Creolized text as an object of study in linguistics

Pishcherskaia Elena Nikolaevna PhD in Philology Associate professor, Foreign Languages department, Chita Institute of Baikal State University 672000, Russia, Zabaikal'skii krai, g. Chita, ul. Anokhina, 56, aud. 47 kishana@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

Text is the main means of transmitting information and knowledge in human society. However, the text does not always consist only of words. In the modern world, texts are increasingly found that combine different sign systems: linguistic and non-linguistic, verbal and non-verbal, audio and visual. Such texts are called creolized because they are the result of creolization — the process of mixing and integrating heterogeneous codes into a single whole. Creolized texts are widely distributed in various spheres of public life: advertising, mass media, Internet communication, art, education, etc. They have special properties and functions that require complex linguistic analysis.

In the modern world, texts that are not limited to one natural language play an increasingly important role, but combine various sign systems: verbal and nonverbal, linguistic and extralinguistic, audio and visual. Such texts are called creolized because they are the result of creolization — the process of mixing and integrating heterogeneous codes into a single whole. Creolized texts are widely distributed in various spheres of public life, they have special properties and functions that require complex linguistic analysis.

Examples of creolized texts can be found in various fields of art and communication:

-                   Advertising texts, comics, posters, posters, memes, emojis that combine words and images to attract attention and enhance emotional impact or self-expression.

-                   Logos, posters, flyers, banners that use words and images to create identity, recognition or brand promotion.

- Maps, diagrams, scoreboards, graphs that use words and symbols to represent spatial, numerical or logical information.

- Movies, videos, animations that use words, sounds, and images to create narratives, emotions, or effects.

- Ballet, where music and dance create a syncretic work that conveys the plot and characters of the characters.

The term creolized text is not the only one to refer to this phenomenon. Other terms are also used in linguistics, such as syncretic text ^[41], polycode text ^{[5, 16, 19, 26,40]}, linguovisual complex ^[9], video verbal text ^[30], semiotically complicated text ^{[8, 31]}, icon text ^[13], multimodal text ^[16], etc. These terms emphasize different aspects of the creolized text, such as the combination of different sign systems, the presence of several expression codes, the interaction of verbal and visual components, the strengthening of the communicative effect through additional means, etc.

One of the first researchers of a text consisting of several sign systems was the French semiotic Roland Barthes. He reflected on the nature of the sign, its ideological content, the relationship between the signified and the signifier, denotative and connotative messages. R. Barth argued that socially conditioned connotative meanings of secondary sign systems (images, sounds, videos, etc.) carry a powerful ideologized message, complementing or changing denotative meanings expressed through natural language ^[4]. 

The term creolized text was introduced by Yu . A . Sorokin and E. F. Tarasov, who defined it as a text, ""the texture of which consists of two inhomogeneous parts: verbal (linguistic or speech) and non-verbal (belonging to other sign systems than natural language)" ^[36]. This term has become widespread in the works of researchers, it is used in their works by M. B. Voroshilov, E. E. Anisimova, B. L. Boyko, I. V. Vashunina, A. A. Nistratov, E. A. Elina, D. P. Chigaev, M. G. Shvetsova, L. V. Dubovitskaya, M. Yu. Podlevskikh, A. A. Yakubovskaya and many others.

Creolized text has a number of specific characteristics that distinguish it from single-code text. Firstly, the creolized text has a more complex structure, which consists of two or more substructures: verbal and nonverbal. Each substructure has its own rules of organization and connectivity, which may be consistent or conflict with each other.

Secondly, the creolized text has a higher communicative potential because it can transmit more information in less time and space, as well as use different channels of information transmission.

Thirdly, the creolized text has a more complex semiotics, since it is based on different types of signs: iconic, indexical and symbolic. Iconic signs imitate objects (for example, photographs, drawings, diagrams), index signs point to objects (for example, pointers, arrows, color signals), symbolic signs denote objects by convention (for example, words, numbers, letters) ^[28]. Creolized text uses all these types of signs to varying degrees and combinations, which creates a multi-level system of meanings and interpretations.

Fourth, creolized text has more diverse functions that depend on the goals and objectives of communicators and addressees. Creolized text can perform informative, informative, advertising, artistic, entertainment and other functions. It can also combine several functions at the same time, which increases its communicative value and attractiveness ^[35].

Fifth, creolized text has higher requirements for the competence of communicators and addressees. To create and perceive a creolized text, it is necessary to possess not only linguistic competence (knowledge of vocabulary, grammar and stylistics of the language), but also paralinguistic competence (knowledge of nonverbal codes and their relationship with verbal ones), as well as linguistic and cultural competence (knowledge of the cultural characteristics of communicants and the context of communication) ^[37].

To study creolized texts, scientists use various methods and techniques of analysis, such as a structural-system approach, a functional approach, a semiotic approach, etc.

The structural-system approach involves the identification and description of various structural levels of creolized text: verbal, nonverbal and musical-sound (in the case of audiovisual texts). At each level, such elements are analyzed, which lexical, grammatical, syntactic, stylistic means are used in the verbal component; which graphic, iconic, audiovisual means are used in the nonverbal component; which musical and sound means are used in the musical and sound component. The relationship between different levels and their role in creating the meaning of a creolized text is also analyzed. ^{[1, 3, 9-12, 18, 22, 23, 29, 30, 46, 52]}.

The functional approach involves the identification and description of various functions of the creolized text: informative, emotive, expressive, pragmatic, etc. At each level, it is analyzed which means are used to implement a particular function and what effect they have on the addressee. Within the framework of this approach, the method of strategic analysis is often used, which studies the interaction and correlation between the verbal and nonverbal components of a creolized text in the implementation of communicative strategies.   ^{[2, 11, 29]}.

The semiotic approach involves the identification and description of various sign systems that are involved in the creation of a creolized text: natural language, graphics, images, music, etc. At each level, it is analyzed which signs are used to encode and decode information and how they relate to other signs within the same or different systems, what are their meanings and functions ^[11].

The cognitive approach to the analysis of creolized texts is an approach that is based on the study of mental processes and representations that occur during the perception and understanding of texts consisting of different codes (for example, verbal and pictorial). The semantic differential method is often used here, which allows measuring the emotional impact and perception of creolized texts by different parameters ^{[27, 45]}.

Let's consider the main topics of scientific works of recent years, the object of research in which is a creolized text.

Since there is still no consensus in the scientific community on the correct naming of texts consisting of elements of several sign systems, a number of works are devoted to terminological issues. Thus, in their work on the terminological system of the theory of polycode texts, N. V. Novospasskaya and N. M. Dugalich come to the conclusion that the term polycode text more accurately conveys the specifics of the concept it designates, and also express the opinion that there is a need to create a dictionary and clarify terms that meet the modern level of understanding of the polycode text ^[26]. The content of the concepts of polycode and creolization in the description of advertising texts is also described by D. S. Shikina, calling the advertising text polycode, while describing the degree of its creolization ^[40]. Note that in this paper, the terms creolized and polycode text are used as synonymous.

N. E. Gorshkova and V. E. Chernyavskaya investigate visual intertextuality in the context of the linguistics of text and discourse and come to the conclusion that "verbal and visual semiotic resources create a deep coherence in the structure of the text that cannot be reduced to the mechanical addition of linguistic and visual signs (to double coding)" ^[16].

A significant part of researchers approach the study of creolized texts from the standpoint of psycholinguistics, studying the mental processes and representations that occur during the perception and understanding of such texts, while paying special attention to the role of nonverbal components in the semantic perception of the text and their interaction with verbal components ^{[10, 25, 44, 46]}.

In a number of works, the creolized text is considered as a tool for the formation of certain competencies in the educational process. In the work of T. F. Grishenkova and E. A. Ivanova ^[17] the advertising text as a type of creolized text is considered as a tool for teaching creative thinking and developing the skill of creative utterance, O. A. Selemeneva describes the methodology of working with creolized texts of print advertising when teaching creative writing ^[33]. O. A. Zharina, A. A. Gicheva, A. A. Yakubovskaya, N. S. Oprishch study a polycode text as a means of forming linguistic competence ^{[21, 43, 50]}.

The relationship between the verbal and nonverbal components of the creolized text and the influence of this relationship on the recipient's perception of art objects is highlighted in the works of D. A. Hoopoe ^[37], V. S. Kosenko ^[22]. The polycode text of cinema or film text has become an object of scientific understanding in the works of M. B. Voroshilova ^[15], P. Y. Bogdanovskaya ^[6], E. S. Yakovleva and I. V. Ignatova ^[42] and many others.

Considerable attention of researchers of creolized texts is paid to the problems of their translation. N. V. Shchurik, T. V. Tyurneva and others note the high degree of influence of the social context and the need for a thorough pragmatic analysis of creolized texts in the field of information technology in the translation process ^[51].

Studies devoted to polycode texts in Internet communication consider them as a means of personal self-expression in the virtual space ^[32], a tool for creating a language game ^[52].

The features of the creolized text are also considered in the context of socio-political discourse as a means of representing the linguistic and cultural type ^[24], a tool for attracting attention and creating a comic effect in political caricature ^[45]. I.V. Vashunina explores the logo of the university as a creolized text ^[12]. A lot of works are devoted to the methodology of analysis of creolized text in forensic examination and legal linguistics ^[34].

One of the most popular materials for the study of creolized texts is the text of advertising ^{[17, 20, 23, 25, 29, 33, 39, 40, 46-51]}. There are many works in this field that focus on various aspects of the creation and functioning of creolized advertising texts.

Researchers in the process of linguistic analysis of creolized advertising text may encounter problems of identification, classification and interpretation of different linguistic elements in the text, and they may also be subject to subjectivity or variability of assessments and conclusions. Therefore, the linguistic analysis of the creolized advertising text requires taking into account many factors, such as the socio-cultural, economic and legal context of the text, the specifics of the genre and means of advertising distribution, characteristics and expectations of the target audience, goals and communication strategies.

Examples of linguistic analysis of creolized advertising text can be found in many reviews and studies. For example, in ^[49] N. S. Oprishch investigates the functioning of the creolized text of English-language social advertising on the topic of the covid-19 pandemic and comes to the conclusion about the weak creolization of such texts.

M. G. Shvetsova, M. Yu. The Podlevskys note that "in modern intercultural communication, the role of advertising texts is increasing, in which the verbal component in combination with the iconic tends to reproduce the picture of the world, aesthetic and moral guidelines of society, to reflect the self-consciousness of the nation" ^[39].

A.V. Annenkova and S. V. Lebedeva conducted an experimental study, proving that the subjective perception of the creolized advertising text is influenced not only by linguistic characteristics, but also by a large number of extralinguistic factors, such as age, belonging to a social group, personal experience ^[44].

The results of linguistic analysis of creolized advertising text can be useful for various purposes and tasks. For example, they can help advertising creators improve the quality, originality and adequacy of their texts, as well as avoid mistakes, misunderstandings or conflicts. They can also help advertising consumers better understand, interpret and evaluate advertising messages, as well as develop their linguistic and cultural competencies. They can also help advertising researchers expand their knowledge and understanding of the linguistic and communicative features and functions of advertising in the modern world.

Thus, a creolized text is a complex and multifaceted object of study in many fields of knowledge, including linguistics. It differs from a single-code text by a more complex structure, a high potential for communicative efficiency, more diverse functions and high requirements for the competence of communicators and addressees. The creolized text reflects the trends in the development of modern society and culture, which are characterized by globalization, mediatization, interactivity and multimodality. The study of creolized text allows you to expand the boundaries of linguistic knowledge and understanding of language as a means of communication.