2025/2026

Faces and Facets of Linguistic Creativity

Type: Mago-Lego

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

When: 3, 4 module

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Alexandra Nagornaya

Language: English

Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course addresses the phenomenon of linguistic creativity, which is seen as a complex type of mental and speech activity resulting in an unusual interpretation of an object or a phenomenon and its unconventional representation in speech. Linguistic creativity inevitably involves the “breaking, restructuring and transformation of stable patterns” (S.K. Maynard) and saves the language from “IKEAfication” (T. Veale), preventing it from becoming a set of ready-made parts which are put together mechanically, according to the preset scheme and make up practical but primitive structures. This activity, however, is not fully arbitrary and it follows certain rules which are shaped by cultural and language traditions and are largely determined by the social function of communication. Within the course, linguistic creativity is interpreted as a systemic phenomenon which is observed at all the levels of the language system: from phonetics to syntax. Special emphasis is laid on metaphorical creativity understood as an ability to construct new metaphors at the conceptual (mental) and verbal levels. The course rests upon the most recent theories, hypotheses and approaches advanced in Western Linguistics. The language material comes from fiction, as well as mass media and academic texts.