«Obscenities give rise to thugs»: Obscene vocabulary in the practice of the poet Vsevolod Nekrasov (based on archive materials)

Abstract

For nonconformist writers, the lexical substandard is often counted about the basic criteria by which the linguistic reality they create is interpreted. The forms of usage of the non-normative layers of language in an underground culture, which are heterogeneous and include a completely different set of stable speech formations, often claim to be the dominant function, acting as a means of linguistic manifestation of fundamentally different behavior in culture in relation to established Soviet norms and radically correcting them. The sub-standard vocabulary included in the fabric of a poetic or prose narrative is usually marked intonationally and implies a sharp speech gesture that does not violate the texture of the language, but creates a fundamentally different – often new – effective text space. A text that has mastered the substandard acquires a performative dimension. It is integrated into the general practices of sub-standard word usage, and at the same time offers its own, authorial ones. Without claiming to generalize, this material is focused on identifying patterns and searching for possible algorithms for classifying such phenomena. The case of Vsevolod Nekrasov is both characteristic and unique. The article examines several characteristic episodes of Nekrasov’s use of profanity. They relate to his polemics in relation to phenomena that claim to be the main position in both official and unofficial culture. In addition, his attitude towards colleagues in the craft who use profanity is discussed. Considering such situations may prove productive, as they clearly reveal the boundaries and ways of speech reaction. Researchers have yet to identify the general patterns of the presence of varieties of substandardness in underground culture, to find methodological keys to the search for typologies.