Paralinguistic means of describing the behavior of a lying character (based on the material of German-language literature)

The article examines the non-verbal behavioral code of a lying character, identifies and characterizes its various types in the texts of German-language fiction. The introduction outlines the reasons for the interest of linguists in the study of the non-verbal behavior of the characters of a work of art in a situation of lies, actualizes the role of non-verbal means that demonstrate the character's inner world and condition the reader's perception. Methodological approaches are determined that allow analyzing the interaction of a lying character in the aspect of non-verbal semiotics. The purpose of the study is to describe the specifics of the linguistic representation of a non-verbal portrait of a lying character. In the main part, the concept of a “lying character” is substantiated, the evolution of a lying character in German-language fiction is studied, the main components of the model of non-verbal behavior of a lying character are established. A table showing the correlation of the non-verbal code with the type of the lying character (emotive/adaptive/regulatory) in the work is presented. The material of the research is the literary works of German-speaking writers of the XX-XXI centuries. Verification of lexical nominations and subsequent correlation of non-verbal markers with the characteristics of the type of a lying character is carried out using the example of 100 dialogical fragments. A detailed analysis of non-verbal components with explication of kinesic, prosodic and ocular markers is presented. It has been demonstrated that the image of a lying character is one of the most common in artistic discourse. Decoding of the non-verbal behavioral code and portrait characteristics of a liar is possible only taking into account the factors of the historical and sociocultural continuum. In conclusion, it is noted that the lying character is the subject of emotional experience, whose non-verbal behavior in the situation of uttering a lie is manifested through certain linguistic and plot-compositional means of the author's narration. The choice of a non-verbal code (kinesic, prosodic, ocular) when describing the behavior of a lying character by the author is conditioned by the author's personal experience, his worldview and knowledge of the reader's interpretive activity. The emotive type of a lying character is explicated by the author through such non-verbal components as a raised tone of voice and play with the eyes. The manifestation of a message with a false connotation by an adaptive character type is accompanied by a low, even tone, which is a kind of compensation for the character's restraint in gestures and movements, as well as through ocular non-verbal markers. Ocular non-verbal markers are actualized by the author through adjectives that concretize and describe the look of the lying character. Visual modifications serve as an effective means of manipulation and achievement of the intended pragmatic goal for the adaptive type of lying character. The non-verbal behavior of the lying character of the regulatory type is noticeably reflected in the kinetic markers. This type of lying character encodes his emotions very successfully. The determining factor in the image of a regulatory type character is his “gestures” and “bodily modulations”. The dialogue thread of literary heroes-deceivers is replete with kinetic gestures, used by them for self-defense and confirmation of “imaginary” truthfulness. The created model of non-verbal behavior of a lying character can be used in courses on literary studies, discursive pragmatics, language psychology, linguistic expertology and other interdisciplinary areas.

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