SOME REMARKS ON THE TURKIC MYTH IN RUSSIAN FICTION
SOME REMARKS ON THE TURKIC MYTH IN RUSSIAN FICTION

Summary/Abstract: The title of this paper allows for several interpretations. I originally intended to speak exclusively about the way in which Turkic speech is rendered in Russian fiction, aiming to provide a purely linguistic analysis. Looking at the material, however, it was immediately clear that there is such an intimate relation between linguistic expression and issues of self-identification, otherness, nationalism and cosmopolitism that it would be impossible – and, more importantly, pointless – to remain within a purely linguistic framework. Ever since Ferdinand de Saussure first stated that there is nothing in language except oppositions and similarities, we have tried to explain our perception of the world from this perspective, and the structural approach has proved to be very fruitful. There is no us without the idea of otherness, no union without division. So, somewhat depressingly, it turns out that the concept of otherness is essential for any culture – without it the process of self-identification is impossible. On the other hand, during certain periods of time and for various reasons, self-identification matters less; in such cases we are dealing with syntagmatic rather than paradigmatic relationships, with a combination rather than an opposition – and we realize that the concept of the Other continues to be extremely important, tending not to be rejected but inevitably integrated into the concept of Self. The latter, more or less, seems to be the case with Russia and the Turkic element.

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