Semiotic representation of Minsk in Viktor Martinovich’s novel “Mova”

Abstract

The article aims to reveal the principles of urban space organisation in Viktor Marti­novich’s novel “Mova”. Due to the fact that the novel is based on a linguistic problem (the author defines the genre of the novel as a “linguistic thriller”), the representation of the city in the novel is subject to linguistic models and principles. The main of these principles is the isomorphism of the part and the whole. The structural generality of the different levels of the novel and the novel space is based on the technique of inversion. There is a movement of value poles within the system of oppositions, at the level of narrative, plot and space (the aggressor — the victim, the East — the West, the centre — the periphery, one’s own — someone else’s). The generally accepted structure of the zones of the centre and the periphery is changing: the periphery is associated with order and norm, and the centre — with the concepts of chaos, disor­ganization, and deviation. The opposition of one’s own and someone else’s (language, space) comes to the fore, which corresponds to the socio-cultural context of Belarusian litera­ture. The centre and the periphery are structured according to different cultural models: the centre is or­ganized according to the dual model, and the periphery according to the ternary one.

Keywords

• victor martinovich
• urban text
• centre
• periphery
• system of oppositions
• dual model
• ternary model