Functions and means of verbalization of emotions in English-language autobiography

Résumé

The article examines the functions and means of verbalization of emotional states associated with memories of events, places or time periods of the past, in particular, the emotional state of nostalgia using the example of the text of a writer’s autobiography. An autobiography is considered as a subtype of a mnemonic text, possessing all its textotypological characteristics and addressing mainly the past of the subject of the narrative. The article stresses the relevance of the issue of linguistic expression of emotions in memoir; attention is drawn to the interrelation of memory and emotions. The author considers the pragmatics of fictional and factual components of memoir and suggests that the reliability of meanings and emotions is more relevant for successful interpretation of memoir than the reliability of facts. A retrospective emotional situation is considered as one of the means of conveying images of the past, which, in accordance with the strategies of modeling the past, performs restorative, reflective and poetic functions. The author analyzes and summarizes the definitional register of the concept “nostalgia”, hence nostalgia is considered as an ambivalent retrospective emotional state that has a direct impact on autobiographical text and has potential for self-identification through the text. The functions performed by retrospective emotional situations are considered with the literary autobiography “Self-Consciousness” by John Updike as an example. It is emphasized that the realization of the poetic function can use the same linguistic means of expression that are involved in emotional restoration and emotional reflection. It is concluded that a retrospective emotional situation implements creative strategies for modeling the past and encourages the reader to make creative interpretations.