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Semantics and diachrony of the power's names: Official (tchinovnik) and others

This study delves into the semantics and historical evolution of titles for authorities, such as "official," in the Russian language. Examining the power dynamics reflected in language, we analyze terms like "administrator," "chief," and "servant" to understand the hierarchies in governance. Through methods like Formal Concept Analysis and WordNet, we unravel associations and meanings behind these designations, shedding light on societal structures and linguistic nuances in the lexicon.

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Semantics and diachrony of the power's names: Official (tchinovnik) and others

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  1. Semantics and diachrony of the power's names: Official (tchinovnik) and others Frolova O.E. <olga_frolova@list.ru > Potemkin S.B. <potemkin@philol.msu.ru> Moscow State University

  2. Different names of the authorities in Russian: администратор (administrator), аппаратчик (staff member), бюрократ (bureaucrat), владыка (lord), властелин (magnate), властитель (overlord), господин (gentleman), государственныйслужащий (public servant), депутат (deputy), должностноелицо (officer), менеджер (manager), начальник (head), номенклатурный работник (nomenclature), олигарх (oligarch), политик (politician), повелитель (sovereign), правитель (ruler), сановник (nobleman), служака (servant), служащий (employee), службист (ramrod), управитель (custodian), управленец (executive), управляющий (director), функционер (functionary,), хозяин (master), чиновник (official) (27 items)

  3. Semantic environment of the word власть (power). Equivalents from 20+ dictionaries. Green arcs connect synonyms.

  4. Semantic environment of the word служащий (employee) Two clusters are obvious: "subordinates" and "superiors".

  5. Source of power The possession of power shows the status and social structure of the state. Features of governance and forms of power, depending on the type of ownership are distinguished by the language. The nouns властелин, владыка and властитель are based on the concept of power and ownership having the same root as власть power. The bearer of power in the XVIII century called сановник (nobleman or dignitary). Nouns начальник (head) and руководитель (chief) designate persons in positions of power over the employees they supervise or persons obliged to give them account. Чиновник (official) is an employee receiving a salary from the state budget; a governing person employed outside the public sector is менеджер (manager). The mechanism of appointing managerial staff of the highest rank is reflected in the word номенклатура (nomenclature).

  6. Where from tchinovnik came? An empowered person depends on his position within the administrative structure: - администратор (administrator) – in администрация (administration) - аппаратчик (staff member), - in аппарат (apparatus), - управленец (executive) - in управление (directorate). Positive or negative attitude: positively tagged – служака (survant), negatively tagged - бюрократ (bureaucrat), службист (red-tape-monger).In formal texts: государственный служащий (public servant), должностное лицо (official) номенклатура (nomenclature), In informal texts/ speech: служака (servant), службист (functionary), управленец (manager). The center of the semantic field (XVIII—XXI centuries): Чиновник (tchinovnic, the official) is the universal subject of power. The semantics of this name reflects it’s position in the ruling hierarchy structure.

  7. FCA reveals relations Identification of hierarchical relationships in the semantic group "power and its bearers" was carried out by the methods of formal concept analysis (FCA) with the use of WordNet thesaurus. The next results were obtained for word list 1. Only the most informative sinsets are depicted

  8. Tchinovnic inside the lattice

  9. Power bearers

  10. Hierarchy of authorities Властитель (overlord) повелитель (ruler) are hyponyms for: глава (head),руководитель (manager), шеф (chief) thosein turn are hyponyms for: начальник (director), хозяин ( master).

  11. Preliminary findings Russian power names apparently have different origin: 1. Possession: Владыка (lord), властитель (magnate), повелитель (sovereign) ; 2. Initiation: Начальник (head); 3. Movement: Вождь (chief), руководитель (leader); 4. Knowledge: Заведующий (superintendant); 5. Structure: Чиновник (official); 6. Justice, decision validity: Правитель (ruler), управленец (executive); 7. Command (modal): Повелитель(sovereign); 8.Duty (modal): Должностное лицо ( public officer).

  12. Conclusion • Our analysis is based on: - Synonym relations and semantic metrics- Formal Concept Analysis and WordNet synsets- Lexicography sources, syntax and style marking • Linguistic analysis reveals such deductions as:- initially power was based on physical force- power implies a hierarchical social structure- public and private sectors of the economy differ the names of the authorities - language reflects the concentration of power not only in the hands of one person associated with certain position, but also in the some special departments.

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