, clericalism is characteristic, and in the language of the young people Milon and Sophia there are sentimental turns (“the secret of my heart”, “the mystery of my soul”, “touches my heart”).

Speaking about the peculiarities of the language of Fonvizin's heroes, one cannot fail to mention the servant and nanny Mitrofan Eremeevna. It is a vivid individual character, due to certain social and historical circumstances. By belonging to the lower class, Eremeevna is illiterate, but her speech is deeply popular, absorbed best features simple Russian language - sincere, open, imaginative. In her sorrowful statements, the humiliated position of a servant in the Prostakovs' house is especially clearly felt. “I have been serving for forty years, but the mercy is all the same ...” she complains. "... Five rubles a year and five slaps a day." However, despite such injustice, she remains loyal and loyal to her masters.

The speech of each comedy hero is distinguished by its originality. This was especially evident amazing craftsmanship a satirical writer. Wealth linguistic means used in the comedy "The Minor" suggests that Fonvizin had an excellent command of the vocabulary of folk speech and was well acquainted with folk art... This helped him, according to the just assertion of the critic P. N. Berkov, to create true, life images.

Let us point out the relatively frequent "Europeanisms" both in the replicas of the characters (for example, "I am glad to have made your acquaintance" - in the speech of Pravdin), and in the author's remarks: "Sophia took a seat at the table."

It is noteworthy that certain foreign-language elements are not alien to the speech of provincial nobles: (letter)amorous in Prostakova's remark. French or Italian swear words penetrated her speech: "The beast is raving, as if she is noble" (about a serf girl); "I will ask the dawn to my canals!" The language of the "Minor" in comparison with the language of comedies of the first half or the middle of the 18th century. (Sumarokova, Lukina, etc.) is distinguished by loyalty to life and believability. This play prepared the linguistic achievements of the comedians of the 19th century. Griboyedov and Gogol.

Semakova Anastasia

Characteristics of Mrs. Prostakova, Mitrofanushka, Skotinin through the speech of heroes

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MBOU "Comprehensive Selmengskaya secondary school»
branch "Topetskaya basic school"

Research work on the Russian language

8th grade students

Semakova Anastasia

Abusive vocabulary is a means of speech characteristics of the characters of the play
DI. Fonvizina "Minor"

Head of work - Fedoseeva S.V.

October 2013

Introduction

Target - to study abusive vocabulary in the speech of the heroes of the play by D.I. Fonvizin "The Minor".

Tasks :

• Determine what abusive vocabulary is, what labels it has in dictionaries.
• Write out from the text of the play by D.I. Fonvizin's vocabulary, which can be classified as abusive, and analyze the etymology and lexical meaning of these words.
• Determine how the abusive vocabulary of the characters in the play characterizes.
• Draw conclusions as to how abusive vocabulary characterizes the heroes of the play.

This work examines the use of abusive vocabulary by the characters in the play by D.I. Fonvizin "The Minor", in order to characterize the heroes.

Speech always characterizes the speaker:

Study

"Dictionary of the Russian Language of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR" (MAS) edited by A.P. Evgenieva indicates that the adjective abusive refers to the word abuse, but the interpretation of abuse gives as "offensive, abusive words, swearing" and marks the connotation of this word "condemnation, censure, reproaches."

Let's try to characterize the heroes of D.I. Fonvizin "The Minor", using abusive vocabulary in their speech. To do this, we wrote out remarks from the text of the play, containing abusive vocabulary, and on the basis of this we compiled a table:

For the etymological analysis of words, we used the dictionary of N.M. Shansky. All words from the list we have compiled are labeled "General." and "Primordial.", except for the words fury borrowed from the Polish language, which got there from the Greek language, and canine , which refers to the Iranian word for dog.By origin, all the abusive vocabulary from the play "The Undergrowth" can be divided into groups:

1. Animal origin:

1. Livestock = wealth, money. It is explained by the fact that cattle served as a bargaining chip.
2. Mug. The origin is unclear. Presumably an abbreviation of Khavrya Sow... In this case, the mug is literally "pork face".
3. Beast. Of the argo seminarians.It is a rethinking of lat. bestia "beast, animal", Bestia "animal" literally - "breathing". Dictionary of V.I. Dalia points to the Latin origin of this word.
4. Chushka is a suffixal derivative from chuha "pig", formed from "imitative" chug-chug ... Chukha → chushka (alternation x // w). Dictionary of V.I. Dalia explains the word chuha as "snout, nose, pork grunt."
5. Doggy is an adjective derived from the noun dog.
6. The snout is the front of the head in some animals.

1. Borrowing from Greek mythology- Fury.
2. Damn / Damn - the origin is unclear. Presumably "the one who digs lives in the earth" and further - "underground spirit".
3. Blockhead - The origin is unclear. Presumably a suffix derivative ofof the lost ball, balls "log".

Consider the lexical meaning (LZ) of swear words (according to the dictionaries of V.I.Dal and S.I. Ozhegov)

Most of the words used by the heroes of the play "Minor" refer to colloquial and colloquial vocabulary and are labeled "abusive".

conclusions

So, abusive vocabulary as an address is most often present in Mrs. Prostakova's speech (“And you, cattle, come closer”, “Didn't I tell you, thief's mug, so that you let your caftan wider”, “Get out, cattle” , "Well ... and you, the beast, were dumbfounded, and you didn’t stick to your brother’s mug, and you didn’t rip his snout to his ears", “Tell me, you fool, how will you justify yourself?”). Addressing her servants, Prostakova most often calls them beasts, and servants beasts, while when she wants to achieve something from influential people, she begins to humiliate herself in front of them, for example: “Oh, I’m an innumerable fool! Father! Forgive me. I'm a fool". Since she always uses harsh words from colloquial vocabulary, which do not differ in variety and are associated with their origin with the animal world, it can be argued that Prostakova is uneducated, ignorant, rude, cruel with those who cannot protect themselves from her rudeness. Prostakov uses abusive vocabulary when communicating with his servants, brother and husband, or talking about them, for example: “Do not be angry, my father, that my freak missed you. I was born so bad, my father. " The same applies to her son Mitrofan and brother Skotinin, who use swear words of animal origin as addresses, for example: “Oh, you damned pig!”

Throughout the play, the author constantly plays in the speech of the characters with words of animal origin, thereby trying to expose the bestial behavior of some characters, even though they are people of noble noble origin... For example, the word cattle occurs in the play in different meanings... “When only the cattle can be happy with us, then your wife will have a bad rest from them and from us,” - in Pravdin's speech the word cattle can be understood in different ways: “ common name domestic animals ”or“ cattle-like person ”. Livestock is the root in the surname of the hero of the play Skotinin. And Prostakova herself, although she now bears such a surname, was also originally Skotinin. It is no coincidence that Kuteikin dictates to Mitrofan the words: "I am cattle" (I am cattle). Fonvizin, with the help of these words, constantly makes fun of the ignorance, rudeness of the Prostakov and Skotinin family, showing their true essence. The author tries to convince the reader that, no matter how noble a person may be, with bestial behavior he will be worse than the cattle itself.

Three teachers, Tsyfirkin, Kuteikin and Vralman, although they are teachers, behave very hostilely towards each other, using the same words of animal origin when they meet. Like Prostakova herself, she chose such teachers for her son: rude and uneducated.

Consequently, abusive vocabulary characterizes the heroes of Fonvizin's play "The Minor" as rude, vicious, uneducated, ignorant people.

Bibliography

1. Emelianenko EM Nouns-predicates with the value of negative evaluation // RYASH, 1990, № 5, pp. 73 - 76.
2. Kimyagarova RS, Bash L. M., Ilyushina L. A. Dictionary of the language of the comedy by D. I. Fonvizin "The Minor". -http://www.philol.msu.ru/~slavmir2009/sections/?secid=9- International Scientific Symposium " Slavic languages and culture in modern world". - Moscow, philological faculty Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov, March 24-26, 2009
3. Krysin L.P. The relationship of modern literary language and vernacular // RYASH, 1988, No. 2, pp. 81 - 88.
4. The full text of the "Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language" by Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl (vols. 1-4, 1863-66) in accordance with modern spelling rules.http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/dal
5. Dictionary of the Russian language S.I. Ozhegova. 10th edition, stereotyped. Ed. the doctors philological sciences, professor N.Yu. Shvedova. Publishing house " Soviet Encyclopedia", Moscow - 1973.http://www.ozhegov.org
6. Dictionary of the Russian language: In 4 volumes / Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of the Russian language; Ed. A.P. Evgenieva. - 3rd ed., Stereotype. - M .: Russian language, 1985 -1988. Vol. 1. A - J. 1985 .-- 696s. T.2. K-O. 1986 .-- 736 p.
7. Shansky. N. M. School etymological dictionary of the Russian language. Origin of words / N. M. Shansky, T. A. Bobrova. - 7th ed., Stereotype. - M .: Bustard, 2004 .-- 398, p.http://slovari.yandex.ru/dict/shansky/
8. Fonvizin D.I.Nedorosl // Fonvizin D.I., Griboyedov A.S., Ostrovsky A.N. Selected works / Editorial board .: G. Belenky, P. Nikolaev, A. Puzikov; Compiled by And entered. Article by V. Turbin; Compiled by section "Applications" and note. Y. Dvinskaya. - M .: Art. Lit., 1989 .-- 608 p.

Comedy "Minor" is recognized the best piece the outstanding Russian playwright D.I.Fonvizin. In it, the writer truthfully portrayed the Russian feudal reality, exposed it, in the words of V.G. Belinsky, "as if to shame, in all the nakedness, in all the terrifying ugliness."

The cruelty and arbitrariness of the landowners declare themselves in Fonvizin's comedy "at the top of his voice." Serf owners like Prostakova and Skotinin commit their iniquities in full confidence in their own righteousness. The local nobility completely forgot about honor, conscience, and civic duty. Landowners with stupid disdain for culture and education, interpret laws based only on their own benefit, at their own discretion and understanding. And it is simply not given to the ignorant, illiterate serf-owners to understand these laws: for example, in the Decree on the freedom of the nobility, Prostakov sees only confirmation of the nobleman's right to whip his servant "whenever he wants." Only "injustice" grieves her in relation to her peasants. “Since we have taken away everything that the peasants had, we cannot rip anything off. Such a disaster! " - Prostakova complains to his brother.

Trying to give brightness and persuasiveness to the images, Fonvizin reveals the features of their character not only with the help of depicting behavior, actions, outlook on life, but also with the help of apt speech characteristics. The characters of the comedy, primarily negative ones, are endowed with a mark, deeply individualized speech, sharply distinguishing each of them from the rest of the heroes and emphasizing the main features, main shortcomings and vices of this or that person.

The speech of all the characters in Nedorosl differs both in lexical composition and in intonation. Creating his heroes, endowing them with vivid linguistic features, Fonvizin makes extensive use of all the wealth of living folk speech. He introduces into the work numerous folk proverbs and sayings, makes extensive use of common and swear words and expressions.

The most striking and expressive are the language characteristics local nobility... Reading the words spoken by these heroes, it is simply impossible not to guess who they belong to. The speech of the characters cannot be confused, just as it is impossible to confuse the heroes themselves with someone - they are so bright, colorful figures. So, Prostakova is a domineering, despotic, cruel, vile landowner. At the same time, she is incredibly hypocritical, capable of adapting to situations, changing her views solely for her own benefit. This greedy, cunning mistress actually turns out to be cowardly and helpless.

All of the above features of Prostakova are clearly illustrated by her speech - rude and spiteful, saturated with swear words, swearing and threats, emphasizing the despotism and ignorance of the landowner, her soulless attitude towards the peasants, whom she does not consider for people from whom she rips off "three skins" and this is indignant and reproaches them. “Five rubles a year and five slaps a day” receives from her Eremeevna, the faithful and devoted servant and nurse (“mother”) of Mitrofan, whom Prostakova calls “an old little man,” “a bad hare,” “a dog’s daughter,” beast "," channel ". Outraged by Prostakova and the girl Palashka, who lies and raves, vabolev, "as if noble." "Swindler", "cattle", "thieves' mug" - these words are brought down by Prostakov on the head of the serf Trishka, who sewed "pretty much" the "child's" caftan for Mitrofan. In this, Prostakova herself is confident that she is right; out of ignorance, she is simply not able to understand that peasants should be treated somehow differently, that they are people too and deserve an appropriate attitude. “I manage everything myself, father. From morning to evening, as if hung by my tongue, I don’t report my hands: now I swear, now I fight; That is why the house holds on, my father! " - the landowner confidentially informs the official Pravdin.

It is characteristic that the speech of this hypocritical mistress is capable of completely changing its color in conversations with the people on whom she depends: here her language acquires flattering, cunning intonations, she intersperses the conversation with constant ingratiations and words of praise. When guests meet, Prostakova's speech takes on a touch of * secularism "(" I recommend you a dear guest "," you are welcome "), and in humiliated lamentations, when after the unsuccessful abduction of Sophia she begs for forgiveness, her speech is close to the folk (" Oh, my priests , the sword does not cut a guilty head. My sin! Do not destroy me. (To Sophia.) You are my dear mother, forgive me. Have mercy on me (pointing to my husband and son) and on the poor orphans ").

The speech of Prostakova also changes in those moments when she communicates with her son, Mitrofanushka: “Live and learn, my dear friend!”, “Darling”. This despotic landowner loves her son and therefore addresses him affectionately, at times naively and even humiliatingly: “Don't be stubborn, darling. Now you can show yourself "," Thanks to God, you already understand so much that you yourself will cock the kids. " But even in this case, Prostakova, being nee Sk-tinina, shows an animal essence: "Has it been heard of a bitch giving out her puppies?" There are also apt proverbial expressions in her harsh, often primitive speech ("like for the language of a submissive", "where there is anger, there is mercy", "the sword does not cut a guilty head"). But the main distinguishing feature of Prostakova's speech is the frequent use of vernaculars (“pervoet”, “deushka”, “arichmeti-ka”, “child”, “sweat him and soothe him”) and vulgarisms (“... and you, beast, were dumbfounded, but you didn’t stick to your brother’s mug, and you didn’t rip his snout over the ears ... ”).

In the image of another landowner, brother of Prostakova Taras Skotinin, everything speaks of his "animal" nature, starting with the surname itself and ending with the hero's own confessions that he loves pigs more than people. It is about people like him ten years before the appearance of "The Minor" poet A.P. Sumarokov said: "Oh, should cattle have people?" "Skotinin is even more cruel in his treatment of serfs than his sister, he is a cunning, calculating and cunning owner, who does not miss his own profit in any way and uses people solely for profit. “If I’m not Taras Skotinin,” he declares, “if it’s not all my fault. In this, my sister, I have one custom with you ... and any loss ... I will rip off my own peasants, and the ends are in the water. " In the speech of such landowners as Skotinin, one can trace confidence not only in their own righteousness, but also in absolute permissiveness and impunity.

The speech of other negative characters also serves to reveal their socio-psychological essence, it is characteristic and rather individualized, although it is inferior to the language of Prostakova in diversity. So, Mitrofanushka's father, Prostakov, in the scene of his acquaintance with Starodum, appears: "I am the wife's husband," thereby emphasizing his complete dependence on his wife, the absence own opinion, own life position... It has absolutely no independent meaning. Like his wife, he is ignorant, as evidenced by his illiterate speech. Downtrodden by his formidable wife, Prostakov enthusiastically speaks of his son: "this is a smart child, that is a reasonable one." But we understand that there is no need to talk about the mind of Mitrofanushka, who has absorbed all the ugly features of his parents. He is not even able to distinguish true words from outright mockery. So, reading the Church Slavonic text proposed to him by his teacher, Kuteikin, Mitrofan reads: "I am a worm." And after the teacher's comment: "A worm, that is, a beast, cattle", he humbly says: "I am a cattle" and repeats after Kuteikin: "Not a man."

The language of Mitrofan's teachers is also bright and individualized: the soldier's jargon in Tsyfirkin's speech, quotes (often inappropriate) from the Holy Scriptures by Kuteikin, the monstrous German accent of the former coachman Vralman. The peculiarities of their speech make it possible to unmistakably judge both the social environment where these teachers came from, and the cultural level of those who were entrusted with the education of Mitrofan. It is not surprising that Mitrofanushka remained a minor child, having received neither useful knowledge nor a decent upbringing in the course of training.

The basis of the speech of positive characters is made up of "straight", book turns. Starodum often uses aphorisms ("it is in vain to call a doctor to the sick is incurable", "arrogance in a woman is a sign of vicious behavior", etc.) and archaisms. Researchers also note direct "borrowings" in Starodum's speech from the prose works of Fonvizin himself, and this is quite natural, because it is Starodum who expresses the author's position in comedy. For Pravdin, clericalism is characteristic, and in the language of the young people Milon and Sophia there are sentimental turns (“the secret of my heart”, “the mystery of my soul”, “touches my heart”).

Speaking about the peculiarities of the language of Fonvizin's heroes, one cannot fail to mention the servant and nanny Mitrofan Eremeevna. It is a vivid individual character, due to certain social and historical circumstances. By belonging to the lower class, Eremeevna is illiterate, but her speech is deeply popular, absorbing the best features of the simple Russian language - sincere, open, imaginative. In her sorrowful statements, the humiliated position of a servant in the Prostakovs' house is especially clearly felt. “I have been serving for forty years, but the mercy is all the same ...” she complains. "... Five rubles a year and five slaps a day." However, despite such injustice, she remains loyal and loyal to her masters.

The speech of each comedy hero is distinguished by its originality. In this, the amazing skill of the satirical writer was especially vividly manifested. The richness of linguistic means used in the comedy "The Minor" suggests that Fonvizin had an excellent command of the vocabulary of folk speech and was well acquainted with folk art. This helped him, according to the just assertion of the critic P. N. Berkov, to create true, life images.