Jazyk i predmetnyj mir v Aviatore Evgenija Vodolazkina: meždu prošlym i nastojašim (Language and the Material Word in the Eugene Vodolazkin's Novel The Aviator: between Past and Present )

Eugene Vodolazkin shows a great interest in the status and the future of the Russian language in both his volume Dom i ostrov (A House and an Island or the Language Instruments) and in his several interviews, where he refl ects on the main phenomena which have characterized the development of Russian over the recent decades. Such phenomena include: the wide use of English loanwords, even when a Russian equivalent is attested; the use of slang and colloquialisms; the use of diminutives and taboo language. In Vodolazkin’s poetics, the Word has a central role, as the author believes that only by naming them, can things and objects become accessible and comprehensible. Hence — as the author remarks — by raising and not answering questions, literature also has the task of naming things. The novel The Aviator is fundamental from this point of view, as in it the historical link between word and entity often emerges: in his gradual discovery of reality with its new objects and names, the protagonist Innokenty Platonov successfully reconstructs fragments of the past through comparison with the present. As a result, early 20th century signs and words reappear in narration. This contribution centres on the analysis of past sign-word combinations and new, late-1990 objects and words (the former seen as foreignizing objects to the protagonist and the latter being often English loanwords), revolving around the dichotomy between the own, familiar element and the outside sphere (Familiar/Strange). The focus is thus on the linguistic and semiotic aspects of the author’s artistic world. Keywords: contemporary Russian literature, contemporary Russian, signs, memory, Soviet past