THE IMAGE OF RUSSIA IN THE NEW DICTIONARY OF CULTURAL LITERACY: WHAT EVERY AMERICAN NEEDS TO KNOW

Almost any dictionary, except for terminological ones, is a source
of cultural information. Lexicographical editions have
traditionally captured the attention of researchers interested in the
presentation of the culture-specific component in a dictionary,
and, more specifically the cultural image of Russia (Marinina
E. V. 2017; Polubichenko L. V. 2010).
The present paper focuses on the third edition of The New
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to
Know, edited by E. D. Hirsch and published in 2002. The
macrostructure of the Dictionary comprises about 7000 entries,
including proper names, idioms, terms, etc. that are familiar to
most literate Americans: the information that is called cultural
literacy. According to the Introduction to the Dictionary, “to a
large extent this common knowledge or collective memory […]
forms the basis for communities, and if it is shared by enough
people, it is a distinguishing characteristic of a national culture
(Hirsch E. D. 2002: vii)”.
The choice of the Dictionary as an object of the study is justified
by two reasons. First, it was compiled on the basis of frequency
principle founded on a wide range of national periodicals, which
means that only those items that are widely known by a broad
majority of literate Americans appear in the Dictionary. This
descriptive approach in the compilation of the Dictionary makes
it possible to analyse the most frequently used Russia-related
concepts and proper names. Second, the very title of the
lexicographic edition reflects its prescriptive character, therefore
the dictionary contributes to the formation of a certain image of
Russia, which is of primary importance for the present study.
The objective of the present research is to study the choice and
presentation of the Russia-related concepts in The New
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy. Special attention is paid to
shared cultural associations registered in the Dictionary. The
methods involved in the study are comparative analysis,
quantitative analysis, as well as semantic analysis of the concepts
under consideration. All items including the labels Russia,
Russian, Russo- and Soviet Union, Soviet and Soviets (as Russia
is widely acknowledged to be the successor of the Soviet Union)
were considered. The selected items were divided into three
categories: the entries that represent Russia-related notions per se;
those where Russia is mentioned in the definition; and those in
which Russia is mentioned in cultural associations and crossreferences.
Russia-related concepts are present in 15 out of 23 subject
sections of the Dictionary. Overall 169 entries in the 15 sections
were identified as related to Russia (which amounts to 2.5 % of
the total number of the entries), with only 63 entries wholly
devoted to Russia-related notions or proper names. In other
instances, Russia is mentioned in definitions or cultural
associations for clarifying the meaning of other concepts. World
History Since 1550 is the most widely represented section in
terms of entries wholly devoted to Russian proper names and
realia (25 items). World Geography section is the most
represented one with respect to the overall number of references
to Russia (59 entries). Only 12 entries in this section however are
devoted to Russian toponyms and concepts.
The analysis has demonstrated that the concepts and proper
names related to Russia are scarce in the studied material, thus
the image of the country projected by the Dictionary is overall
fragmented. The dominating perception of Russia as a rival and
antagonist of the USA coexists with a very positive appraisal of
its artistic and literary achievements, which creates a
contradictory image of the country.
Keywords: Lexicography, cultural literacy, Russia, image