SIGNS OF IRONIC IDIOSTYLE IN THE STORIES OF NADIN ALEXANDROVNA TEFFI

Abstract. This article is dedicated to the linguistic analysis of humorous stories by N. Teffi. The aim of the article is to identify the linguistic means in Teffi's humorous stories through which ironic expression, primarily the features of idiolect style, are conveyed. The article reveals multi-level language units, the collective combination of which with various stylistic devices leads to achieving maximum comedic effect. The conclusions in the article suggest that the leading expressive coloration of the text and features of idiolect style in Teffi's humorous stories are created through linguistic means that can be divided into two groups: pun and non-pun means of expressing ironic expression.

Keywords: idiolect style, expressiveness, satire, irony, Teffi.

Idiolect style (individual style) is a system of substantive and formal linguistic characteristics inherent in the works of a particular author, making the author's way of linguistic expression unique [Ashimova, 1]. Among the characteristics of Teffi's individual style, philologists and discerning readers include: simplicity and elegance of phrases; light and effortless thoughts at first glance, striking with depth and originality upon closer reading. In Nadia Teffi's texts, there are no stylistic seams: the intricate connection of sentences, paragraphs, dialogical remarks underscores the writer's broad outlook, observant nature, and creative mastery.

Many researchers claim that Teffi's humorous stories predominantly carry an ironic expressive coloration [Berestok, 281]. Irony in such stories is perceived in an organic union of diverse linguistic means. Often it carries a shade of light sadness and empathy. «Irony has value and meaning if it is accompanied by compassion; otherwise, it becomes cold and destructive cynicism, which is always right like an unconditional instinct» [Bochkaryova, 11]. Thus, Teffi's irony almost never reaches sarcasm, closely bordering on harmless satire that reflects society's strange and pathological psychology. Nadia Teffi's irony becomes a means of establishing contact with the reader, a way of thinking; it acquires a tragi-comic witty character.

Discovering witty humorous expressions in Teffi's humorous works is not difficult. Here are some expressions that are most characteristic of the writer's idiolect style: «I am amazingly lucky! If my rings were not sold out, I would deliberately throw one of them into the water for a test, and if we still caught fish and were given that fish to eat, I would definitely find my thrown ring in it. In a word – Polycrates' happiness» [Teffi 1923:115]; «People! Get ready! The labors of many generations are coming to an end! The joint-stock company «Mr. Jeb and Company» announces that on December 25th of this year, for the first time ever, a crab will snap its claws and fulfill the hottest desire of each of the hundred people (1%). Get ready!» [Teffi 2011:310]; «She was given three days to prepare for the geography exam. She spent two of them trying on a new corset with a real tablet. In the evening of the third day, she sat down to study» [Teffi 2011:157].

Teffi skillfully conveys characters' actions using subtle innuendos and satirical hints. Without being malicious or accusatory, they evoke sympathy from readers. For example, in Teffi's story «Happiness», with the phrase: «When we returned home, it turned out that our janitor had already dragged all our furniture to his place – no one expected us to come back», the reader feels the tragic nature of the lives of intellectuals subjected to Bolshevik terror.

All the linguistic means through which ironic expression is conveyed in Teffi's works can be conditionally differentiated into non-pun and pun [Voronichev, 57]. Bright examples of non-pun expressive means in N. Teffi's stories include: ironic paradox, ironic metaphor, ironic metonymy, ironic synecdoche, ironic periphrasis, ironic comparison. Let us provide some examples.

In order to convey the speech of uneducated and pseudo-erudite personalities, Teffi uses an ironic paradox:

— And you are also good! Delighted to be riding with a Frenchman in a car!

— And were you not happy that you were being driven by a German aviator? Oh, you!

— And how did you not guess?

— And why didn't you guess? You found a Frenchman too!

And for a long time, they bitterly reproached each other [Teffi 2011:291].

Close to the ironic paradox is the ironic oxymoron in the story «Two Willies»: «It was precisely in this respect that poor-rich Willie Brown was unlucky» [Teffi 2011:203].

Particular interest is drawn to Teffi's ironic metaphor. For example, in the story «When the Crab Whistled», the writer, sensing the psychology of a child, unusually and even strangely compares toys to «the horror of neglect»: «The horses stood with their tails unbraided, the wind-up soldier's spring remained unbroken, the squeaker sat in its place inside the rabbit - in short, neglect was everywhere».

Ironic comparisons are often associated with animal images. For example, in the book «My Chronicle. Memories», we notice: «The commissar wilted, became sentimental and ordered me to convey that he would remain silent as a fish on ice» [Teffi 2002:115]; «They went out to the entrance. The dark one ahead, stumbling and fussing, followed by Kotomko, like a submissive and curly ram» - story «Concert»

In order to enliven speech, introduce additional connotative and semantic nuances, enhance the figurative meaning of linguistic means, Teffi reinterprets phraseological units. For example, in the story «Concert», we find the following expression: «...His head was empty, his ears were ringing, and his heart was nauseous» [Teffi 2002:98]. The original form «heart aches» means - to feel anxious. Teffi replaces the stylistically neutral «ache» with the stylistically expressive «nauseous».

Teffi had an ambiguous attitude towards wordplay, as she believed it did not fit into the context of her subtle irony. Therefore, pun language means are significantly outnumbered by non-pun ones. The most common means of expressing phonetic-semantic puns is paronomasia (usual): «Grisha was increasingly indignant with mustachioed Varvara».

—When she knocks on my door in the morning with her elbows, my nerves are upset all day.

—Ha-ha! - Vasya squealed. — With her elbows"! He means - with her palms" (book «June»).

Occasional paronomasias formed by interword overlapping can serve as leading humorous words in the text. For example, in Teffi's story «Happiness», occasional paronomasias: «kontratsivurilitsivilen» «kotsrivutsiliritsinir», «kostrivutsilir» - appear in the context of an ironic parody of pseudo-terms used by an uneducated NKVD employee during the interrogation of a Petersburg intellectual lady [Teffi 1923:115].

Creating ironic portraits of her characters, Teffi actively used «background» language means - colloquial words and outdated grammatical - orthoepic variants preserved in spoken language [Voronichev, 62]. For example, in the story «Worn Out», we observe: «The other day I say to her: 'Go open the door, Dunyasha,' - affectionately, like kindly. So she snorts at me: 'I'm not your doorman, open it yourself!' And I drank everything there. When it comes to opening doors, I say to her, you're not a doorman, but when it comes to kissing the janitor on the stairs, that's when you're all a doorman...» [Teffi 2011:18]. Or in the story «Penitent», we encounter:

— Guilty, nanny! Congratulations on confessing.

— «Congratulations! » Do people congratulate nowadays? Nowadays they tend to offend and reproach. The other day their homemade liqueur spilled [Teffi 2011:26].

Thus, the soft and graceful irony of Taffy as the leading expressive hue of humorous stories and the main hallmark of Taffy's idiostyle is created by combining various linguistic means, which can be conventionally divided into groups: humor-forming (pun and non-pun) and background.